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