Did you know that in Iceland, they exchange books on Christmas Eve, and then stay up reading? I absolutely love this tradition because I come from a family of book lovers. We spent many a night reading and exchanging favorite books. We’ve never done it for Christmas, but periodically throughout the year, we have a “Read Till You Drop” night, where everyone grabs a pile of books and reads until they fall asleep. Truly a favorite night around here.
The following is a list I compiled from my favorite teen reads and the favorites of current teens. If you have a book-loving teen in your life, then at least one of these books should be on their Christmas gift list.
Books with a Movie Adaptation
Each new year brings with it a list of new movie releases. The book is always better than the movie, though, so give the gift of a book that may be coming to the big screen, or one that has already been done. Either way, having a new way to see the story will broaden your teens’ mind.
Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle. Movie coming 2018.
The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Harry Potter by JK Rowling.
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.
Fantasy Books
One of the joys of reading is getting lost in a completely new world. Some place and time you can never visit anywhere else but in a book. Fantasy books create this space. The following series are worlds I love getting lost in for an afternoon, and so will teens.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer.
Septimus Heap by Angie Sage.
Adventurers Wanted by ML Forman.
Books with a Male Lead
Kids love being able to read a book that they can identify with. If the lead character is not easily relatable, the book becomes more difficult to read. These books have strong male leads – some that are heroic, others that are just trying to figure out life.
Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
The Outsiders by SE Hinton.
Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans.
Books with a Female Lead
Just as the boys need a strong lead to relate to, so do the girls. These female leads aren’t all princess and love-struck though! Here you’ll walk the halls of middle school, battle for your life against a government and figure out who you really are.
Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell.
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale.
Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.
Teen Authors to Check Out
There are quite frankly way too many books out there that I would recommend to your teens. This list could go on forever, but I won’t let it. For more ideas, these are just a few of my favorite authors that write amazing Young Adult fiction.
Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles
Brandon Mull – Fablehaven, Spirit Animals, The Candy Shop War
Orson Scott Card – Enders Saga, The Shadow Series, Women of Genesis
Deirda Eden – The Watchers
The Classics
Christmas time is a great time to give the gift of classics. For your avid teen reader, gift one of these classics and send them on a path of learning.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Whether you buy your teen a hard copy of one of these books, or an eBook, you can never go wrong with gifting a book for the holidays.
What Books did you enjoy as a teen?
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