Most Popular Young Adult Books of the 1980s

Discover popular Young Adult books from the 1980s, with reader ratings and new favorites to explore.

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Books in this list

Howl's Castle #1

Howl's Moving Castle

Diana Wynne Jones

Fantasy · Witches · Young Adult

1986

8.6/10 369 ratings

Chrestomanci #4

The Lives of Christopher Chant

Diana Wynne Jones

Fantasy · Young Adult

1988

8.2/10 86 ratings

Fire and Hemlock

Diana Wynne Jones

Fantasy · Young Adult

1984

7.7/10 50 ratings

Archer's Goon

Diana Wynne Jones

Fantasy · Young Adult

1984

7.8/10 55 ratings

The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance

Margaret Mahy

Fantasy · Young Adult · Carnegie Medal

1984

7.5/10 55 ratings

Seaward

Susan Cooper

Fantasy · Young Adult

1983

7.4/10 43 ratings

Arc One #2

The Dream Catcher

Monica Hughes

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1986

7.3/10 23 ratings

Arc One #1

Devil on My Back

Monica Hughes

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1984

7.3/10 26 ratings

The BFG

Roald Dahl

Fantasy · Young Adult

1982

7.3/10 94 ratings

Redwall #2

Mossflower

Brian Jacques

Fantasy · Animal Fantasy · Young Adult

1988

7.3/10 101 ratings

Redwall #1

Redwall

Brian Jacques

Fantasy · Animal Fantasy · Young Adult

1986

7.4/10 134 ratings

The Bromeliad Trilogy #1

Truckers

Terry Pratchett

Fantasy · Young Adult

1989

7.1/10 92 ratings

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #4

Talking to Dragons

Patricia C. Wrede

Fantasy · Young Adult

1985

7.1/10 102 ratings

Interstellar Pig #1

Interstellar Pig

William Sleator

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1984

6.8/10 19 ratings

Redwall #3

Mattimeo

Brian Jacques

Fantasy · Animal Fantasy · Young Adult

1989

7.0/10 94 ratings

The Haunting of Hiram C. Hopgood

Eva Ibbotson

Fantasy · Young Adult

1987

6.8/10 33 ratings

Young Wizards #2

Deep Wizardry

Diane Duane

Fantasy · Young Adult

1985

6.8/10 81 ratings

The Green Futures of Tycho

William Sleator

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1981

6.6/10 20 ratings

The Deptford Mice #2

The Crystal Prison

Robin Jarvis

Fantasy · Young Adult

1989

6.8/10 27 ratings

Not Just a Witch

Eva Ibbotson

Fantasy · Young Adult

1989

6.6/10 27 ratings

Young Wizards #1

So You Want to Be a Wizard?

Diane Duane

Fantasy · Young Adult

1983

6.5/10 114 ratings

The Deptford Mice #1

The Dark Portal

Robin Jarvis

Fantasy · Young Adult

1989

6.6/10 29 ratings

Count Karlstein

Philip Pullman

Fantasy · Young Adult

1982

6.1/10 41 ratings

The Time of the Ghost

Diana Wynne Jones

Fantasy · Young Adult

1981

10.0/10 2 ratings

The Crystal City

Nancy Etchemendy

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1985

The Darkangel Trilogy #2

A Gathering of Gargoyles

Meredith Ann Pierce

Fantasy · Young Adult

1984

10.0/10 1 ratings

Cradle and All

James Patterson

Horror · Young Adult

1980

10.0/10 1 ratings

The Darkangel Trilogy #1

The Darkangel

Meredith Ann Pierce

Fantasy · Young Adult

1982

9.3/10 3 ratings

Song of the Lioness #4

Lioness Rampant

Tamora Pierce

Fantasy · Epic Fantasy · High Fantasy · Young Adult

1988

8.7/10 6 ratings

Damar series

The Blue Sword

Robin McKinley

Fantasy · Epic Fantasy · High Fantasy · Young Adult

1982

8.6/10 8 ratings

The Changeling Sea

Patricia A. McKillip

Fantasy · Young Adult

1988

8.5/10 4 ratings

Song of the Lioness #2

In the Hand of the Goddess

Tamora Pierce

Fantasy · Epic Fantasy · High Fantasy · Young Adult

1984

8.1/10 7 ratings

Song of the Lioness #3

Woman Who Rides Like a Man

Tamora Pierce

Fantasy · Epic Fantasy · High Fantasy · Young Adult

1986

8.1/10 8 ratings

Sorcery & Cecelia #1

Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot

Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stevermer

Fantasy · Young Adult

1988

8.0/10 2 ratings

The Devil's Arithmetic

Jane Yolen

Fantasy · Young Adult

1988

8.0/10 1 ratings

The Time Quintet #4

Many Waters

Madeleine L'Engle

Science Fiction · Young Adult

1986

8.0/10 1 ratings