It seemed like an impossible task – curate a list of the 100 best young adult novels. . . OF ALL TIME. Naturally, NPR decided to let the readers decide. We got to vote for our top 10 favorites and this week NPR unveiled the final list. Read on to see the whole list, my thoughts on it and of course, something for those are unimpressed with the list.
Here are my initial reactions to the list:
Seeing Harry Potter at #1:
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Seeing Divergent at #19:
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Seeing Twilight at #27:
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Realizing that Twilight was above Go Ask Alice:
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Seeing Delirium, Matched, Gone, The Maze Runner and all the other dystopians on the list:
Here’s the final list – with the Harper titles highlighted! My thoughts and opinions are below the list, and we’ve added a special graphic for all those out there who are just unimpressed with this list.
1. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
2. The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
7. The Lord of the Rings (series) by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
11. The Giver (series) by Lois Lowry
12. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (series) by Douglas Adams
13. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
14. Anne of Green Gables (series) by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. His Dark Materials (series) by Philip Pullman
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
17. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
18. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
19. Divergent (series) by Veronica Roth
20. Paper Towns by John Green
21. The Mortal Instruments (series) by Cassandra Clare
22. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
23. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
24. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
25. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
26. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
27. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
28. Uglies (series) by Scott Westerfeld
29. The Infernal Devices (series) by Cassandra Clare
30. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
31. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series) by Anne Brashares
33. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
34. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, David Levithan
35. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
36. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
37. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
38. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
39. Vampire Academy (series) by Richelle Mead
40. Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom Trilogy (series) by Garth Nix
41. Dune by Frank Herbert
42. Discworld / Tiffany Aching (series) by Terry Pratchett
43. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
44. The Dark is Rising (series) by Susan Cooper
45. Graceling (series) Kristin Cashore
46. Forever… by Judy Blume
47. Earthsea (series) by Ursula K. Le Guin
48. Inheritance Cycle (series) by Christopher Paolini
49. The Princess Diaries (series) by Meg Cabot
50. The Song of the Lioness (series) by Tamora Pierce
51. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
52. Delirium (series) by Lauren Oliver
53. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
54. Hush, Hush (series) by Becca Fitzpatrick
55. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
56. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
57. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (series) by Libba Bray
58. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
59. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
60. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
61. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
62. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
63. A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle
64. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
65. The Bartimaeus Trilogy (series) by Jonathan Stroud
66. Bloodlines (series) by Richelle Mead
67. Fallen (series) by Lauren Kate
68. House of Night (series) by P.C. Cast Kristin Cast
69. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
70. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn David Levithan
71. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
72. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
73. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
74. The Maze Runner Trilogy (series) by James Dashner
75. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
76. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
77. Crank (series) by Ellen Hopkins
78. Matched (series) by Ally Condie
79. Gallagher Girls (series) by Ally Carter
80. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
81. Daughter of the Lioness / Tricksters (series) by Tamora Pierce
82. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
83. The Immortals (series) by Tamora Pierce
84. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (series) by Patricia C. Wrede
85. Chaos Walking (series) by Patrick Ness
86. Circle of Magic (series) by Tamora Pierce
87. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
88. Feed by M.T. Anderson
89. Weetzie Bat (series) by Francesca Lia Block
90. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
91. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (series) by Louise Rennison
92. Leviathan (series) by Scott Westerfeld
93. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
94. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (series) by Diana Wynne Jones
95. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
96. Gone (series) by Michael Grant
97. The Shiver Trilogy (series) by Maggie Stiefvater
98. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
99. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
100. Betsy-Tacy (series) by Maud Hart Lovelace
There are some books and authors I’m beyond thrilled made the list (I’m looking at your Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones and Garth Nix) and then there are some titles on this list that reinforce the notion that ultimately, this was a popularity contest. All in all, I’m glad NPR did this because it brings attention to the category of books we love so much.
So, while I personally am happy with the list, some of you may not be. For all of you out there that are unimpressed with the list, I give you this:
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I was totally disappointed that they took out Ender’s Game because they said it was too violent. But some of the others are just as violent (or more!) — hello, Hunger Games anyone?
I am pretty disenchanted with the whole list. Except for HP being at spot number one. That was awesome.
Haha I love the gif for Twilight!
I was super happy to see Harry Potter as number 1 but then again, it IS Harry Potter, it wouldnt have been right being any other number!
I was really glad to see some of my favorite books make the list but I was super happy when I realized John Green The fault in our stars came in as number 4 and Looking for alaska as 9! I love John Green. And I was even more thrilled when I saw that ALL his books made it somewhere on the list, I would recommend him to anyone!
I was pretty happy to see Divergent and Matched on the list as well. And authors like Robin McKinley, Shannon Hale, and DWJ! (some favorites of mine :3)
There are some books on there that I was surprised were classified as YA. (Lord of the Rings, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, etc.)
HILARIOUS!
There are lots of great books on the list. No need to hate on Twilight. It is definitely worthy!
Hated seeing Twilight there. Loved seeing Harry Potter, Sarah Dessen especially The truth about forever, Laurie Halse Anderson, The Gone Series, Uglies and Delirium on the list. Not so sure that LOTR and The hobbit count as YA but overall I liked the list.
i’m unimpressed with the list as well. it’s mostly a popularity contest. the only thing i’m happy about is that harry is #1 (as it should be).
Why is Graceling at 45? It should not be at 45, but I am happy Harry Potter is at #1.
YAY Harry Potter and Hunger Games!!!! Number 1 and 2 YAY!!!!!!!!!
Harry Potter’s #1 baby! Oh yeah!