25 Books Every Teen Should Have on Their Bookshelf

On Tuesday, Flavorwire posted a list of 25 Books Every Kid Should Have on Their Bookshelf.  In looking over the list, I realized that there are several books on that list that I haven't read but have always meant to read (Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy, for example) and others than I have never even heard of (Jean Merrill's The Pushcart War, I'm looking at you!).

Of course, it inevitably got me thinking about if there was a list of the 25 books every teen should have on their bookshelf, and what that list would include.  And then I thought it would be fun if I created a list.  So I did.

As loyal readers know, while I've read hundreds of young adult titles, there are many classic (and even contemporary) books with teen appeal that I have yet to read.  So my list certainly isn't the be all and end all of lists.  It's just for fun.  But maybe in the comments, you can submit your "shoulds" for teen bookshelves.  I'm going to guess that people who have actually read books like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Fellowship of the Ring, Ender's Game, Watership Down or any of the others that are on my TBR list and that I just haven't gotten to yet, would probably take some of my choices off the list.  And some of you are looking at my list and thinking "I can't believe Pride and Prejudice isn't on that list!"  I've read it.  It's one of my favorite books.  But I didn't actually read it all the way through until I was 20 (just don't tell my high school junior English teacher).  And I don't think EVERY teen should have it on their bookshelf.  In fact, I'm not even sure there should exist a list of books EVERY teen should have on their bookshelf.  But I made a list despite that.

In alphabetical author order, here is my list of the 25 Books Every Teen Should Have on Their Bookshelf.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Weetzie Bat  by Francesca Lia Block
Forever . . . by Judy Blume
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Lord of the Flies, Centenary Edition by William Golding
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition by Harper Lee
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Night by Elie Weisel
Uglies (The Uglies) by Scott Westerfeld
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

And yes, I did put every.single.one. of the Harry Potter books on my list.

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Forgotten YA Classics

If are like me, then perhaps you didn't even know that YA lit was being written during the 30s and 40s.  You (and I) would be wrong!

According to Publishers Weekly, a new imprint of Ig Publishing - Lizzie Skurnick Books - will be re-releasing classic young adult titles from the 30s and 40s, and even the 70s and 80s.  Who better to this task than Ms. Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading herself? Be prepared for a new look to come to your favorite Lois Duncan and M.E. Kerr titles.  And to think that in my weed this fall several dusty and unloved Duncan and Kerr titles found their way out the door.  Perhaps a shiny new cover and the absence of old book smell will bring the readers back.  Here's hoping!

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Young Adult vs. Middle Grade Literature

Over at the Huffington Post, Monica Erdinger is pleading with folks to "Stop Calling Books for Kids 'Young Adult'."  In the article, she notes that NPR was challenged by readers who submitted nominations of children's books to their 100 Best Ever Teen Novels and addressed them in a statement explaining why those books didn't make the cut*.  I often find that well-meaning adults (even teachers!) confuse "middle grade" (aka children's) and "young adult" literature.  Why is that?  And why, if something is a classic (I'm looking at you, Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) do people seem to get especially confused?  Those are children's classics.  They are not for teens.  Yes, they are awesome.  For children.

But it goes both ways!  I just weeded my library's fiction collection and found myself wondering what to do with books like Anna Karenina and Frankenstein.  Yes, they are beloved classics.  No, that does not make them appropriate for a middle school library!  Can we stop all of this confusion?!?!  Just because a book is beloved, does not mean it is intended for all audiences.  Certainly, there's no problem with anyone reading whatever they want, whenever they want**, but if we're going to classify books - and as a librarian, I feel it my professional duty to do so - then here's the rule:

If the intended audience is aged 8-12, it is a middle grade or children's book.

If the intended audience is aged 12-18, it is a young adult or teen book.

If the intended audience is aged 18+, it is an adult book.

Can we agree on this?

*Though can we talk about how books like The Giver, Stargirl and Betsy-Tacy made the list? These are not for teens.  These are middle grade novels, intended for (and read by) children ages 8-12.

**Exercise your right to read!  Hey, I read VC Andrews in middle school, but there's NO WAY I'd call those books "middle grade" or even "young adult."

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

A Crash Course in the Classics

With the amount of reading I do and my passion for books, one might assume (as my students do) that I have read every middle grade and young adult novel ever written - especially "the Classics".  Alas, this is far from the truth.  So far from the truth (gasp!), in fact, that it sometimes gets awkward when people ask me about Lord of the Flies and I just nod and say things like "yeah...Piggy...boys stranded on an island...sure..."

So, I've decided it was high time to do something about it.  In preparation for the next school year (which begins the Wednesday after Labor Day), I'm taking some time to read all of the books assigned to my students, starting with the ones they read during the school year, and then moving onto the summer reading list.  Here's what I'm reading:

6th Grade
The Little Prince
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

7th Grade
Animal Farm (read when I was in 7th grade, but deserves a re-read)
William Goldings Lord of the Flies

8th Grade
Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library) (read in 9th grade, but deserves a re-read)
To Kill a Mockingbird (read in 9th grade, but deserves a re-read)

Luckily, my school library has copies of everything, so I've been able to lay my hands on all of them.  On Thursday evening I read The Little Prince (What a precious book it is! Makes me ashamed to say that the first drawing does look like a hat).  Then, I read Lord of the Flies yesterday, during our long drive to the beach (A little confused about the details of what was happening with that whole parachute/beast thing, but could.not.put.it.down once I got about 150 pages in and sh*t started getting real).  I'm about to dig into Roll of Thunder, which the 6th graders at my school seem to adore, so I have high expectations.

It's about time I got around to reading these books.  And this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what I haven't read.  Ashamed and embarrassed, but doing something about it.  Now if only I could get past page 12 of the Westing Game... 


The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.