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Most teenagers dread books
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Once you get your teens hooked on one book of a series, it's a done deal. They are guaranteed to read every book and then about a dozen similar series; and pretty soon they will have morphed into the rare species known as 'avid book lover.' It's a great way to get them engaged in reading. If you're lucky, they'll start asking for books instead of video games and rediscover that giant building full of books known as a library. Here's a few popular ones currently out:
Here are book recommendations for teens for all situations and personalities. Teenagers range in maturity levels (and parents range in what they consider to be appropriate), so please use your own discretion about what is appropriate for your child.
| Best Books of All Time for Older Teens | ||||
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Weetzie Bat This book is a little out there and hard to follow at times, but overall it is entertaining and worth it. A quirky girl shares a Hollywood cottage with three even stranger roommates. |
Go Ask Alice A classic story, said to be true, of one teen girl's drug experimentation gone horribly wrong. |
Maus A comic book style depiction of the Holocaust. There are several books in this series, but all are powerful and unique reads. |
Bliss A powerful, sharp story of a girl growing up in 1969. This is one of the best young adult horror books out there. |
Impossible A story of a cursed pregnant teen. Seventeen-year-old Lucy Scarborough has a cursed family-- all the females become pregnant as teens and then go insane after giving birth. The only way to beat the curse is to perform the three impossible tasks listed in the ballad Scarborough Fair. |
| Best Books of All Time for Younger Teens | ||||
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Two friends begin an unusual journey through space just seconds before the Earth is destroyed to make way for a Galatic freeway. |
The House on Mango Street Told in a series of vignettes |
I Am the Cheese A psychological thriller about a 14 year old boy who realizes his whole life has been fiction and he has a new identity. |
The Secret Life of Bees Set in 1964 South Carolina, Lily Owens is haunted by blurred memories of the day her mother died. After her "stand in mother", Rosaleen, insults three of the biggest racists in their town, the two escape to Tiburon, South Carolina, a town that holds many secrets about her mother's death. |
Uglies A futuristic first book of a trilogy exploring how far one would go for beauty. |
| Best Books for Teen Girls | ||||
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The Princess Diaries A popular story of a nerdy girl who discovers that she is really a princess. |
Twilight In case you haven't heard of the hottest selling series, follow Bella as she enters a new high school and meets a boy who's after more than her heart. |
Jacob Have I Loved Louise tries to break free of her town and living in the shadow of her perfect twin sister. |
Izzy, Willy-Nilly A popular cheerleader learns to accept her life after losing a leg in a car accident. |
Summer of My German Soldier A classic tale of a young Jewish girl making friends with a German prisoner of war in her hometown in Arkansas. |
| Best Books for Teen Boys | ||||
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Catcher in the Rye One of the most popular coming-of-age books, Catcher in the Rye is a story of a boy struggling to piece together memories while on a four day odyssey. A must read. |
The Outsiders A story of young boys confused and caught up in gang violence. |
On the Road The story of a beatnik odyssey. A group of friends in the 1950s avoid mainstream society and go on their own cross-country adventures involving drugs and jazz |
Big Fish Faced with the prospect of his father's death, one young man goes on an epic journey to find out who his father really is. This novel has elements of fantasy as it is told in a series of tall-tales. |
An Abundance of Katherines A young prodigy tries to prove that relationships are mathematically predictable while on a road trip with his best friend after being dumped by 19 girls named Katherine. |
| Best Books for Reluctant Readers | ||||
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Fight Club A psychological thriller that messes with identity and reality. |
1984 A prediction of what the world would be like in 1984 that isn't really so far off the mark. |
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Two cousins get into a lot of trouble while setting out to make a comic book in 1939 New York. |
A Confederacy of Dunces A unique, amazingly comic masterpiece. Expect unbelievable plot twists! |
The Perks of Being a Wallflower An awkward teen boy can't decide if the grass is really greener on the other side. An accurate depiction of those who go unnoticed in high school. |
| Best Non-Fiction Books for Teens | ||||
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Angela's Ashes A book on its way to becoming a classic, this is the story of Frank McCourt's troubled childhood. |
A Child Called "It" An emotional memoir of one of the worst cases of child abuse on record. |
Into Thin Air An epic account of a man trapped on Mount Everest during a deadly storm. |
Reading Lolita in Tehran A teacher in Iran gathers a few of her best female students to read forbidden Western classics |
Running With Scissors A funny account of a normal boy being raised by an unorthodox psychiatrist who resembles Santa Claus. |
| Classics for Teens | ||||
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest A staple of Western literature, this is the story of a psychiatric ward in the 1960s. |
The Giver A tale of a different society in which there are no wars and everyone is assigned their role in life at the age of 12. Jonas, however, is chosen to be the special boy that will be trained to be the Giver (the one who holds all painful memories to prevent the pain of the society as a whole). |
The Great Gatsby A story of the Roaring Twenties and the filthy rich and decadent stars of the Jazz Age. |
The Fountainhead An intense story first published in the 1940s about an architect struggling to fight conventionalism while falling in love with a stunning women who tries to defeat him. |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A coming of age novel about a poor but confident family growing up in Brooklyn at the beginning of the 20th century. |
| Best Graphic Novels for Teens | ||||
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer Series If your teen loved the show then how can you not buy this great series for him or her? Follow awkward teen Buffy as she tries to fit in and save the town from the evil undead. |
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas A group of superheroes were mysteriously born, adopted, and raised together. If that's not weird enough, one member attempts to change the past but they end up in the wrong year with a talking goldfish. What's not to like? |
Watchmen A group of retired superheroes band together to solve the murder mystery of one of their own. Great for older teens and those with more political and philosophical mindsets. |
Ghost World Two teenage girls must learn to deal with their immanent separation when college rolls around. A quirky story that is sure to resonate in the hearts of all teenagers. |
Blankets Thompson portrays the struggle of a teen to understand spirituality, love, and the complexities of simply growing up. Thompson must figure out where he belongs in life even if he doesn't seem to fit in. |
