The Shining is arguably his best novel, but probably better for young adults. That said, I agree with the novella recommendations, as well as Christine, It, and Salems Lot. 11/16 is good for more contemporary King, and I actually enjoyed Holly and the Institute as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:- Misery

- Different Seasons (contains 4 novellas, including the ones Stand By Me and Shawshank Redemption were based on)

- Pet Sematary: a little supernatural-y but not too far int that direction

- Firestarter

- short stories: The Mist is specifically worth seeking out (I don't remember what collection it's in)

I also enjoyed 11/22/63 but I don't think I'd start there. The Shining, It, The Stand are not my personal favorites at all. I wouldn't ban my kids from It but I would give them a heads up that there is some material I am not comfortable with there and I sort of wish I hadn't read it as a teenager (I'm not talking about the clown, I'm talking about the "group" scene among the kids)

Different Seasons is NC-17. I haven't read it since I was a teen but I remember the story of the ex-nazi and there was creepy sex stuff in there. Also one story a pregnant woman is decapitated. I'm not saying teens shouldn't read this, as I obviously did, and it's horror, but the nazi stuff had a dildo and sex experiments with a nun with cut off legs I think. This is all from memory so obvi made an impact!
(but I'm a normal, well-adjusted adult! Who still loves to read!)

I'm the PP who wrote the quoted post above. I agree that Apt Pupil isn't for younger kids, but OP is asking for her 16yo. Also agree/acknowledge that Stephen King has a lot of weird sex stuff (which was I was trying to get at in a spoiler-free way in my comment about It). Definitely weirder and more disturbing/impactful than the more horror-y elements of his stories--to me, anyway.

Anonymous wrote:- Misery

- Different Seasons (contains 4 novellas, including the ones Stand By Me and Shawshank Redemption were based on)

- Pet Sematary: a little supernatural-y but not too far int that direction

- Firestarter

- short stories: The Mist is specifically worth seeking out (I don't remember what collection it's in)

I also enjoyed 11/22/63 but I don't think I'd start there. The Shining, It, The Stand are not my personal favorites at all. I wouldn't ban my kids from It but I would give them a heads up that there is some material I am not comfortable with there and I sort of wish I hadn't read it as a teenager (I'm not talking about the clown, I'm talking about the "group" scene among the kids)

Different Seasons is NC-17. I haven't read it since I was a teen but I remember the story of the ex-nazi and there was creepy sex stuff in there. Also one story a pregnant woman is decapitated. I'm not saying teens shouldn't read this, as I obviously did, and it's horror, but the nazi stuff had a dildo and sex experiments with a nun with cut off legs I think. This is all from memory so obvi made an impact!
(but I'm a normal, well-adjusted adult! Who still loves to read!)

This is a fun exercise b/c it’s making me think about how different me reading King at 16 is from me reading him now at 40!

Maybe IT or Doctor Sleep?

His latest, Holly, is a helluva fun ride, too.

Recently I’ve loved Bag of Bones and Duma Key, but these might not resonate so much with a teen.

Eyes of the Dragon was very good.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon if he at all likes sports or baseball.

Salems Lot otherwise

Anonymous wrote:I really loved the prequel to The Shining -- Doctor Sleep. All the Stephen King horror with such a sweet ending that I literally teared up.

Doctor Sleep was the sequel. Danny is grown up.

+ 1 on the Bill/Holly trilogy that starts with Mr Mercedes.

Anonymous wrote:IMO, Stephen King is a better short story writer than a novelist, especially once he became "Stephen King Inc." and could basically do whatever he wanted, including ruining The Gunslinger by rewriting it and publishing a truly bloated extended edition of The Stand. (FWIW, I read both The Tommyknockers and Needful Things, so I have earned this opinion even if you disagree.)

The best place to start with his work is early, with the short story collections Night Shift and Skeleton Crew. His best novels are Salems Lot, The Shining, and Pet Sematary.

His late work is very hit or miss for me, but if you want one that is entertaining and not focused on the supernatural, I actually rather liked Billy Summers (2021), which is a straight action story that only alludes to supernatural elements. Have not read the JFK one, which many rave about, but to me reeks of baby boomer fan service. YMMV.

I absolutely agree. I'd start with Night Shift and Skeleton Crew.

PP again, also read the Stand as a late tween.

I read It in 6th grade, big mistake. Then read Needful Things which was wrong on many levels. Amazing how scary written word can be.

The Dead Zone was a favorite when I was a teen

Anonymous wrote:11/22/63 is fun time travel read.

+1
Awesome book!! Favorite by far.

I’ve read a ton of Stephen King, starting back in late elementary school and still love his stuff today. Minus Tommyknockers and Needful Things, of course.

I don’t think his early stuff is necessarily better than later, but it is very different. The earlier is more straight horror/supernatural. Of those books, I think the best are Misery, The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, It…. So many good ones. I loved The Stand, but it’s *long* and not what I’d recommend for a first King. Christine is also great.

As PPs have said, he has some terrific short story collections, as well. I liked If It Bleeds, which is more recent (The Life of Chuck, especially). All Dark, No Stars is also great but so, so dark. Too dark for a teenager.

Of his later books, I love the Bill Hodges/Holly Gibney books. I think of these later books as great storytelling - Billy Summers, 11/22/63, Under the Dome - strong characters and fun to read. The Institute feels like a bit of a throw-back, though I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

Anonymous wrote:IMO, Stephen King is a better short story writer than a novelist, especially once he became "Stephen King Inc." and could basically do whatever he wanted, including ruining The Gunslinger by rewriting it and publishing a truly bloated extended edition of The Stand. (FWIW, I read both The Tommyknockers and Needful Things, so I have earned this opinion even if you disagree.)

The best place to start with his work is early, with the short story collections Night Shift and Skeleton Crew. His best novels are Salems Lot, The Shining, and Pet Sematary.

His late work is very hit or miss for me, but if you want one that is entertaining and not focused on the supernatural, I actually rather liked Billy Summers (2021), which is a straight action story that only alludes to supernatural elements. Have not read the JFK one, which many rave about, but to me reeks of baby boomer fan service. YMMV.

Agree that his early stuff is best.

My middle school kid just started with Pet Sematery. That’s what I started with back in the day.

I inhaled his stuff as a MS/HS kid in the 80s, but then went off it — I probably overdid it. Or maybe Tommyknockers and Needful Things did me in. I read both, too.

My dad convinced me to read 11/22/63 and I really liked it, but never got back into Steven King stuff.