Is your teenager looking for a new book to read?

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Published on Wednesday, 08 May 2013 09:00

Last Updated on 30 April 2013

Jasmine Joynson

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If your teenager has sped through The Hunger Games and Twilight then you may be desperate to encourage them to continue reading. This is a short list of ideas. Please add your own favourites in the comments box!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I hate it when people ruin the plot of books for me so I will make my outline of the premise brief. The Fault it Our Stars in narrated by a teenage girl with terminal cancer and charts her relationship with a ‘gorgeous’ boy called Augustus Waters. Ok, so it sounds like a really depressing read but it is actually the funniest book I have read in months. I had people giving me strange looks when I was reading it on the tube because I was laughing out loud. The characters are fascinating, complicated and flawed. John Green’s prose is brilliant – I was somewhat sceptical about the idea of a man writing as a teenage girl but quickly realised that my scepticism was completely unfounded.

The Fault in Our Stars is a teenage novel because it’s about teenagers. This does not mean that it is not a good option for adults too. It deals with big issues but not in a heavy, preachy way and is simply a great way to spend a few hours of your life. You will laugh, you may cry. You might even reassess your view of breakfast food.

The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

Patrick Ness’ series is well-written, complex and completely wonderful so everyone should read it. Todd is the youngest boy in a world where all women have been killed off by a virus. One day when he’s wandering in the woods with his dog Mangee (who is maybe the most adorable character in any book ever) he discovers something unusual.

If you were a fan of The Hunger Games’ dystopian civilisation then there are similar ideas here. Abuse of power, religion and politics are all investigated but the plot hurtles forward at an incredible speed.

The first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, is going to be available as part of National Book Day on April 23^rd so look out for it!

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

I was given this when I was a teenager and the dark but conversational tone struck me as unusual. Daisy is sent to England to stay with cousins she has never met after her father’s new wife cannot stand to have her around anymore. She is welcomed by a bizarre family who live in a slightly run-down house in the countryside. Within weeks the county descends into war and the children are left to their own devices.

A film, starring Saoirse Ronan, is due to be released this summer so get reading!

Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn

Set in an alternate medieval Japan these novels follow two teenagers, Takeo and Kaede, as they struggle to escape various unfortunate fates. These novels are easy to read and I haven’t come across much teen fiction set in Japan which makes this series a nice change.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Ok, so this may not appeal to everyone but it is well worth reading while you’re a teenager. This classic contains some of the most memorable lines, and arguably the best Byronic hero, in English literature. Yes, Joseph does mumble on a bit in his Yorkshire dialect but there’s enough love, hate and betrayal to more than make up for that.