By age
Best Audiobooks for Teens
The audiobook a teenager finishes is the one they chose to put in their headphones, not the one assigned.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
The audiobooks teenagers finish are fast, voice-driven and not obviously good for them. Long Way Down is short and read by its author, Six of Crows gives each point of view its own narrator, The Hate U Give is carried by one sharp first-person voice, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is a mystery told partly in interview transcripts, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the classic in letters.
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How we picked
We chose books teenagers pick for themselves, with a strong voice or a production built for listening, and added content notes, because young-adult fiction covers serious ground. We have not listened to all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Long Way DownJason Reynolds · 208 pagesThe short one | they say they do not like reading | |
| 2 |  The Hate U GiveAngie Thomas · 448 pagesThe voice | they want a story about something real | |
| 3 |  Six of CrowsLeigh Bardugo · 512 pagesThe heist | they loved a fantasy crew | |
| 4 |  A Good Girl's Guide to MurderHolly Jackson · 431 pagesThe mystery | they love true crime podcasts | |
| 5 |  ScytheNeal Shusterman · 449 pagesThe big idea | they like arguing about right and wrong | |
| 6 |  Code Name VerityElizabeth Wein · 348 pagesThe historical one | they like war stories and friendship | |
| 7 |  They Both Die at the EndAdam Silvera · 373 pagesThe one that makes them cry | they loved The Fault in Our Stars | |
| 8 |  The Perks of Being a WallflowerStephen Chbosky · 231 pagesThe classic in letters | they are finding their way in high school |
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Eight a teenager might choose
1. The short one
Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds
Give this ifthey say they do not like reading
A fifteen-year-old whose brother has been shot takes an elevator down seven floors, carrying a gun, meaning to take revenge. A novel in verse, read by its author, and short enough to finish in an afternoon.
One caveat: Gun violence.
- Print length
- 208 pages
- First published
- 2017
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. The voice
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
Give this ifthey want a story about something real
A sixteen-year-old who moves between her poor neighborhood and her wealthy private school sees a police officer shoot her unarmed childhood friend. Told in Starr's sharp, funny first-person voice, which suits being heard.
One caveat: Police violence and grief.
- Print length
- 448 pages
- First published
- 2017
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. The heist
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
Give this ifthey loved a fantasy crew
Six young outcasts are hired for an impossible heist in a city of canals and gangs. Told from several points of view, each given its own narrator in the audiobook.
- Print length
- 512 pages
- First published
- 2015
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. The mystery
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Holly Jackson
Give this ifthey love true crime podcasts
A high school senior reopens a five-year-old murder case in her small town for a school project, and finds the official story does not hold. Told partly in interview transcripts and case notes.
- Print length
- 431 pages
- First published
- 2019
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. The big idea
Scythe
Neal Shusterman
Give this ifthey like arguing about right and wrong
In a future where humanity has conquered death, two teenagers are apprenticed to a Scythe, whose job is to kill people to control the population. A thriller built on a real moral question.
- Print length
- 449 pages
- First published
- 2016
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. The historical one
Code Name Verity
Elizabeth Wein
Give this ifthey like war stories and friendship
A young British spy captured in occupied France writes a confession for her Gestapo interrogators, and the truth about her mission and her best friend emerges slowly. Two voices, two halves, and one of the great twists in young-adult fiction.
One caveat: Torture is described.
- Print length
- 348 pages
- First published
- 2012
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. The one that makes them cry
They Both Die at the End
Adam Silvera
Give this ifthey loved The Fault in Our Stars
In a world where people get a call on the day they will die, two teenage boys who get the call meet through an app and spend their last day together. Hopeful despite the title.
- Print length
- 373 pages
- First published
- 2017
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The classic in letters
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
Give this ifthey are finding their way in high school
A shy freshman writes letters to an unnamed friend about his first year of high school, the older students who take him in, and a past he has not faced. Letters suit a single intimate voice.
One caveat: Sexual abuse, suicide and drug use.
- Print length
- 231 pages
- First published
- 1999
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
Why audiobooks work for teens
Teenagers already spend hours in headphones, and an audiobook fits into time they are not using to read: the bus, practice, chores. For a reluctant reader, it removes the effort of decoding without removing the story.
The picks here lean on productions built for listening, such as verse, letters and several narrators, because those are the audiobooks a teenager is most likely to stick with.
Content, plainly
Young-adult fiction deals with violence, grief, abuse and sexuality, often more directly than parents expect. We note what each pick contains. Books for teens covers print, and audiobooks for kids suits a younger listener.
Try it free first
Most US public libraries lend audiobooks free through Libby, which is a good way to see whether a teenager takes to listening before paying for anything; Audible vs Libby compares the two. The subscription panel on this page explains who a paid service suits.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
The assigned classic
The quickest way to put a teenager off audiobooks is to hand them the book they are studying in English class. Audio should feel like their choice. If a school text is the only way in, add something from this list alongside it.
Questions people ask
What is a good audiobook for a teenager who does not like reading?
Long Way Down. It is short, gripping and read by its author.
What audiobooks do teenagers like?
Fast, voice-driven books they chose themselves. Six of Crows, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and The Hate U Give are strong bets.
Are young-adult audiobooks right for younger teens?
It depends on the book. Check the content notes; several picks deal with violence, abuse or suicide.
Can teenagers borrow audiobooks for free?
Yes. Most US public libraries lend audiobooks through Libby with a library card.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
- Libby, by OverDrive — Free ebook and audiobook lending through US public libraries. We earn nothing from it and recommend it anyway.
Read next
- Best Books for Teens
Eight books a teenager might pick up voluntarily, with the syllabus deliberately excluded.
- Best Audiobooks for Kids
Seven children's audiobooks by listening age, and why the narrator matters most.
- Audible vs Libby
One sells audiobooks you keep; the other lends them free if you can wait. Regular listeners use both.
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