Best Books: 12-14
In 2015, we put together a list of the 100 best books for children from the last 100 years.
The books below are the ones suitable for 12-14 year olds.
Interested in seeing all 100 books across the different age groups?
- See what else is in our 100 best books list
- Take the quiz to see how many you've read!
- See the books we love this month
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How I Live Now
Author: Meg Rosoff
Publisher: PenguinFifteen-year-old New Yorker Daisy is sent to England to spend a summer with her unconventional cousins
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Looking for JJ
Author: Anne Cassidy
Publisher: ScholasticWhen a 10-year-old girl kills her best friend, she is convicted of manslaughter and locked away. Seven years later she is released on licence with a new identity.
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: Red FoxThis funny, touching and compelling novel was the winner of the inaugural Booktrust Teenage Prize
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I Capture the Castle
Author: Dodie Smith
Publisher: Penguin17-year-old Cassandra lives an eccentric existence with her bohemian family in a crumbling castle in the English countryside, in this delightful classic coming-of-age story.
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Mortal Engines
Author: Philip Reeve
Publisher: ScholasticLondon is on the move again: the traction city trawls the world on wheels, capturing and eating smaller towns.
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Author: John Boyne
Publisher: Random HouseBruno is exploring his new home at 'Out-With' when he meets Shmuel, who lives on the other side of a fence which surrounds a large camp in the grounds.
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Northern Lights
Author: Philip Pullman
Publisher: ScholasticThis extraordinary fantasy is the first book in Philip Pullman's multi-award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy
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Coram Boy
Author: Jamila Gavin
Publisher: EgmontCoram Boy is the story of Toby, saved from an African ship as a child, and Aaron, the illegitimate son of the heir to a great estate.
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Noughts and Crosses
Author: Malorie Blackman
Publisher: Random HouseCallum is a Nought but his best friend Sephy is a Cross - the daughter of one of the most influential politicians in the country.
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The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker BooksThe first in a series, this enthralling sci-fi/fantasy novel grips readers throughout, presenting them with tough questions about identity, ethics and the nature of truth.
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The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: BloomsburyAfter his family are killed, Bod is brought up in a graveyard by ghosts.
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The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Colins
Publisher: ScholasticWelcome to Panem: its Capitol repressively rules twelve satellite Districts, enslaving the populations as workers and controlling them through hunger.
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Revolver
Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Publisher: Orion Children's Books'They say dead men tell no tales, but they're wrong. Even the dead tell stories.'
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Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Author: Louise Rennison
Publisher: HarperCollinsWelcome to the world of Georgia Nicolson - an angst-ridden teenage girl who keeps a diary to record the rollercoaster of emotions and experiences she faces every day
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The Kite Rider
Author: Geraldine McCaughrean
Publisher: Oxford University PressHaoyou feels powerless when the man responsible for his father's death demands to marry his mother. Determined to support her himself, the young boy joins a travelling circus.
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Stormbreaker
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Publisher: Walker BooksFourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his life turned upside down on discovering that his late uncle wasn't a mild-mannered banker, but instead a field agent for MI6.
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Junk
Author: Melvin Burgess
Publisher: Andersen PressTar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn't want to be tied down to anyone or anything. Gemma wants to fly - but she can't fly forever...
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Life: An Exploded Diagram
Author: Mal Peet
Publisher: Walker Books LtdIn this intelligent young adult novel, Clem's coming-of-age story of first love and burgeoning sexuality is woven around a tense account of the mounting Cuban Missile Crisis
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Maggot Moon
Author: Sally Gardner
Publisher: Hot Key BooksCombining conspiracy theory and dystopia, this hugely original novel is set in an alternate 1950s in which Britain is dominated by the ruthlessly oppressive forces of The Motherland.
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The Fellowship of The Ring
Author: JRR Tolkein
Publisher: HarperCollinsThe first part of J R R Tolkien's epic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, this is the story of young hobbit Frodo Baggins, who finds himself faced with an immense and terrible duty.
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The Owl Service
Author: Alan Garner
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's BooksWhen Alison finds a curious dinner service in the attic, the discovery sets off a strange chain of events that look set to effect everyone's lives.
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Watership Down
Author: Richard Adams
Publisher: PenguinYoung rabbit Fiver is convinced that a great evil is about to befall the warren where he lives - but no one will listen to him.
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Forever
Author: Judy Blume
Publisher: Macmillan Children's BooksSeventeen-year-old Katherine meets Michael at a party. The two of them like each other immediately, and soon fall in love - but are they ready to take their relationship to the next level?
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The Ruby in the Smoke
Author: Philip Pullman
Publisher: ScholasticDetermined to discover the truth about her father's tragic death, Sally Lockhart is plunged into a dangerous and terrifying adventure that takes her to the dark heart of Victorian London.
