10 Books a Teenager Should Read
As a teenager we tend to explore various genres of literature and pick our favourite. The books we read as teenagers have the potential to shape the type of adults we become.
Here are 10 books that will help every Gen Z-er become the best version of himself or herself.
This 2013 memoir by 20-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner
Yousafzai (who was attacked by the Taliban for her outspokenness on the
importance of girls’ education) should be required reading for any young
person. It’s an inspiring, first-person account of how anyone can change the
world with enough passion and perseverance.
2. I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS BY MAYA ANGELOU
Angelou’s 1969 autobiography shows how a love of
literature can help you overcome just about anything (in her case, racism and
trauma). It’s an important reminder for teens who might be more interested in
Instagram than books.
3. PERSEPOLIS
BY MARJANE SATRAPI
This graphic memoir recalls Satrapi’s coming of age in
Tehran, Iran, during and after the Islamic revolution of the late 1970s and
early 1980s. Alternately darkly funny and tragically sad, Persepolis humanizes the author’s homeland and provides a
fascinating look at how vastly different life for teenagers can be around the
world.
4. NIGHT
BY ELIE WIESEL
In one of the preeminent books about the Holocaust,
Romanian-born Wiesel, in just over 100 pages, writes about his experience with
his father in the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in mid-1940s.
5. WE
SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
This super short essay-slash-book (it’s around 65 pages)
was adapted from Adichie’s 2012 TED Talk. She offers readers a unique
definition of 21st-century feminism that’s rooted in inclusion and awareness.
Especially today, it’s an important rallying cry for why we should all—men and
women alike—be feminists.
6. THE
CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME BY MARK HADDON
This poignant 2003 novel is about 15-year-old
Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog.
Though readers have speculated that Christopher has a form of autism, Haddon
wrote that, “Curious Incident is not
a book about Asperger's...if anything, it's a novel about difference, about
being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way.”
7. THE
BOOK THIEF BY MARKUS ZUSAK
Zusak’s 2005 novel follows a young girl in Nazi Germany
who, after the death of her brother, is sent to live with foster parents who
open her eyes to both the power of words and the chaos and loss surrounding
her. Her solution? To steal banned books before they can be burned.
8. A WRINKLE IN TIME BY MADELEINE L'ENGLE
The wildly popular story of grouchy misfit Meg, her genius
little brother and their missing scientist father swoops through time and space
to teach lessons about individuality, patience and love.
9. HATE U GIVE BY ANGIE THOMAS
Sixteen-year-old Starr is stuck between two worlds: the
poor community where she lives and the affluent prep school she attends. This
balancing act becomes even trickier when her childhood best friend is shot to
death by the police in front of her eyes. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter
movement, it’s an important read for adults and teens alike.
10. THE GIVER BY LOIS LOWRY
This 1993 dystopian YA novels follows 12-year-old Jonas as he prepares to take his government-appointed position as “Receiver of Memories,” only to discover the sinister reason behind state-sanctioned “release dates” for the elderly and developmentally challenged children. There’s a reason this one’s been popular for over two decades.
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