We’ve just announced the Better Reading 2023 Top 50 Kids’ Books and we hope you love this list as much as we do… in fact, we know you will because you voted for it! Here, we’ve put together a list showcasing the fantastic selection of YA books that made the Top 50 list this year. Have you read any of these?

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

The Prison Healer is about seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan who has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. From bestselling Australian author Lynette Noni comes a dark, thrilling YA fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Sabaa Tahir.

Buy a copy of The Prison Healer here.

Isle of the Gods by Amie Kaufman

Magic, romance, and slumbering gods clash in the start of a riveting fantasy series spanning gangsters’ dens, forgotten temples, and the high seas from the New York Times bestselling author of the Illuminae Files and the Aurora Cycle.

Buy a copy of Isle of the Gods here.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In a dark vision of the near future, twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live TV show called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Buy a copy of The Hunger Games here.

We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis

Harvey’s dads are splitting up. It’s been on the cards for a while, but it’s still sudden. Sotiris is a rising star. At seventeen, he’s already achieved his dream of publishing a novel. Harvey and Sotiris’s stories converge on the same street in Darlinghurst, in this beautifully heartfelt novel about how our dreams shape us, and what they cost us.

Buy a copy of We Could Be Something here.

Heartstopper Volume One by Alice Oseman

By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

Buy a copy of Heartstopper Volume One here.

Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan

Half boy. Half God. All Hero. Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. Now I spend my time battling monsters and generally trying to stay alive. The first bestselling book in Rick Riordan’s phenomenally successful Percy Jackson series.

Buy a copy of Percy Jackson #1: Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief here.

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

Somewhere out there Ellie and her friends are hiding. They’re shocked, they’re frightened, they’re alone. Their world has changed, with the speed of a slamming door. They’ve got no weapons – except courage. They’ve got no help – except themselves. They’ve got nothing – except friendship. How strong can you be, when the world is full of people trying to kill you?

Buy a copy of The Tomorrow Series #1: Tomorrow, When the War Began here.