What is about books about teenagers that make them stay with us? Is it because this time represents a comma in our own lives - the time before everything changes? I've compiled a highly personal list - feel free to contact me about any glaring omissions or suggestions of your own.
- The Soul brothers and Sister Lou by Kristin Hunter
I got this out of the school library when I was about thirteen and it really made an impact on me. What I remember of it is that it is about a young girl/woman finding her identity and negotiating tricky areas of race and politics. This is a book that doesn't talk down to its readers. This is the description on Amazon (other web based book suppliers are available):
African-American teen Louretta Hawkins discovers music and, through it, the worth of her black identity. She navigates an urban world of poverty, overcrowding, hostile police, and feuding gangs to emerge triumphant, secure in her talent and in the love of her family and friends. Winner of the Council on Interracial Books for children award as the year's best book for older children. "Packs a wallop Taut, fast-moving, absorbing, and believable, it probes with honest realism the problems of a wide range of unforgettable characters This powerful book deserves wide reading." -Book World
- Are you there God, it’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Judy Blume was/is the queen of adolescent literature and this book deals with all the issues surrounding puberty. I think that it resonated with me at the time because Margaret was also dealing with issues surrounding the fact that her parents were from different religious faiths. My own issues were slightly similar (although in my case it was cultural differences) I can’t remember whether it’s in this book where Margaret thinks that one of her neighbours is Hitler, living incognito! I remember questioning everybody about whether Hitler was actually dead, when I was a child, him and Jack the Ripper.
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume
Almost the companion book to the one above in that this one deals with puberty from the male perspective. I was quite confused as a child as to why the main character felt the need to wear long coats or carry a book around with him at all times to hide his groin at certain times of the day! All is clear now…I think!
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
One of my all time favourite books! Cassandra, her older sister, Rose and their younger brother, live in genteel poverty in a ruined castle with their eccentric father who has written one brilliant book, years ago but nothing since. The really wonderful thing about this book is that the characters are so life-like, the main character, Cassandra, sounds particularly authentic. The book deals with first love but the more interesting relationships are the family ones - between the two sisters and between Cassandra and her father.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Amazon again: The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
I hold my hands up here - I haven’t read it! Shameful to include it in the list but the film is so brilliant that the book just has to be, too!
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Katniss Everdeen kicks ass and shoots to kill. She is resilient and resourceful as she negotiates her way around the dystopian landscape. She is also compassionate and loyal - a true role model!
- My Mad, Fat, Teenage Diary by Rae Earl
The genuine diary of the teenage Rae Earl which tells of her struggles after her spell in a psychiatric ward. She has issues with her weight and with her mother but there is a thread of humour and self-awareness, running through the diary which prevents it from being depressing.
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Not strictly about adolescence but had to include it as Jane grows up in the book. She refuses to be beaten down, by Mrs Reed or by her teachers or by Rochester or St John Rivers - the ultimate rebel and feminist heroine, lives life on her own terms. Writes for another position after becoming bored at the school in her role as teacher.
- Jacqueline Wilson, ‘Girls’ books - Girls in Love, Girls under Pressure, Girls out late etc.
If Judy Blume is the American queen of teen, then maybe Jacqueline Wilson can be said to hold the British mantle. Friendships, eating disorders, love, betrayal.
- His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
I read these as an adult. Wonderful, brilliant books that detail alternative realities and quantum physics and murder and betrayal and religion and sex! (Do Lyra and Will have sex at the end? I remember having many pub conversations about this. One thing is clear is that they have some kind of sexual awakening which could be perceived as sin but in these books signals the beginning of knowledge and enlightenment.)
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