Being a teenager is tough. Not only are you dealing with puberty, you’re also learning how to handle more adult responsibilities, navigating more mature relationships, and learning your place in the world. Now add amazing supernatural abilities and terrifying destinies to that. Sounds like a lot, right?
In I Am Number Four, the first book in Pittacus Lore’s Lorien Legacies series, John Smith is one such not-so-average teen. The name itself is a giveaway: It’s aggressively nondescript for the protagonist of a young adult novel. He can’t possibly be normal, and John Smith delivers on that score. He isn't just extraordinary … he’s not even from Earth. A survivor from a world destroyed by malicious aliens, John was sent to Earth to hide, grow into adulthood, and develop his powers.
Just like I Am Number Four, the other books on this list feature teenagers who either thought they were normal or wish they were normal. The discovery or acceptance that they are not may lead to grand destinies, or they may simply lead to the bottom of a longstanding mystery. But even with these revelations, they must still contend with being a teenager and high school student. Sure, maybe you can face the big bad, but can you talk to your crush? Maybe you can survive what’s supposed to be a fatal fall, but can you stand up to your bully?
These novels showcase the struggles of high school heroes—who are sometimes reluctant but always remarkable.
The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Collecting the individual novels of the original trilogy, The Nine Lives of Chloe King follows the life of an average teenage girl—or rather, a teenage girl who once thought she was average and ends up being something else entirely. Descended from a race of supernatural beings with feline-like powers, Chloe discovers her heritage in the most unfortunate way. She falls off a building, lands on her head, and escapes entirely unscathed. Definitely the opposite of normal, and now Chloe is short one life of the full nine.
It turns out there are others in the world like her, but they’ve lived unnoticed by general society. But a small faction do know of their existence, and this group has made it their life’s mission to kill these feline-line beings. Bad news for Chloe!
Hex Hall
Magical schools are a staple of fantasy novels featuring teenagers. How could they not be? They combine high school dynamics with magical hijinks. The first installment of Hawkins’ young adult trilogy introduces us to Sophie, the daughter of a non-witch mother and an estranged warlock father. She’s inherited her father’s abilities but alas, she’s not the best at using magic. Case in point: when she tries to help a classmate by casting a love spell, things go terribly awry and land her at Hex Hall, a sort of reform school for witches, vampires, and other supernatural beings.
There, Sophie finds herself embroiled in a mystery involving the death of a student and attacks on her classmates. But what truly sets this book apart is that it’s self-aware of the subgenre it belongs to and pokes fun at the classic tropes.
White Cat (The Curse Workers Book 1)
High school can be a difficult time for teenagers, especially if you’re juggling classes with burgeoning supernatural powers or saving the world. But what if you come from a family of criminals? That’s the life of Cassel. In the world of Holly Black’s White Cat, some people can alter your memories or emotions with a touch. Some of them can even kill you. Obviously, these are very dangerous abilities and have been outlawed. Therefore, anyone using them are branded criminals.
Cassel comes from a family of these so-called curse workers—except he has no ability himself. Or so he thinks. He begins to suspect his family is keeping secrets from him. Now, he must use the tricks of the family trade to unravel the biggest con being played on his life.
The Graces
River is the new girl at school, and like her fellow classmates, she becomes obsessed with the Graces, a rich and powerful family who may or may not be witches. She wants nothing more than to be Summer Grace’s new best friend and Fenrin Grace’s latest girlfriend. In short, she wants to be a Grace herself. But River has a secret. She just might be magical, too. If you’re a fan of The Craft, this is the book for you.
Vampire Academy
Before the film and television series, Vampire Academy began as a six-book series about the dhampir Rose Hathaway and her vampire best friend, Lissa Dragomir. Lissa is a mortal vampire with powerful earth magic, making her a prime target for the Strigoi—undead vampires who want nothing more than to make her one of them. Rose, as a dhampir, is Lissa’s fiercest protector and guardian.
At the start of the series, the girls have enjoyed two blissful years of freedom, but they’re found and taken back to St. Vladimir’s Academy. There, they must prepare for their bloody future. But while Rose and Lissa know how to defend themselves against supernatural attack, learning how to navigate the petty and political world of high school is something else entirely.
The Merchant of Death (Pendragon Book 1)
Bobby Pendragon has the ideal life of your average fourteen-year-old boy. He plays on the school basketball team. He’s popular. He does well in school. He has a good home life. Then, Bobby discovers he has the ability to travel through time and space. Yikes. And as a Traveler, he finds himself on a medieval world where he must free an enslaved people.
But unlike the other teenaged heroes on this list, Bobby doesn’t have any special abilities (other than being able to travel to other worlds, of course), which means he has to rely on his own quick thinking and hard work.
