500 Great Books for Teens

by Anita Silvey

If you are looking for a book to give to a teenage reader, here's the reference you've been waiting for. Until now, there's been no accepted guide to what's good, bad, or indifferent in the flood of books coming off the presses in the hot new category of young-adult publishing. If it's true that you can't judge a book by its cover, it is especially true for teen books, as publishers take aim at a new class of readers. The books land on shelves without a history, and so there is no standard by which to judge them.

Anita Silvey, one of the country's leading authorities on books for young people, has interviewed teenage readers all over the country and immersed herself in young-adult books, with an emphasis on books published in the last five years. The result is this invaluable and very readable guide for parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, reading groups, and of course teens themselves.

With its extended essays describing 500 selections, parents will quickly see what their teenagers are actually reading -- and will be able to find good books to introduce them to. Teachers can spot excellent additions to summer reading lists. Booksellers can move customers from one favorite to a host of others in the same genre. Librarians can round out collections. Book groups -- for adults, teens, or both -- will have hundreds of new titles to consider.

500 Great Books for Teens is divided into twenty-one sections, including adventure and survival, politics and social history, horror, romance, war and conflict, fantasy, plays, graphic novels, poetry, memoir, and spirituality. Every section offers up classics, but the majority of titles are new. In "Beyond the 500," Silvey compiles a number of useful lists, including books organized by geographic location and historical period, as well as recommended audio books.

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Reference, Teen, Parenting

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Margarita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for teens as well as parents. It's concise, articulate, and has convinced me to read nearly every book included. Pros and cons of books for the young and adult reader are included, brief summaries give an idea of the plot, and the otherwise-overwhelming 500 is organized neatly and nearly always accurately into genres, then by time frame (classic or contemporary) and lastly by author's last name. Sequels and prequels to listed books are included, as well as the occasional "similar titles" for the avid reader.

A few books are, in my opinion, misplaced in their genre (Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen, is placed in "Romance" instead of my choice of "Realistic Fiction", for example); however, the author created wonderful categories and, for the most part, sorted them accurately. Another downside to this book is the date: it was published several years ago, in 2006, and leaves out more recent additions to series such as "The City of Ember", by Jeanne DuPrau. The author has written inconsistent plot summaries: sometimes she reveals the ending, at other times she leaves the climax out of the summary. This is somewhat irritating: I don't know whether to read the whole summary, or tread lightly--I don't like to hear the ending of a book from someone else.

Other things I like about the book:

Perfectly sized text: Not too big, not too small.

The format. Author's name, title, age recommendation (either 12-14, 14-18, or 12-18), copyright date, publisher, select awards the book has gotten, and number of pages are included in a layout easy to read and refer back to.

The appendixes. "Beyond the 500: Additional Titles of Interest" includes many pages of wonderful books (titles and authors only), organized in the same genres as the rest of the book. There's "Books by Geographic Location" and "Books by Historical Time Line" (not including any of the "Beyond the 500" titles). Also included is a list of recommended audio versions of the books included.

Nice big margins for your enthusiastic scribbles and sticky-notes.

You don't have to read it front-to-back: I often pick it up, read a few entries, and put it down again (rather reluctantly, it's true).


I'd definitely recommend it to all readers teenage and older.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit I'm an addict when it comes to lists of books. This one was interesting, first because it's for teen readers, and second because quite a few of the books on this list were never meant for teens at all. Of course teens will read books written for adults. I know I did. But I was hoping to wade through actual young adult books for some new suggestions, not see things that have been on lists for adults for years. Maybe that's just me.

I couldn't quite get into this book. I loved the anecdotes for the various books. I hated the entire plot being given away (spoiler alert anyone?) though I understand that this is written more for teachers and librarians to use. On the other hand, should that teacher or librarian want to read the book for themselves then there might be a bit too much information here.

Still, I know I nitpick things like this because I like book lists so much. I'd give this book 3.5 stars. I'm docking it a half star because there's a lot of books here from the 70s and 80s which are a bit harder to find in today's world. The usefulness of a list of this sort kind of lies in how easily one can find the books on that list to read them after all.

But still it's a solid book and wasn't a hardship to read at all.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a new addition to my reference shelf that’s been really helpful when I or my daughters want to look for a new book to read. It’s called 500 Great Books for TEENS by Anita Silvey. I love the easy way books are categorized here. Age recommendations come right under the book title so I can easily see that The Whale Rider is best for 12 - 14-year olds while Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is probably more suited to older teens.

And the categories are great! I can look for humorous books, classics, mysteries and thrillers, war and conflict books and many more classifications that will help suit the mood for the type of book my daughters and I are looking for.

Silvey’s done a nice job, too, with the extras at the end. I can look up books that take place in certain states or countries or at a certain historical times. My daughters and I are actually psyched about checking off the books on the lists we’ve already read then adding more as we read more.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

500 Great Books for Teens is an excellent resource for teachers, parents and students. Silvey is an engaging writer and one of the utmost experts on young adult literature. As I read through this book, I constantly found fascinating reads that my students love. A book well worth having on your shelf. Silvey has taken to a Book-A-Day Almanac (blog) to keep her reviews up to date at http://childrensbookalmanac.com/ Well worth a look as the narratives and reviews are superb.

[Jackie "the Librarian" · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may not agree with every selection, but I appreciate the clear organization of this book, and the summaries of each title. There's a good mix of age levels and fiction and non-fiction books. There are some useful indexes - Books by Geographical Location, and Books by Historical Timeline. A very good resource for librarians and teachers.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great collection with lots of topics covered and annotations long enough to get a feel of the book. Definitely for parents/teachers/librarians as the annotations often give away endings, but those spoilers are always contained in the last line or so of the annotation, and easy enough to skip if you see a book you'd like to read.

[Nollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great place to go to compile a reading list. The recommendations are organized by genre so you can easily find what you're interested in, and they include synopses so you know what the book is about. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's aimed at teens, many of the books listed are for advanced readers, like The Poisonwood Bible, etc.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love if they would update this edition, but regardless, I think the author has an amazing ability to pick and annotate the best in YA literature by genre without creating an overwhelming list. As a high school librarian, my students and I frequently refer to this source for great books that are not as shiny but that still make for fantastic reading.

[Selena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful resource for YA lit. I got ideas for books I would have never thought of for teens. I also found a few to add to my to-read list as well. Must have for librarians.

[Meredith Henning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good suggestions in here, a well-thought inclusive list!

[Nadja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though outdated (published in 2006), it nevertheless serves as a great compendium of book suggestions across 21 different categories. This book is meant as a reference guide for adults working or living with teenagers, and as such reviews contain spoilers, which sucks when it's something you yourself would like to read! I especially appreciated the geographical and timeline lists at the back of the book, though choice selections are for the most part American-centric and misses out on great titles published in other countries. Overall, while many of the titles might be familiar to verocious readers, there's bound to be some titles that you haven't come across that are worth a read/recommendation.

[Arya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with lots of suggestions:)

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what Anita Silvey's worldview is, but she is fairly conservative.

[Lauren Steele · Rating 1 out of 5]

A dozen great books buried under a pile of sexually explicit/ traumatic books that are in no way appropriate for the recommended age ranges.

[jacky · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first skimmed this book, I was concerned. See, at the back, there is a list of all the titles by time period. I did not see Speak. How could such book be missing? A look in the index solved the problem and in fact, Speak was under the edgy, trend setting category. With my faith restored, I moved front to back. I found many titles I read and respected, and many titles I've been wanting to get around to. I also learned about many new titles. I really liked that the author made an effort to explore texts from the last five years (from the date of publication). Just flipped through the whole thing again and added at least 60 books to my to-read list.

[Ever · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY, a reference book I can recommend whole-heartedly! This is a great collection of recommended reads, pulled from YA and adult collections, not only grouped by genre, but also by geographic location and historical timeline (the author includes these two sections as appendices). Fantastic!

(From a non-professional point of view, I am extremely happy to see no mention of the Twilight series in this collection. Very refreshing!)

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know, I know, with the OCD reading projects and the lists and the OCD... this book is my professional reading project for the year. It may focus more on high school than middle school, but the lists look pretty solid and I should get a lot out of it anyway, if by "get a lot out of it," I mean, "read Hatchet again."

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent staring place for anyone looking for books to recommend to teens, although many of the books are also good middle grade reads or books aimed at adults.

My only complaint (and this really isn't the author's fault) is that the book only covers releases up till 2004. There have been SO MANY great books aimed at teens since then, and it's a shame that they could be missed.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource but it needs to be updated. It's surprising how much has changed in the four years since this book was published. (Oh, so that's the young-adult renaissance I'm always hearing about.) The absence of popular series like The Hunger Games and Twilight - and their influence on current teen literature - dates this book.

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good annotated list of literature young people like and why they like it. I, of course, do not agree with every book listed, and might have added others, but this is not my book. I do appreciate the work that went into this book. I have added many of the titles to my to-read list.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be on every reference desk in public libraries.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pretty good list.

I've read a few on it and it's updated so the books aren't all ancient.

Good if you don't have anything to read.

[Donna Burtwistle-Popplewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful, succinctly written!

[Katie (BooksRUs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although dated, this is a good jumping off point to YA lit, where to start with the classics and somewhat contemporary ones.

[Rose]

028.5 Sil

[Mona Abbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for getting gift ideas to give to teens :)