teen books

[Mirdath]

Piers Anthony’s Xanth series - full of teen-aged humor.

Piers Anthony is, I’m afraid, an outspoken and missionarying (including in his writing) pedophile so I wouldn’t recommend his books to kids. I’m definitely with you on Asimov, Dumas, and Sabatini though

Stanislaw Lem’s Cyberiad is a great work for all ages – very primal and playful science fiction about the adventures of two robotic Constructors. I’ve heard Mortal Engines, another collection of shorts, is good if you liked the Cyberiad but I haven’t read that yet.

Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is dark and beautiful; maybe not for all tastes, but I loved it in my late teens. Stardust is another good one by him, a grown-up fairy tale.

Gene Wolfe’s done a lot of stuff over the years; the Wizard Knight high fantasy duo is his most recent, and definitely his most ‘accessible’; it fits quite nicely into the category of books most teenagers could pick up and like. The Book of the New Sun and the related stories of Urth are more adult fare perhaps, but still excellent. Wolfe’s deeply Catholic, and also one of the engineers responsible for the machine that cuts out Pringles potato chips

 

[brotherhrolf]

Piers Anthony is, I’m afraid, an outspoken and missionarying (including in his writing) pedophile so I wouldn’t recommend his books to kids. I’m definitely with you on Asimov, Dumas, and Sabatini though

I did not know this. I read this series way back in the mid-70s and quit reading it after about the 8 or 9th book. I didn’t notice any of that in his earlier work. Thanks for the info.

 

[leonie]

I did not know this. I read this series way back in the mid-70s and quit reading it after about the 8 or 9th book. I didn’t notice any of that in his earlier work. Thanks for the info.

Oh, I’m often shocked when I go back and reread that stuff I enjoyed when I was a teen. I guess it all went over my head back then! Hopefully, when my kids read books like that, it goes over their heads, too. Sometimes, they slip past the censor (me).

I agree, though, I recently reread the first one so I could see if it was okay for my 13 year old. Not such a great choice.

 

[leonie]

Has anyone here read A Great and Terrible Beauty? My Aunt sent it to me for christmas and I’m a little bit antsy about it.

**Throw it away!!! **It’s full of sex and witchcraft. It’s horrible!!!

 

[leonie]

Try the BEANY MALONE series. The first one is MEET THE MALONES. They’re old, but very good, they’ve just been re-issued. The author is Lenora Mattingly Weber-also, she also wrote the Katie Rose series.

Oh, thank you, thank you! I read these in the old days and loved them. I’ve been trying for a few years to remember the name of the series.

I can’t wait to read, er, get them for my daughter to read.

 

[Lissla_Lissar]

Piers Anthony is creepy and pedophiliac.

I am very fond of Robin McKinley, and Chaim Potok is quite wonderful. I recommend The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev. Pretty much anything by McKinley is good, although Deerskin is dark in its imagery.

I strongly dislike the Wheel of Time series, but mostly because it’s badly written and neverending. Speaking of which, The Neverending Story is a fantastic fairytale for young teenagers.If you’re looking for good storytelling, Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn* series is great.

If they’re literary, I recommend Letters to a Young Catholic and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.*

 

[bluerose]

I’ve always loved Mary Higgins Clark’s books. Another great author is Beverly Lewis. Her novels (she has about three or four series, I believe) are set in Amish country and reflect the Amish culture, but are not anti-Catholic. There are a few mature themes (mainly as a result of the Amish tradition of rumspringa, the “running-around” years prior to a young person’s decision to join the church) but nothing graphic. There is romance, mystery and coming-of-age. I think you’ll like them!

 

[jlr247]

Does anybody know if the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar is ok? I work at a library and I see those series taken out ALOT. Also the series by Cathy Hopkins is really popular. The titles are all like"Mates, dates, and …". I want to find some good teen books that arent so trashy. I picked up "The Princess Diaries"the other day, thinking it would be good like the movies but they take God’s name in vain WAY too much.

The Princess Diaries series is saintly compared to the Gossip Girl series. The girls in it have an interesting set of morals…

A lot of teen girl stuff is super trashy nowadays (well, the stuff targeted for teen girls anyways). \

 

[Horsegirl15]

I just finished reading one of the Angels in Pink books by Lurlene McDaniel. It was AWESOME! Its aimed at teenage girls and its set in modern time. The book revolves around 3 best friends and their lives. In this book"Kathleen’s Story" the girls volunteer at their local hospital. There was nothing objectional that I could find. The one family is super Christian and doesnt let their daughter wear immodest clothes, the son is careful to save himself for marriage, and they didnt swear once or say God’s name in vain. Of course there is a bit of rebellion against parents since they ARE teenagers but not much. There is a little bit of romance(what I like hehe) but not trashy or over the top, just a few kisses). If you are a teenage girl and like modern day romance stories, I think you’ll like this series. Im off to read the next book!

 

[skuld]

The Princess Diaries series is saintly compared to the Gossip Girl series. The girls in it have an interesting set of morals…

A lot of teen girl stuff is super trashy nowadays (well, the stuff targeted for teen girls anyways). \

Yes, I thought the Princess of Diaries was relatively tame, although it gets into a pretty dangerous zone by the fourth volume or so. I also agree that recently published novels for teen girls are pretty bad, in content as well as in value.

How old is your teenage girl? The Steps by Rachel Cohn should be right for her age if she’s around thirteen.