Top 100 YA Novels (#2)

#2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling (1996)

[865 points - 126 #1s, 26 #2s, 23 #3s, 21 #4s, 9 #5s, 11 #6s, 9 #7s, 4 #8s, 9 #9s, 10 #10s]

"I consider this YA. And its Harry Potter, the biggest series of fantasy books to ever hit the market. It's what opened the way for long YA series and large YA books." Kate, YAReads

"...the Harry Potter series drew an entire generation of children back to reading, revived the dying genre of Young Adult literature, and captivated the imaginations of millions around the world. There is just no competing with the complex and amazingly-rich Wizarding world, the characters we all loved (and loved to hate!), and the scenes that brought so many of us to tears. I don't think I'll see a phenomenon like Harry Potter again in my lifetime. It's classic." Jamie Lynne Stone, reader.

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, who are mean to him and make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. (Dudley, however, has two bedrooms, one to sleep in and one for all his toys and games.) Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed forever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard!

Also entitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in other markets, this title was the first in the Harry Potter series which went on to open up the world of Hogwarts for a large audience. Rowling's first published work, it was the recipient of the British Fantasy Award (1999), the British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year (1998), the Prijs van de Nederlandse Kinderjury (2002)and a Carnegie Medal Nominee (1997.)

Note - This title didn't fall within the bounds of the YA definition we used. However, each time a voter listed a series, instead of a specific title, we would attribute the vote to the first title in the series as it was the entry point into the characters and setting that captured the voters admiration. In all cases but this one, the first title was firmly set in the YA world. This title clearly received the second most votes and as such was not struck from the list.

• You can visit the author's website here.