The Stories That Created New Generations Of Bookworms

From magic and mythology to vampires and dystopian rebellions, young adult series have a way of defining entire generations. These are the books that we stayed up late reading, looked forward to diving back into after school, and waited in anticipation for the next book in the series to come out. Here are five beloved YA series that captured millions of imaginations and became cultural phenomena.

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1. Harry Potter

A cultural phenomenon that defined a generation, over half a billion copies of Harry Potter were sold worldwide. It introduced many young people to the magic of reading. 

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2. The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a gripping saga with a fierce female protagonist. It set the stage for a whole generation of dystopian novels.

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3. Twilight

Back in the early aughts, you'd be hard-pressed to find a tween girl who hadn't read Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance saga. It sold over 160 million copies and defined 2000s teen culture.

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4. Percy Jackson

With Percy Jackson & the Olympians, author Rick Riordan did the impossible: he got a whole generation of young readers interested in Greek mythology. His repackaged versions made ancient, humanity-defining tales cool again.

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5. Divergent

Veronica Roth's Divergent is an action-packed dystopian hit often compared to The Hunger Games for its similar themes and strong female lead. Over 10 million copies of the book series were sold.

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