My daughter has always been a bookworm and often spends a lot of time on our travels reading. Since it is the time of year when we are all struggling with what to buy for holiday gifts, especially for teen girls since all they seem to want are their phones, I thought I would put together a guide to gifts for teen book lovers.
So if you have a teen who loves to read young adult books, take a look at this gift guide for book lovers. I’ve included some of the best new book releases for teens, as well as some great book accessories and book-related gifts.
Hannah reading during our Alaska cruise
Gift Guide for Teen Book Lovers: Books
I've included a few of my daughter's favorite young adult series, new releases, and old favorites to give a mix to suit everyone's taste (but yes, this list is a bit fantasy heavy.)
Blackout: A Novel
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Amazon.com
Blackout: A Novel was voted by teens as the winner of the Rhode Island Teen Book Award for 2023. Authored by six acclaimed writers, this heartwarming novel takes place during a NYC summer blackout.
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Gilded (Gilded Duology Book 1) by Marissa Meyer
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Amazon.com
Marissa Meyer is a fantasy-author favorite of teen boys and girls alike as she adapts classic fairytales to a fantasy world. Gilded is her latest, based on the story of Rumpelstiltskin. However, if your teen hasn't yet tried Cinder or Renegades, pick those up as well!
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I Must Betray You
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Amazon.com
No one does young adult historical fiction quite as well as Ruta Sepetys and I Must Betray You is one of my personal favorites of hers. This novel tells the story of communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation from time not-often covered in history class.
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Warcross by Marie Lu
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Amazon.com
The Warcross Duology by Marie Lu is another favorite. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.
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Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus
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Amazon.com
Karen McManus followed up her hit "One of Us is Lying" with a new page-turning mystery. Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher’s body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she’s determined to find out what really happened.
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Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
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Amazon.com
One of my favorite books of last year (yes, I enjoy YA books too!) was Firekeeper's Daughter. Soon to be adapted for Netflix, Firekeeper's Daughter follows the journey of 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine as she finds herself living two disparate lives, one as a loving daughter and one as a confidential informant to the FBI. After witnessing a murder, she must choose between protecting the people she loves or protecting her tribal community.
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Throne of Glass Box Set by Sarah J. Maas
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Amazon.com
The Throne of Glass series from Sarah J. Maas has been out for a few years but it is one of my daughter's all-time favorites. Just keep in mind that this is for mature teens. There is a lot of violence and the romance starts out tame but really heats up by the third or fourth book and may be a little steamier than you would approve of depending on the age and the kid.
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All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
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Amazon.com
I have recently been raiding my teen’s bookshelf and I agree that All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven was an amazing read. It does deal with issues of teen depression and suicide so note the trigger warning. However, it was moving and insightful. And yes, I cried. If your teen likes John Green, I think they will like Jennifer Niven too. This has been made into a Netflix movie so you can do a book and movie comparison.
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Six of Crows Boxed Set: Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
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Amazon.com
Another all-time favorite fantasy series is the Six Crows / Crooked Kingdom series.
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Today Tonight Tomorrow
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Amazon.com
Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.
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Zodiac by Romina Russell
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Amazon.com
For those that like astrology (and astronomy), this first book of a series of four would be a good choice. This sci-fi series was a New York Times Bestseller.
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Ace of Spades
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Amazon.com
Described as Gossip Girl meets Get Out , Ace of Spades is a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon and Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully.
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Runestone Saga: Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima
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Amazon.com
For those that love mythology, this is a tale of sweeping adventure, breathtaking twists of fate, and immersive worlds based on Norse mythology.
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Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
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Amazon.com
In this prequel to The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.
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Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
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Amazon.com
This heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance will be a favorite for fans of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Kristina Forest’s I Wanna Be Where You Are.
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How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
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Amazon.com
This award–winning novel that’s an irresistible romance starring a Mexican American teen who discovers love and profound truths about the universe when she spends her summer on a road trip across the country.
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Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
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A scrappy maid must outsmart both palace nobles and Low Gods in a new YA fantasy by Margaret Owen, author of the Merciful Crow series.
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