23 YA Novels From The '00s Everyone Will Recognize

Prepare for a walk down memory lane.

1. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

HarperCollins

Mia Thermopolis got to live the dream of becoming an actual princess. Although it wasn't exactly perfect or easy, you followed her on the journey from average high school student to regal princess — and what a ride it was.

2. The Clique by Lisi Harrison

Poppy

Popular girl Massie Block and her Pretty Committee had everything a girl in middle school could want: Juicy Couture sweatpants, Uggs, and a pool. Enter Claire Lyons, a more average girl, who's much more relatable and whom you wanted to see beat Massie at her own game.

3. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Poppy

Before it was a hit TV show, Gossip Girl was a best-selling series that was a bit different than the show. Gossip Girl followed the love triangle between Nate, Serena, and Blair (among others) and kept you up-to-date on all the drama and scandals.

4. The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Poppy

Fans of Jenny Humphrey got to see even more of her in this spinoff of Gossip Girl. Bringing the same high-stakes drama from the Upper East Side to upstate New York, this book kept you in the know with short chats between every few chapters.

5. Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Margaret K. McElderry Books

After reading about Kristina Snow's downward spiral into drug addiction in this book, you didn't need any more convincing not to do drugs. Ever.

6. The A-List by Zoey Dean

Poppy

Although Anna Percy probably had a more privileged life than you, you could totally relate to her utter confusion and anxiety at being the new girl in Beverly Hills. And once she got her footing it was fun to live vicariously through her while she went to red carpet events and Hollywood parties.

7. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Delacorte Press

Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen had the type of friendship you and your friends aspired to. Sharing a pair of pants to keep in touch during their first summer apart is the kind of thing only best friends do.

8. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

HarperCollins

A historical drama set in the late 19th century followed five teens as they navigated high society and a strict class system. If you weren't enchanted by the romances, the drama definitely sucked you in.

9. Gone by Michael Grant

Katherine Tegen Books

This dark and thrilling series centers around a town in which, one day, everyone age 15 and older disappears. A world with no adults and no rules sounds fun in theory, but this series made you want to hug your parents just a little bit harder and ask them to never, ever leave you behind.

10. Pretty Little Liars by sara Shepard

HarperCollins

There are so many secrets and lies between Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily that it's easy to get caught up in the web. Following these four as they tried to get one step ahead of "A" kept you up late at night, wanting to know what would happen next.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Scholastic

This dystopian trilogy is dark but also filled with romance and hope. You couldn't help but admire Katniss's courage and her selfless love for her little sister, Prim.

12. Private by Kate Brian

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

As a scholarship student at Easton Academy, all Reed Brennan wants is to fit in — and what better way to do that than join the sorority-like Billings House? Although the drama at Billings would've been enough to keep you hooked, the murder scandal is what really kept you interested.

13. Privilege by Kate Brian

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

The spinoff to Private, this series followed Ariana Osgood, who was put away for murder. Escaping from prison, she did everything and anything she could to get back the privileged life she craved, becoming the perfect antihero you couldn't help but root for.

14. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Simon Pulse

This dystopian series forced you to face the realities of a world obsessed with looks and question if these books were that far off from the present day. Tally's (the main character) acceptance of her faults was also really inspiring.

15. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Razorbill

Rose Hathaway and her best friend, Lissa Dragomir, had the type of bond that you and your bestie could totally relate to. Of course, theirs was created from Rose dying and Lissa using her vampire powers to bring her back to life, but these are just small details.

16. Evernight by Claudia Gray

HarperTeen

Evernight is the Romeo and Juliet type of love story every vampire fan was craving. You couldn't help but want Bianca and Lucas to be together, despite the terrible consequences.

17. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Disney Hyperion

These vamps may be deadly to humans, but who's deadly to them? Protagonist Schuyler Van Alen suddenly finds herself thrown into a vampire mystery, and you couldn't help getting sucked in.

18. Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Normal people go to school to learn math and reading, but Zoey Redbird is sent to boarding school to learn how to be a vampire. Dealing with being in a new school and prejudice from her family, Zoey was totally relatable.

19. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

The love story between human Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen may be unrealistic, but that didn't stop you from falling completely in love with it — just as they fell in love with each other.

20. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Margaret K. McElderry Books

All of you have had that moment where your parent forbade you from doing something and you were like, "Why are you so strict?" Clary Fray knows that feeling, except in this case her mother's worries were totally valid and Clary quickly realizes just how much danger her life is in.

21. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

HarperCollins

Any ideas of being whisked away by a king and becoming royalty were dashed after reading this 21st-century fairy tale. Aislinn has had the Sight her whole life but has successfully avoided faeries — that is until the Summer King decides to make her his queen, no matter what.

22. The Mediator by Meg Cabot

HarperTeen

Being uprooted from your hometown and forced to move across the country and into a house with your new stepdad and three sons is not the ideal for anyone. Throw in the fact that Suze can see ghosts and her new house is haunted, and this story suddenly became a must-read for you.

23. Sarah Dessen books

Speak

Speak

Sarah Dessen had and continues to have the ability to make you cry happy and sad tears. Whether it's an unbelievable love story or a relatable story about a breakup, you definitely read at least one of her books.