10 Best Fun-filled Young Adult Books About School Life
Life, as they say, is a rollercoaster - and there's no ride more thrilling, awkward, and hilariously entertaining than the journey through high school. For those of us who've survived the landmines of acne, homecoming dances, and PE class, or are currently navigating this wholly unique and often bewildering experience, I've got the ultimate list for you — the 10 best young adult books about school life.
Why these books? Because they successfully capture and reflect the highs and lows of high school life with an uncanny precision. They're filled with intrigue, friendship, first love, heartbreak, nuggets of wisdom, and a bucket-load of humor. They tell the truth – that school isn't always easy or straightforward, but it's definitely an unforgettable adventure. These books feature relatable characters with real problems, set within the halls and classrooms we're all too familiar with.
Each tale is its own unique, fun-filled twist on the classic coming-of-age story, further deepening our understanding of what it means to 'grow up.' Dealing with themes like identity, family dynamics, peer pressure, these books are important mirrors and windows into our own lives.
So, whether you're looking for nostalgia or want to mentally prepare yourself for the school year ahead, these novels are the perfect literary companions. Let's buckle up and dive in!
『Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1)』
In the first book of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney introduces us to Greg Heffley: an unforgettable, unlikely hero that every family can relate to. Being a kid can really stink. And no one knows this better than Greg. He finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. Greg is happy to have Rowley Jefferson, his sidekick, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion. The hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary. But as Greg says: “Just don’t expect me to be all 'Dear Diary' this and 'Dear Diary' that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things. Collect all the books in the #1 bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (#1) | Rodrick Rules (#2) | The Last Straw (#3) | Dog Days (#4) | The Ugly Truth (#5) | Cabin Fever (#6) | The Third Wheel (#7) | Hard Luck (#8) | The Long Haul (#9) | Old School (#10) | Double Down (#11) | The Getaway (#12) | The Meltdown (#13) | Wrecking Ball (#14) | The Deep End (#15) | Big Shot (#16) | Diper Överlöde (#17) | No Brainer (#18) | Hot Mess (#19) See the Wimpy Kid World in a whole new way with the #1 bestselling Awesome Friendly books, told from the perspective of Greg Heffley’s best friend Rowley Jefferson: Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal | Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure | Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories
Author | Jeff Kinney |
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Price | $13.49 |
Publisher | Abrams |
Release Date | Oct 30, 2012 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Field Guide to the North American Teenager』
William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner! A hilarious YA contemporary realistic novel about a witty Black French Canadian teen who moves to Austin, Texas, and experiences the joys, clichés, and awkward humiliations of the American high school experience—including falling in love. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, When Dimple Met Rishi, and John Green. Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas. Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs. Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris…like loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making. But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.
Author | Ben Philippe |
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Price | $9.99 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Release Date | Jan 08, 2019 |
Source | Google Books |
『By the Book』
"A teen obsessed with 19th century literature tries to cull advice on life and love from her favorite classic heroines to disastrous results--especially when she falls for the school's resident lothario"--
Author | Amanda Sellet |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Clarion Books |
Release Date | Jan 01, 2020 |
Source | Google Books |
『If We Were Us』
A high school romance that flips the switch on the will they or won't they trope when two best friends are forced to confront truths about their friendship, identities, and relationships during their senior year at boarding school. Everyone at the prestigious Bexley School believes that Sage Morgan and Charlie Carmichael are meant to be. Even though Charlie seems to have a new girlfriend every month, and Sage has never had a real relationship, their friends and family all know it's just a matter of time until they realize that they are actually in love. When Luke Morrissey shows up on the Bexley campus his presence immediately shakes things up. Charlie and Luke are drawn to each other the moment they meet, giving Sage the opportunity to spend time with Charlie's twin brother, Nick. But Charlie is afraid of what others will think if he accepts that he has much more than a friendship with Luke. And Sage fears that if she lets things with Nick get too serious too quickly, they won't be able to last as a couple outside of high school and miss their chance at forever. The duo will need to rely on each other and their lifelong friendship to figure things out with the boys they love. Perfect for those looking for: Teen romance books Two love stories in one LGBTQ books A fresh rom-com that twists the tropes Coming-of-age stories Books set at a boarding school
Author | K. L. Walther |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Sourcebooks, Inc. |
Release Date | Jun 02, 2020 |
Source | Google Books |
『To All the Boys I've Loved Before』
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is now a major motion picture on Netflix and the inspiration for the spin-off series XO, Kitty—now streaming on Netflix! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Lara Jean’s love life gets complicated in this New York Times bestselling “lovely, lighthearted romance” (School Library Journal) from the bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series. What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once? Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
Author | Jenny Han |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
Release Date | Jul 10, 2018 |
Source | Google Books |
『Tweet Cute』
One of Cosmo's Best YA Novels of All Time A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected. Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming — mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account. Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time. All’s fair in love and cheese — that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life — on an anonymous chat app Jack built. As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate — people on the internet are shipping them?? — their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected. "A witty rom-com reinvention ... with deeply relatable insights on family pressure and growing up.” - Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of Always Never Yours and If I’m Being Honest “An adorable debut that updates a classic romantic trope with a buzzy twist." - Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately and Serious Moonlight
Author | Emma Lord |
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Price | $9.99 |
Publisher | Wednesday Books |
Release Date | Jan 21, 2020 |
Source | Google Books |
『XOXO』
Jenny’s never had much time for boys, K-pop, or really anything besides her dream of being a professional cellist. But when she finds herself falling for a K-pop idol, she has to decide whether their love is worth the risk. A modern forbidden romance wrapped in the glamorous and exclusive world of K-pop, XOXO is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Maurene Goo. Jenny didn’t get to be an award-winning, classically trained cellist without choosing practice over fun. That is, until the night she meets Jaewoo. Mysterious, handsome, and just a little bit tormented, Jaewoo is exactly the kind of distraction Jenny would normally avoid. And yet, she finds herself pulled into spending an unforgettable evening wandering Los Angeles with him on the night before his flight home to South Korea. With Jaewoo an ocean away, there’s no use in dreaming of what could have been. But when Jenny and her mother move to Seoul to take care of her ailing grandmother, who does she meet at the elite arts academy she’s just been accepted to? Jaewoo. Finding the dreamy stranger who swept you off your feet in your homeroom is one thing, but Jaewoo isn’t just any student. Turns out, Jaewoo is a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world. And like most K-pop idols, Jaewoo is strictly forbidden from dating anyone. When a relationship means not only jeopardizing her place at her dream music school but also endangering everything Jaewoo’s worked for, Jenny has to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love. XOXO is a new romance that proves chasing your dreams doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your heart, from acclaimed author Axie Oh. Indigo Best Teen Books of 2021
Author | Axie Oh |
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Price | $11.99 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Release Date | Jul 13, 2021 |
Source | Google Books |
『Love, Jacaranda』
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beastly, Alex Flinn, comes a new contemporary novel about one girl’s journey to find her voice and let love in. “A delicious bonbon of a love story.”—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nancy Werlin Jacaranda Abbott has always tried to keep her mouth shut. As a foster kid, she’s learned the hard way that the less she talks about her mother and why she’s in jail, the better. But when a video of Jacaranda singing goes viral, a mysterious benefactor offers her a life-changing opportunity—a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school for performing arts. Eager to start over somewhere new, Jacaranda leaps at the chance, and she pours her heart out in emails to the benefactor she’s never met. Suddenly she’s swept up into a world of privilege where the competition is fierce and the talent is next level. As Jacaranda—Jackie to her new friends—tries to find her place, a charming boy from this world of wealth catches her eye. She begins to fall for him, but can he accept her for who she really is?
Author | Alex Flinn |
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Price | $5.99 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Release Date | Jul 07, 2020 |
Source | Google Books |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | |
Release Date | |
Source | Google Books |
『The DUFF』
An irreverent and irresistible New York Times bestselling romance between the so-called Designated Ugly Fat Friend and the Hot Jock. Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper may not be the prettiest girl in her high school, but she has a loyal group of friends, a biting wit, and a spot-on BS detector. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush, who calls Bianca the Duff—the Designated Ugly Fat Friend—of her crew. But things aren't so great at home and Bianca, desperate for a distraction, ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
Author | Kody Keplinger |
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Price | $8.99 |
Publisher | Poppy |
Release Date | Sep 07, 2010 |
Source | Google Books |
And there you have it, folks! These are your not-to-be-missed tickets to some amazing fun-filled adventures in the best years of our lives - the school years. Each containing an enchanting blend of friendship, mischief, bookish drama, and the joyous ride of self-discovery. These tales are sure to have you reminiscing about old times or putting yourself in the shoes of these vibrant characters lost amidst the love and turmoil of high school. Served with a healthy dose of humor and never-shying from the ever-compounded issues of teenage years, these books handle it all with grace and gusto. They'll make you laugh until you cry, make you resonate with the characters, and some may even coax a tear or two, breathing life and character into the age-old hallways of school like never before. They’re more than just stories; they’re an homage to the beautiful mess that is school life. So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, snuggle up in your favorite blanket, and plunge headfirst into these enchanting worlds. Believe me, these books have something for everyone, and they will not disappoint.
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