25+ Best Back To School Books for Young Adult Readers
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Back-to-school season always feels like a fresh start—and what better way to celebrate than with a stack of excellent YA books?
Back-to-school season is here, and while you’re stocking up on notebooks and finding that perfect first-day outfit, don’t forget the best accessory of all—a great book. These YA reads don’t always take place in classrooms or hallways, but they capture the heart of the teenage years and the kinds of secrets that can change everything.
From epic fantasies and dark mysteries to heart-stirring romances and powerful coming-of-age stories, these books are filled with the emotions, discoveries, and unforgettable moments that define the teen years.
So whether you’re a teen today or remember those years vividly, these books are the perfect picks for the season.
Happy Reading!
If you’re looking for all the upcoming books, take a look at
YA New Book Releases
Our Infinite Fates
by Laura Steven
Evelyn remembers every past life—and in each one, she dies before her eighteenth birthday. Always at the hands of Arden, the mysterious being tied to her soul. But in this life, she has more to lose: a younger sister who depends on her. To survive, Evelyn must find Arden first, unravel the curse binding them, and resist falling in love all over again. Each choice carries danger, every heartbeat a race against death, in this sweeping tale of fate and forbidden passion
Sisters in the Wind
by Angeline Boulley
After captivating readers with Firekeeper’s Daughter, author Angeline Boulley returns with another powerful Ojibwe story of identity and resilience. Lucy has spent years drifting through the foster system, learning to trust no one. Then Mr. Jameson and his fierce companion reveal she has Ojibwe roots—and a sister she never knew. Suddenly, a grandmother, siblings, and a home filled with love seem within reach. But danger shadows her every step, threatening to steal the future she longs for.
Contemporary YA Favorites
Clap When You Land
by Elizabeth Acevedo
Camino waits for her father’s summer visits in the Dominican Republic; Yahaira worships him from New York. When his plane crashes, both girls are left broken by grief—and shocked to learn of each other’s existence. Strangers by distance and secrets, they must navigate betrayal, identity, and the ties of blood. Told in lyrical verse, Acevedo weaves a powerful portrait of loss and the unexpected bonds that bloom in its wake.
With The Fire on High
by Elizabeth Acevedo
Here’s again another heartfelt story from Elizabeth Acevedo, this time about ambition, responsibility, and following one’s passion. Emoni Santiago has never had it easy—raising her daughter, supporting her abuela, and putting her own dreams aside. But in the kitchen, she feels free, creating dishes that carry flavors of magic. When her high school offers a culinary arts class and the chance to travel to Spain, Emoni dares to imagine a future she once thought impossible. Balancing responsibility and ambition, she must learn that sometimes following your passion is the bravest choice of all.
Check & Mate
by Ali Hazelwood
From romance powerhouse Ali Hazelwood comes a swoony YA debut about strategy, second chances, and love on—and off—the chessboard. Mallory Greenleaf swore off the game after it tore her family apart, but a surprise win against world champion Nolan Sawyer pulls her back in. As Mallory climbs the ranks, she’s drawn into both the thrill of competition and the unexpected chemistry with the rival she can’t ignore.
Throwback
by Maurene Goo
Sam has never understood her mother’s strict expectations—until a fight throws her back to the 1990s, face-to-face with her mom at seventeen. Stranded in a world of pagers, mixtapes, and outdated attitudes, Sam must mend their relationship while navigating her unexpected feelings for Jamie, a sweet football player. With time running out, she realizes that fixing the past may be the only way to truly understand her future.
Everything Everything
by Nicola Yoon
Nicola Yoon’s bestselling debut explores love, risk, and the fragile beauty of living through the story of Maddy, a girl who has spent all seventeen years sealed inside her house, allergic to the outside world. Her life is safe, quiet, and predictable—until Olly moves in next door. With his black clothes and daring smile, Olly tempts her into taking risks her body was never supposed to survive. Notes become stolen glances, stolen glances become love, and love becomes the one risk she can’t resist.
Better than the Movies
by Lynn Painter
Liz Buxbaum has always dreamed of a cinematic love story with her longtime crush, Michael. Now that he’s back in town, she’ll do anything to catch his attention—even teaming up with her infuriating neighbor, Wes Bennet, who’s somehow friends with Michael. But as Liz and Wes stage schemes to win Michael’s heart, Liz discovers she actually enjoys spending time with Wes. In a swirl of prom plans, banter, and unexpected feelings, Liz must rethink everything she thought she knew about romance—and about herself.
Save for Later
All The Bright Places
by Jennifer Niven
Now a Netflix film, Jennifer Niven’s unforgettable novel tells the heart-wrenching story of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey, two teens brought together on the ledge of their school’s bell tower. Finch is fascinated by death, constantly imagining ways he might end his life. Violet, shattered by her sister’s death, lives only for graduation and escape. Their unexpected bond grows into a powerful connection: Finch helps Violet rediscover how to live in the moment, even as his own world begins to collapse.
The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros’s modern classic captures the voice of a young girl growing up in Chicago and searching for her place in the world. Esperanza Cordero chronicles her neighborhood through a series of vivid vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—as she dreams of a life beyond Mango Street.
The Fault in our Stars
by John Green
Hazel has lived under the shadow of terminal cancer for as long as she can remember, resigned to a life defined by illness. Everything changes when she meets Augustus Waters, a witty and charming boy who turns support group meetings into something extraordinary, and their romance becomes a journey of laughter, heartbreak, and unforgettable moments.
Thrilling & Emotional YA Stories
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
1930s Germany, 1990s Cuba, and war-torn Syria—three children separated by decades but bound by the same desperate search for refuge. Josef escapes Nazi persecution, Isabel braves the ocean to flee unrest, and Mahmoud journeys through bombed-out streets in hopes of survival. Each step brings dangers—betrayal, loss, and fear—but also flickers of resilience. Their stories collide in unexpected ways, revealing how history echoes across generations. Gratz weaves a harrowing yet hopeful tale that asks what survival—and humanity—truly cost.
Fire Keeper’s Daughter
by Angeline Boulley
With her bestselling debut, Angeline Boulley introduced readers to the sharp, unforgettable voice of Daunis Fontaine. Living between her Ojibwe community and her white hometown, Daunis has never fully belonged to either world. When tragedy strikes and a shocking murder shatters her life, she’s pulled into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug. Teaming with Jamie, a boy who isn’t what he seems, Daunis must balance her knowledge of chemistry with her Ojibwe heritage to uncover the truth. But the deeper she goes, the more she risks losing everything—including herself.
All My Rage
by Sabaa Tahir
In a small desert town in the United States, Sal is drowning under debt, grief, and a motel that’s slipping through his fingers, while Noor is playing a deadly game of secrecy to break free from her uncle’s grip. Their fractured friendship festers with unresolved anger, but the dangers surrounding them won’t wait for reconciliation. Each choice they make edges them closer to either salvation or ruin, and the line between ally and enemy blurs. As the past claws its way into the present, both must face the monsters they’ve avoided.
The Last Story of Mina Lee
by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
A Reese’s Book Club Pick, Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s debut blends mystery and family drama into an unforgettable mother–daughter story. When Margot finds her mother, Mina, dead under mysterious circumstances, she begins to uncover the truths of Mina’s hidden past as a Korean War orphan and undocumented immigrant. Through a story of love, resilience, and sacrifice, Margot discovers just how much she never knew about her mother’s life and the ties that bound them together.
Truly Devious
by Maureen Johnson
Stevie Bell arrives at Ellingham Academy eager to solve a famous cold case: the kidnapping of the school founder’s family. But when the mysterious “Truly, Devious” resurfaces, the past collides with the present, and Stevie must face a new string of murders that hit dangerously close to home.
Top YA Book Series
Anatomy
by Dana Schwartz
Hazel Sinnett wants to be a surgeon, not a society wife. Denied formal training because of her gender, she strikes a dangerous bargain: pass the medical exam on her own or give up her dream forever. Enter Jack Currer, a resurrection man who digs up corpses for a living. As Hazel dissects bodies and defies convention, she and Jack uncover a sinister conspiracy in Edinburgh’s shadows—where disease, disappearance, and death stalk every corner.
My Life with the Walter Boys
by Ali Novak
Now adapted into a successful Netflix series, Ali Novak’s Wattpad phenomenon blends family chaos and slow-burn romance in the story of Jackie Howard. She had everything planned: perfect grades, a perfect future, a perfect image. But when her parents die in an accident, Jackie is sent across the country to live with the Walters. Struggling to hold on to the ideals of her old world, Jackie clashes with ranch life and with brothers who test her patience—and her heart. As she adjusts to this new and chaotic reality, Jackie begins to wonder if perfection might have been the wrong dream all along.
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Now adapted into a powerful film, Angie Thomas’s groundbreaking novel tells the story of Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old who moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy prep school she attends. That uneasy balance shatters when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. His death becomes a national headline, but only Starr knows what really happened that night. Caught between demands for justice and threats against her family, she must decide whether to speak her truth—no matter the cost.
Save for Later
Divine Rivals
by Rebecca Ross
Rebecca Ross introduces readers to a lush fantasy of gods, war, and star-crossed romance. The gods have awakened, and the world trembles under their war. Iris Winnow, desperate to hold her family together, pours her heart into letters slipped under her wardrobe door—letters that mysteriously reach Roman Kitt, her rival at the Gazette. What begins as anonymous correspondence deepens into a bond neither expected. But love cannot stay hidden when the battlefield looms. Together, they must face the front lines of war, where both gods and fate conspire to test them.
One of Us is Lying
by Karen M. McManus
Now a hit series, Karen M. McManus’s breakout thriller combines high school drama with a whodunit twist. At Bayview High, detention should be ordinary—until Simon, the creator of the school gossip app, dies before the hour is up. Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper are left behind, each hiding secrets Simon planned to expose. Investigators call it murder, and suddenly the Bayview Four are suspects in a crime they all had motive for. Whispers spread, alliances shift, and danger closes in. Everyone has something to lose, but someone is willing to kill to keep the truth buried.
The Stolen Heir
by Holly Black
Eight years after the Battle of the Serpent, Lady Nore has risen again in the icy north, wielding dark magic to build an army of creatures bound to her will. Suren, the lost child queen of the Court of Teeth, hides in the human world, scarred by her past yet bound to break dangerous bargains that entangle mortals. When Bogdana the storm hag hunts her, Suren finds unexpected rescue in Prince Oak, the heir to Elfhame—and the boy she once despised.
Historical YA Must-Reads
The Fountains of Silence
by Ruta Sepetys
From master storyteller Ruta Sepetys comes a haunting love story set in Franco’s Spain. Tourists and foreign businessmen flood Madrid under the lure of sunshine and wine, but shadows linger from the Spanish Civil War. Daniel, an aspiring photographer from Texas, hopes to connect with his mother’s homeland but instead finds his lens capturing truths hidden behind closed doors. Through Ana, a Spanish girl burdened by her family’s struggles, he uncovers secrets the regime wants buried. As peril circles them both, Sepetys reveals the devastating cost of silence in a country under dictatorship.
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak’s modern classic delivers a poignant story of humanity and hope in Nazi Germany. In 1939, Liesel Meminger finds her place in stolen books, shared with neighbors during air raids, and with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. Guided by her kind foster father, her words become an act of quiet rebellion against tyranny.
The Downstairs Girl
by Stacey Lee
Jo Kuan spends her days serving the spoiled daughter of Atlanta’s elite. But by night, hidden behind a pseudonym, she becomes “Miss Sweetie,” the anonymous voice shaking up society with bold newspaper advice. As her column gains influence, so does the risk of exposure. A mysterious letter prompts Jo to search for the truth about her family, even as powerful enemies close in. Caught between silence and visibility, Jo must decide if she’s ready to step fully into the light.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne
John Boyne’s fable-like tale captures childhood innocence against the horrors of the Holocaust. Berlin, 1942: Bruno’s family moves to a remote house near a concentration camp, where his father has been promoted. Lonely and curious, Bruno explores beyond the garden and meets Shmuel, a boy his own age on the other side of a barbed-wire fence. Their secret friendship grows even as the truth of Shmuel’s life remains hidden. But innocence cannot shield them forever, and their bond leads to devastating consequences.
Ready to dive in? Pick your next YA read from this list and let these incredible stories of friendship, love, and school life brighten your back-to-school season.
