The Perks of Being a Teenager: Our Must-Read Books for Teens

I am not a Twi-hard. While I applaud Stephanie Meyer for her creative re-imagining of vampires, that’s about all I can applaud her for. I mean, come on – the sparkly bad boy who took off without a word gets the girl while the supportive good guy gets friend-zoned? Please! There have to be some books for teens that are entertaining and educational – heck, even some involving mythical creatures – that don’t make me want to strangle someone every time I see glitter. Without further ado, I’m excited to present to you my top books for teens picks!

Books for Teens

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – I know it’s a movie now, but before it was a movie it was an amazingly awesome book about Charlie, a teenage boy navigating the treacherous waters of family, friends (and more than friends) in high school and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Charlie is perfectly unique, and at the same time he’s every teenager who has been an outsider, an insider, and completely lost all at the same time.

Misfortune by Wesley Stace – Like any good book for teens, Misfortune is about feeling different, growing up, having adventures, and finding yourself. Specifically, it’s about Rose, an orphan boy adopted as an infant and raised as a girl. Complicating Rose’s nineteenth-century coming of age story are questions of sexuality and gendered identity and the impact of a lie of this magnitude on the parent/child relationship.

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak – It’s impossible to go wrong with a novel by Markus Zusak, but I chose this one in particular because it is a book about difficult decisions. They may not be decisions every young person faces in their life – I hope you never have to decide what to do when you witness a case of domestic abuse and find a gun in your mailbox – but you can’t help but be entertained and enlightened by the choices Ed Kennedy faces every time he gets an ace in the mail.

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier – Some of your favorite authors of contemporary teen fiction have chosen a side – and Garth Nix (author of the Abhorsen trilogy) has elected to write about both. When your brain can’t handle any more homework, study guides, or speech and debate preparation, pick up Zombies vs. Unicorns for the ultimate literary stress-buster. I read it after I took the GRE.

My Memoir by [Insert Your Role Model Here] – There is nothing I admire more than women who achieve their dreams through tenacity, spunk, and limitless determination without ever apologizing for who they are – except women who did it all while being absolutely gut-busting hilarious (I’m talking Tina Fey, Kathy Griffin, Lisa Lampanelli, and Chelsea Handler to name a few). Memoirs written by people you admire and respect are not only fun and inspirational, they also tend to be packed with suggestions for achieving your goals.

If you’re not a teenager, don’t worry – last I heard, they weren’t checking ID at Barnes & Noble. Feel free to enjoy these books for teens at any age! Did you have a favorite book when you were a teenager? What are your favorite books for teens? Share them in the comments!