Best Books for Ages 16-18

Recommended young adult fiction for older teens, ranked by real Amazon UK sales.

“Thornbird” by E. Kennedy is the best-selling book for ages 16-18 right now, ahead of “A Good Girl's Guide to Murder” and “Good Girl, Bad Blood”. 7 of the 20 books below hold an average rating of 4.5 stars or better, led by “A Good Girl's Guide to Murder” on 4.7 stars from 9,850 reviews.

Ranked by real, live Amazon UK sales. Click any cover to buy on Amazon.

← Ages 13-15 Ages 16-18

Thornbird: the YA small town thriller debut from New York Ti...

by E. Kennedy

4.3 · 609 reviews

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: The first book in the globall...

by Holly Jackson

4.7 · 9850 reviews

Good Girl, Bad Blood: The second book in the globally bestse...

by Holly Jackson

4.6 · 35345 reviews

The Enemy’s Daughter: An enchanting and magical enemies-to-l...

by Melissa Poett

4.0 · 154 reviews

Treasure Island: Puffin Clothbound Classics

by Robert Louis Stevenson

4.6 · 275 reviews

Cut Him Out in Little Stars: gorgeous 1940s YA teen romance ...

by Lucy Strange

4.4 · 3 reviews

The Heirs

by Àbíké-Íyímídé, Faridah

4.3 · 15 reviews

Fearful: The must-have companion to the epic romantasy trilo...

by Lauren Roberts

4.0 · 4005 reviews

My Name Is Zayn (Kelpies)

by Fidan Meikle

5.0 · 1 reviews

Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls: An addictive killer-thriller ...

by Cynthia Murphy

4.0 · 19 reviews

Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott

4.4 · 5529 reviews

Seven Deadly Thorns: the irresistible enemies-to-lovers roma...

by Amber Hamilton

3.9 · 641 reviews

A Thief to Die For: New for 2026, a dystopian YA enemies-to-...

by Melissa Poett

4.2 · 4 reviews

Local Gods - the highly anticipated new novel from this much...

by Melinda Salisbury

4.8 · 16 reviews

The Nightblood Prince: Mulan meets Helen of Troy with vampir...

by Molly X. Chang

4.2 · 282 reviews

Never Ever After: a fierce and romantic fairy tale retelling...

by Sue Lynn Tan

4.3 · 412 reviews

Better in Black: Ten brand-new romance stories featuring the...

by Cassandra Clare

4.7 · 698 reviews

The Cafe at the End of the World: The meet-cute between cosy...

by Helen Comerford

4.7 · 20 reviews

The River She Became: The No.1 bestselling fae fantasy hit o...

by Emily Varga

4.4 · 63 reviews

Coldwire: the start of a thrilling new dystopian series from...

by Chloe Gong

4.4 · 145 reviews

Best Books for Ages 0-2 Board books and first picture books for babies and toddlers Best Books for Ages 3-5 Picture books for pre-schoolers and early readers Best Books for Ages 6-8 Early chapter books and illustrated fiction Best Books for Ages 9-12 Middle-grade fiction for confident readers Best Books for Ages 13-15 Teen fiction for early and confident teenage readers

FAQs

What are the best books for ages 16-18?
The best-selling book for ages 16-18 right now is "Thornbird: the YA small town thriller debut from New York Times bestselling author of OFF-CAMPUS (now a no.1 amazon prime series), Elle Kennedy!", measured on real Amazon UK sales. See the full top 20 below.

How is this list put together?
Every title is chosen for this age group, then ranked by real, live Amazon UK sales data — so the order reflects what is actually selling, not editorial opinion.