Best Books for Young Adults Non-fiction Titles
These books, recommended for teens ages 12-18, have been chosen by the Young Adult Library
Services Division of the American Library Association (ALA) as the best books for young adults
because they meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.
These books vary widely in maturity level and content
Author and Title
Call No.
Anderson, M.T. Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri
Shastakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
Teen 940.5421 Anderson
Angel, Ann Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing
Teen B Joplin
Barry, Lynda What It Is: the Formless Thing Which Gives
Things Form
Teen 741.5 Barry
Blumenthal, Karen Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless
Years of Prohibition
Teen 363.4 Blumenthal
Davis, Kenneth C. In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History
Of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives
Teen 920.0092 Davis
Engle, Margarita Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings
Teen B Engle
Fleischman, Sid The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark
Twain in the Wild, Wild West
Teen B Twain
Fleming, Candace The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous,
Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum
Teen B Barnum
Grove, Tim First Flight Around the World: the Adventures of
the American Flyers Who Won the Race
Teen 910.41 Grove
Hoose, Phillip M. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Teen B Colvi
Jurmain, Suzanne The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and
Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and her Students
Teen B Crandall
Kuklin, Susan Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
Teen 306.768 Kuklin
Levinson, Cynthia We’ve Got a Job
Teen 323. 1196 Levinson
Leyson, Leon The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible
Became Possible on Schindler’s List
Teen B Leyson
Best Books for Young Adults Non-fiction Titles
Author and Title
Lowery, Lynda Blackman Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom:
My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March
Call No.
Teen 323.1196 Lowery
McCully, Emily Arnold Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who
Challenged Big Business-and Won!
Teen B Tarbell
Osborne, Linda Barrett This is Our Land: A History of
American Immigration
Teen 304.8097 Osborne
Partridge, Elizabeth Marching for Freedom: Walk Together,
Children and Don’t You Grow Weary
Teen 323.1196 Partridge
Paulsen, Gary This Side of Wild: Mutts, Mares, and Laughing
Dinosaurs
Teen B Paulsen
Plain, Nancy This Strange Wilderness: the Life and Art of
John James Audubon
Teen B Audubon
Sheinkin, Steve Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the
Secret History of the Vietnam War
Teen 959.7043 Sheinkin
Shields, Charles J. I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee
Teen B Lee
Stelson, Caren Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story
Teen B Yasui
Stone, Tanya Lee Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to
Dream
Teen 629.45 Stone
Turner, Pamela S. Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto
Yoshitsune
Teen B Minamoto
Woodson, Jacqueline Brown Girl Dreaming
Teen B Woodson