The Best Young Adult Books, According to Actual Ratings

Most book world professionals assert that the young adult (YA) category is, at least primarily, books written for people between ages 12 to 18. The wording in these definitions says “books,” but the usual implication is that only novels are considered YA. Based on this logic, the best young adult books would be novels that fit this criteria and receive the highest average consumer ratings and/or critical acclaim.

At The Rauch Review, we believe this scope does not fully capture the reality of the young adult landscape and readership. Our list of best young adult books has sections that represent all common ideas of what the YA category/genre is. In addition to the reader perspective that aligns with industry standards and author intentions, we cater to the majority of consumers who really don’t care if anyone thinks they’re too old to read YA books.

Rather than sticking to novels, we included sections on creative nonfiction and poetry. Next to the bestselling titles you have likely heard of, we mixed in some highly-rated hidden gems for you to discover.

Consumer ratings are a big part of our decision making process for this book list, but remember that perceptions of quality are subjective. Readers often give five stars when a book aligns with their preferences and resonates with them on a personal level. Books with great star rating averages on review or purchasing platforms can still have significant flaws in story, character development, rhetoric and readability. As The Rauch Review readership and resources expand, we will be producing our own signature long-form critic style reviews of many of these titles.

How We Chose the Best Young Adult Books

The journey of choosing these books came down to three processes:

1. Thinking about the definition of the young adult category/genre and conducting research — then trying to satisfy the full range of reader expectations
2. Creating a detailed criteria that would help us choose books and organize them into sections based on publicly available author intentions and whether readers in the intended age range enjoyed the book most on average
3. Researching the book’s statistics and available comments from the author on whether they expressed an intended age range outside the industry standard

Why the Young Adult Label is Complicated, Confusing and Debated

The young adult (YA) category exemplifies the fact that author intentions, industry standards and actual readership do not always align. In 2024 HarperCollins commissioned research revealing that only 26% of YA book consumers are under 18 years old. The largest group of readers, accounting for 28%, were between 18 and 22. In 2023 Publishers Weekly cited a survey finding that 51% of YA book sales were from people between age 30 and 44, and that 78% of those buyers intended to read the books themselves.

People have varying perceptions of what it means to be a young adult. From the perspective of the American legal system and the average U.S. book publishing professional, a young adult is under 18 years old. YA authors often imply that a high school graduation is the final milestone before adulthood.

In a broader scope, however, ideas of young adulthood vary wildly. Many readers view the end of young adulthood as the completion of an undergraduate degree and entry into the full-time professional world, meaning around 22 years old. YA authors often share this view by featuring college-age main characters. The American Psychological Association offers an example of young adulthood that ranges from “roughly 20 to 35 years of age.” Then there’s the notion that adulthood is primarily about maturity, which can happen at any age.

Another factor is the debate over whether YA is an age category, genre or both. For those who do believe YA is a genre, the definition of this genre is also debated. Some readers consider adult literary books YA as well if the story has a young adult protagonist and coming-of-age theme. Others readers and critics assert that featuring a teenage or college-age character isn’t enough. Stereotypical YA books often have certain story/character tropes (namely romance), prose styles and cover aesthetics.

This List’s Criteria for What the ‘Best’ Is

Based on the above analysis and our philosophy on book reviewing, we created this criteria:

• Average star rating score on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble
• If the author publicly discussed an intended age range, is there evidence that readers in that age range enjoyed the book more on average than people outside the age range?
• We decided to define hidden gems as books with less than 100 reviews on Amazon. We are still searching for these books. Please send recommendations!

Best Young Adult Books

Based on story content, author intentions, intended audience reception and subgenres, we divided the list into these sections that represent all common YA ideas. We reserved books that are part of series for the series section. All other titles are standalone.

Use this jump link menu to more efficiently navigate:

• About Ages 12 to 18
• About Starting Professional Life (Age 22+)
• About College (Ages 18 to 22)
• About High School (Ages 14 to 18)
• About Middle School (Ages 11 to 13)

Best Books for Young Adults: About Ages 12 to 18 or General Young Adulthood

Because 12 to 18 is a large age range covering several stages of adolescence, for this section we chose titles that are about overall coming of age or struggles young people may face during any time in their development. These books do not focus only on a specific period or setting such as middle school, high school or college. Or, if the story occurs during only one year, the narrative is not focused on a typical age marker like grades or legal ages.

Best Books for Young Adults: About Starting Their Professional Lives

In most cases, neither high school nor college fully prepare people for having a day job. Office politics can be overwhelming for young people. How do we handle the beginning of true adulthood?

Best Books for Young Adults: About or Set in College (Ages 18 to 22)

There are many similarities between the high school and college setting, but college stories tend to focus on leaving home and preparing for professional life. Because college is not free and mandatory like high school, these stories more frequently explore issues of economic class and privilege. College campuses are also frontlines for political debates.

Best Books for Young Adults: About or Set in High School (Ages 14 to 18)

This section is where the YA tropes abound. High school is an amplifier for teenage angst, romance, drugs, sex — all the drama. Simultaneously, readers and critics consider some of these titles in the ranks of great modern literature, YA or not.

Best Books for Young Adults: About or Set in Middle School (Ages 11 to 13)

Middle school is about transition. We bridge between elementary and high school. Puberty begins, but it’s usually not over before 14. Painful limbo, but also a time of learning.

Best Romance for Young Adults

Ah young love. Summers at the beach and kisses in the rain. When a type of story is so common, it takes real skill to be the best.

Best Young Adult Book Series

There are hundreds of highly-rated household name YA series, so in this section we decided to reserve descriptions for hidden gems. Unless you’ve been living off the grid since the 90s, you already know the plot of “Harry Potter” and the like.

To facilitate easier scanning, we wrote subsections based on the specific YA genre (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, etc). Each title in a subsection is ranked from top to bottom by highest to lowest average Goodreads score. Regardless of how famous the franchise is, we excluded series with at least one book that doesn’t have an average Goodreads rating above four stars. Otherwise the list would be way too long.

Best YA Fantasy Series

• Harry Potter
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians
• Vampire Academy
• Chronicles of Narnia
• The Mortal Instruments
• The Torch Trilogy (reader recommendation)
• The Magic of Omneth (reader recommendation)

Best YA Dystopian, Science Fiction and Speculative Series

• Ender Saga
• The Hunger Games
• Divergent
• The Giver Quartet
• The Nahx Invasions (reader recommendation)

Best YA Literary/Realistic Fiction Series

• Maus
• Dear Martin Series
• Anne of Green Gables

Best Young Adult Memoirs

Because the definition of young adult books is already all over the place, it doesn’t make sense to limit the genre to fiction. Nonfiction also includes stories about young adults. With memoirs specifically, some authors write the book during or shortly after their younger years. Other authors look back when they’re older, but they still decide to focus the memoir on their young adulthood.

Why Young Adult Books Appeal to All Ages

Other than the minimum requirement of a young adult main character, the young adult genre is whatever readers want it to be. The idea transcends age groups. When we’re young, the genre is a beacon of inspiration for our futures and a source of empathy for the present. When we’re firmly outside any common notion of a young adult, many of us still want stories from a young adult perspective. Even when adults have the mental bandwidth for dense “adult” prose, they often opt for the accessibility of a typical YA title. Conversely, teens on the younger end of the YA age spectrum may choose to challenge themselves with YA titles that have relatively mature themes and difficult prose.

Many YA book readers don’t even consciously choose YA titles because of that label. Readers try books based on recommendations, curiosity and other genre attributes. Some of those books happen to be in the YA genre as well.

Our Favorite Authors Who Write Books for Young Adults

As we mentioned earlier, the idea of “best young adult books” is subjective. There is the typical critic perspective and the ratings-aggregated consumer perspective.

Then there is our perspective. We strive to be objective, knowing it is impossible to reach 100% objectivity. Nonetheless, there is value in the effort.

These authors aren’t officially represented on the list, yet we believe they have written great books for young adults. We are in the process of reviewing most of their books. Stay tuned.

John Green

Chances are you’ve seen a trailer for a movie adapted from one of Green’s novels. He may be a commercial author, but his catalog has surprising depth. My favorite of his books is “Turtles All the Way Down.” Granted I have a bias toward novels with a theme of mental health. It seems like “The Fault in Our Stars” is his highest-rated title.

Adam Silvera

“They Both Die at the End” is Silvera’s most famous novel, but “More Happy Than Not” is my favorite. While playing with the idea of an “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”-style technology, it explores the impact of suicide, self-harm, LGBTQ identity and more. As an author, I was impressed that Silvera maintained a smooth narrative.

Ned Vizzini

Vizzini died by suicide, and long before his time. To this day, I wonder what his other novels would have been like. “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” his most famous and acclaimed book, blurs the boundary between fiction and reality. Young people face an insane amount of stress and pressure to succeed. What happens when they crack?

What Are the Best Young Adult Books on Your List?

As we build out our comments section, please suggest more highly rated YA hidden gems. Unlike the publishing industry, we want to directly represent your interests, and we really don’t care how old you are.