Ultimate Reading List
Ultimate Reading List
Ultimate Reading List
With that in
mind, we created the Ultimate Reading List --- a list of more than 450 titles that we think
make perfect pleasure reading for teens. Our criteria: We looked for books that
were compelling, beautifully written, pure fun, thought-provoking or edge-of-your-seat
gripping; books that we would hand to someone and say, “read this!” We hope that you will
use the Ultimate Reading List when selecting books for independent reading, and that
schools will consult it when making suggestions for their students for summer reading.
Each year, we go through the list with fresh eyes, culling some titles and adding others. The
latest edition is from May 2017 and features titles through April 2017. Below, you will find
the complete version of the Ultimate Reading List.
1) If you see a double asterisk (**) before a title, you will know that it is the first book in a
series. This year, we didn’t include any sequels. However, we hope that if you like the first
book, you will explore those that follow!
2) There are a lot of authors on this list who have written many great books, but we
couldn’t include everyone’s complete battery of work. We hope that if you find a book you
like, you will explore the authors’ other works, as well.
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ALL AMERICAN BOYS by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (Youth Fiction, Coming of Age)
ARISTOTLE & DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE by Benjamin Alire Saenz (Fiction)
New! THE BOOK THAT MADE ME: A Collection of 32 Personal Stories by Judith Ridge (Edited by)
(Short Stories)
**CINDER: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (Science Fiction)
New! CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE by Christian McKay Heidicker (Fiction)
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon (Mystery)
New! DASH AND LILY'S BOOK OF DARES by Rachel Kohn and David Levithan (Fiction)
DEAR BULLY: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones
(Nonfiction)
THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik
Larson (History)
DROWNED CITY: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown (Graphic Novel)
THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS by Carolyn Mackler (Fiction)
**FABLES: THE DELUXE EDITION, Book One written by Bill Willingham, illustrated by Mark
THE FAMILY ROMANOV: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming
(History/Biography)
New! **A GAME OF THRONES: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1 by George R. R. Martin (Fantasy)
New! GIRL CODE: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser
(Memoir)
New! HERE WE ARE: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen (Non-Fiction)
HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS by Julia Alvarez (Fiction)
I AM MALALA: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai, co-
**I KILL GIANTS written by Joe Kelly, illustrated by J.M. Ken Niimura (Graphic Novel)
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances and Home
New! LUMBERJANES by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Brooke A Allen (Illustrator) (Graphic
Novel)
**MARCH by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell (Graphic Novel/Memoir)
**MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT by James Patterson (Fantasy/Action & Adventure)
**MS. MARVEL, VOL. 1: No Normal, by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona (Graphic Novel)
NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (Fiction)
NOTHING CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks (Graphic Novel)
New! **PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF by Rick Riordan (Fantasy)
THE PREGNANCY PROJECT: A Memoir, by Gaby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer (Memoir)
New! **RAT QUEENS VOLUME 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Graphic Novel)
SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING, Book One written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Steve R. Bissette and
John Totleben
SAME BUT DIFFERENT: Teen Life on the Autism Express by Holly Robinson Peete, Ryan Elizabeth
THE SHADOW HERO by Gene Luen Yang, illus, by Sonny Liew (Graphic Novel)
THE SHORT AND TRAGIC WIFE OF ROBERT PEACE by Jeff Hobbs (Nonfiction)
THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS by Mark Long and Nate Powell (Graphic Novel)
New! THE SQUARE ROOT OF SUMMER by Harriet Reuer Hapgood (Science Fiction)
THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER by Lesyle Walton (Fantasy)
**STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST: Book One, by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag (Graphic
Novel)
New! SUMMER DAYS AND SUMMER NIGHTS: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins (Short
Stories)
**TEEN TITANS: Earth One, Vol. 1, by Jeff Lemire, Rachael Dodson and Terry Dodson (Graphic Novel)
**THESE BROKEN STARS (Starbound Book 1) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Science Fiction)
THIS ONE SUMMER by Jillian Tamaki; illus. by Mariko Tamaki (Graphic Novel)
THIS STAR WON’T GO OUT: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Esther Earl, Lori Earl, Wayne
New! **TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han (Fiction)
TO TIMBUKTU: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story by Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg
(Graphic Novel/Memoir)
WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan (Fiction)
A WRINKLE IN TIME: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 by Madeleine L'Engle and Hope Larson (Graphic
Novel)