Classics for Teens

Classic literature appropriate for a teenaged audience, while also enjoyable for adult readers.
Updated January 16, 2023
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Twain, Mark
Paper Book
Referring to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, H. L. Mencken noted that his discovery of this classic American novel was "the most stupendous event of my whole life"; Ernest Hemingway declared that "all modern American literature stems from this one book," while T. S....
The call of the wild
London, Jack
Paper Book
Anne Frank the diary of a young girl
Frank, Anne
CD
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has become a world classic--a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.  In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen...
The great Gatsby
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Paper Book
The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald's family and from his lifelong publisher. This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author's own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book...
Lord of the flies
Golding, William
Paper Book
Golding's iconic 1954 novel, now with a new foreword by Lois Lowry, remains one of the greatest books ever written for young adults and an unforgettable classic for readers of any age. This edition includes a new Suggestions for Further Reading by Jennifer Buehler.
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
The lottery, and other stories
Jackson, Shirley
Paper Book
One of the most terrifying stories of the twentieth century, Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker in 1948. "Power and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. Today it is considered a...
1984 : a novel
Orwell, George
Paper Book
Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever... This 75th Anniversary Edition includes: *...
On the road
Kerouac, Jack
Paper Book
This bible of the Beat Generation is a modern classic of the unforgettable exuberance, poignancy, and passion of the 1950s. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of "On the Road" comes Keroacs original scroll version, published in a standard book format.
To kill a mockingbird
Lee, Harper.
CD
Harper Lee's classic novel of a lawyer in the deep south defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has...
Night
Wiesel, Elie
Paper Book
A New Translation From The French By Marion Wiesel Night is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent...
Their eyes were watching God
Hurston, Zora Neale.
Paper Book
Their Eyes Were Watching God, a luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern black woman in the 1930s whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance, continues to inspire the next generation of students. Freshman Common Read:...
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
Paper Book
Nearly seventy years after its original publication, Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 stands as a classic of world literature set in a bleak, dystopian future. Today its message has grown more relevant than ever before. Guy Montag is a fireman....
Black boy
Wright, Richard
CD
"Superb. . . .A great American writer speaks with his own voice about matters that still resonate at the center of our lives." -- New York Times Book Review Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi amid poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole,...

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