Year 9 recommended reading list for teens aged 13-14
Books for Year 9 – a selection of reading books to challenge and interest pupils aged 13-14 in KS3 secondary schools. Authors include Gary Paulsen and Judy Blume.
Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Patrick Ness FRSL is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter, renowned for his contributions to young adult literature. Born on 17 October 1971 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he spent his early years in Hawaii and Washington State. Ness studied English Literature at the University of Southern California before relocating to London in 1999, where he has since resided and holds dual citizenship.
His debut novel, The Crash of Hennington (2003), marked the beginning of his literary career, followed by the short story collection Topics About Which I Know Nothing (2004). Ness gained significant acclaim with the Chaos Walking trilogy: The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008), The Ask and the Answer (2009), and Monsters of Men (2010). These works garnered multiple awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. Notably, all three titles were shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, with Monsters of Men securing the award in 2011.
In 2011, Ness published A Monster Calls, a novel based on an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd and illustrated by Jim Kay. The book achieved the unprecedented feat of winning both the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012. Ness adapted the novel into a screenplay for its 2016 film adaptation, directed by J.A. Bayona and featuring performances by Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Sigourney Weaver.
Beyond these, Ness has authored several other young adult novels, including More Than This (2013), The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015), Release (2017), And the Ocean Was Our Sky (2018), Burn (2020), and Different for Boys (2023). His works have been translated into over 20 languages, reflecting their global appeal.
In addition to his writing, Ness has contributed to television, creating and writing the BBC’s Doctor Who spin-off series Class (2016). He has also served as a creative writing lecturer at the University of Oxford and was the inaugural Writer in Residence for BookTrust. In recognition of his literary achievements, Ness was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023.
Books for Year 9 – a selection of reading books to challenge and interest pupils aged 13-14 in KS3 secondary schools. Authors include Gary Paulsen and Judy Blume.
A selection of reading books to challenge and interest Year 10 pupils – aged 14-15 – in KS4 secondary schools. Authors include Jeanette Winterson and JRR Tolkien.
Grief and loss themed books for children and teens with titles by Britta Teckentrup, Samuel Langley-Swain, Judith Kerr, Harry Woodgate, Laura Dockrill, Oliver Jeffers, Kereen Getten, Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho.
Science fiction books for children and teens with titles by Karen Inglis, Christopher Edge, Madeleine L’Engle, Louis Sachar, Donna Barba Higuera, S. F. Said, Malorie Blackman, James Dashner, Douglas Adams, Soyoung Park, Ben Oliver & more.
LGBTQIA+ themed books for secondary schools, featuring titles by Simon James Green, Alice Oseman, David Levithan, Phil Stamper, Rainbow Rowell, Dean Atta, Meg Grehan, Juno Dawson, Kalynn Bayron, William Hussey and Erin Ekins.
Our YA summer reads for 2020 list includes a healthy mix of thrillers, prescient CLI-FI, atmospheric coming of age stories, empathy novels, adventures, teen romances, and fantasy for 12-16 years olds – and maybe parents as well.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Autumn 2024. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels, poetry and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Spring 2023. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
The 2018 shortlist of books for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017 – recommended for children aged 9-16 and young adults in primary and secondary schools.
The 2016 shortlist of books for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016 – recommended for children aged 10-14+ and young adults in primary and secondary schools. A great list for secondary school class readers and summer reading material for teens.
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Our latest reading national curriculum year group recommended reading lists:
Picture books for the under 5s | Books for Reception | Books for Year 1 | Books for Year 2 | Books for Year 3 | Books for Year 4 | Books for Year 5 | Books for Year 6 | Books for Year 7 | Books for Year 8 | Books for Year 9 | Books for Year 10 | Books for Year 11