The 50 Books to Read in High School list was created by the Lexington Public Library staff in response to frequent questions regarding the best books for high school students.  The 50 Books to Read in High School is a list generated by the teen services team with input from librarians from the Fayette County Public Schools.  The list is intended to either reflect the life experiences of local teenagers, or to broaden your world view.  On this list, you’ll find classics as well as cultural phenomena, and you may find something you wouldn’t have immediately picked out for yourself. Read them and share what you think with your friends, teachers and, of course, your favorite librarians!

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 Following is an alphabetical list by author of all 50 titles. 

1. 
   The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
   by Douglas Adams (TEEN FIC ADAMS)
    
2. 
   The Book of Three
   by Lloyd Alexander (TEEN FIC ALEXA)
    
3. 
   Speak
   by Laurie Halse Anderson (TEEN FIC ANDER)
    
4. 
   I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
   by Maya Angelou (TEEN B An43a1)
    
5. 
   Go Ask Alice
   by Anonymous (TEEN 362.29 An79g)
    
6. 
   Thirteen Reasons Why
   by Jay Asher (TEEN FIC ASHER)
    
7. 
   Pride and Prejudice
   by Jane Austen (TEEN FIC AUSTE)
    
8. 
   Fahrenheit 451
   by Ray Bradbury (TEEN FIC BRADB)
    
9. 
   Ender’s Game
   by Orson Scott Card (TEEN FIC CARD)
    
10. 
    The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    by Stephen Chbosky (TEEN FIC CHBOS)
     
11. 
    Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
    by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (TEEN FIC COHN)
     
12. 
    The Hunger Games
    by Suzanne Collins (TEEN FIC COLLI)
     
13. 
    Whale Talk
    by Chris Crutcher (TEEN FIC CRUTC)
     
14. 
    Just Listen
    by Sarah Dessen (TEEN FIC DESSE)
     
15. 
    Little Brother
    by Cory Doctorow (TEEN FIC DOCTO)
     
16. 
    Tears of a Tiger
    by Sharon Draper (TEEN FIC DRAPE)
     
17. 
    The Diary of a Young Girl
    by Anne Frank (TEEN B F851a4)
     
18. 
    The Sandman:  Preludes & Nocturnes
    by Neil Gaiman (TEEN 741.5 SANDM)
     
19. 
    Lord of the Flies
    by William Golding (TEEN FIC GOLDI)
     
20. 
    The Princess Bride
    by William Goldman (TEEN FIC GOLDM)
     
21. 
    Looking for Alaska
    by John Green (TEEN FIC GREEN)
     
22. 
    Black Like Me
    by John Howard Griffin (TEEN B G8757a1)
     
23. 
    The Outsiders
    by S. E. Hinton (TEEN FIC HINTO)
     
24. 
    Crank
    by Ellen Hopkins (TEEN FIC HOPKI)
     
25. 
    The First Part Last
    by Angela Johnson (TEEN FIC JOHNS)
     
26. 
    Flowers for Algernon
    by Daniel Keyes (TEEN FIC KEYES)
     
27. 
    The Secret Life of Bees
    by Sue Monk Kidd (TEEN FIC KIDD)
     
28. 
    To Kill a Mockingbird
    by Harper Lee (TEEN FIC LEE)
     
29. 
    A Wrinkle in Time
    by Madeleine L’Engle (TEEN FIC LENGL)
     
30. 
    Sold
    by Patricia McCormick (TEEN FIC MCCOR)
     
31. 
    Twilight
    By Stephenie Meyer (TEEN FIC MEYER)
     
32. 
    Gone with the Wind
    by Margaret Mitchell (TEEN FIC MITCH)
     
33. 
    Monster
    by Walter Dean Myers (TEEN FIC MYERS)
     
34. 
    1984
    by George Orwell (TEEN FIC ORWEL)
     
35. 
    A Child Called It
    by Dave Pelzer (TEEN 362.76 P369c)
     
36. 
    The Bell Jar
    by Sylvia Plath (TEEN FIC PLATH)
     
37. 
    The Catcher in the Rye
    by J. D. Salinger (TEEN FIC SALIN)
     
38. 
    Persepolis
    by Marjane Satrapi (TEEN 741.5944 PERSE)
     
39. 
    Fast Food Nation
    by Eric Schlosser (TEEN 394.10973 Sch39f)
     
40. 
    Romeo and Juliet
    by William Shakespeare (TEEN 822.33 U3ss)
     
41. 
    For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow is Enuf
    by Ntozake Shange (TEEN 811.54 Sh18f)

42. 
    Frankenstein
    by Mary Shelley (TEEN FIC SHELL)
     
43. 
    Maus I
    by Art Spiegelman (TEEN 940.5315 Sp43m)
     
44. 
    The Grapes of Wrath
    by John Steinbeck (TEEN FIC STEIN)
     
45. 
    The Fellowship of the Ring
    by J. R. R. Tolkien (TEEN FIC TOLKI)
     
46. 
    A Streetcar Named Desire
    by Tennessee Williams (TEEN 812.54 W675s)
     
47. 
    Native Son
    by Richard Wright (TEEN FIC WRIGHT)
     
48. 
    Funny How Things Change
    by Melissa Wyatt (TEEN FIC WYATT)
     
49. 
    American Born Chinese
    by Gene Luen Yang (TEEN 741.5 YANG)
     
50. 
    The Book Thief
    by Markus Zusak (TEEN FIC ZUSAK)