The most popular book for teens at my local indie bookshop at the moment is not The Fault in Our Stars, by or Divergent, or Eleanor and Park, fabulous as they are.

No, it's a dystopian thriller called Slated, about a girl whose memory has been erased by the government, written by a UK-based writer called Teri Terry.

You may not have heard of it yet, but Slated is winning a fistful of awards and has been translated into several languages.

This weekend, children's laureate Malorie Blackman is hosting the very first YA literature event at Comic Con YALC 2014. But even if you haven't got Comic Con tickets you're still lucky, because as the summer stretches out ahead, there is a book out there that will take you to a new dimension, capture your imagination and play with your emotions like nothing you've read before. And the chances are, it will be one of an ever-growing breed of books written for teens by writers based in the UK and Ireland. We call it UKYA.

So what's it like? Well, it can be fantastical and dark. You've probably come across the powerful dystopian writing of Patrick Ness in the Chaos Walking trilogy or perhaps Philip Reeve's steam punk Mortal Engines series. Maybe you're a fan of Derek Landy's funny, scary, magical Skulduggery Pleasant novels. But that's just the start.

UKYA is alive with witches and twisted fairy tales. Diana Wynne-Jones's Howl's Moving Castle, first published in 1986, has over 80,000 ratings on Goodreads and an army of loyal fans.

Following in her footsteps are Ruth Warburton, with the Winter Trilogy and Witchfinder, and Zoe Marriott, whose latest urban fantasy series, The Name of the Blade , features a strong heroine called Mio with a penchant for Hello Kitty underwear, and an ancient Japanese sword with deadly powers.

CJ Daugherty has been thrilling teens around the world with her international bestselling Night School series, set in an English boarding school that isn't quite like any school you've ever known. And Emma Pass's had a recent hit with her dystopian debut ACID – set in a futuristic totalitarian British state.

UKYA can be gritty, brave and real. Phil Earle has a bunch of five star reviews for his debut, Being Billy, about a boy surviving the care system while trying to look after his younger twin siblings. Keren David's Salvage what happens when a brother and sister from opposite backgrounds find each other on Facebook.

Jo Cotterill takes on the plight of refugee children, and celebrates the power of the imagination, in her beautiful contemporary story, Looking at the Stars.

Cat Clarke, the author of Entangled and Undone, is a growing voice in UKYA, bringing LGBTQ issues into the mainstream of thriller writing. When a story starts with a girl locked up in a bare white room, with only some sheets of paper to write on and no idea how she got there, you've got to find out what happened, haven't you?

You'll also need to know what happened to turn the narrator of Tanya Byrne's Heart Shaped Bruise Heart into the damaged, compelling girl she has become.

And the tension is nerve-shredding in Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, told by a female pilot who's been captured by the Gestapo in the second world war.

James Dawson is another champion of LGBTQ, with his very own horror twists. Cruel Summer was one of my favourite books of last year, combining James's signature comic style with knowing horror references and just enough graphic gore.

If you're still in the mood for scary, Kevin Brooks takes no prisoners in The Bunker Diary. Or rather, he does. Lots of prisoners, in fact. If you're brave enough to read it, the story will haunt you for weeks. It's just won the Carnegie medal, and I think that's why. Assume nothing. Then marvel at what must be going on in Kevin's brain.

All these authors write about teens you'll recognize, in situations you hope you'll never have to face. The great thing about UKYA is that it knows how British teens think. Its protagonists have been known to drink, but they rarely drive. They will make you laugh. Even when they are constructing the perfect boyfriend out of body parts, as CJ Skuse does in Dead Romantic, they do it with a dash of deadpan British humour. Especially then, in fact.

There is a lot of comedy and romance to lighten up your bookshelves, from Holly Smale's smash hit, Geek Girl series, to Andy Robb's more boy-oriented Geekhood (no relation).

Sarra Manning has written a whole collection of books about feisty, funny girls falling in love. Try Nobody's Girl, with its vivid Paris setting, or Adorkable, where a nerdy super-blogger hooks up with the cool boy from school.

Or read Keris Stainton's Hearts series , and follow Jessie in New York and Emma in LA.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. If you need more ideas, see Guardian teens books and on our Guardian Teen Books Facebook page – and look out for them at www.ukya.co.uk or get down to your local indie bookshop and see what else they recommend. The story that will make your summer is waiting…

• Sophia Bennett's The Castle is out on 7 August 2014.