The Ultimate Teen Book Guide

by Daniel Hahn (Editor), Leonie Flynn (Editor), Susan Reuben (Editor)

Stuck for something to read? Whether you're searching for a book to blow your mind and change your life, or just a light read for the beach, The Ultimate Teen Book Guide is the perfect place to start.

The book includes recommendations from teen reviewers and your favorite authors—over 700 books total—so prepare to be inspired! Whether you like fantasy, horror, chick lit, graphic novels, sci-fi, crime . . . From true classics to must-read cult fiction, from the top award-winners to up-to-the minute bestsellers, there's something for everyone.

You'll also find special genre features written by expert authors—like E. Lockhart on Love and Relationships, and Patrick Jones on Short and Gripping Books—plus Top Ten Lists by genre for the perfect place to start, and results of our Top Ten Surveys where you decided which books and authors were the best in their categories.

Each rave review comes with suggestions for what to read next, so with over 1,000 recommended books total, you'll never be without a good book again!

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Reference, Teen

448 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2005

About the author

British writer, editor and translator; author of a number of works of non-fiction, including biographies, history, and reading guides and for children and teenagers.

His translation of The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2007. He is also the translator of Pelé's autobiography, and of work by novelists José Luís Peixoto, Philippe Claudel, María Dueñas, José Saramago, Eduardo Halfon, Gonçalo M. Tavares and others.

A former chair of the Translators Association and national programme director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, he is currently chair of the Society of Authors and on the board of trustees of a number of organisations working with literature, literacy and free expression, including English PEN. He is one of the judges for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.

adapted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[BirdiesBookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! I found so many books that I can't wait to read. I will definitely be revisiting this for many years. Highly recommended!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is An Ingenious Guide, But I Wish it was reprinted with More Recent Teen Book Titles.

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Short but useful descriptions on every book and the recommendations at the side kept me in reading material for the past few years. Possibly the best book guide ever, at the very least the best one I've ever come across (and I've come across quite a few). Such a beautiful array of titles from all genres and to suit all ages, I loved scouring this book for hours to decide what I should read next. A teen must-have.

[Mauro]

I

[Catherine Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title says a lot - reading this made me realize how much reading I have to do to become even slightly well-read in the teen fiction category. The enthusiasm of the reviewers was uplifting, and their descriptions give a good indication of whether you want to give each title a try. It's British, and heavy on British writers. A lot of the books in here are not your typical teen fiction (many were written for adults but enjoyed by teens or with teen protagonists), so it's a good guide for book-lovers of all ages. There's an iTunes-style "if you like this, you might also like these" sidebar with each entry. I recommend the guide to anyone feeling bored of books - there's tons to discover here, from classics to recent titles. Of the 700 titles it decribes, I've made a list of about 100 to read. Wish me luck.

[Robin (Saturndoo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great source for finding books for teens and adults that read YA books. I like the format of this book as it has neat features such as the top ten genre lists, the "NEXT" box, the special features,featurettes and poll results. This is an awesome book about books comprised of 700 books in all genres from classics to contemporary novels. After reading this book, I have made lists of series,authors and books to add to my ever growing TBR mountain. This will be a book that I will consistently refer back to when looking for that next great read.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Guide.

[Melanie Rippon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading even if you aren't a teenager - great stories aren't age-specific & this guide covers so many of them! This is the 2010 edition & no later editions that I know of but still an amazing resource.

Genres include:- biography, adventure, Gothic, romance, humour, sci-fi, fantasy, "chick lit", horror, poetry, crime, thrillers, classics, cult fiction - not just teen/YA but adult too. Contributors include:- authors, journalists, editors, booksellers, librarians, students, news correspondents, literary agents.

There are longer articles highlighting different genres, as well as lists of prize-winning books or books on a particular theme. The majority of the book details the individual books, with a difficulty "star" rating (1 = easy; 2 = intermediate; 3 = harder [or more adult in theme]), with a short review by one of the contributors. Certain books are highlighted as "star titles" with a couple of reviews. Each review has a "next" featurette listing other books to try if you liked the book reviewed & want to try something similar. If a book in the "next" list is in the guide, it will have "UTBG & page number" e.g. UTBG205 after it.

The back of the book has short profiles of each contributor & an alphabetical (by surname) index of all the authors; any of their books listed in the guide are also detailed, with the relevant page numbers.

[Robert Bagnall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still searching for the book - or something like it - that I stumbled across decades ago, which took the form of ‘if you like this, you’ll love that’. This isn’t quite it, but offers 750+ pen portraits of books, not all ‘kids’’ books by any means, plus signposts to further literary adventure. Thorough, but I’m left wondering both how many extra books I would have read if I were still a teenager, or how many then-recent books remain in public consciousness. Also, some of the star ratings for readability were a tad perverse: Stephen Fry most difficult; Tolkien easiest?

[Gina Andrews]

Got a teenager? Then you need this book! Even the most reluctant reader will find a book the he will actually finish then look for more. And for the teen who can't get enough books just about every genre is represented and each main selection has other recommendations to read, either by the same author or in the same vein. A must for any teen, young adult or anyone else looking for that next book.

[Cindy Huskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a librarian's dream!

This volume contains short synopses and book reviews of YA, contemporary, and classics by teens, librarians, and popular authors. There are also featured Top 10 lists, award winners, and recommendations for what to read next.

[Caitlín K · Rating 2 out of 5]

This obviously isn't a real pleasure read, so it's harder for me to rate than normal, but I didn't think it was that well done. I previously read Book Crush: For Kids and Teens-Recommended Reading for Every Mood Moment and Interest which was much more organized. In TUTBG, books were listed alphabetically by title, so I had to skim the summary of each book (over 700) to find out if it was even remotely interesting to me.
Maybe alphabetical arrangement is good for more narrow-minded readers because they might stumble upon something of a different genre and enjoy it. But personally, I'm particularly interested in historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary "issue" fiction and don't feel like looking at every single other book.
Another disappointment was that a large portion of the books listed were popular things like Harry Potter, Twilight, His Dark Materials, etc. which most people have heard of and are either not interested in or have already read.
I did find a few new reads (the titles of most of which probably begin with letters A - H because I got tired of looking after a while), but it wasn't a huge help.

[Trevor Oakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay -- I didn't read every word on every page, but I thumbed through the whole thing, reading some book reviews, sidebars, and other bits. One word: awesome. Just awesome. This is a real-world, truly useful bit of reader's advisory reference for all of us who serve, or may serve, teen readers in the library - or in our families! It's quick -- you won't be wasting time thumbing through tons of content to get to the good stuff. There are plenty of new teen lit works, some graphic novels, and books published for adults reviewed with flash talks of read-alikes in an accompanying text box for each entry. I love this book and it's inspired me to really weed the old crap on my professional reference shelf. If you're not steeped in teen lit, you'll love this. If you are, then you'll really, really love this!

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This British book combines brief summary blurbs - fairly standard - with side-bars of "what to read next" if you like the main entry. This makes UTBG a better-than-average tool for librarians, teachers, and teen readers alike. The are several two-page entries on particular genres, listing the most salient volumes to read in that category, and the UK slant feels a bit different from what the typical America might have suggested.

I also enjoy that the blurbs come from librarians, teachers, teens, and authors. There are some interesting connections to be made when the fan of Uglies can see what books Scott Westerfield likes. Although it will no doubt become dated, as of 2008, this is an excellent resource.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out all day from work yesterday (and now today) with some sort of bug, I was able to read through this entire book and can easily and highly recommend this for teens, parents, and teachers. There are a lot of fantastic books in this compilation, and many I look forward to reading. I think adults often neglect YA lit because of the negative stereotypes it receives, but there are so many good YA books that adults can enjoy. You can skip the fluff and read the quality - this book will help you do that.

I plan on starting a book group designed around this book, so if you are interested, stay tuned.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended for MS and HS libraries. There are brief reviews of over 700 books, arranged by title, each with its own “Next?” suggestions. Each review is accompanied by an age recommendation (i.e. 12+, 14+, 16+) I did not agree with every one (14+ for Hugo Cabret?), but it is a good place to start. The reviews are written by students, librarians and authors, and many could be used as brief booktalks. The original edition was a British compilation, but most of the books in this edition will be familiar to an American audience. This would be a great addition to any MS or HS library.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has pretty good reccomendations, and it's true to its description. It offers a wide range of books from light reading, serious books and they are classified well. I found quite a number of new books that interest me, but it's a pity it doesn't include some books that should have been in there. Too risqué perhaps. I personally would love to see lesser stereotype teenage fiction, and those polls are really pointless. Most of them consist of Harry Potter and again, other stereotype teenage fiction and it doesn't really bring out the best books out there.

[bjneary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 2nd updated book is a must for any high school or public library serving teens. With many newer titles added, teens and librarians and teachers will love the chapters, such as Pink Lit, Off the Rails, Cult Books, etc. and also the alphabetical order of each title includes a synopsis by students, teachers and famous authors like Catherine Fisher. I wish the US would get going and get this gem into their stores, etc. I got mine through Amazon UK. I am going to enjoy passing this one around!

[Sonya Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great go to guide when you need inspiration for your next read. The 700 titles cover a wide range of genres and the brief reviews often offer more insight than the book jackets. My daughter found she had read many of the suggested books already, but with the expansive amount of suggestions and "what next" options that didn't always have descriptions, she discovered plenty other titles to look for. After renewing her copy from the library the maximum allowable times and requesting I do the same, I finally bought it used online.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok reference book of "YA" books, which includes a lot of adult as well. It has reviews from librarians, teens, etc., with suggestions of what to read next for each. Interesting to browse, but I'm not loving it. These resources lose value as soon as they're published when they're unable to include new books. The books are listed in alpha order, which makes it only useful for browsing or knowing what books you may be interested in. I got as far as Ella Enchanted when the teen reviewer mentioned Char's uncle wanting to kill him and quit - this is a review of the MOVIE.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was lucky that I didn't have to purchase this required library school text because my predecessor at one of the school libraries I work at left it behind. Really the SJSU SLIS professors ought to just assign reading of booklists from magazines and journals in the library subscription databases and then require their students to subscribe for the year to Voice of Youth Advocates or School Library Journal and then spin off class discussions from topics touched on in the field's periodicals.

[Erin (The Grateful Poet) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book gave great insight as to what to read if you like young adult books. there were quite a few books that i've already read, many that i had already heard of and were already on my to-read shelf, and PLENTY that i added as i went along. total it recommends way more than the 700 books it says it will.. each book has a little blurb on the side indicating what to read next if you like the one you're learning about. all in all it was extremely informative.

[Hag of the Dribble · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good resource but like all books of this type it is out of date so quickly that it's really only worth a higher rating in the year it is published. I also found the reviews a bit skimpy in terms of content and that they really just cover the same info you can read on the book jacket. I did really like the genre top ten in the first part of the book and the fact that teenagers were providing the reviews in some cases. Probably a better resource for teens than Librarians.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book with short synopsis of a wide variety of books for teens. So many, that as many others have said before, you realize how many you have left to read. While I question the inclusion of some of the titles (which are dated or not really teen books), this is still a book that school and public libraries should have as a reference to help young people find that next great book.

Good stuff.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short commentaries on over 700 'teen' books by authors, librarians, and teens that are arranged in alphabetical order by title

Good thing: I added several books to my 'to-read' list based on this book.

Bad thing: I sometimes couldn't tell what the book was about from the commentary since some were mostly 'I love this book!" which is great, but I also want to know the topic. I'd like to have the date of publication included.

[Rakisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect book for high school teachers, parents, and young adult librarians to provide readers' advisory. With color, illustrations, reviews by teens, and lists by genre, The Ultimate Teen Book Guide is also an excellent book to let Teens do their own readers' advisory without looking like a nerd.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really great guide to over 700 titles to promote to teens. The guide includes many titles published for adults, but that may be enjoyed by a teen audience. Reviews are written by authors, librarians, publishers and teens. This is a book to use as a professional resource or for teens to read themselves. A must have for any library serving teens and tweens.

[Maryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absoloutely FANTASIC GUIDE for teenagers, at east 200 of the books that I mark as to-read, following this review, will be from this book.
The reviews are written so well, and I enjoy looking through the guide; makes me want to read all the books...
If you are a librarian and don't have this book in your library...ORDER IT NOW.

[Apoorva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows a lot of good books. So I am going to take books from that books and continue to read over the summer. I would definitely tell anyone who can't find a good book to read and to refer to this book because it has a lot of good books and reviews.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit and miss (it probably deserves more like three and a half stars, but Goodreads won't allow me), but still a good read. I discovered lots of great books when I was in my mid-teens because of this book.