More than 4,800 books are published each year to be marketed to a teen audience. Reading teen books is an opportunity to put yourself in your teenager’s shoes, and to learn more about challenging topics. Many of the stories are appealing and well written. Reading teen books may help you to remember being a teen yourself and so make you more empathetic to what your kids are going through. Teens are dealing with new adult challenges at the same time that they are striving to form their own identities. Teen books can help you start a conversation about a difficult topic, especially if you and your teen simultaneously read the same title – form your own mini book discussion! Though times have changed, many of the complexities are timeless. A famous quote by Socrates (469-399 B.C.) is a reminder of that:
“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”
Here are some suggestions of books to read – all are available at Islip Public Library:
Anderson, Laurie Halse | Speak |
Bray, Libba | Going Bovine |
Brown, Jennifer | Hate List |
Chbosky, Stephen | Perks of Being a Wallflower |
Forman, Gayle | If I Stay |
Lynch, Chris | Inexcusable |
Myers, Walter Dean | Monster |
Rowell, Rainbow | Eleanor and Park |
Sepetys, Ruth | Out of the Easy |
Woodson, Jacqueline | If You Come Softly |