What are your secondary-aged children reading?

[Mrsfrumble]

For a job application to work in a school library. I was such a voracious reader at that age and books saved my life. I love the idea of helping to inspire teenagers towards a similar formative experience, but I’m not up to date on the modern classics of the YA genre. Can you help me with my research please?

Mine is reading The Outsiders by SE Hinton.

My year 9 DD has just read Holly Bourne's Spinster series (great for young feminists) and John Green's A Fault in Our Stars. She's just started Moonrise by Sarah Crossan (I highly recommend all her books, they are novels in the form of poetry)
Have a look at the last few years' Carnegie shortlist there are lots of ideas there.
Good luck with the job!

Manga books and graphic novels.

Holly Bourne and Sarah Crossan as mentioned above are very good and deservedly popular. Try also Patrick Ness, Meg Rosoff, Patrice Lawrence , Alex Wheatle and ( my personal favourite) Jonathan Stroud. Pop into your local public library and have a browse through their YA section. The Carnegie shortlists are indeed a good place to look, though they tend towards the worthy.

Ds (13yo) is currently rereading the Cherub and Henderson boy series.
DD2 (17yo) was reading a Chalet School earlier.

Anything by Horowitz
Skullduggery Pleasant
Artemis Fowl series
Malorie Blackman was children's laureate & writes YA
Percy Jackson series
Lemony Snicket

Simon mason's Garvie Smith books
Patrick Ness
Iain m banks
Anything by Malorie Blackman - loved boys don't cry
John green
David levithan
Wool
All the Terry Pratchett disc world books
Manga - assassination classroom was a huge hit a couple of years ago
Jason Reynolds is wonderful but not as big in the UK - they really liked the boy in the black suit - poetry, whodathunkit?
Catherine macphail - good Scottish ya author
Carl deuter - American, hard to get in UK but very good on teen boy scenarios

They're 14/15 and getting more into adult fiction now, but some of the above have been great at getting them to talk about life and move away from fantasy/sci-fi as their only reading matter.

Mallorie Blackman -Noughts and Crosses
Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials series and Sally Lockhart series
Eva Ibbotson
Lauren St John
Agatha Christie
Frances Hardinge

The Enemy series by Charlie Higson
Cherub series
Wolf brother series
William Brown books - Richmal Crompton
Phoenix magazine

Phillip Pullman and anything by Anthony Horowitz

I'm a high school librarian - my students love all the Karen McManus books (One Of Us Is Lying etc), Kwame Alexander, particularly Booked and Becoming Muhammad Ali, graphic novels and anything about football or war, but the breadth of different stuff they choose is astounding. The Carnegie Medal long list is a good place to look too.
Feel free to shout if you have any questions about working in a school library. I love it. It's probably the most rewarding job I've ever had.

15 year old Year 10 DD reads a lot - will ask her what she would recommend.

Thank you all! This is amazingly helpful. I will definitely go and lurk in the YA section now that the libraries are open again, and relive my happy youth spent sitting on a beanbag devouring the Lion Teen Tracks series (remember those?)

I’m not at all confident about the job; I’ve been out of work for a very long time (7 years of being a SAHM) but it is pretty much my dream job and I do really want to work again. It’s a graduate trainee role which means that I don’t need a postgrad qualification in library / information studies (which I’d love to do but can’t afford).

@Scootergrrrl it’s great to hear that you love the job so much. Can I ask, how did you get in to it? And do you get the chance to recommend books to the students, and chat to them about what they’re reading?

Omg Mrs Fumble,
I could have wrote your post. I'm a stay at home mum for the past 14 years and have very recently applied for a job as a librarian!
I'm an avid reader as are my kids and this would be my dream job! I have some of the necessary qualifications they're looking for but being a sahm for so long I'm nervous!
To completely derail this topic what do you are anyone else here think would give my application an edge?

Maybe we’re competing for the same job @Mytupenceworth! It’s nerve-wracking, isn’t it? I have to keep reminding myself that I have a postgraduate degree and management experience, but my confidence is shot after being out of work for a while. I’m also willing to start at the bottom if it’s something I really want to do (and working with books and children definitely is) so I’m also hoping age and experience don’t count against me. Anyway, good luck!

@ Mrs Frumble
I doubt it, I'm in Ireland. Best of luck to you too!

I’m in London, so definitely not!

Apologies @Mrsfrumble - I missed this reply. My job involves running library lessons for all the children in KS3 and providing books for everyone in school. There's lots of recommending goes on! I got into it because my own children attend the school (luckily with reputations as keen readers!) and the job came up so I decided to go for it.
Interestingly, the deputy head has since talked to me about how, if a man goes for a job, generally he'll think he's in with a chance if he ticks six out of ten boxes, but a woman will think she can't possibly apply unless she has all ten requirements on the job spec!
I found the most important thing was to have good relationships with the children. The keen readers are easy in a way. It's the "I hate reading, Miss" crew that's a bit more tricky. In those cases, talk to them about their likes and dislikes (in general, not reading-wise). Mention using audiobooks and e-readers in your interview maybe, depending on school policy and don't underestimate the pastoral side of a school library. It can be a bit of a haven for the funny little kids in our school. I can PM you some more specific information about stuff we do if you like. You too @Mytupenceworth if you want! Good luck to you both.

@scootergrrrl I'd really appreciate that. The job I'm going for is with the main council library but any insights would be great.

@Mrsfrumble best of luck to you, wouldn't it be fantastic if we both got the job!

Dd has said

Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone
Hunger Games
One of us is lying
The Martian
Terry Pratchett
Silence is Goldfish

Red White and Royal Blue

Waterstone's young adult section stuff is generally what they have in the library

Shamelessly lurking. Really stuck for ideas recently.

Would Cousins by Karen McManus be suitable for fairly innocent 12DS?

My children all think the school librarians are fabulous, three different levels of engagement with books.

DS1 (16) is reading ready player 2 and the great gatsby

Ds2 (14) is reading the power of five series (again!)