Read all about it: 10 books to tempt teenagers into literature

Automatic shoo-in Harry Potter was there at the top, followed by the much hyped The Da Vinci Code and a little lower down was Gillian McKeith's weighty tome, You Are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life.

Yes, that's right. Words of wisdom by the self-styled doctor of nutrition and shameless promoter of Aduki beans had somehow wheedled their way in between the 9/11 Commission Report and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

There's always the hope those responsible for the survey slipped it in just to check we were paying attention, but in the hope of preventing any further crimes against literature, here's an (almost) definitive list of the books every teenager should be forced to read:

1. Lord of the Flies

A plane crash, frenzied pig hunts and a descent into anarchy, what's not to like? William Golding's best-known novel strips a group of schoolboys back to their most primitive state and while a deluge of academic papers have been inspired by the tension between the individual and the common good, Lord of the Flies remains first and foremost a page-turner.

2. Animal Farm

First published in this country in 1945, the book shone a spotlight on the era of Stalin before the Second World War, turning farmyard animals into political pawns. Originally subtitled A Fairy Story, there are no happy endings as idealism is corrupted by good intentions. Since its publication, countless authors have tried and failed to follow in George Orwell's footsteps and his novella still stands as a benchmark of how to write about politics without sending the reader to sleep.

3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Written from the perspective of a teenager with autism, Mark Haddon's 2003 novel was groundbreaking. When the next door dog is killed with a garden fork, Christopher John Francis Boone (he always uses his full name) turns detective and as he picks away at the tiniest threads of evidence, old family secrets begin to unravel.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

It's impossible to improve on perfection and so it's easy to see why Harper Lee never wrote another novel after To Kill A Mockingbird. The subject matter – largely rape and racism – isn't exactly bedtime reading, but in Lee's hand it's also a warm portrait of a man determined not be dragged down by mob rule and the triumph of morality over intolerance.

5. The Hobbit

At 1,200 or so pages, the Lord of the Rings is a hard slog, but The Hobbit condenses the best bits of JRR Tolkien into a fraction of the space. His trademark dwarves, wizards and seemingly impossible quests are all there and while a film adaptation is underway, the story is as yet untainted by an epic big screen version.

6. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged Thirteen and Three Quarters

While most books written for teenagers have a hero at their heart, Sue Townsend championed a spotty adolescent who dreamed of becoming a poet.

Written in the 1980s, the diaries are a celebration of the underdog and should be a rite of passage for those growing up terrified of the opposite sex.

7. Dracula

Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight series may have dominated the teen book charts in recent years, but Bram Stoker was the original vampire slayer.

Told using newspaper cuttings, diary entries and letters Dracula is much more than a simple horror story. Skillfully written, carefully characterised and weaving in ancient myths, the book raised the bar for future spine-chillers.

8. The Catcher in the Rye

To date, JD Salinger's 1951 novel has sold a staggering 65 million copies and Holden Caulfield has become a pin-up for teenage rebellion. It's pages are crammed full with angst and alienation and having been translated into almost every language thinkable it captures the universal feeling of growing up misunderstood.

9. The Wasp Factory

The first book by Scottish writer Iain Banks and arguably his best. Narrated by 16-year-old Frank Cauldhame, cut off from the rest of the world and unsure whether his brother's escape from a mental hospital is good or bad news. With a truly disturbing ending, it's a book once read, never forgotten.

10. A Clockwork Orange

A book calling out to all teenagers who claim they are misunderstood. Anthony Burgess's first person account of a juvenile delinquent and the attempts by the state to rehabilitate him remains as powerful today as it was when it first courted controversy on publication back in 1962.