books for teens

  • Stories about Mental Health for Teens

    Stories about Mental Health for Teens

    Mental health – the proper care and maintenance of your emotional state – seems more important than ever.  Here are some new novels showing teens finding their way through challenging times.  Amelia Diane Coombs’ book All Alone with You follows loner Eloise as she works her way back from a depressive episode that cost her some friends. Now she helps out at a… Continue reading

  • New Teen Romance

    New Teen Romance

    Romance sells a lot of books, especially around Valentine’s Day. Here are some of the best new teen romance titles released in the past year.    In Trung Le Nguyen’s latest graphic novel Angelica and the Bear Prince, Angelica is grieving and dealing with burnout. When she receives messages of support from a bear, or… Continue reading

  • Adult Titles with Teen Appeal – January 2026

    Adult Titles with Teen Appeal – January 2026

    We are updating our Adult Titles with Teen Allure list for 2026! Here are some of the best new books written for and marketed to adults, but which have a ton of appeal for teens.  When disability activist and blogger Melissa Blake was trolled for putting pictures of herself online, she turned the tables on… Continue reading

  • Funny Stories for Teens

    Funny Stories for Teens

    To keep everyone laughing, we’ve updated our Teen Humor list for 2025.  Here are some highlights. In Elise Bryant’s novel Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling, Black nerd Reggie keeps running into biracial punk singer Delilah on various holidays throughout the year.  Eventually, they start their own holidays just so they can keep meeting.  In… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2024: Teen Fiction and Graphic Novels

    Staff Faves 2024: Teen Fiction and Graphic Novels

    Every fall, we ask staff members around the library system to share their favorite reads published in this year.  2024 is no different, and we have a stellar lineup of fiction and graphic novels. Aisle Nine, a graphic novel by Ian X. Cho, follows Jasper, whose amnesia may have something to do with his dead-end… Continue reading

  • Banned Books for Teens – September 2024

    Banned Books for Teens – September 2024

    In 2023, censors around the nation challenged over 4200 titles in school and public libraries. Here you can see some of the most challenged books and still read them freely, if you wish.  Most of these titles were written for a teen audience, and you can, of course, find them at The Seattle Public Library… Continue reading

  • Poetry for Teens

    For National Poetry Month, here are fifteen books of teen-centered poetry, all as novels in verse. See these titles in our catalog. In Kwame Alexander’s The Door of No Return, Kofi’s peaceful life in Upper Kwanta is changed forever when his older brother wrestles – and accidentally kills – a boy from Lower Kwanta. As… Continue reading

  • Teens in Sports

    If you love sports, whether it’s watching or playing, you’ll love these fantastic new novels involving teens playing their favorite games. Check these out also for a dose of romance and social justice. In Kneel by Candace Buford, Marion and Rus are hassled by their white adversaries at the football game, insults and fists fly,… Continue reading

  • Teens in Love

    February is a great time to find new love, and new books to love.  Here are some fantastic new teen titles focusing on teen romance. In Blackout, six fabulous Black authors weave a romance in six different parts, all beginning with a citywide blackout. In the free-verse novel Only on the Weekends by Dean Atta,… Continue reading

  • Gothic Teen Reads

    Gothic Teen Reads

    Gothic horror has always been one of my favorite genres. Even through the holidays, I find myself turning to the gothic for a fun escape. I love the unsettling atmosphere, the haunted houses, the ghosts, and the element of mystery woven throughout the story. Here are some of my recent teen gothic-horror favorites: Watch Over… Continue reading

  • Teen Staff Faves 2022

    Each year, we ask library staff around the system for their favorite books published that year.  Here are this year’s teen titles. In The Charmed List by Julie Abe, Ellie and Jack, two teens with magical abilities, are forced to go on a road trip as punishment for a prank gone wrong. Along the way,… Continue reading

  • Native American Books for Teens and Young Adults

    In celebration of Native American Heritage month, we’re featuring titles written for teens by Native American and First Nations authors. Some of these are realistic, some are fantasy, and some take the form of memoirs. In Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, science-oriented Daunis uses her Ojibwe knowledge of plants, medicine, and chemistry to help her… Continue reading

  • Teen Thrillers, Horror, and Mysteries: October 2022

    October is the month for costumes and candy and scary stories.  While the little children jump at the word “Boo,” older teens are looking for something a little more, shall we say, visceral? Here are some new books for teen readers hungry for the real thing. In Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare, Quinn… Continue reading

  • Teen Women in History

    March was Women’s History Month, but it’s always a good time to reflect on the accomplishments and lives of women in the past. Here are seven stories about teens and young women through history. Jazz Owls by Margarita Engle follows Marisela and Lorena, two jazz owls – young women who work all day to support… Continue reading

  • Staff Faves 2021: Teen Books

    Here are ten books for teens that our staff loved in 2021! Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley “Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.” — NoveList Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi “Ji-young Baek,… Continue reading