New to High School? (YA)

In Year 9 and stuck for something to read? Here are 31 of our favourite books or series to get you started. Don’t forget to talk to your school librarian as well — they’re experts on all things bookishly good!

Updated June 19, 2024
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Pride and prejudice
Austen, Jane 1775-1817
Paper Book
Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets...
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER! A MORRIS AWARD WINNER! AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK! A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Soon to be adapted at Netflix...
Graceling
Cashore, Kristin.
Paper Book
Discover the Graceling Realm in this unforgettable, award-winning novel from bestselling author Kristin Cashore. A New York Times bestseller * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner * Publishers Weekly, School Library...
The Hunger Games
Collins, Suzanne.
Paper Book
The first novel in the worldwide bestselling series by Suzanne Collins!Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . . In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying...
The maze runner
Dashner, James
Paper Book
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING MAZE RUNNER SERIES * A teenager with no memory must navigate a deadly maze to survive in book one of this post-apocalyptic phenomenon. "[A] mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of...
Legendborn
Deonn, Tracy
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of...
To all the boys I've loved before
Han, Jenny
Paper Book
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is now a major motion picture on Netflix and the inspiration for the spin-off series XO, Kitty--now streaming on Netflix! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Lara Jean's love life gets complicated in this New York...
The henna wars
Jaigirdar, Adiba
Paper Book
"Impossible to put down." - Kirkus, starred review Nishat doesn't want to lose her family, but she also doesn't want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for...
Howl's moving castle
Jones, Diana Wynne.
Paper Book
In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark...
Skulduggery Pleasant
Landy, Derek.
Paper Book
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant Ace Detective Snappy Dresser Razor-tongued Wit Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton --as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year...
Anne of Green Gables
Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud) 1874-1942
Paper Book
Read the timeless classic about the beloved Anne Shirley, a red-haired orphan with a fiery spirit, before the new NETFLIX series premieres and don't miss the forward by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, celebrating the 100th anniversary of this children's favorite! ...
The recruit
Muchamore, Robert.
Paper Book
A young foster child gets inducted into an elite group of underage spies in this gripping first book in the young adult CHERUB series perfect for graduates of City Spies and Spy School. Following the death of his mother, eleven-year-old James Choke gets separated from his half...
Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to...
Eragon
Paolini, Christopher
Paper Book
Don't miss the eagerly anticipated epic new fantasy from Christopher Paolini--Murtagh! A new adventure hatches in Book One of the Inheritance Cycle, perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings! This New York Times bestselling series has sold over 40 million copies and is...
The golden compass
Pullman, Philip 1946-
Paper Book
The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top 100 Book of All Time." Philip Pullman takes readers to a world where humans have animal familiars and where parallel universes are within reach. ...
The lightning thief
Riordan, Rick
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times Bestseller | Now a series on Disney+ 12-year-old Percy Jackson discovers he is the son of Poseidon in the opener to the hilarious, fast-paced adventure fantasy series for young readers ages 10 and up The paperback edition of the...
Holes
Sachar, Louis 1954-
Paper Book
Steelheart
Sanderson, Brandon.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Oathbringer, coauthor of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn trilogy. And don't miss the rest of the Reckoners...
Witch hat atelier. Volume 1
Shirahama, Kamome
Paper Book
Best of the Year -- AV Club, New York Public Library, Nerdist, SYFY Wire, Chicago Public Library "Harry Potter meets Kiki's Delivery Service!" -AV Club A beautifully-illustrated story about a girl who longs for magic in her life and learns that...
Nimona
Stevenson, ND
Paper Book
Now a Netflix animated film! Nimona is the New York Times bestselling graphic novel sensation from ND Stevenson, based on his beloved and critically acclaimed web comic. Kirkus says, "If you're going to read one graphic novel this year, make it this...
The sunbearer trials
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys. "Only the most...
The hobbit or there and back again
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel) 1892-1973
Paper Book
The stirring adventure that begins The Lord of the Rings, the greatest fantasy epic of all time When Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves embark upon a dangerous quest to reclaim the hoard of gold stolen from them by the evil dragon Smaug, Gandalf the wizard suggests an...
The prince and the dressmaker
Wang, Jen
Paper Book
A fairy tale for any age, Jen Wang's The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart. Winner of the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens Winner of the Harvey Award for Best Children or Young Adult Book Paris, at the...
The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME * A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times...

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