New Classics of Teen Literature

by Kathryn Erskine
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11 books
We tend to think of the same novels for teens that we grew up reading, even our parents grew up reading—The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies—admittedly, all great books. There’s something to be said for consistency but perhaps more to be said for keeping up with the times. These novels reflect, in some way, our modern world. All are exquisitely written. There are many novels worthy of this list. Here are just a handful, in no particular order.
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Long Way Down

Jason Reynolds, 2017
This powerful, stunning verse novel will take you no time to read but much time to truly digest. The bulk of it takes place descending in an elevator as a teen considers how he should handle his brother’s murder. It says a lot about who we are as a society and begs the question, What would you do in such a situation? Perhaps more importantly, If you were a member of his community, what would you do?

The Poet X

Elizabeth Acevedo, 2018
The Afro-Latina protagonist is a poet who shares her heart and dreams, and daily life in this beautiful verse novel, which explores the power of religion, family, and the pressures on today’s women young women juggling dreams, secrets, and loyalty. It’s hard not to be instantly drawn into Xiomara’s world.

Patron Saints of Nothing

Randy Ribay, 2020
This tale of intrigue and self-discovery set in the Philippines is seen through the eyes of a Filipino American teen who is seeking answers about his cousin’s death. The novel includes timely topics of drugs, authoritarian regimes, loyalty, family, guilt, and redemption.

Gather

Kenneth M. Cadow, 2023
This is Demon Copperhead for teens. There aren’t that many young adult novels about rural poverty and this raw, honest story shows the dignity of one young man and his incredible resilience as his life is turned upside down by the effects of the opioid epidemic.

The Marrow Thieves

Cherie Dimaline, 2017
Set in a dystopian future, indigenous people are being mined not just for their land and culture but for their dreams, which are sucked out of the very marrow of their bones. The storytelling has a different feel, as it should, given that the characters and the author are indigenous. While it can be read as an allegory, it truly shines as an adventurous, satisfying survival story.

Feed

M. T. Anderson, 2012
Though it’s a book from the last century, it was way ahead of its time, brilliantly forecasting where society was headed with technology. We may not have reached the point of feeds embedded in our necks, but figuratively … this book leads us to ask, Is this how we want to live?

Sold

Patricia McCormick, 2010
As a journalist, the author did an incredible amount of research, including interviewing victims of human trafficking. The thirteen-year-old protagonist has to endure the unthinkable and, while set in India, sexual slavery can—and does—happen in the U.S. and anywhere. This sparse verse novel is often banned, but isn’t it better that girls and boys are aware of terrible situations and how to escape them rather than keep them uninformed and thereby unempowered?

Everything Sad Is Untrue

Daniel Nayeri, 2020
The telling of this tale has the feel of Middle Eastern storytelling, as it should, since the author is an Iranian immigrant who spent two years as a refugee. Part memoir and part delightful, poignant fiction, it’s imbued with the positive attitude of a family that survives myriad obstacles and heartbreaks.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Benjamin Alire Saenz, 2012
This is a gentle yet realistic story of two Mexican American boys who feel at odds with their world and yet when they open up and are honest with each other, they discover a friendship and, yes, even love. Another book for young readers that’s often banned—as if banning will automatically make people heterosexual. Why not read a beautifully written novel that introduces and explores love, any love, authentically?

Burn Baby Burn

Meg Medina, 2016
If anyone can set a novel in 1977 New York and make the story feel relevant to today’s teens, it’s Meg Medina. The 2023-2024 National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature, Medina captures the teen heart and angst and the very real backdrop of the Son of Sam murders to tell Latina Nora’s compelling story.

I Must Betray You

Ruta Sepetys, 2022
Set in Romania in 1989 under Ceausescu’s regime, this gripping novel asks the reader, If you were a teen like Cristian and asked to be an informant—and if you refused the consequences were horrific—what would you do? What could you do? This story may be set in another time and country, but it could happen anywhere, and it could happen now. Seriously, what would you do?