I often get asked by students what books I would recommend to them to read, and I always stop myself because the books I read now I would definitely not suggest to them. So, I have to think back to when I was their age and honestly I feel like it’s getting harder and harder to remember that far back, even though many people tell me that it wasn’t that long ago!

I may not be anywhere near middle-aged, but when you’ve read so many books it’s hard to keep track of them! That’s why I started logging my reads, that has made remembering so much easier! I strongly recommend storygraph and TBR – Bookshelf. If you love the stats that go with your reading for the year, storygraph is for you, and the free version works perfectly well! If you’re someone who loves the aesthetic of a book log, then TBR – Bookshelf is a good one. You can change the colour themes and it presents your read books in a digital bookshelf, and again the free version works great!

But I digress, the books I remember most from my high school years are:

• Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick
• Lockwood and Co. by Jonathan Stroud
• Legacy Series by Cayla Kluver
• The Night World Vol. 1 by L.J. Smith
• Glass Series by Maria V. Snyder
• Study Series 1 – 3 by Maria. V. Snyder
• The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
• Firebird Series by Claudia Gray
• The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare
• The History Keepers: The Storm Begins by Damian Dibben
• Wolf Springs Chronicles by Debbie Viguié and Nancy Holder
• Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
• Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

You can see where my adult taste in books came from! Although, my current taste has evolved to include a broader range of genres (and some definite explicit details), but that will have to be saved for another post. Let’s kick off the summaries!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Hush, Hush book series by Becca Fitzpatrick was the first complete series that my mum had bought me, and I think it was the fastest I had ever read a series and I still have it! It was especially memorable because I had to wait for the final book to be released when I had finished and I was so upset about it, a frustration I experience all the time now! It was a story about a teenaged girl, Nora, who becomes fascinated by a new boy, Patch, at school who suddenly appears everywhere she goes, she attempts an investigation into his past which amuses Patch, especially when she finds nothing. You find out later on that Patch is a fallen angel who wishes to be human and the only way to rid himself of his angelic identity is to kill a particular person, Nora, but the angels throw a spanner in the works and tell him that he can be reinstated to his full angelic being if he saves the soul he is suppose to kill instead. There’s a bit of mystery, a bit of teenage angst but nothing explicit which is perfect for a teenage audience, and then of course the blossoming of a romantic relationship. Nora and Patch’s story coninue on for a total of four books:

• Hush, Hush
• Crescendo
• Silence
• Finale

Rest assured, the series ends with a happily ever after, but not after some heart break and losses so be prepared!

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Lockwood & Co series by Jonathan Stroud was my first step into paranormal based books, and I loved the first book! The Screaming Staircase was the first book, introducing the primary characters who were a part of Lockwood & Co: Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle and George Karim. While there are three characters that the storyline revolves around, the story is told by Lucy Carlyle, a young psychic detective who’s abilities are far beyond what anyone can imagine. Lockwood & Co is a paranormal agency started by Anthony Lockwood, who investigate paranormal phenomenon and extinguish it. Lucy was the last to join and actively tries to cover up how powerful her gift of sight and clairvoyance is, unfortunately they encounter a haunted artifact that forces Lucy to reveal her abilities to the rest of the team. The series focuses mainly on various paranormal mysteries that get linked up to the growing strength of Lucy’s abilities, eventually culminating into the biggest challenge that the team will every face in the final instalment of the series. You get an education in the different types of ghosts, how they are made through brutal deaths and the role that their artifacts play in their existence. There’s mysteries, modern day deaths and the development, as well as the breakdown, of various relationships throughout the series. The series has a total of five books:

• The Screaming Staircase
• The Whispering Skull
• The Hollow Boy
• The Creeping Shadow
• The Empty Grave

Out of the whole series, The Screaming Staircase is still my favourite. If your teen is looking to dip their toe into the paranormal genre, I do recommend this as an introduction.

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Legacy is a part of a trilogy by Cayla Kluver, and was a bit of a different read to what I would have normally read at the time, but I absolutely loved the storyline and the growth of the main characters. I also still have my copy of this series. The series follows a young princess, Alera, who is the eldest of two daughters and has the responsibility to marry the next King. A suitor has been chosen for her by her father, but Alera is struggling with the sudden reality of her duties as the high princess of her kingdom, especially since she has this need to do things that are considered to be unbecoming a princess, such as climbing boulders to help her little sister and breaking into locked rooms that she has no business being in. Unfortunately, her antics and that of her younger sister and best friend lead her to discover the so-called spy sent into their kingdom by their enemy. They quickly realise that the “spy” is in fact the missing brother of her best friend who was abducted as a baby by the enemy kingdom, as part of some kind of prophecy to win the war. Alera is quickly drawn to him, and the Captain of the Guard decides to use that connection to convince Alera to be a spy and find out as much information as she can about the boy and the enemy’s plans in the war. This quickly leads to the development a forbidden love and Alera is faced with making the choice between fulfiling her duties or following her heart. The trilogy follows this difficulty with the inclusion of kidnapping, magical torture, blackmail, romance and survival. That being said, there is nothing explicit in this story, it is all heavily implied.

The titles of the trilogy are:

• Legacy
• Allegiance
• Sacrifice

The Night World by L.J. Smith

The Night World series by L.J. Smith is a currently nine book series, although I only read the first three in school as they were the only ones I could get my hands on at the time. Each book follows a different set of characters but they are all linked to each other, following the return of the soul mate principle. The romantic relationship in the first three books were between a mortal human and a supernatural creature, the first book The Secret Vampire followed a mortal girl dying of cancer and her vampire best friend who tries to turn her to save her from dying with the help of her brother. The second book, Sisters of Darkness, follow the relationship between a vampire and a mortal girl as well as a witch and a mortal boy, with the inclusion of a few more witches and a rogue werewolf. The third book, Spellbinder, follows the love triangle of two witch sisters and a mortal boy, but there is no harem or polygamy of any kind, the story resulting in a singular relationship. There is nothing explicit or sexual in these books, following a naturally developed new teen romance that is 100% appropriate for pre-teens and teens.

The series has the following book titles currently published:

• The Secret Vampire
• Daughters of Darkness
• Spellbinder
• Dark Angel
• The Chosen
• Soulmate
• Huntress
• Black Dawn
• Witchlight

Goodreads suggests that there are still two upcoming titles, to wrap up the series:

• Strange Fate: Mystic
• Strange Fate: Apocolypse

Whether or not these titles will be published, I cannot say, but might be an idea to keep an eye out for them just in case you get hooked!

Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

The Glass series was the first set of books by Maria . Snyder that I had ever read, and I loved them! Full of budding romances, tension, mystery, magic and adventure, I absolutely fell in love with this author. The storyline follows a young girl named Opal, she comes from a family of glass makers, but she has the unique ability to trap threads of magic inside her glass sculptures, providing magic users with the ability to communicate across log distances with her products. Unfortunately, that is the only magical ability she has, which makes her an outcast amongst the magic users. She is called to attempt to remake specific glass orbs for the storm dancers to trap large and destructive storms, their glass maker was killed before passing the secret on and Opal has to try and figure out how to make the orbs before the largest storms come in from the coast, and before the killers come after her.

The trilogy follows Opal’s magical development as well as her relationships and her growth as a person, especially as she tries to work out where she stands within this magical society. There is nothing explicit in the story, however, there is some description of non-bloody torture, and references to sexual assault as Opal’s sister was abducted, assaulted and killed in a previous series (which I will discuss next). While there is nothing explicit in this series, there are introductory references to these dark realities, and Opal is faced with the possibility of an assault in the second and third book although this does not come to fruition. This series is probably best saved for older teens, but this is up to the parent’s discretion, I admittedly read this around the age of 14 years old but I don’t think my parents knew what the content of the book was going to be about.

The series titles are:

• Storm Glass
• Sea Glass
• Spy Glass

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

The Study series is actually set before the Glass series, and meet Opal for the first time in the second book of the series. This series follows a young woman named Yelena, who has been arrested and put on death row for murder. When she’s removed from her cell, she is convinced that it is her time to die, when she is offered a deal by the Commander’s Assassin, Valek. Her sentence is suspended if she agrees to become the new poison taster for the Commander, if she survives any posion attempts to continues living a comfortable life. Is she doesn’t survive, well her death sentence is concluded. Yelena agrees, she is trained to identify various poisons and convinces some soldiers to train her in self-defense since she keeps getting attacked in the Cammander’s complex, despite Valek’s attempts to keep her safe. We find out later on that Yelena is an orphan and she killed the son of the man who took her in, because they had spent years torturing her and when she couldn’t give them what they wanted his son sexually assaulted her. While it’s not hugely explicit, it is a bit more descriptive than what the Glass series was and continues to be throughout the whole Study series, so that is something to be wary of.

There’s mystery, murder, torture, ritualistic killings, romance, growth of friendships and challenging decisions to be made. Again, a really good read, but it did emphasise the darker parts of humanity a bit more than the Glass series.

The series includes:

• Poison Study
• Magic Study
• Fire Study
• Shadow Study
• Night Study
• Dawn Study

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Peak Hunger Games era was when I was in high school, the book series came out and then I had to scramble to make sure that I had read the books before I watched the movies, I remember the stress well!

Anyways, for those of you who don’t already know, The Hunger Games is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the working part of society are separated into twelve districts, and are wuled over by upper society known as the Capitol. Some decades before, there was a rebellion against the Capitol which the districts has loss, this resulted in the complete destruction of District 13 and the development of the Hunger Games which were held every year. Each district would randomly select a boy and a girl between the ages of around ten and seventeen years old, they would comete in the games and fight to be the last child surviving. These games were made to remind the districts of the results of the rebellion and that it is a blessing that they were not destroyed like District 13, but also that they will never be free of the Capitol’s control.

The series follows a teen girl named Katniss, who volunteers as that year’s female tribute in place of her younger sister who was randomly selected. This one act became a symbol of rebellion against the Capitol, which is the underlying theme of the whole series. Katniss spends three books surviving alongside the male tribute, Peta, and eventually enciting the biggest rebellion the Capitol has ever seen since the destruction of District 13. There is murder, loss, survival, romance, tension and fights for freedom. There is nothing explicit in this book, but death is seen and described, as well as instances of torture and drug use, although not in great detail.

The main series included:

• The Hunger Games
• Catching Fire
• Mockingjay

Recently, Suzanne Collins has released two more books that provide more background information to the main series:

• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
• Sunrise on the Reaping

I personally haven’t read them, I tried to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes but I feel like it’s still written more for a teen audience rather than adult, so it didn’t hold my interest. If your child is looking for something with a survival adventure feel to it, this series is one to go for.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

This is a trilogy that has more of a sci-fi fantasy sort of feel to it, A Thousand Pieces of You is a series focused on a young woman named Marguerite Caine. Her parents are world renowned scientists, focused on the theory of multiple dimensions and the possibility of travelling between them, while their passion is clear, Marguerite’s passion is for art, which her parents are very supportive of. On the eve of her father’s death, Marguerite finds out that her father’s greatest invention was stolen, possibly by one of his most trusted students, Paul. With this knowledge, Marguerite jumps through dimensions trying to track down Paul and retrieve her father’s lifes work, but not all is what it seems.

This trilogy follows betrayal, mystery, adventure, alternate realities, finding of self and the development of love. It was a rollercoaster ride of a read, but I loved every minute of it! There are mentions of drug use, gangs, minor violence and consentual sexual encounters but there is nothing explicit in the descriptions of these scenes. As always, this is up to parent discretion.

The trilogy includes:

• A Thousand Pieces of You
• Ten Thousand Skies Above You
• A Million Worlds with You

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The Infernal Devices series is what got me into Cassandra Clare’s world of Shadow Hunters, even though her Mortal Instruments series was published well before that. The Infernal Devices is one the prequel series to Mortal Instruments that provides a fair bit of context for some of the events in the Mortal Intruments sere. This series follows a young woman named Tessa Gray, who was abducted by two strange elderly women and forced her to unlock her magical ability – to shape shift into any person or creature. While shape shifters were not a unique creature in this world, Tessa very different, she could retain the memories of any person or creature she shifted into, which is what the women were interested in. Tessa is later saved by a young shadow hunter, William Herondale, and she is taken to the local Shadow Hunter’s Institute, where they work to find her missing brother and how Tessa actually came into existence. This series explores the mystery of how Tessa came to be, why these dark creatures want her, and her struggle to love two people.

While there are battles, described injuries and death, there no explicit descriptions and while Tessa struggles with her love for two people, there is no polygamy and sexual encounters are not explicitly described.

This was a great read set in Victorian London, I was totally captivated by the story and characters, and I have reread the series several times since being a teenager.

This specific series is a trilogy, including the following titles:

• Clockwork Angel
• Clockwork Prince
• Clockwork Princess

However, it is a part of a much larger series, if you are not committed to reading the whole series, that is totally ok! This triolgy can be read as a stand-alone, but if you are interested in the other books, they are as follows:

The Last Hours (set in the same period as the Infernal Devices series)

• Chain of Gold
• Chain of Iron
• Chain of Thorns

The Mortal Instruments (set in the modern day and the start of the Shadowhunters era)

• City of Bones
• City of Ashes
• City of Glass
• City of Fallen Angels
• City of Lost Souls
• City of Heavenly Fire

The Dark Artifices (continues on from the Mortal Instruments series)

• Lady Midnight
• Lord of Shadows
• Queen of Air and Darkness

Other continued stories from the Shadowhunter world

• The Bane Chronicles
• Stories from the Shadowhunter Academy
• The Shadowhunters Codex
• The Red Scrolls of Magic
• The Lost Book fo the White
• Ghosts of the Shadow Market

There are also a few more books to be published in the future.

The Storm Begins by Damian Dibben

This was a part of a series called The History Keepers, I only read the first book but I’m pretty sure that three were published. The story focuses on a young boy named Jake, who’s parents have gone missing and he’s trying to find out what happened to them. He finds out that his parents are a part of a secret organisation called the History Keepers, who have developed a way to travel back through time in order to ensure that the recorded events stay that way, even the most horrible events that most people wish had never happened. There is another organisation, however, who wish to change history to their advantage and they are the ones who have taken Jake’s parents. Jake finds the History Keepers and gets help from the other children, but they very quickly find out that the enemy organisation were not entirely after Jake’s parents, but someone else entirely.

There’s plenty of adventure, no explicit violence and a great mystery to go with it. If your child has an interest in history, while I wouldn’t use this as a historical resource, it certainly has some historical facts to fill out the story.

The titles in the series are:

• The Storm Begins
• Circus Maximus
• Night Ship to China

Unleashed by Debbie Viguié and Nancy Holder

Unleashed is the first book of the Wolf Springs Chronicles, which is a trilogy. It is a story focused on the changing life of a young teen named Katelyn McBride, who was forced to move to Wolf Springs after a tragic accident that killed her mother and left Katelyn on her own. Her only remaining relative was her Grandfather, Ed, who lived in Wolf Springs. He took custody of her and enrolled her in the local highschool, teaching her how to drive his truck (ute for the Aussies reading this!) so she could easily travel from his isolated home in the woods into town. Grieving the loss of her mother and her future in gymnastics, Katelyn gets caught up in the local lore about werewolves and the recent deaths of teen girls who appeared to be attacked by some kind of wild animal. Katelyn is warned by her Grandfather and her new found friend, Trick, to always be home before dark and if she isn’t able to leave town before then, to find a place to stay until morning. Naturally, Katelyn gets so distraught over some teen drama that she leaves a party at night and decides to drive home but ends up with a flat tire. While she tries to change it, she’s attacked but a giant wolf but manages to fight it off and gets back in the car. She tells her grandfather that she was attacked by a medium sized dog in town, so he takes her to get stitches and some shots. Katelyn later finds out that she was possibly attacked by a rogue werewolf and seeks help from the daughter of one of the oldest local families, the Fenners, who she later finds out is the head of the local pack. Katelyn was in fact bitten and turned by a rogue werewolf and is adopted into the pack, she learns to navigate wolf politics, her place in the pack, her newly developed abilities, romantic connections, feuding packs, and the one thing that all werewolves are afarid of, the Hell Hound.

While there is the exploration of romantic relationships, nothing evolves beyond kissing and sexual tension, so it is not explicit at all. That being said, they are werewolves and the story follows the traditional acceptance of nudity when the humans turn into their wolf forms but there are no explicit details in regards to this. There are deaths and battles between packs, but again, there is nothing overly explicit.

The titles of the trilogy includes:

• Unleashed
• Hotblooded
• Savage

I absolutely loved this trilogy, and have read it repeatedly since I first got it.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood is a part of a duology by Kendare Blake, it is a paranormal mystery focused on a teen boy named Cas. He is the son of witch and a ghost hunter, who moves around a lot so Cas doesn’t get the chance to develop any meaningful relationships, that is until they move to Thunder Bay. Cas has chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps, especially since a ghost killed his father some years previously, so every place they move to, Cas hunts and kills the ghosts who occupy the area until they move along. His mother has accepted this, although she worries about him.

Cas comes across the legend about Anna, the ghost of a young girl who was brutally murdered on the night of her prom and now haunts the house she lived in, killing whoever enters it. This story doesn’t just revolve around Cas being a hunter, it focuses on him developing genuine friendships, exploring the mystery behind Anna’s murder which had a lot more to it than people realised, and Cas facing the idea that perhaps not all ghosts are cold blooded killers.

This does lead into a sequel, which I never read because I was so happy with how the first one ended that I didn’t want to ruin it, especially since it follows on with Cas and Anna dealing with the aftermath of the first book.

The titles for the duology are:

• Anna Dressed in Blood
• Girl of Nightmares

There is nothing explicit in the book, although it does describe Anna’s murder in some detail and it also includes the performing of dark magic.

I have read this book several times to the point that I ruined my original copy from repeated reading! I now own it on kindle.

Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

Ghost House is also a part of a duology, it is another paranormal story following a teen girl named Chloe Kennedy, who travels and stays with her Grandmother on her estate in the south of England after her mother’s sudden passing. This time of grief is especially difficult when Chloe realises that her ability to see ghosts has returned, after losing her ghostly sight as a little girl she is suddenly being haunted by all ghosts who still walk the earth, and her Grandmother’s estate is full of them.

Chloe comes across a 157 year old young man named Alexander Reade, as they get to know each other and Chloe’s ability becomes stronger, she encounters the vengeful spirit of Alexander’s past love, Isobel, and she is far less friendly. This story follows Chloe as she learns to navigate her abilities, seeing into Alexander’s and Isobel’s pasts, trying to solve the mystery of what made them stay as ghosts, her relationships with the people around her and dealing with her own grief. There is nothing explicit in this story, however there is mentions of nudity and sexual activity although there are no specific details. There are also some descriptions of injuries and implied murders throughout the story.

The sequel to Ghost House focuses on Chloe’s journey once she has returned home from England, attending school just to find out that there is a whole new ghostly mystery for her to solve. I haven’t personally read the sequel, but from what I’ve come across, it is just as good as the first with many more twists and turns!

The titles of the duology are:

• Ghost House
• Haunted

This brings an end to my posting, it became much longer than I expected it to be! If you are looking for books for your teen, these are a bit older but are books that are not as explicit in some details as some of the newer books tend to be, which make these great introductory reads!

Enjoy your reading!