The Best Teen & Young Adult Books 2026

1. Deathwatch, (Paperback)

"An exciting novel of suspense, based on a fight to the finish between an honest and courageous young man and a cynical business tycoon who believes that anything can be had for a price."--Horn Book. An ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Writers Award, A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, New York Public Library--Books for the Teen Age.

Deathwatch, (Paperback) Author: Laurel Leaf Library ISBN: 9780440917403 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1973-10-15 Page Count: 224

2. Lord of the Rings The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again, (Hardcover)

This deluxe collector's edition of Tolkien's modern classic is boxed and bound in green leatherette with gold and red foil stamping on the spine and cover. The text pages are printed in black with green accents. It includes five full-page illustrations in full color and many more in two color in addition to Thror's map--all prepared by the author. "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit." So begins one of the most beloved and delightful tales in the English language. Set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth, at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale, The Hobbit is one of literature's most enduring and well-loved novels. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum. Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies worldwide and established itself as a modern classic.

Lord of the Rings The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again, (Hardcover) Author: Clarion Books ISBN: 9780395177112 Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 1973-10-24 Page Count: 316

3. The Hobbit (Hardcover)

J.R.R. Tolkien's classic is splendidly illustrated in full color by noted artist Michael Hague. This edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic is illustrated with 48 paintings by noted artist Michael Hague. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum. Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies worldwide and established itself as a modern classic.

This edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic is illustrated with 48 paintings by noted artist Michael Hague. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum. Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies worldwide and established itself as a modern classic.

4. Pre-Owned A Killing Frost

It's nearly six months since our country was invaded. We've lived in a war zone since January, and now it's July. So short a time, so long a time . . . I'm an expert on fear now. I think I've felt every strong feeling there is: love, hate, jealousy, rage. But fear's the greatest of them all. Nothing reaches inside and grabs you by the guts the way fear does. Nothing else possesses you like that. It's a kind of illness, a fever, that takes you over. Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip to find their country at war. Learning together, they fight back--battling fear, rage, and the invading army that has stolen their land, seized their homes, taken their families, and destroyed their future. Continuing the story begun in Tomorrow, When the War Began and The Dead of Night, John Marsden paints a shockingly realistic portrait of teenagers who take great risks to defend what is theirs.

Tomorrow A Killing Frost, (Hardcover) Author: Houghton Mifflin ISBN: 9780395837351 Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 1998-04-27 Page Count: 288

5. If Wishes Were Horses (Hardcover) by Anne McCaffrey

9780451456427. Hard cover. Language: English. Pages: 96. Glued binding. With dust jacket. 96 p. Young Tizra and her twin brother, Tracell, find their world abruptly changed when their father is unexpectedly called to fight in a war which promises to last much longer than a three-day skirmish. From the bestselling author of the "Dragonriders of Pern" series.

9780451456427. Hard cover. Language: English. Pages: 96. Glued binding. With dust jacket. 96 p. Young Tizra and her twin brother, Tracell, find their world abruptly changed when their father is unexpectedly called to fight in a war which promises to last much longer than a three-day skirmish. From the bestselling author of the "Dragonriders of Pern" series.

6. After the First Death, (Paperback)

Who will be the next to die? They've taken the children. And the son of a general. But that isn't enough. More horrors must come...

After the First Death, (Paperback) Author: Random House Children's Books ISBN: 9780440208358 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1991-02-01 Page Count: 242

7. The Boat Who Wouldn't Float

9780553277883

The Boat Who Wouldn't Float

8. After the War (Paperback)

Didn't the gas ovens finish you all off? is the response that meets Ruth Mendenberg when she returns to her village in Poland after the liberation of Buchenwald at the end of World War II. Her entire family wiped out in the Holocaust, the fifteen-year-old girl has nowhere to go. Members of the underground organization Brichah find her, and she joins them in their dangerous quest to smuggle illegal immigrants to Palestine. Ruth risks her life to help lead a group of children on a daring journey over half a continent and across the sea to Eretz Israel, using secret routes and forged documents -- and sheer force of will. This adventure will touch readers, who will marvel at the resources and inner strength of mere children helping other children to find a place in this world in which they can belong. Carol Matas, one of the foremost authors of historical fiction, brings the desperation and passion of this remarkable journey to life.

"Didn't the gas ovens finish you all off?" is the response that meets Ruth Mendenberg when she returns to her village in Poland after the liberation of Buchenwald at the end of World War II. Her entire family wiped out in the Holocaust, the fifteen-year-old girl has nowhere to go. Members of the underground organization Brichah find her, and she joins them in their dangerous quest to smuggle illegal immigrants to Palestine. Ruth risks her life to help lead a group of children on a daring journey over half a continent and across the sea to Eretz Israel, using secret routes and forged documents -- and sheer force of will. This adventure will touch readers, who will marvel at the resources and inner strength of mere children helping other children to find a place in this world in which they can belong. Carol Matas, one of the foremost authors of historical fiction, brings the desperation and passion of this remarkable journey to life.

9. American Eyes: American Eyes: New Asian-American Short Stories for Young Adults, (Paperback)

These ten stories reflect the conflict Asian Americans face in balancing an ancient heritage and an unknown future.

American Eyes: American Eyes: New Asian-American Short Stories for Young Adults, (Paperback) Author: Ballantine Group ISBN: 9780449704486 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1995-12-30 Page Count: 160

10. Orphan Train Adventures A Place to Belong, (Paperback)

Danny and his younger sister, Peg, are placed in St. Joseph, Missouri, with kind Alfrid and Olga Swenson. Danny is thrilled to have a "real" father again, but when Olga suddenly dies, he is devastated--until he thinks of an ingenious plan to find Alfrid a new wife.

Orphan Train Adventures A Place to Belong, (Paperback) Author: Rh Childrens Books ISBN: 9780440226963 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1996-05-21 Page Count: 160