Making Sense of Series Books in Young Adult Literature

Series books provide a particular kind of reading enjoyment for teens. But with so many popular series to choose from, readers may not know how to find quality stories amidst the great number of commercial products available. This episode offers insight into the different kinds of series books out there, followed by recommendations of truly memorable series and companion books that will hook teen readers and stand the test of time.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take to the library or book seller.

Recommendations in this episode include

Series Books

• The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Co., 2005 - 2008)
• The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2005 - 2007)
• The Tomorrow When the War Began Series (Scholastic, 1995 - 2002) and The Ellie Chronicles (Scholastic, 2007 - 2009) by John Marsden
• The Larry Books by Janet Tashjian (Holt, 2001 - 2008)
• The Gingerbread Books by Rachel Cohn (Simon & Schuster, 2002 - 2007)
• The Weetzie Bat Books (also known as Dangerous Angels) by Francesca Lia Block (HarperCollins, 1989 - 1995)

Companion Books

• Hard Love and Love and Lies by Ellen Wittlinger (Simon & Schuster, 1999 and 2008)
• Tyrell and Kendra by Coe Booth (Scholastic, 2007 and 2008)
• Life as We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt, 2006 and 2008)
• Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak (Arthur A. Levine, 2001 and 2003)