While young readers have always stolen books from adults' shelves, hoping to glean insight into the grown-up world, ever since Harry Potter became a worldwide phenomenon, adults have been returning the favor. From Twilight, to Hunger Games, to The Mortal Instruments, bestselling YA titles have officially colonized the adult market, too.
So it’s no surprise that many of your favorite writers are now releasing books aimed at young adult readers. Even less surprisingly, many of these authors’ efforts are still attracting the adult readers who originally put them on bestseller lists. Here are a few of our favorite authors who’ve made the successful leap into young adult fiction.
If the name James Patterson doesn’t ring a bell, you probably haven’t stepped foot in a bookstore since the Nixon administration. Patterson is one of the bestselling and most prolific authors in history. After attracting young readers with his Witch & Wizard and Middle School series, later this month he’ll launch a new teen detective series with Confessions of a Murder Suspect.Get a free 25-chapter sample here.
Mystery writer Harlan Coben is no slouch either—with 50 million books sold worldwide, he’s one of today’s most popular mystery writers. In Shelter, readers follow high school transfer student Mickey as he searches for his missing girlfriend, only to find that the sweet, shy girl he thought he knew is mixed up in some very unsavory things.
#1 New York Times mystery writer Elizabeth George may have made her name with her UK-set Inspector Lynley mystery series, but this beloved author is American through-and-through. In her YA debut, The Edge of Nowhere, George sets the scene on intriguing Whidbey Island outside of Seattle. She combines mystery, paranormal elements and romance to create a haunting story that readers of any age will find compelling.
With her gripping, ripped-from-the-headlines novels, Jodi Picoult has enthralled a generation of readers. Now she’s teamed up with her teenage daughter, Samantha van Leer, to produce another page-turner: Between the Lines. Van Leer’s youthful influence comes through in this charming story of a young loner whose life takes on a new dimension when her favorite fairytale comes alive.
Finally, fans of impeccably told historical fiction will be elated to learn that Philippa Gregory—author of The Other Boleyn Girl—recently released her own YA adventure. In Changeling—the first romantic adventure in the Order of Darkness Series—two young Medieval outcasts are drawn together during a tumultuous time.
Free sample excerpts from these books are available on the product pages now.
NOOK owners: go to shop and search by author name to download these new young adult novels from big name authors.
