Lists

The Longest YA Book Series You Can Read

Curious about the longest YA book series you could read? Here's a list, by number of volumes in the series AND number of pages in the series.

Kelly Jensen May 2, 2019

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Kelly Jensen

Editor

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen.

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Ever been curious what the longest YA book series is? Given that YA books have increased in size over the last decade or so, it’s fascinating to think about if—or how—YA book series have followed suit.

Of course, it’s not that easy nor as clear-cut. What does it mean to be the longest YA book series? Is it the most volumes in a series? Or is it the highest number of pages?

This attempts to look at two of these questions: the longest running in terms of volumes, as well as the longest running in terms of pages.

To make these determinations required setting a few parameters. The first question, which will look at the longest YA book series in terms of volumes, is pretty straight-forward. But there were a few limitations. Not included in the count are novellas or short stories. Instead, the list was compiled based purely on the number of fully published YA books. Books that were published as part of a continuing series—think books that were part of a series at one point and then the series was revisited in later years, like R.L. Stine’s Fear Street or the numerous Vampire Diaries series and spinoffs—were not included. Books that are part of a series with spinoff series were also not included in complete form—think City of Bones as a series into itself, but not in conjunction with the additional Shadowhunters series.

The second question becomes trickier, as page numbers fluctuate based on many factors. Hardcover books might have more or fewer pages than the paperback edition, depending on the paper used in the new edition, the font used, or the format. Different editions of a book series can also change in page number based on whether it’s a special edition or had edits between printings (rare, but it can happen!). To determine the longest series based on page numbers, the page count shown on the first Amazon English language edition of the book was used for each title in the series.

Not included on either of the lists are series like Harry Potter, which span middle grade and YA literature. These are purely YA books, from start to finish. Likewise, these are all completed YA book series and do not include those series still in progress as of 2019. Manga series, which trend toward being very long, are also not included. I left out Redwall at a sprawling 22 books long, as it fits much more in middle grade than young adult.

It will come as no surprise this is a pretty white list, in part because of how marginalized voices have had a challenging time breaking into the publishing industry.

Got any predictions? Write ’em down before we dive deep into…

The Longest YA Book Series

Find below the top 15 longest series by total number of volumes, then by total number of pages.

By The Number of Volumes of Books

Here are the longest series, as determined by the number of completed, full books in the series. In the case of two series below, there was a prequel novel, which was included in the count but ultimately, still made those series rank near the top in length even if those prequels were not included. Where there are multiple books beneath a series total number, they are listed in page count order, highest to lowest.

16 Books Total:

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepherd

15 Books Total:

Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine

14 Books Total:

Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

Note that this series has a prequel, as well as a final title in the series that’s a spoof on the first.

The Clique by Lisi Harrison

Note that this series has a prequel.

13 Books Total:

Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing

12 Books Total:

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

CHERUB by Robert Muchamore

House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

10 Books Total:

Young Wizards series by Diane Duane

Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz

Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison

9 Books Total:

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Chronicles of Nick by Sherilyn Kenyon

By The Page Numbers Of The Series

You’ll note some overlap between the longest series by volume and the longest series by page number, but they aren’t identical lists. Note that for one of these series, the format of the book shifted throughout the series and for another series, only paperback was available.

Bloody Jack by LA Meyer: 5,449 pages

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepherd: 5,232 pages

Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine: 4,640 pages across more than one format.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: 4,528 pages

CHERUB by Robert Muchamore: 4,288 pages

Young Wizards series by Diana Duane: 4,063 pages across more than one format.

House of Night by PC and Kristin Cast: 3,893 pages

Maximum Ride by James Patterson: 3,513 pages

Chronicles of Nick by Sherilyn Kenyon: 3,444 pages

The Clique by Lisi Harrison: 3,456 pages including the prequel or 3,248 without; all published in paperback.

Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: 3,221 pages.

Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz: 3,208 pages.

Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegler: 3,726 pages including a prequel and spoof final title or 3,006 without. Mix of hardcover and paperback releases.

Gone by Michael Grant: 3,120 pages.

Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing: 3,620 pages.

Other Long YA Book Series Over 2,000 Pages

If you’re looking for a nice long YA series to read and none of the titles above are sparking your interest, why not try one of the series below? All of these clock in at over 2,000 pages.

Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore: 2,984 pages.