10 YA Novels About Teens Away From Home

Fictional teenagers have been going on adventures away from home since Holden Caulfield. There's something exhilarating about being young and traveling without a chaperone, whether the journey is a long road trip or just a walk around the city. The ten YA novels listed here are great examples of this type of story, and will keep you hooked from start to finish. When you click links from this website, we may receive advertising revenue to support our research. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.

10 YA Novels About Teens Away From Home

Title Author(s) More by the Author
1. Be Good Be Real Be Crazy Chelsey Philpot Even in Paradise
2. Second Star Alyssa Sheinmel Faceless
3. In Real Life Jessica Love Push Girl
4. A Map for Wrecked Girls Jessica Taylor Wandering Wild
5. The Distance Between Lost and Found Kathryn Holmes How It Feels to Fly
6. The Way Back to You Michelle Andreani & Mindi Scott Live Through This
7. The Upside of Falling Down Rebekah Crane The Infinite Pieces of Us
8. When I Am Through with You Stephanie Kuehn Charm & Strange
9. Being Henry David Cal Armistead
10. The Secrets We Bury Stacie Ramey The Sister Pact

8 Great Films Based on YA Novels

  1. The Fault in Our Stars based on the book by John Green
  2. Divergent based on the book by Veronica Roth
  3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone based on the book by J.K. Rowling
  4. The Princess Diaries based on the book by Meg Cabot
  5. Holes based on the book by Louis Sachar
  6. The Hunger Games based on the book by Suzanne Collins
  7. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist based on the book by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
  8. Bridge to Terabithia based on the book by Katherine Paterson

Literary Charities

If you want to spread your love of YA literature with those in need, then you should consider looking into these non-profit organizations that help kids and teens get access to books and high-quality education.

The Psychology of Adolescence

In Depth

Young adults are often eager to leave home and go on life-changing adventures, and teens and adults alike can have a great time living vicariously through young protagonists who set off to see the world. With stories of adolescents driven by love, friendship, betrayal, and loss, we've compiled in no particular order, ten Y.A. novels about teens away from home. Let's take a look at each of them.

First on the list at #1, is "Be Good Be Real Be Crazy" by Chelsey Philpot. Homer, a teenager from a small town in Florida, meets a mysterious girl named Mia. This chance encounter leads to a spontaneous road trip, when Homer and Einstein, his younger brother, offer to drive Mia to see her long-lost sister. The trip takes the three teenagers on a journey filled with magical moments. As Homer begins to fall in love with Mia, he is met with the challenge of admitting his feelings to her before it's too late.

Up Next at #2, is "Second Star" by Alyssa B. Sheinmel. Seventeen-year-old Wendy sets off to search for her twin surfer brothers who mysteriously went missing. Wendy heads to the spot where they disappeared and inadvertently chances upon a magical cove in her journey, where she meets a community of rebel surfers. She falls for the charismatic pack leader Pete, while she gets pulled in by his irresistible arch nemesis, Jas. This romance tale is a modern and radical retelling of J.M. Barrie's classic, "Peter Pan," and depicts a story about loss, lies, and love.

Seventeen-year-old Wendy sets off to search for her twin surfer brothers who mysteriously went missing.

In at #3, is "In Real Life: A Novel" by Jessica Love. Hannah and Nick are best friends but despite their close relationship, they have never met in person. When Hannah's spring break plans do not go as she hoped, she spontaneously decides to go on a trip to Vegas to surprise Nick, together with her friend and sister. She then finds out the uncomfortable truth about Nick, and needs to figure out how she truly feels about him.

In at #4, is "A Map for Wrecked Girls" by Jessica Taylor. In this tale, readers meet Emma, who is fiercely loyal to her older sister. Henri is the type of girl who can get any boy she wants, while Emma keeps her desires at bay for her sister's sake. They travel to Puerto Rico with their mother, where they meet a young lad named Alex. The two take a boat trip with him, and end up in a shipwreck on an undiscovered island. When attraction grows between Emma and Alex, jealousy causes a riff between the sisters. They must find a way to survive on the island and find their way back home, and back to each other.

Up Next at #5, is "The Distance Between Lost and Found" by Kathryn Holmes. When a false rumor about Hallie and the minister's son spreads, her new reputation leaves her abandoned by her friends. Things get worse when she gets lost in the Smoky Mountains with an acquaintance, Rachel, and a former friend, Jonah, during a youth group retreat. In this tale of betrayal and survival, Hallie must face her past and learn to trust again in order for the three of them to survive and get out of the woods.

When a false rumor about Hallie and the minister's son spreads, her new reputation leaves her abandoned by her friends.

Coming in at #6, is "The Way Back to You" by Michelle Andreani. Ashlyn's life was cut short in a bike accident, and her best friend, Cloudy, and boyfriend, Kyle, have been struggling to heal from their loss. Although a mistake from the past has prevented them from speaking to each other, when Cloudy finds out that Ashlyn's organs are being donated, she takes the opportunity to bring Kyle with her on a road trip to meet the recipients, in the hopes of mending their broken friendship and emerging from their grief.

Next at #7, is "The Upside of Falling Down" by Rebekah Crane. Clementine wakes up in an Irish hospital not knowing what happened to her or who she is. Being the only survivor of a plane crash, she is bombarded by press. Overwhelmed and afraid to come home to a father she won't recognize, she decides to escape with the help of a stranger named Kieran. As they hide in a small town where she assumes a new identity, her new life grows on her, as well as her affection for Kieran. Clementine must decide if her new love is really worth throwing away her old life.

In at #8, is "When I am Through With You" by Stephanie Kuehn. In this suspense thriller, seventeen-year-old Ben Gibson gets caught behind bars after a school camping trip leads to the murder of his girlfriend, Rose. Ben confesses to the crime and is unapologetic about it. As he slowly unveils the truth about what transpired in the mountains, the book reveals the psyches of troubled teens, triggered by the clash between desire and action.

In this suspense thriller, seventeen-year-old Ben Gibson gets caught behind bars after a school camping trip leads to the murder of his girlfriend, Rose.

Up next at #9, is "Being Henry David" by Carl Amistead. With no recollection of his identity or where he's going, seventeen-year-old Hank finds himself at Penn Station with nothing but a copy of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden." From the streets of New York to Concord, Massachusetts, Hank ends up living his life through the pages as "Henry David." Eventually, he starts gaining memory of his past, and has to find a way to face his demons in order to get back home.

And last but not least at #10, is "The Secrets We Bury" by Stacie Ramey. Dylan Taggart is a troubled teenager, and his family thinks he needs to be in a special institution for the psychologically challenged. Although he is aware of his issues, he believes that this solution is unnecessary and an overreaction. He decides to run away and go on a two-thousand mile hike up the Appalachian Trail, where he encounters a mysterious girl who is also hiking up alone. The two are forced to resolve their own issues with themselves in order to trust each other and protect themselves from the disaster that befalls them.