Our Favourite books for teens
Read our list of outstanding teenage books that either won or were shortlisted for the BookTrust Teenage Prize during it's running from 2003-10.
With fantasy, crime, horror and coming-of-age there is definitely something here for a book loving teen.
-
Out of Shadows
Flip -
Out of Shadows
Back in the early 1980s, Robert Jacklin doesn't want to move to the newly independent Zimbabwe with his parents, nor does he want …
; Flip
-
The Graveyard Book
Flip -
The Graveyard Book
After his family are killed, Bod is brought up in a graveyard by ghosts.
; Flip
-
The Ask and the Answer
Flip -
The Ask and the Answer
Themes of dictatorship, terrorism and privacy reign in Ness’s darker science fiction sequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go…
; Flip
-
Ostrich Boys
Flip -
Ostrich Boys
When teenager Ross Fell is killed, his closest friends are horrified by the sham and hypocrisy of his funeral.
; Flip
-
The Ant Colony
Flip -
The Ant Colony
Sam and Bo reveal their pasts in alternate chapters, each gradually facing the dysfunctional relationships and traumatic incidents…
; Flip
-
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden
Flip -
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden
This unusual crime novel is both gripping and haunting, and builds to an unforgettable ending.
; Flip
-
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Flip -
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 …
; Flip
-
The Red Necklace
Flip -
The Red Necklace
Gardner skilfully sets the scene, in which extra-sensory abilities can be turned to many uses, and where good and evil, identity a…
; Flip
-
Alex Rider Mission 7: Snakehead
Flip -
Alex Rider Mission 7: Snakehead
The latest instalment in the adventures of Alex Rider, in which he re-enters earthly events from outer space - and gets tangled up…
; Flip
-
Creature of the Night
Flip -
Creature of the Night
A teenage tearaway from tough downtown Dublin is unwillingly relocated into a rural County Clare which still believes in the Littl…
; Flip
-
The Knife That Killed Me
Flip -
The Knife That Killed Me
Paul isn't one of the tough kids, but when he ends up delivering a message from Roth, the terrifying school bully, he finds himsel…
; Flip
-
My Swordhand is Singing
Flip -
My Swordhand is Singing
Set in the seventeenth century amid the bleakness of winter in Eastern Europe, and inspired by vampire folklore, this is a superbl…
; Flip
-
The Penalty
Flip -
The Penalty
Paul Faustino is reluctantly drawn into investigating the disappearance of San Juan's teenage football prodigy El Brujito.
; Flip
-
Just In Case
Flip -
Just In Case
This quirky, off-beat novel acutely depicts the feelings of pain and alienation felt by many adolescents
; Flip
-
Here Lies Arthur
Flip -
Here Lies Arthur
The violence is darkly terrifying, the sense of landscape immediate and haunting and Gwyna/Gwyn's shifting gender permits Reeve to…
; Flip
-
The Medici Seal
Flip -
The Medici Seal
A carefully reasoned and historically informed novel about growing up and making choices
; Flip
-
Henry Tumour
Flip -
Henry Tumour
Henry Tumour is certainly a memorable book: it's funny, shocking, and thought-provoking, too. Just be warned that the language is …
; Flip
-
The Foreshadowing
Flip -
The Foreshadowing
17-year-old Sasha travels to France as a volunteer nurse in an attempt to rescue her beloved brother Tom from a terrible death. Bu…
; Flip
-
A Swift Pure Cry
Flip -
A Swift Pure Cry
Loosely based on the real life case of the Kerry babies, powerful imagery and lyrical prose is woven throughout this unforgettable…
; Flip
-
How I Live Now
Flip -
How I Live Now
Fifteen-year-old New Yorker Daisy is sent to England to spend a summer with her unconventional cousins
; Flip
-
Sugar Rush
Flip -
Sugar Rush
Shortlisted for the 2005 Booktrust Teenage Prize, this is a controversial and daring look at the gritty reality of teenage experie…
; Flip
-
The Whisper
Flip -
The Whisper
Credible, hardhitting and couched in the street language for which he is well-known, this will be welcomed by fans of Rai's fictio…
; Flip
-
Come Clean
Flip -
Come Clean
An unflinching examination of love, loss and sibling intimacy, which is both brutal and compelling
; Flip
-
Looking for JJ
Flip -
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…
; Flip
-
Rani and Sukh
Flip -
Rani and Sukh
A vivid, fast-moving take on the Romeo and Juliet story, exploring the experience of young urban British Asians as they negot…
; Flip
-
Deep Secret
Flip -
Deep Secret
A beautiful, sad and compelling story of an isolated community that must face the relentless advance of progress and a teenager wh…
; Flip
-
Fat Boy Swim
Flip -
Fat Boy Swim
This is a wonderful story, brilliantly told in the Glaswegian dialect, and despite containing distressing accounts of bullying, it…
; Flip
-
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Flip -
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
; Flip
-
Caught in the Crossfire
Flip -
Caught in the Crossfire
Oakfield is a town of white and Asian ghettos. The Patriotic Party wants a whites-only England and to this end incites race war.
; Flip
