Best Books for 12-14 year olds
In 2015, we put together a list of the 100 best books for children from the last 100 years.
The books below are ones suitable for children and teens aged 12-14.
See our best books for other age groups
Please note: This list was published in 2015. We are currently working on a revised and more up-to-date list which more adequately reflects the brilliant diversity of children's literature over the last 100 years. Please take a look at Books We Love for our reviews of current brilliant books.
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How I Live Now
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How I Live Now
Fifteen-year-old New Yorker Daisy is sent to England to spend a summer with her unconventional cousins
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Looking for JJ
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Looking for JJ
When a 10-year-old girl kills her best friend, she is convicted of manslaughter and locked away. Seven years later she is released…
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
This funny, touching and compelling novel was the winner of the inaugural Booktrust Teenage Prize
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I Capture the Castle
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I Capture the Castle
17-year-old Cassandra lives an eccentric existence with her bohemian family in a crumbling castle in the English countryside, in t…
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Mortal Engines
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Mortal Engines
London 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
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Bruno is exploring his new home at 'Out-With' when he meets Shmuel, who lives on the other side of a fence which surroun…
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Northern Lights
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Northern Lights
This extraordinary fantasy is the first book in Philip Pullman's multi-award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy
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Noughts and Crosses
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Noughts and Crosses
Callum 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
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The Knife of Never Letting Go
The first in a series, this enthralling sci-fi/fantasy novel grips readers throughout, presenting them with tough questions about …
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The Graveyard Book
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The Graveyard Book
After his family are killed, Bod is brought up in a graveyard by ghosts.
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The Hunger Games
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The Hunger Games
Welcome to Panem: its Capitol repressively rules twelve satellite Districts, enslaving the populations as workers and controlling …
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Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
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Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Welcome to the world of Georgia Nicolson - an angst-ridden teenage girl who keeps a diary to record the rollercoaster of emotions …
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The Kite Rider
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The Kite Rider
Haoyou feels powerless when the man responsible for his father's death demands to marry his mother. Determined to support her hims…
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Stormbreaker
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Stormbreaker
Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his life turned upside down on discovering that his late uncle wasn't a mild-mannered banker, b…
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Life: An Exploded Diagram
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Life: An Exploded Diagram
In this intelligent young adult novel, Clem's coming-of-age story of first love and burgeoning sexuality is woven around a tense a…
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Maggot Moon
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Maggot Moon
Combining conspiracy theory and dystopia, this hugely original novel is set in an alternate 1950s in which Britain is dominated by…
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The Fellowship of The Ring
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The Fellowship of The Ring
The 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 fin…
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The Owl Service
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The Owl Service
When Alison finds a curious dinner service in the attic, the discovery sets off a strange chain of events that look set to affect …
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Watership Down
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Watership Down
Young 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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The Ruby in the Smoke
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The Ruby in the Smoke
Determined to discover the truth about her father's tragic death, Sally Lockhart is plunged into a dangerous and terrifying advent…
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