There are some classic stories that we can never forget reading when we were young. Authors too become inspired (or even obsessed!) by their favourite books, to the extent that they sometimes write homages to them, which may have some elements of the classic but have also been radically re-imagined. Here are some of our favourite contemporary YA stories and the classic teen novels that inspired them:

If you loved The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, then you will enjoy…

Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat

Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run in London, pursued by the men who killed his mother when an old servant urges him to seek out the Stewards, sworn to protect humanity against the darkness. Will is ushered into a secret world, where he must train to fight for the Light in the oncoming war against the return of the Dark King.

This queer, morally complicated re-imagining of The Dark is Rising is suitable for readers aged 14 and up.

If you loved Are You There God, it’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, then you will relate to…

Are you there, Buddha? by Pip Harry

Bridget ‘Bee’ is 12 and starting her first year of high school in the beach suburb Crescent Bay. Still reeling from the departure of her mother for an ashram in India, Bee talks to Buddha and begs for her first period not to arrive. She’s not ready to become a woman yet, whatever that means.

Over one blistering summer, Bee will grow up, show up, and make a name for herself.

This contemporary classic about reluctantly being on the cusp of puberty is suitable for readers aged 11 and up.

If you loved The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, then you will love this gender-flipped interpretation…

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu

It is 1964 in Houston, Texas. Evie Barnes is a ‘bad’ girl. So are all her friends. They’re the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own.

So when Evie is saved from being assaulted by a good girl from the right side of the tracks, every rule she’s always lived by is called into question. Now she must learn that when girls stick together it doesn’t matter whether they’re ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

This brilliant story of teenage rebellion is suitable for readers aged 13 and up.

If you are a sucker for Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare then you will be blown away by this futuristic interpretation…

Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker

It’s 2083 and the end of the world. Literally. Time travel is possible, but only forwards. Only a handful of families choose to remain in the ‘now’. Among these are eighteen-year-old Juliet and the love of her life, Romeo. But Romeo is in a coma and she’s estranged from her friends and family after their wild romance.

Then a handsome time traveller arrives with an important mission that makes Jules question everything she knows about life and love. Can Jules wake Romeo and rewrite her future?

This is a genre-bending tale of forbidden romance for readers aged 14 and up.

If you loved The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, then you will be thrilled by…

The Inheritance Games by Jennnifer Lynn Barnes

Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why.

Now she must move into the mansion she’s inherited. It’s filled with secrets and codes, and the old man’s surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got ‘their’ money.

Now there’s only one rule: winner takes all.

This is an exciting thriller based on the tantalising prospect of inheriting billions suitable for readers aged 12 and up.