Best Young adult books

The 200 highest-rated Young adult books, scored from 186.2K reader ratings.

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Sort byDecadeMinimum ratingsAdaptation200 results

By year of first publication, 1905–2025. The busiest stretch is 2010–2019, with 92. Select a bar to narrow the list.

1
8.98.9 / 10
Kingdom of AshSarah J. Maas1K ratings“Kingdom of Ash” closes the Throne of Glass series with nearly a thousand pages of war, and it leans on bonds built over six earlier books.Our view
2
8.88.8 / 10
Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJ. K. Rowling7.1K ratingsThe final novel is a dark wartime quest that builds toward the confrontation the whole series has promised.Our view
3
8.88.8 / 10
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireJ. K. Rowling7.5K ratingsThe fourth book is where the series grows up: the tone darkens, the stakes rise, and a tournament Harry never chose to enter gives the story a clear spine.Our view

Why Kingdom of Ash is #1

Kingdom of Ash (Sarah J. Maas) scores 8.9/10 from 1K ratings — 0.1 points ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in second place.

The score is a weighted average across 3 independent rating sources. A title with few ratings is pulled toward the category average, so a handful of enthusiastic reviews cannot outrank a book that thousands of readers have judged. To keep the list varied, the top 20 holds at most two books from one series and three by one author; the rest follow further down. Method →

For teens, or about teens?

“Young adult” is a shelf, not an age: it holds adventures for ten-year-olds and novels with violence and sex. Check first.

A hero a bit olderTeens like reading about someone a bit older; a younger hero can feel childish.
Adults don’t solve it for themGood YA takes teenage problems seriously and lets characters own the consequences of their choices.
Read the first chapter yourselfFifteen minutes with chapter one says more about tone and content than the cover, and opens a conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Which title here has the most ratings?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J. K. Rowling) — 11.9K ratings and 8.6/10, which puts it at #53 on this list.

What is the best book of recent years in Young adult?

Of the books here published since 2022, Sunrise on the Reaping (2025) ranks highest: #10, 8.6/10.