10 YA Medical Fiction Novels
Inside: Our pick of the best YA medical fiction novels for teens.
Like many others, our teen’s interest in books with a medical theme was inspired by John Green’s super popular The Fault In Our Stars. This sent us on a search for other awesome YA medical fiction novels and below we’ve collected together ten of the best!
These books explore characters living with a range of health issues including cancer, CF and rare genetic disorders, those facing transplants, depression and even death as a result of accidental trauma. A number of them have been recently transformed into TV dramas for a teen audience, creating a great opportunity for book to film comparisons.
We hope you find a new-to-you title to enjoy!
For more book suggestions for your teenage bookworm check out our collections of Murder Mystery Books for Teens, YA Books for Social Emotional Learning and Teen Books Made Into Movies.
10 YA Medical Fiction Novels
As with all of the lists in our Best Chapter Books for Kids collection, each title in this list links to an Amazon and/or Book Depository page (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you) where you can find more information and reviews for titles you might not be personally familiar with.
Zac and Mia by A. J. Betts One day, during his gruelling leukaemia treatment, a loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts 17 year old Zac Meier to the presence of Mia, the new, and very angry cancer patient in the room next door. The two form a bond, and even once released, they can’t forget each other, seeking each other out even as they struggle to resume some sort of normal life. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott Stella Grant likes to be in control, which means keeping herself six feet away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardise the lung transplant that might finally give her a chance to live a normal life. The only thing Will Newman wants is to get out of hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or the fancy new clinical drug trial he’s been put on, the only thing he wants is to see the world, not just its hospitals. Will is exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. Either one of them could die at any moment. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon Thanks to a rare disease, 18 year old Madeline has been trapped inside her home for her entire life with only her mother, her nurse and her books for company. At least that is until Olly and his family moves into the house next door. When the two fall in love, Madeline has to ask herself if love is really worth risking everything for, especially her own life. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Just Breathe by Cammie McGovern David has Cystic Fibrosis and Jamie is struggling with clinical depression. The two form a friendship during Jamie’s volunteer shifts at the hospital David is staying in, bonding over origami, films, and a general understanding of each other that their friends and family just don’t seem to grasp. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Despite a tumour-shrinking medical miracle that saved Hazel from her cancer years ago, Hazel has never fully adjusted back to normal life, and believes that she will never be anything but terminal. That is, until Augustus Waters shows up in Cancer Kid Support Group, rewriting Hazel’s story, and giving her the chance she never thought she’d have. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
The Memory Book by Lara Avery Sammie keeps a book of memories. But not just for fun and laughs. Sammie has a rare genetic disorder that doctors say will slowly steal her memories, and eventually take her life. Sammie keeps her memory book to hold onto her life, helping her to remember those she loves, those who have broken her heart and all she hopes to achieve with whatever time she has left. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
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If I Stay by Gayle Forman Seventeen year old Mia slips into a coma after a tragic car accident involving her family. She has an out-of-body experience, watching as friends and family visit her in the hospital, as she needs to choose to live a difficult life or die peacefully. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka When 17 year old Chloe receives a heart transplant following her collapse whilst running track, she inherits more than just a heart. Her life before the transplant and after the transplant feel like two different worlds. And her memory. The memory of riding a motorcycle, of a man sitting at her bedside, of a home that she has never seen before. These are memories that did not exist prior to the heart transplant. So where did they come from? Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
All This Time by Rachael Lippincott & Mikki Daughtry Kyle and Kimberly have been the perfect couple all through high school, but when Kimberly breaks up with him on the night of their graduation party, Kyle’s entire world implodes. Their car crashes and when he awakes, he has a brain injury and Kimberly is dead. And no one in his life could possibly understand. Then Kyle meets Marley, who is also suffering a significant loss. As the two lean on each other and work to heal each other’s wounds, Kyle can’t shake the sense that he’s headed for another crushing moment that will blow up his life, just as he’s started to put it back together.Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult Anna is thirteen years old. She was conceived as a bone marrow match for her elder sister, Kate, who has Leukemia. Anna’s whole existence has been defined by the needs of another person. She has undergone countless medical procedures for her sister. And then one day Anna says no more. And this decision triggers an avalanche for her whole family. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
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