50+ Excellent Books for Teen Girls

Lovely War by Julie Berry
The story takes place during World War I and follows four main characters, so you get two love stories for the price of one. Even more interesting? The story is framed by several Greek gods who are in a tiff of their own during World War II (I lied – THREE love stories!). I know it sounds weird, but trust me, it works. It’s in the top 10 books I’ve ever read and my 12 and 15 year olds both rave about it too. (The audio is stunning).

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower 
This was one of the titles on my personal summer reading list – I’d read maybe 30% of the first book then stalled out but after so many people told me to plow through the first one (because it is slow), I finally restarted it and proceeded to finish all 8 books in the series! And boy am I invested! So much so, that I have reread all of them again and now my teenage girls are blowing through the audio

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles)
The first book in this series was the August book for the 2023 Everyday Reading Book Club and it was so delightful. YA fantasy novels aren’t my normal cup of tea, but I loved this fractured fairy tale version of Cinderella. Each book in this 4 book series tells the story of a different fractured fairy tale: Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. My teen daughter inhaled this series.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
This is a great series about two kids, Seth and Kendra Sorensen, who go to spend a few weeks with their grandparents on their very remote property. It doesn’t take them long to figure out not everything is as it appears. The butterflies and dragonflies in the garden are actually fairies! That is only the beginning of the magical creatures that inhabit Fablehaven. I thoroughly enjoyed this series, and you know that isn’t something I say often about fantasy! (Full review here)

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordin
I grabbed my mother-in-law’s copy of this book when we were living there and I suddenly found myself without a next book to read to the girls and they are SO INTO it. Seriously, there were shrieks of despair every night when I finished for the evening. I read it back in 2008 and it’s fun to revisit – I enjoyed it MUCH more as a read aloud than I did when I read it solo! (Full review here).

The Immortal Game by Rothschild & Harvey
After being falsely accused of a devastating attack on Mount Olympus, Poseidon’s daughter Galene is exiled, and her only hope of clearing her name is to uncover a plot that could destroy the gods themselves. Full of adventure and mythology, this one would be perfect for fans of Percy Jackson.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
This was our audiobook pick for our family trip and it was a huge hit! I picked the full cast version, which was a great call – there are so many different voices and original music and sound effects and it just made for a stunning listen that we were all very into from the first few minutes. Tress has lived a quiet life until her beloved friend (and . .. .maybe more than friend?) is taken away on a voyage by his father and disaster strikes. Now Tress is ready to leave everything she’s ever known behind to stow away on a ship and sail across the mysterious seas where even a single drop of water can spell death for everyone aboard.

Thaw by Ashley Hansen
One mistake sends Eira into exile on the endless Ice, but what she finds instead is a hidden kingdom and a prince whose life is just as upside down as hers. And once buried secrets start surfacing, neither of them can ignore how dangerously the pieces are shifting.

Royal Decoy by Heather Frost
Clare goes from kitchen maid to royal decoy overnight, suddenly juggling court politics, assassination attempts, and a bodyguard who is way too charming for her own good. It’s twisty, romantic, and full of danger!

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
During a visit to his grandpa, Christopher spots something unbelievable – a rush of mythical creatures charging down the hill. That’s when he learns his grandfather is the keeper of a hidden gateway to a magical world. But there is one BIG problem…the barrier separating the two worlds is beginning to fail.

InkHeart by Cornelia Funke
I read this book almost 20 years ago and I still love it. Inkheart is a magical adventure about a young girl who discovers her father can literally read characters out of books — a gift that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting. When a villain escapes from the pages and threatens their family, Meggie is pulled into a world where stories come alive and the line between fiction and reality blurs.

Land of Stories by Chris Colfer
I’m pretty sure I didn’t see Ella for a month when she blazed through this entire series. Alex and Conner, sister-brother twins, open up a beloved book of stories only to find themselves sucked into the book. In a mysterious land where magic runs rampant, they find themselves interacting with fairy tale characters they’ve heard about all their lives. The real question is. . . can they ever get home?

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
I have a long history of loving Harry Potter. When my mom started reading the first one to me and my sisters, we only made it through one chapter before we were completely hooked. I also have some very happy memories of snuggling my nursing baby in the my in-laws’ basement, reading the British versions of several of the books. I have read the entire series multiple times, seen all the movies, and I still never get tired of this story.

The Jonquil Brothers by Sarah Eden
This series follows the many heartfelt romances of the Jonquil brothers. If this one is a winner in your book, Sarah Eden has plenty more clean regency romance series to keep you busy, including the Lancaster Family series that also came highly recommended.

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
I’ve not only put this on a Summer Reading Guide, but alllmmmoost put it on the Everyday Reading Book Club this year! ! I love it so much! After Hercules Beal loses his parents in an accident, his older brother leaves behind his career to come back and raise Hercules and manage the family business. When the new school year starts, Hercules’ new teacher assigns the students a year-long project of recreating the labors of the mythical Hercules. It’s going to be a BIG task! This one is funny, heartbreaking and tender – exactly what you’d expect from Gary D. Schmidt.

Edenbrooke by Julianna Donaldson
Marianne is invited to visit Edenbrooke by her twin sister who intends to marry into the family that owns the country estate and Marianne, mourning the loss of her mother and lonely in Bath with her grandmother, quickly agrees. She has no interest in romance herself, but is very anxious for a change of scenery. Lucky for her, she’s going to get both. I especially loved the snappy dialogue in this one. (Full review here).

The Secrets of Ormdale series by Christina Baehr
I just read the first one (delightful!) and my 12 and 14 year olds have loved them too! When Edith and her family inherit an old abbey in Yorkshire – what they didn’t expect to find were dragons on the property! This one has the slower classic feel of Emma M Lion but in a YA series with a touch of fantasy.

Kat Wolfe Investigates by Lauren St John
Twelve-year-old Kat Wolfe thinks pet-sitting will be an easy way to make pocket money, but when her first client’s owner disappears, she and new friend Harper are pulled into a mystery far more dangerous than they expected.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I read this classic series so many times as a child! I hadn’t read it in decades, but was so excited to dive into it with my girls a few years ago. Luckily they loved it as much as I did! We’ve now watched the movies and finished the series together! A pure delight! And Gilbert Blythe… he will always have my heart! (Especially when we’re talking about Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe). 

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
This is by the same author as Anne of Green Gables and I loved this trilogy as a young reader even MORE than Anne. There are a lot of similarities in these books – extensive journal writing, multiple love interests, tricky and beloved family members, dead parents, and a community full of funny goings on. Lots of people also recommended her book The Blue Castle!

The Christie Miller Collection by Robin Jones Gunn
Christy Miller is determined to make her high school years memorable. With cheerleading tryouts, a new job, and prom, these YA novels are packed full of action, drama, and romance.

The O’malley Series by Dee Henderson
FBI agent Dave Richman thinks he knows danger – until he falls for Kate O’Malley, a fierce and fearless hostage negotiator who comes from a tight-knit, self-made family of seven orphaned siblings. Protecting her quickly becomes the most personal and challenging mission of his life.

The Restoration Series by Terri Blackstock
For a teen who likes a thriller, this one sounds suspenseful! As an entire city loses power and life instantly rewinds to a pre-electric age, one family learns how quickly desperation can expose both courage and cruelty. But their greatest threat might be the killer hidden in their own community.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
When I read this more than a decade ago I gave it a 10/10, no questions asked. This book follows a young girl in Nazi Germany who finds comfort—and a little bit of rebellion—in stealing books and sharing their stories. Narrated by Death, it’s a haunting and beautiful reminder of the power of words. I reread the last few lines over and over to really soak in the ending.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
This book was at the top of the charts a couple of decades ago and for good reason. The story weaves together the voices of three women in 1960s Mississippi—two Black maids and one aspiring writer—who risk everything to tell the truth about the families they serve. I, like pretty much anyone else who has read this, couldn’t put it down.

 Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
This is a memoir about growing up in a completely dysfunctional family, where the family keeps moving in the middle of the night and the children eventually realize that the parents are never going to pull themselves together. My 15 year old just read this for school and we couldn’t stop talking about it. (Full review here)

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
High school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself five years ago. It was a huge story, but Pip, now a senior herself, feels like something is wrong about the well-known story. And she’s going to be the one to find out what REALLY happened. I listened to the first two books in the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series (the audio is terrific – it’s a full-cast production and really brings the story to life). Might be a bit intense for some teens.

Four Kingdoms by Melanie Cellier
This whole series is made up of fairy-tale retellings, and it’s one that my teen daughter would love! Each book stands alone, but they all connect in really satisfying ways. And the best part? If you enjoy this one, there are six books in the series (and two sequel series) so you have plenty to look forward to.

Welcome to Fae Cafe by Jennifer Knopf
When Kate accidentally kills a fae assassin in a Toronto coffee shop, she becomes the target of four deadly fae — including the fearsome Prince Cressica – who end up hiding in plain sight by running her cozy café. This one has plenty of magic and an unexpected romance as the prince’s hunt turns into something far more complicated.

If you have a KPop Demon Hunter fan in your house, XOXO might just be their next read! Jenny, a classically trained cellist, finds herself falling for Jaewoo (a mysterious K-pop idol) and must navigate the thrill and risk of a forbidden romance in the glamorous world of Seoul’s elite arts scene.

And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!