Best Teen Books for Holiday Gifts

Looking for great teen books to give a book lover you know this holiday season? Here are ten fantastic titles!

1. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them” by J.K. Rowling

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone…

2. “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. TolkienIn ancient times, the Rings of Power were crafted by Elven-smiths, and Sauron the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all the others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages, it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the ruling ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the dwarf; Legolas the elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

3. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the

nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms,

each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live T.V. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen,

who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her

district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change, but one thing is constant: kill or be

killed.

4. “Hogwarts Classics” by J.K. RowlingInside the “Hogwarts Classics” boxed set, readers will find a pair of books treasured by students at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry: Quidditch Through the Ages, a comprehensive history of the game and its rules (just try to ignore the doodles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and other Hogwarts students who couldn’t resist); and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, translated from the ancient runes by Hermione Granger, with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J.K. Rowling and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore.

5. “The Auralia Thread” by Jeffrey Overstreet Synopsis from book one, “Auralia’s Colors”:

When thieves find an abandoned child lying in a monster’s footprint, they have no idea that their wilderness discovery will change the course of history.

Cloaked in mystery, Auralia grows up among criminals outside the walls of House Abascar, where vicious beastmen lurk in shadow. There, she discovers an unsettling--and forbidden--talent for crafting colors that enchant all who behold them, including Abascar’s hard-hearted king, an exiled wizard, and a prince who keeps dangerous secrets.

Auralia’s gift opens doors from the palace to the dungeons, setting the stage for violent and miraculous change in the great houses of the Expanse.

“Auralia’s Colors” weaves literary fantasy together with poetic prose, a suspenseful plot, adrenaline-rush action, and unpredictable characters sure to enthrall ambitious imaginations.

6. “Around the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne One ill-fated evening at the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions 20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just eighty days--and he is determined not to lose. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, the reserved Englishman immediately sets off for Dover, accompanied by his hot-blooded French manservant Passepartout. Travelling by train, steamship, sailing boat, sledge, and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks and the dogged Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard--who believes that Fogg has robbed the Bank of England--to win the extraordinary wager. “Around the World in Eighty Days” gripped audiences on its publication and remains hugely popular, combining exploration, adventure, and a thrilling race against time.

7. “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

8. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literature future, “Fahrenheit 451” stands alongside Orwell’s “1984” and Huxley’s “Brave New World” as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel, which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

9. “The Emperor’s Edge” by Lindsay BurokerImperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed. Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin, is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills...or someone wants her dead.

10. “The Princess Bride” by William GoldmanAs Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and rescued once again by the very crew who absconded with her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she’ll meet Vizzini--the criminal philosopher who’ll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzik--the gentle giant; Inigo--the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugen--the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Wesley, Princess Buttercup’s one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate.

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