Anne of Green Gables
Narnia
Wrinkle in Time
Ramona Quimby
The Hobbit

My 5 favorite YA authors are
Neil Gaiman
Anne McCaffrey
Garth Nix
Madeleine L'Engle
Walter Dean Myers

Next would be
Judy Blume
Eion Colfer
Nancy Farmer
Phillip Pullman
Josten Gaarder

My YA favorites are:

1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
2. How Far Would You Have Gotten If I Hadnt Called You Back
3. Harry Potter series
4. Twighlight Series
5. Someone like you- Sarah Dessen

Oh, I love YA, my genre of choice, probably. Adults take themselves too seriously, we're all too neurotic, at least as teens we could chalk it up to hormones.
In no particular order (narrowing it down to five is hard enough) five favorite YA series

1.The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (especially The Black Cauldron and the High King)
2.The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (especially The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
3.Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
4.The Lord of the Rings (including The Hobbit) by J.R.R. Tolkien
5.The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
...um, and The Dark Is Rising as a bonus

and five non-series YA favorites

1.The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
2.Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
3.Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (I read this in 7th grade, and it was the perfect introduction to classic literature)
4.Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (again, great classic)
5.Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Lynne Redgrave's reading of this was absolutely the most perfect audiobook I've ever heard)
...and since I had a bonus above, I get one down here too--The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Oooh, I also loved City of Bones.

Okay, let's see (in no particular order):

The Hunger Games
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Set
The Twilight Collection
Maximum Ride Series
Harry Potter Boxset Books 1-7

And many, many more...

Wow, I don't even need to make a list because Madeline covered pertty much all of mine. Sure, there're a few more bubbling around, but they've all been mentioned in other posts!

And The Book Thief by Markus Zusak officially climbs all the way to the top of my list, totally eclipsing everything else... I can't believe I just discovered this book a few days ago. WOW! finished reading it a few hrs ago and I'm STILL sniffling!

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams is heartbreakingly fantastic but I wouldn't suggest it for everyone. I cried the entire time I read it.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is another fantastic novel. I read it a few months ago and loved it so much that I had to buy it in HARDCOVER. I loathe hardcovers so that's a big deal (to me at least).


OHOHOH! How could I forget Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series?! There are five books (Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings, and Perfect Fifths) and it begins in Jessica's sophomore year of high school and spans to her mid-twenties. Fourth Comings was the only book I really had an issue with but I still liked it quite a bit.

I really really... really love YA novels. Sometimes I feel they're so much more wonderful than adult novels I guess because they have to be subtle in conveying ideas and themes that adult fiction can just jump into and say outright. Anyways my super favorites are:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia - I definitely think the books have been far more religious that the new movies, one of my favorite parts in The Last Battle is when Aslan tells the southern soldier who was a good man, that all good deeds or thoughts committed are done in Aslan's name because good is or belongs to Aslan and cannot be used by evil even if professed in evils name, and vise versa for evil - that even if done in the name of good, evil deeds are never the work of Aslan but of Evil. Except C.S. Lewis said it so much better lol. It was a very influential statement for me :)
2. The Hobbit Or There and Back Again
3. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
4. The Secret Garden
5. The Time Series by Madeleine LEngle
6. The Daughter of the Lioness books by
Tamora Pierce
7. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
8. Howl's Moving Castle
9. The Emily series by L.M. Montgomery
10. The Oz Series by L. Frank Baum
11. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede
12. The Pit Dragon Chronicles by Jane Yolen

Ok I'm stopping :D Now I just need to go through this thread and write down all the titles!

I'm new to YA but have been lingering in that section since being enthralled with the Twilight series this winter. The last two nights I've been reading Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and it is so fun and fresh (keeping in mind that I'm in my 30's and my oldest daughter will be reading YA w/in the next few years - so I feel pretty far removed from teenagers right now.) But my favorite of all time is The Outsiders. I plan to re-read it this summer after probably 15 years and can't wait!

Wait! This one was awesome--American Born Chinese. It's a graphic novel, incredible story, funny as heck. There's also The Invention of Hugo Cabret<--this one is also super-cool, the illustrations are *amazing*, they work almost like a flip book, but there's some narrative in there, too.

One more--Justine Larbalestier, Magic or Madness Trilogy. Loved loved the first one, loved the second, couldn't get into the third. But the first is definitely worth it.

1. His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
2. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
3. Mortal Instruments trilogy - Cassandra Clare
4. Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
5. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

My top 5 (geez, that's difficult)

1. A great and terrible beauty--Libba Bray
2. Looking for Alaska--John Green
3. His Dark Materials Trilogy--Philip Pullman
4. Twilight Saga--Stephanie Meyer
5. The Minister's Daughter--Julie Hearn

It's hard not to include The Book Theif, Elsewhere, and The Chocolate Wars!

Grace wrote: "I loved these books:

1.A Wrinkle in Time series- Madeleine L'Engle


Oh yay! A Wrinkle in Time! That was one of my favorite books ever as a child, I read it over and over and over again. It's since influenced my own writing and I'm obsessed with portals of any sort in movies and literature. Love it.

The Giver - Lois Lowry
Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden
The Swiss Family Robinson - Johann David Wyss
On Fortune's Wheel - Cynthia Voigt
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

Hello everyone. I'm new here and this is officially my 1st post. Anywho... my top 5 YA books are...
1. Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
2. Rifles for Waite by Harold Kieth
3. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
4. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials) by Phillip Pullman
5. The Cronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

1. Mrs. Mike - Benedict and Nancy Freedman
2. Harriet the Spy - Louise Fitzhugh
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
5. Youth in Revolt - CD PAYNE

I can't believe I forgot The Outsiders. I love that book. Maybe it's because I never really think of it as a YA.

I've seen a few people here mention The Giver and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry- Definitely two of my alltime favorite YA books.

I haven't read YA fiction for a reaaaaaaaally long time, and this brings back tons of memories. Some of my other favorites:

Where the Red Fern Grows- Wilson Rawls
Guests of War Trilogy- Kit Pearson
Awake and Dreaming- Kit Pearson
A Handful of Time- Kit Pearson (hehe- can you tell I was a big fan of her books?)
I was also a big fan of Caroline B. Cooney at one point.

I can't remember all of them offhand, I'm at work right now. I'd have to go home and look through some of the boxes I've got in the basement.

Edited: OMG I can't believe that I forgot about Judy Blume- I think I've read almost everything she's ever written.

My top 5 YA books would have to be:

1) Twilight Saga - Stephenie Meyer
2) The Gemma Doyle Trilogy - Libba Bray
3) Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
4) The City Of (Bones, Ashes, or Glass)series - Cassandra Clare
5) The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (my favorite is The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe - though I really love them all)

So technically that was way more than 5 books (24 1/2 to be exact (the 1/2 being the partial draft of Meyer's Midnight Sun) (yes, I'm guilty for reading it)).

I've really enjoyed YA lately. It's been nice, lately, since my 11 year old wants to read some of the same books as me. I don't have a specific list, but I did enjoy:

Harry Potter series
Uglies
Bridge to Terabithia

And growing up I couldn't get enough of S.E. Hinton:

The Outsiders
That Was Then, This Is Now
Rumble Fish

And Judy Blume:
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Forever

I've read a lot of YA books since my last post and I've got a few new favorites, so here's my new list:

Harry Potter
Twilight
The Goose Girl
Ella Enchanted
Percy Jackson series

I'm also reading Graceling right now, which has the potential to wind up on my list.

I have alot of favorite YA books, but I'll only name a few:

His Dark Materials Trilogy - Philip Pulllman
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
Slam! - Walter Dean Myers

I recommend The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I could not stop reading it.

Catching Fire (release September 2009) is the second book of this series.

Sure thing, Emma! You can find lots of great new books on that list!

My top five favorite YA books have changed. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy is still as the top, but Paper Towns has taken Eva Ibbotson's place. And Speak is better than Just Listen in my opinion.

Oh, thanks Vincent! I'll have to check that out. So many to-reads, so little time. *sighs*

Here's a great YA list with over 5,000 books:

http://www.amazon.com/tag/young%20adult/...

I loved these books:

1.A Wrinkle in Time series- Madeleine L'Engle
2.Number the Stars-Lois Lowry
3.The Locker-Richie Tankersley Cusick
4.Bunnicula (the best book about a vampire bunny!)-James Howe, although it might be classified as more of a childrens book but I love it!
5.Go Ask Alice-Anonymous
6.The Nightmare Hall series by Diane Hoh (I'm a sucker for teen horror)

Another book that is considered YA that I like is To Kill a Mockingbird.

Favorite YA books (in no particular order):
(1) Harry Potter series
(2) Private series by Kate Brian
(3) Twilight (first book only)
(4) Identical by Ellen Hopkins
(5) The Devil's Arithmetic
(6) The Giver
(7) Nightmare Hall series by Diane Hoh
(8) I used to really like to read the Sweet Valley books... I wonder if I would still like them?

I know that there are more... I love YA!

My favourite book of all time, which I think is an integral YA book for anyone who enjoys them, is "Secret Scribbled Notebooks" by Joanne Horniman.

"The Outsiders" by S E Hinton has always been among my favourites as well.

"Looking for Alaska" by John Green -- for older teens. It's funny, insightful, sad, and gives a strong message at the end -- he really zeros in on how teens think and feel. Also "Fat Kid Rules the World" by Going -- also for older teens because of language, since the book is about guys in New York who want to form a band and "talk the talk." But it, too, has a great message and gets to the heart of an all too common problem.

I think I posted my top 5 some time ago, but one keeps reading or, at my age just remembering and they add more to their list. I love YA lit. I work for a book store and my staff pick for March was East by Edith Patou. I also love A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb and I know she has a new book out I can't wait to read. So many books, so little time.

This is a great post for me to find out other great YA books to read. I haven't read YA for long but here are my favorite so far.

1) The Mortal Instrument series (all 3 books) by Cassandra Clare
2) Twilight Saga (Twilight and Eclipse) by Stephenie Myer
3) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4) Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

After sitting in my computer chair for ten minutes just thinking, I realized I just couldn't name five. It's impossible. There are so many amazing YA novels out there that it's difficult to just pick five-- so I'm naming some of my favorites.

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The Harry Potter series by JKR
4. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
6. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
7. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
9. Burned by Ellen Hopkins

The King of Mulberry Street is still one of my favorites. It's by Donna Napoli.

The Book Thief (although I agree it is a little intense for YA.

The Hobbit

Holes

If you loved The Giver by Lois Lowry, the two companion novels are Gathering Blue and Messenger. Messenger ties up the three novels beautifully. I always cry at the end.

My favorites (as a 6th grade reading teacher)

Harry Potter series
Lois Lowry's companion novels (Giver, Gathering


The Lightning Thief

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Crispin The Cross of Lead

Milkweed

Kelly, those are two I really want to read. Glad to hear the recommendations.

1. All books by Sarah Dessen
2. Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
3. Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith
4. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray
5. TTLY, TTFN, and L8r G8r by Lauren Myracle
6. The Life Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

The Hunger Games has got to be one of my top picks for this (even Battle Royal which is definately not YA was good and they are very similar). I mean, have you all read it? It was amazing but the cliff hanger ending just rattled me to the core. I became Katnis and to just stop was so... not right. I'm anxiously awaiting the next one.

I also have to say that Graceling is one of my new favorite YA books also. There were some issues with the story but I think after you realize that it is not really about going off to get that bad guy and more about self discovery... it was really good.

Both of these are so wonderful i think because they have very strong female characters. Neither of the main characters depend on men or need anyone else to get things done. They are strong and believe in themselves or learn to believe in themselves.

Anna wrote: "I just realized that Sky Is Falling is part of a trilogy...guess I know what I'm going to read next"

The first novel in the Guest of War Trilogy is the best, but the third is pretty close. They are all well written. Hope you enjoy them. I love Historical fiction as well.

I just realized that Sky Is Falling is part of a trilogy...guess I know what I'm going to read next

Megan: nope, not Canadian, don't think any of my books were required reading for school though so maybe I just had Canadian tastes in books as a child. I did love war books though, especially WWII and our Civil War.

Liz wrote: "The Giver, YES ... did you know there are sequels? Guests of War Trilogy? Never hard of these. What's the attraction??"

A really well written series about some British children who are sent to Canada during WWII as guests of war. There are interesting characters and a lot of universal themes. The first book in the trilogy is the novel that got me into reading quality books.

Anna wrote: "I'm new to the group and just read this thread...such a wonderful trip down memory lane. I haven't been reading much YA lately but childhood favorite are:
[b:Sky Is Falling|936500|Sky Is Falling|K..."

Just curious, are you Canadian? A lot of your books are novels I read in school as well, and Canadian Kit Pearson's Sky is Falling was my favourite. I still re-read it as well.

Top 5 YA books for me:
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Mister God, This is Anna
Flour Babies
Enchanted Forest chronicles - Patricia Wrede
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Our whole family loved listening to three Alex Rider books on audiotape on long car trips. We started with "Point Blanc" which was my favorite and moved chronolgically with the subsequent books as they became available from local libraries. Our 12 year old and and 16 year old were engrossed. The other two books however seemed slightly less believable in terms of contant action (as many thrillers suffer from, even Da Vinci Code) I mean how much can happen to just one kid?

If you can only listen to one family audiotape with teens, "Point Blanc" is the most incredible convincing story that will keep all riveted, and reduce long trip melt downs and the like.