17 Fantastic YA Book Club Books (For Teens and Adults)

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iymide

I could not stop listening to this social thriller on audiobook!

Truly a page-turning blend of Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl and Get Out that will provide so much to talk about in a teen book club. I don’t want to give much away on this one!

All The Rage by Courtney Summers

I feel like so many of Courtney Summer’s books would be great book club reads (Some Girls Are for sure even though it’s a bit older and the popular Sadie) but it’s All My Rage that I’d pick if I had to pick just one.

This book came out around the same time as the story of Brock Turner and I kept thinking how it would spark discussion in general but ESPECIALLY as this story became relevant in the public mind I just thought it’d be a great YA book club book!

It’s about a girl whose assault, which happens before the book starts, is swept under the rug because it is her word against the golden boy who also happens to be the town sheriff’s son. Her truth costs her everything and leads to her being ostracized and bullied because everyone she thinks she falsely accused him.

That is until a young girl, connected to Romy and this boy, goes missing after a party and there is an accusation from a girl in another town and Romy must decide if she wants to carry the burden of getting justice and sparing others or staying silent after everything she’s endured.

A searing and rage-inducing exploration of rape culture, the burdens victim carry, the litany of ways society fails young women in these cases, victim-blaming and shaming, etc. Definitely a tough book to read but Courtney Summers navigates it with care.

Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

This is a fantastic book if you are looking for a historical YA book for book club that feels so very timely and honestly that is just a really incredible well-written read. 

It’s about a Chinese-American girl, living in the 1950’s during the Red Scare, who starts to explore her sexuality as she and a new friend start frequenting The Telegraph Club during a time when it’s dangerous for two girls to fall in love or for a place like The Telegraph Club to exist. At a time when tension is high for her community and her family thanks to Red Scare paranoia, she tries to balance this self-discovery with staying out of trouble as threats of her father’s deportation loom large. 

An incredible story with so much to discuss! You can read my review about The Last Night At The Telegraph Club for more info. 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

One of my favorite YA books from the last couple years! Do not let the novel in verse thing scare you if it’s not normally your thing. This book is INCREDIBLE. (Honestly all of this author’s books so far would be great YA book club reads!). 

This one is about two young women who lose their father in a plane crash and the reckoning of the secrets exposed after his death – like the fact they never knew that the other one existed. A beautiful and heart-breaking story of complicated grief and sisterhood.

P.S. This book is amazing on audiobook — one of the best YA audiobooks for teens!

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

Seriously I could put EVERY SINGLE Tiffany D. Jackson novel on this list. Her books make for some of THE best book club books for young adults because they will get you talking for sure. 

What a hard-hitting and page-turning book that tells the story of a young girl being preyed upon and abused in her search for stardom by a famous older artist who has promised her a career and seems to really like her. 

It deftly tackles SO MUCH within the pages but never feels heavy handed as it crushingly examines how, especially within the entertainment industry, how young girls are preyed on and how society/system/the industry lets it happen and the abuse of power, fame and money that happens in our society. 

A truly gripping read that you’ll be discussing for days!

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

This is a super feminist dystopian novel, set in a super patriarchal and misogynistic society, is a fantastic teen book club pick that teens and adults will enjoy and find to be discussion-worthy.

It’s got elements of horror and a survival story and you won’t be able to put this down as these girls get shipped off on their 15th birthday for their mysterious Grace Year that nobody ever talks about upon their return.

All they know is that it’s a year away from their village where they are banished in order to release their magic they have inside them that makes them do horrible things (like seduce men!) so they can come back home and be purified, proper wives.

Highly recommend The Grace Year on audio, too!

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

John Green’s books are some of my most beloved OG young adult books and he’s so wildly popular it almost seems silly to include him on this list as if anyone needs help finding his books but I truly believe this book would a great YA book club book.

The blurb is vague and I think it is the best way to go into this one. It’s been praised for its expiration of mental health and mental illness, so know that.

 “It all begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward. Turtles All the Way Down is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.”

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

This one is a good YA mystery/thriller pick but it’s so much more with its Indigenous setting on a reservation and exploration of the main character’s culture.

A wholly gripping story of an Ojibwe teen who risks everything, after a great tragedy occurs on the reservation, to reckon with some of the darker parts of her community and save it from being destroyed.

There is just so much to talk about with this one and there is a reason it is widely praised!

Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

If your group already read and loved The Grace Year or The Handmaid’s Tale or you are just looking for a great feminist dystopian, this one is what you need!! It is a series, FYI, and this is the first book.

Set at an all girl boarding school where girls are expected to be perfect and obedient, this dystopian/sci-fi book will have you wanting to hulk-smash the patriarchy and cheer when these girls start to unravel the secrets hiding in their school and stand up for themselves.

So much to unpack! Plus it’s just a page-turning read you will be dying to discuss with someone.

I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver

When Ben, a high school student, comes out as non-binary to their parents they are kicked out of their house and end up having to live with their estranged older sister. As they try to work through their anxiety after their parent’s rejection, they try to keep a low profile at their new school which is short-lived when another super funny and charismatic student decides to take them under his wing. Fantastic read but also love how it talks anxiety and therapy and identity.

You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson

Okay I know a lot of books on this list seem more on the dark side or deal with tough issues, so if you need something on the feel-good side but still with a ton of substance as it navigates real issues – this one is IT! This book has so much heart and I loved the romance!

It’s about a Black teen girl who decides to put herself in the running for prom queen in order to secure the prize money that comes with it in order to get herself out of this town and into the super elite college that is going to change her future. Amid the usual prom-related antics and drama, there also comes a snag when the cute new girl she has been crushing on is also in the running for prom queen.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

I love Jeff’s books (The Serpent King and the In The Wild Light are my faves) but this one I think would make such a great book club book. It’s just a wonderful book about friendship, grief, guilt and forgiveness.

It’s about a boy whose 3 best friend die in a car accident and he, and many people around him, blame him for the accident because he sent a text to the driver around the same time it happened.

With threats of criminal charges, public opinion and guilt weighing on him, he finds comfort in some unlikely allies in his corner – one of those being the grandmother of one of the boys who asks him to join her in saying goodbye to her grandson properly which catches on amongst others grieving.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

If your book club has read and enjoyed The Hate U Give, definitely read this one next. Nic Stone is incredible and I loved this story of a Black teen trying to reconcile his place in this world, a world he finds out doesn’t see his accomplishments and future but rather his skin color first, especially in light of some recent encounters he has with police that have shaken him to his core. 

As he reckons with these encounters and where he belongs in this world (he goes to a mostly all white boarding school vastly different from where he grew up), he dives into MLK’s teachings and writes letters to him in a diary to try to work out if those teachings are even still relevant to the modern world. 

Should be required reading in all high schools, honestly! I feel like Justyce’s journey reminds me a lot of that moment in Fresh Prince when Carlton is pulled over and suddenly sees things he really didn’t fully understand before. Justyce doesn’t feel like he fits in with his old neighborhood but now he can’t help but see encounters and his place at his white boarding school differently. The examination and questions Justyce wrestles with will be worth talking about.

Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis

I feel like I went back and forth on which Mindy McGinnis book to add to this list – this one, The Female of the Species or Heroine (great book about opioid crisis)– but ultimately went with this one because I feel like I have a lot of contemporary books on this list.

This one is a bleak post-apocalyptic/dystopian survival story in which water is scarce and it is her job to protect the pond that keeps her alive from those who want to take it away from her – at whatever cost. 

It is such a raw survival story and I appreciated the exploration of what it takes to survive in a situation like this — the mentality behind survival and how our morality can get muddied as well as how one keeps their humanity in a world like that.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

This historical fantasy book would be a great YA book club recommendation if you are looking something more on the fantastical side! It’s a really intriguing Romeo and Juliet retelling but set in 1920’s Shanghai filled with rival gangs and monsters! Plus a bit of scathing examination of colonialism.

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

I actually did read this with my YA book club and I really thought it made a great book club selection because it was an entertaining urban fantasy read filled with monsters (human and actual monsters) but also there was such an interesting, deeper exploration of good and evil as well as what makes us human.

Such a good book, albeit dark, with fabulous world building – plus I love reading books that blur the lines of light and dark and good and evil. You know, a bit morally grey.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

An older selection but certainly a discussion-stirring book club read that is as timely as ever! It was hard to pick between this one and Neal’s other series Scythe which also had interesting discussion potential.

This one is  a dystopian set in a world after a war regarding reproductive rights has been fought between pro-choice and pro-life parties in the U.S where abortion is illegal.

However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen parents can have their child “unwound,” – a process that takes all the child’s organs and transplants them to different donors which means life doesn’t technically end.

The story follows 3 teens facing being unwound who are trying to escape their fate.

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Okay I was only going to feature one of Tiffany D. Jackson’s books on this list but after I finished the post I had to add this one in because I didn’t want it to just be a sidenote telling you it would be a great book club book for teens! 

I don’t wanna say too much because the way this story is told and unfolds is just something you need to experience but it’s about a young girl whose best friend disappears and she feels like nobody is even looking for her. So many things to discuss with this one!!