One of the most difficult things in the world is trying to find a good book to read. I am here today to solve this problem for you. No matter what genre is your favorite. No matter how good the book you just read was, no matter how picky you are about your books, there is something on this list for you.
A little background: This is my 100th post.
You read that right. I have officially written and posted 100 posts on my blog. You can look back and count them all if you must but honestly, 100 is a lot and I would recommend just taking my word for it.
So with this being the 100th post and all, I thought I might do something a little special. A list of exactly 100 books I would recommend felt appropriate.
These books are the best of the best. In fact, many of them have been on my "top ten" list at one time or another. Others would be the "self-help" books I would turn to in a crisis or the writing books I would most recommend to any writer (beginner or advanced). The books on this list are both middle grade and young adult and range across all genres. Some belong to a series. Others are stand-alone.
For your benefit, I have included the author's name, age group, and Goodreads rating rounded to the nearest whole number (NOTE: These ratings are not my own. Many of these books would receive different ratings from me. Check their reviews on my site for my personal feelings about the books).
Classics:
The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights ★★★★☆ by John Steinbeck, YOUNG ADULT
The Complete Alice ★★★★☆ by Lewis Carroll, CHILDREN'S-YOUNG ADULT
The Death of King Arthur ★★★☆☆ by Peter Ackroyd, MIDDLE GRADE-YOUNG ADULT
Le Miserable ★★★★☆ by Victor Hugo, YOUNG ADULT
Wicked ★★★★☆ by Gregory Macguire, YOUNG ADULT
Dystopian:
The Matched Series ★★★★☆ by Ally Condie, YOUNG ADULT
Matched; Crossed; Reached
The Selection Series ★★★★☆ by Kiera Cass, YOUNG ADULT
The Selection; The Elite; The One; The Heir; The Crown
Fairytale Twist:
Cursed ★★★☆☆ by Thomas Wheeler, Frank Miller (illustrator), YOUNG ADULT
Gilded ★★★★☆ by Marissa Meyer, YOUNG ADULT
The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales ★★★★☆ by Gail Carson Levine, MIDDLE GRADE
Heartless ★★★★☆ by Marissa Meyer, YOUNG ADULT
House of Salt and Sorrows ★★★★☆ by Erin A. Craig, YOUNG ADULT
The Land of Stories ★★★★☆ by Chris Colfer, MIDDLE GRADE
The Wishing Spell; The Enchantress Returns; A Grimm Warning; Beyond the Kingdoms; An Author's Oddesy; Worlds Collide
Little Thieves ★★★★☆ by Margret Owen, YOUNG ADULT
The Lunar Chronicles ★★★★★ by Marissa Meyer, YOUNG ADULT
Cinder; Scarlet; Cress; Winter; Fairest; Stars Above
Twisted Tales ★★★★☆ the following by Liz Braswell, YOUNG ADULT
Unbirthday, As Old As Time; Part of Your World; What Once Was Mine
Fantasy:
Caraval ★★★★☆ by Stephanie Garber, YOUNG ADULT
Carval; Legendary; Finale
Good Omens ★★★★☆ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, YOUNG ADULT
The Harry Potter Series ★★★★★ by J.K. Rowling, MIDDLE GRADE-YOUNG ADULT
Sorcerer's Stone; Chamber of Secrets; Prisoner of Azkaban; Goblet of Fire; Order of the Pheonix; Half-Blood Prince; Deathly Hallows
The Heroes of Olympus ★★★★☆ by Rick Riordan, YOUNG ADULT
Lost Hero; Son of Neptune; Mark of Athena; House of Hades; Blood of Olympus
King of Scars ★★★★☆ by Leigh Bardugo, YOUNG ADULT
King of Scars; Rule of Wolves
Lives of Saints ★★★★☆ by Leigh Bardugo, YOUNG ADULT
Percy Jackson and the Olympians ★★★★☆ by Rick Riordan, MIDDLE GRADE
Lightning Theif; Sea of Monsters; Titan's Curse; Battle of the Labyrinth; Last Olympian
Red Queen ★★★★☆ by Victoria Aveyard, YOUNG ADULT
Red Queen; Kings Cage; Glass Sword; War Storm
Renegades ★★★★☆ by Marissa Meyer, YOUNG ADULT
Renegades; Archenemies; Supernova
The Serpent and Dove Series ★★★★☆ by Shelby Mahurin, YOUNG ADULT
Serpent and Dove; Blood and Honey; Gods and Monsters
Shadow and Bone ★★★★☆ by Leigh Bardugo, YOUNG ADULT
Shadow and Bone; Seige and Storm; Ruin and Rising
Six of Crows ★★★★★ by Leigh Bardugo, YOUNG ADULT
Six of Crows; Crooked Kingdom
The Talon Saga ★★★★☆ by Julie Kagawa, YOUNG ADULT
Talon; Rogue; Soldier; Legion; Inferno
Historical Fiction:
The Botanist's Daughter ★★★★☆ by Kayte Nunn, YOUNG ADULT
The Help ★★★★☆ by Kathryn Stockett, YOUNG ADULT
The Lost Apothecary ★★★★☆ by Sarah Penner, YOUNG ADULT
The Rose Code ★★★★☆ by Kate Quinn, YOUNG ADULT
Water for Elephants ★★★★☆ by Sara Gruen, YOUNG ADULT
Non-Fiction:
Didn't See That Coming ★★★★☆ by Rachel Hollis, YOUNG ADULT-ADULT
Description ★★★★☆ by Monica Wood, YOUNG ADULT-ADULT
Girl, Wash Your Face ★★★★☆ by Rachel Hollis, YOUNG ADULT-ADULT
The Writer's Lexicon ★★★★★ by Kathy Steinemann, YOUNG ADULT-ADULT
Realistic Fiction:
Dumplin' ★★★★☆ by Julie Murphy, YOUNG ADULT
Firefly Lane ★★★★☆ by Kristin Hannah, YOUNG ADULT
The Hate U Give ★★★★★ by Angie Thomas, YOUNG ADULT
My Sister's Keeper ★★★★☆ by Jodi Picoult, YOUNG ADULT
Puddin' ★★★★☆ by Julie Murphy, YOUNG ADULT
Romance:
Crazy Rich Asians ★★★★☆ by Kevin Kwan, YOUNG ADULT
Everything, Everything ★★★★☆ by Nicola Yoon, YOUNG ADULT
More Than Just a Pretty Face ★★★★☆ by Syed M. Masood, YOUNG ADULT
The Notebook ★★★★☆ by Nicholas Sparks, YOUNG ADULT
Sunday's at Tiffany's ★★★★☆ by James Patterson, YOUNG ADULT
The Time Traveler's Wife ★★★★☆ by Audrey Niffenegger
A Walk to Remember ★★★★☆ by Nicholas Sparks, YOUNG ADULT
Honorable Mentions: I would 100% still recommend these books. But in honor of sticking to the "100" theme, I didn't include them in the above list. Though they are still amazing books, they are perhaps slightly less amazing than the books listed above (if only barely so).
Dystopian:
Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) ★★★★☆; Divergent (Veronica Roth) ★★★★☆
Fairytale Twists:
The Looking Glass Wars (Frank Beddor) ★★★★☆; Straight on 'Til Morning (Liz Braswell) ★★★★☆; A Whole New World (Liz Braswell) ★★★☆☆; Conceal, Don't Feel (Jen Calonita) ★★★★☆; To Kill a Kingdom (Alexandra Christo) ★★★★☆; Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine) ★★★★☆; Fairest (Gail Carson Levine) ★★★★☆; So This is Love (Elizabeth Lim) ★★★★☆; A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas) ★★★★☆; Dorothy Must Die (Danielle Paige) ★★★★☆; Half Upon a Time (James Riley) ★★★★☆
Fantasy:
Throne of Glass (Sarah J. Maas) ★★★★☆; Michael Vey (Richard Paul Evans) ★★★★☆; Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Rick Riordan) ★★★★☆; The Trials of Apollo (Rick Riordan) ★★★★☆; A Series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket) ★★★★☆
Historical Fiction:
The Lady Rogue (Jenn Bennett) ★★★★☆; Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) ★★★★☆; Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) ★★★★☆
Non-Fiction:
What the New Testament Authors Really Cared About (Kenneth Berding and Matthew Williams) ★★★★☆; Shut Your Monkey (Danny Gregory) ★★★★☆; Teaching to Change Lives (Howard G. Hendricks) ★★★★☆; Old Testament Today (Andrew E. Hill and John H. Walton) ★★★★☆; Girl, Stop Apologizing (Rachel Hollis) ★★★★☆; The Fred Factor (Mark Sanborn) ★★★★☆
Realistic Fiction:
Spoiled (Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan) ★★★★☆; Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella) ★★★★☆; The Peacock Emporium (Jojo Moyes) ★★★☆☆
Romance:
Gallagher Girls (Ally Carter) ★★★★☆; Five Feet Apart (Mike Daughtry, Tobias Ianconis and Rachel Lippincott) ★★★★☆; Darcy and Rachel (Emily Giffin) ★★★★☆; The Fault in Our Stars (John Green) ★★★★☆; Paper Towns (John Green) ★★★★☆; To All the Boys I've Loved Before (Jenny Han) ★★★★☆; Instant Karma (Marissa Meyer) ★★★★☆; Me Before You (Jojo Moyes) ★★★★☆
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