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What is Young Adult fiction? Plus Children’s Book Specialist Steph’s picks for teen readers

Young adult fiction books and fantasy fiction books for teenagers

August 16th 2024

Young Adult fiction is such a valuable resource when it comes to engaging young people and fostering a love of reading in your school and community. In this blog, Children’s Book Specialist Steph offers support around choosing Young Adult novels, and how you can introduce the right books at the right time to your students.

Steph | Children's Book Specialist

Stephanie joined the Peters team in 2020 after working as a secondary school librarian and science teaching assistant.

Her areas of expertise are KS3 and Accelerated Reader books, and she is a firm advocate for the importance of access to books for everyone.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading horror, crime, mystery and thriller titles.

What is Young Adult Fiction?

Generally described as books aimed at readers who are 13-18 and into their early adulthood, these books will usually have stories with more advanced themes.

They will focus on areas that teens may struggle with or want to find out more about, such as finding their identity, friendships, sex and relationships. A lot of young adult stories can focus on teenagers who are transitioning into adulthood and will reflect the diversity and challenges of modern-day life.

When should you introduce Young Adult fiction to readers?

The right time depends on the individual student’s maturity and reading level. Look for signs from the reader: are they showing interest in more mature topics?

Start with introducing books that engage their interests and encourage reading for pleasure to make the transition to Young Adult more enjoyable. For example, recommend fantasy fiction books for teenagers from the genres they like, such as Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror.

If you lead a book group or use guided reading books for classroom activities, you can discuss more mature themes together, as well as read older books for teenagers to also help ease the transition.

Ultimately, allow your students to make their own choices when picking from this new selection. Make sure you have a diverse selection of Young Adult fiction available to choose from. If you need advice when it comes to growing your Young Adult selection, we can help.

"A good way to engage young adult readers is to give them stories that they are unable to put down. Young Adult fiction covers a wide range of genres, so one way to do this is to focus on a particular genre such as crime, or horror."

What genres are popular in Young Adult fiction?

Crime thrillers

Fast-paced mysteries keep teen readers hooked until they discover the truth – or a twist. There’s a book for all tastes, from thrillers handling pressing contemporary issues like The Boy Who Steals Houses by C G Drews, to supernatural crossovers like All the Hidden Monsters by Amie Jordan.

Crime bestsellers One of Us is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder have TV adaptations, so if your students enjoy the television show, recommend them the sequels.

Horror

A frightful read can grip a reader and get them talking to their peers all about the story. But don’t forget to check the content advisory, as some horror stories are for older teens.

Several of our favourite horrors are part of a series, including the howling Bite Risk by S J Wills, Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant, and zombie-fest Wranglestone by Darren Charlton. So, if your teen readers aren’t too scared, there’s more for them to read (and scream) about!

Romantasy

Romantasy is a growing genre in the older end of Young Adult fiction’s age range, with a strong fanbase on social media sites like TikTok. These fantasy fiction books for teenagers are where the romance element is as important as the setting and is an integral part of the story.

Our picks include myth reimaginings Girl Goddess Queen by Bea Fitzgerald and Gilded by Marissa Meyer, as well as new titles from seminal romantasy authors like Holly Black.