Recommended Teen Reading

I was prompted to write this, after this amazing new book by Anita Silvey came out called 5oo Great Books for Teens. I had to go through and see how many I had read. Going through the list, I realized how long it’s been since I read some of the titles, and how many I’ve been meaning to read. There is a lot there for a wide range of ages. Hatchet is there, as well as Holes up through adult novels like The Secret Life of Bees and Light on Snow.

The organization is phenomenal. The book is divided into genres, so you can search for just what you like to read, or hit the indices in the back and look up titles by geographic location.

 Here are some of my favorite titles that I think everyone should read. They are in no particular order, and I will keep adding to the list as I find, or remember, new titles.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Liz Hall was 15 when she died. She goes to Elsewhere, where her much younger gradmother meets her to take her back to her house. Elsewhere is like a parallel earth. Except you decrease in age until you become a baby and then you return to earth to be reborn. It’s an amazing look at what heaven might be like, and Liz is so real, having a hard time adjusting. She realizes she will never be 16, will never learn to drive or get married. She misses her family and her friends. Until she begins to realize that maybe she can have a different, but still good life in Elsewhere.

Upstream by Melissa Lion. I loved this book. It takes place in Alaska where Marty is having to face her last year of High School without her boyfriend Steven. Through tiny flashbacks you begin to gain an understanding of what happened to Steven. The author writes about fishing and similar outdoor activities in such a way that it’s beautiful and makes me want to cast off. A slim book, but a treasure.

The Earth, my Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler. Virginia Shreves has the model perfect family. She’s the youngest of three siblings and the only member of the family who is overweight. Her mother is always after her to lose weight and do different things, act a different way. It couldn’t be more clear that Virginia does not fit in with her family. Over one summer, she begins to find out about her not-so-perfect-after-all family and discovers that they way she is may be just perfect.

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. Mia has synesthesia. She doesn’t know it and neither does anyone else. She only knows that her whole life sounds and letters and numbers have had a color associated with them. It’s only when she finally decides to tell her family about it that she discovers what the problem is. It’s a great story with friendships, family relationships, a special cat and a boyfriend mixed in to great affect. I love the book and the character.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer. Hope and her Aunt are packing up and leaving again. This time to Wisconsin where her Aunt is going to run a diner. There experiences in New York left Hope feeling, well, hopeless, and it’s going to take some time before she can trust all that she now has around her. I love the characters in this book. I’m only sorry that it’s not a real place so that I could go there.

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Four of the best books of all time ever. The first, Twilight, is my absolute favorite. The ulitmate vampire book. A must read for all.

Notes From the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick. I love Jordan Sonnenblick. He is a fantastic writer. Funny, realistic, and heart-warming. Alex is sentenced to volunteer at a nursing home as punishment for one drunk driving incident. Over the course of his time there he really starts to like the old man he is assigned to. He’s grumpy and cantakerous and probably the only person that can get Alex to see that his best friend, who is a girl, should be his girlfriend. Not to mention the help he can give him on guitar and a few other lessons that are just about life. A great book.

 

Filed under | Comment (0)