Dr Shilling's 10 Books to Read Before You Turn 16
The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton set the groundwork for Young Adult fiction when she wrote The Outsiders in high school. Ponyboy's journey shows that things can go too far very quickly when you're willing to do anything to belong.
Author: S.E Hinton
Publisher: Penguin; 01 edition (4 Aug. 2016)
ISBN-10: 0141368888
ISBN-13: 978-0141368887
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Mark Haddon's novel follows a boy with autism who is working to solve the murder of a neighbour's dog. The prose puts readers inside the complicated mind of Christopher John Francis Boone, offering a new perspective on people who are different from most.
Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: Vintage; 51 edition (1 April 2004)
ISBN-10: 9780099450252
ISBN-13: 978-0099450252
The Book Thief
The New York Times bestseller, which inspired a major motion picture, explores a Nazi society, where a young girl's passion for reading feeds her soul when all else seems bleak.
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Black Swan; Film Tie-In edition (30 Jan. 2014)
ISBN-10: 9780552779739
ISBN-13: 978-0552779739
Lord of the Flies
William Golding’s iconic novel follows a group of schoolboys who survive a plane crash only to be stranded on a remote island. The book's simple lesson that people can change in an instant impacted the works of Stephen King, Suzanne Collins, and more.
Author: William Golding
Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (3 Mar. 1997, originally published 1954)
ISBN-10: 9780571191475
ISBN-13: 978-0571191475
The Fault in Our Stars
Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old cancer patient, meets and falls in love with Gus Waters a similarly afflicted teen from her cancer support group. Hazel feels that Gus really understands her. They both share the same acerbic wit and a love of books, especially Grace's touchstone, "An Imperial Affliction" by Peter Van Houten. When Gus scores an invitation to meet the reclusive author, he and Hazel embark on the adventure of their brief lives.
Author: John Green
Publisher: Penguin; 01 edition (3 Jan. 2013)
ISBN-10: 0141345659
ISBN-13: 978-0141345659
To Kill a Mockingbird
The storyline is based in Maycomb, a small town in Alabama in the 1930s where Scout lives with her elder brother Jem, and her father, Atticus, who is widowed. ... Scout and her brother get to learn some crucial lessons about judging others through the character of Boo, the cryptic and solitary neighbour.
Author: Harper Lee
Publisher: Arrow; 50th Anniversary edition (2010, originally published 1960)
ISBN-10: 9780099549482
ISBN-13: 978-0099549482
the Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger's big city tale of teenager Holden Caulfield was first published more than 70 years ago, but the way Holden desperately keeps his pain inside is a teenage turmoil that hasn't changed.
Author: J.D Salinger
Publisher: Penguin; 01 edition (4 Mar. 2010, originally published 1951)
ISBN-10: 0241950430
ISBN-13: 978-0241950432
Animal Farm
Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is an allegorical story about the Soviet Union's early years. At the beginning of the story, Old Major inspires his fellow farm animals to revolt against their human master, Mr. Jones, owner of Manor Farm. Leaders of the animal revolt include two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball.
Author: George Orwell
Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (24 Feb. 2000, originally published 1945)
ISBN-10: 0141182709
ISBN-13: 978-0141182704
His Dark Materials
The story centres on a girl called Lyra who goes on an epic adventure to uncover the mystery behind something called Dust, meeting giant polar bears, witches and evil villains along the way.
Author: Philip Pullman
Age Range: 11 years and up
Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (6 Sept. 2018, originally published as a trilogy: Northern Lights (1995) (published as The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000))
ISBN-10: 1407188992
ISBN-13: 978-1407188997