The best teen books for embracing your inner geek

Who am I?

I’ve always described myself as a lifelong geek. I grew up reading King Arthur legends, watching Star Wars and The NeverEnding Story until I could recite every line, running secret science experiments in my room, and burying my nose in every book I could get my hands on. As I grew, I came to appreciate that there are many different varieties of geeks. Being a geek generally means that you have a true, deep passion for something, and you pursue it unapologetically and with joy. So I wanted to give book recommendations that will appeal to whatever kind of geek you consider yourself.


I wrote...

This Last Adventure

By Ryan Dalton,

Book cover of This Last Adventure

What is my book about?

In This Last Adventure, a boy uses storytelling and shared fantasies to save his grandfather’s memories from Alzheimer’s. After Grandpa is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the hero that Archie’s known all his life starts disappearing. Using Grandpa’s old journal entries as inspiration, he creates role-playing fantasies with epic quests for them to tackle together–helping Grandpa to stay in touch with his fading memories.

But there’s a limit to the power of the fantasies. And not all the memories in the journal are happy. When Archie learns a secret about Grandpa’s past, he questions everything he thought he knew about his hero. As Grandpa’s condition worsens, Archie must come to terms with what he’s losing and decide what it means to live a life worth remembering.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy

Why did I love this book?

Perfect for embracing your inner space adventure geek. Seventh Grade vs. The Galaxy grabs your hand and pulls you into deep space for a grand, fun, and funny star-sweeping good time. There’s excitement, cool spaceships, scary alien races, and an awesome group of kids that suddenly finds themselves in over their heads. You won’t believe how quickly you zip through this book. You just won’t want to put it down.

By Joshua S. Levy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Percy Jackson meets Star Trek

PSS 118 is just your typical school―except that it's a rickety old spaceship orbiting Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter. Jack's dad used to be the science teacher, until he got fired for tinkering with the ship. Now Jack just wants to get through the last day of school without anything else going wrong.

But when the school is mysteriously attacked, Jack discovers that his dad has built humanity's first light-speed engine―and given Jack control of it. To save the ship, Jack catapults it hundreds of light-years away . . . and right into the clutches…


Book cover of The Last Shadow Warrior

Why did I love this book?

Perfect for embracing your inner fantasy geek. Sam’s novel has been making the rounds among lots of us middle grade authors, and it’s gaining new fans every day. Not only is Sam an incredibly nice guy, but he’s written a compelling fantasy book with characters you cheer for and awesome shoutouts to old fantasy legends. Who doesn’t love ticking clocks, dangerous quests, and mythical monsters? You’ll love this.

By Sam Subity,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Last Shadow Warrior as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Percy Jackson meets Thor in a laugh-out-loud, action-packed adventure inspired by Norse mythology.

Twelve-year-old Abby Beckett is proud to come from a long line of elite Viking warriors known as the Aesir. She's spent her entire life training to hunt the horrific creatures known as Grendels--the ancient foe of the Aesir--just like her mother did before she died. But there's just one, small problem: No one has seen a Grendel in centuries, and the Viking Council wants to disband the Aesir . . . forever.

When her father is injured in an attack that leaves him in a coma, Abby…


Book cover of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Why did I love this book?

Perfect for embracing your inner mythology geek. And these mythological ties will be a breath of fresh air because they aren’t the same old myths and legends we’ve seen in so many books for decades. If you’re searching for something that feels new, and not quite like what you’ve read before, you’ll really dig this. Strong character voices, riveting visual descriptions, and a ticking-clock challenge will all keep you cheering from the edge of your seat. It’s pretty funny in places, too, which helps to balance out the tension. 

By Kwame Mbalia,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Kwame Mbalia's epic fantasy, a middle grade American Gods set in a richly-imagined world populated with African American folk heroes and West African gods.

*"Mbalia expertly weaves a meaningful portrayal of family and community with folklore, myth, and history―including the legacy of the slave trade―creating a fast-paced, heroic series starter."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading…


The Zanna Function

By Daniel Wheatley,

Book cover of The Zanna Function

Why did I love this book?

Perfect for embracing your inner science geek. Not every school in a children’s book has to be for wizards, and this book proves it perfectly. The story is about smart people doing crazy things with their deep connections to science and how it shapes our world, and how the results of meddling with the building blocks of the universe can be both wondrous and scary. Even though I have a huge stack of books waiting to be read, I would happily take the time to read this one again.

By Daniel Wheatley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Zanna Function as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When fourteen-year-old Zanna Mayfield gets an acceptance letter from St. Pommeroys School for Gifted Children, she jumps at the chance to put her considerable intellect to good use. But nothing can prepare her for the first day, when she discovers that she is a Scientist one able to see and bend the basic functions of the universe like velocity, gravity, and chemical reactions to her own purposes. As Zanna struggles to make friends and learn how to use her abilities at her new school, her troubles multiply when a mysterious woman begins stalking her, dead set on keeping Zanna out…


Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

By Jessica Kim,

Book cover of Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

Why did I love this book?

Perfect for embracing your inner comedy geek. The first thing that drew me to this book was that it’s about a young girl who wants to be a stand-up comedian. I’m a huge comedy geek, and I never thought a teen book would center on a main character with this desire, so I jumped at the chance to read it. But the book ends up being much more complex than that, as Yumi also must deal with the expectations of her family and culture, and she has to learn along the way how to balance desire with expectation. Really well done!

By Jessica Kim,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Stand Up, Yumi Chung! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One lie snowballs into a full-blown double life in this irresistible story about an aspiring stand-up comedian.

On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, a perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her "Yu-MEAT" because she smells like her family's Korean barbecue restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. Her notebook is filled with mortifying memories that she's reworked into comedy gold. All she needs is a stage and courage.

Instead of spending the summer studying her favorite YouTube comedians, Yumi is enrolled in test-prep tutoring to qualify for a private school scholarship, which will help in…


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One Giant Leap

By Ben Gartner,

Book cover of One Giant Leap

Ben Gartner Author Of The Eye of Ra

New book alert!

Who am I?

I love to read a good action-adventure story. I’ve also written a few. And I know that no matter how high the stakes, if there’s no heart in the characters then there’s very little engagement to make it any more memorable than a temporary thrill. I love thrills, but the stories that stick with you after the excitement of the moment is over, those are the true gems. Besides the fun of reading that type of book, maybe you even learn something about yourself or the world and come out a wee bit wiser than when you went in. And isn’t that a fantastic use of our imaginative powers?!

Ben's book list on new action-packed middle grade with heart

What is my book about?

I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.

Blast off with the four winners of the StellarKid Project on a trip to the International Space Station and then to the Gateway outpost orbiting the Moon! It’s a dream come true until space junk collides with the ISS, turning their epic trip into a nightmare of survival. Alone aboard the Aether starship, the kids have to work as a team to save the adults before the ISS is destroyed. Suit up, cadet, and launch into adventure with One Giant Leap!

By Ben Gartner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One Giant Leap as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.

Blast off with the four winners of the StellarKid Project on a trip to the International Space Station and then to the Gateway outpost orbiting the Moon! It’s a dream come true until space junk collides with the ISS, turning their epic trip into a nightmare of survival. Alone aboard the Aether starship, the kids have to work as a team to save the adults before the ISS is destroyed. Suit up, cadet, and launch into adventure with One Giant Leap!

Praise for…


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