12 unforgettable young adult series that make great gifts for teens who love to read
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Based on our team's collective experience, gifting someone a book - especially a long, adventurous, exhilarating series - has an effect that can span years and, sometimes, even lifetimes. They provide hours of enjoyment and imagination, and they help create opportunities for kids to both spend time alone and connect with friends over shared interests.
Below are twelve of the best series you can gift a young adult, from timeless classics to exciting newcomers that have inspired upcoming or already released major motion pictures and series, providing aspects of fandom they can enjoy post-reading.
Captions provided by Amazon and edited for length.
Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.
"Inheritance Cycle" by Christopher Paolini
"Inheritance Cycle" 4-Book Boxed Set, $41.74
"Inheritance Cycle" is the unforgettable, worldwide best-selling saga of one boy, one dragon, and a world of adventure. When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it's the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he and his dragon, Saphira, are thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands...
Plus, when they’re done with these four, there’s a new book from Paolini being released December 31, 2018 after a seven-year gap.
"Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling
"Harry Potter" Paperback Box Set, $52.16
The "Harry Potter" series has been hailed as “one for the ages” by Stephen King and “a spellbinding saga" by USA Today. The New York Times called “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” the “fastest selling book in history.” This is the ultimate Harry Potter collection for Harry Potter fans of all ages, books one through seven. You can also get them in hardcover for $72.27.
"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
"The Hunger Games" Trilogy, $26.44
The extraordinary, groundbreaking New York Times best sellers “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire”, along with the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, “Mockingjay,” are available in a beautiful boxset edition. The collectible also comes with new foil covers, more than 50 pages of bonus material, and the most extensive interview Suzanne Collins has given since the publication of “The Hunger Games”.
"A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket
"A Series of Unfortunate Events" Box Set, $88.72
Lemony Snicket’s unhappy tale of the unlucky Baudelaire siblings begins with The Bad Beginning. In this short, bothersome book alone, the three orphans encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
If you’ve got the stomach to wade through the first three tragic tales in Lemony Snicket’s "A Series of Unfortunate Events," then this troubling collection might be the one for you. You’ve been warned!
"The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkein
"The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" Set, $31.26
Tolkien's epic tale of Middle-earth has all the classic ingredients of fantasy and adventure: dwarves, elves, goblins, and trolls, a terrifying dragon, a great wizard, a fearsome evil, a perilous quest, and a dramatic climax.
"Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L’Engle
The "Wrinkle in Time" Quintet Boxed Set, $24.99
After Meg and Charles Wallace Murry and Calvin O'Keefe defeated evil and saved the universe in the Newbery Medal-winning classic “A Wrinkle in Time,” their adventures didn't end. The other books in the Wrinkle in Time Quintet take readers to the deep past and distant future, to the far reaches of the galaxy and the inner workings of the human heart. You can also purchase a hardcover gift edition with blue gilded pages and a slipcase.
"To All the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han
"To All the Boys I've Loved Before" Paperback Collection, $26.39
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?
Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved — five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
"His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman
"His Dark Materials" Omnibus Classics Edition, $21.28
This Contemporary Classics edition is the only omnibus of Philip Pullman’s best-selling, award-winning fantasy trilogy. His heroine, Lyra, is an orphan living in a parallel universe in which science, theology, and magic are entwined. The epic story that takes us through the three novels is not only a spellbinding adventure featuring armored polar bears, magical devices, witches, and demons, it is also an audacious and profound reimagining of Milton's “Paradise Lost” that has already inspired a number of serious books of literary criticism.
"Vampire Academy" by Richelle Mead
"Vampire Academy" Box Set, $25.79
Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess — a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth’s magic. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever.
"The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
"The Maze Runner" Complete Series, $31.89
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's welcomed to his new home, the Glade, by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out—and no one's ever made it through alive.
Join Thomas and the Gladers in all five books in the "Maze Runner" series as they uncover the secrets of the maze; discover WICKED, the shadowy organization who put them there; and fight to survive in a new and dangerous world. Enter the World of the "Maze Runner" series and never stop running.
"The Mortal Instruments" by Cassandra Clare
"The Mortal Instruments" Complete Collection, $49.99
Enter the secret world of the Shadowhunters with this handsomely packaged boxed set that includes all “City of Bones,” “City of Ashes,” “City of Glass,” “City of Fallen Angels,” “City of Lost Souls,” and “City of Heavenly Fire”. The Mortal Instruments books have more than 24 million copies in print, and this complete collectible set of six paperback volumes is a perfect gift for newcomers to the series and for loyal fans alike.
"Uglies" by Scott Westerfield
"Uglies" Collectible Boxed Set, $40.99
In Tally Youngblood’s world, looks matter. She lives in a society created to function with perfect-looking people who never have a chance to think for themselves. And she’s tired of it. First as an ugly, then a pretty, and finally a special, Tally takes down the social infrastructure. And then, a generation later, a world obsessed with fame and instant celebrity—and filled with extras—will reap the consequences.