Young Adult Books

[zaina usman]

Young Adult Books

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Literature offers models and cautionary tales alike. Through writing, listening, and speaking activities, teachers can help teens become savvy about consent as well as rhetoric, thinking about both love and metaphors—empathetic, authentic, and willingly vulnerable in exploring courtship, romance, and friendship. It helps children learn to make sense not only of the world around them but also of people, building social-emotional skills and of course, imagination. “Reading exposes us to other styles, other voices, other forms, and other genres of writing." Here are some of the novels which are worth reading:

Turtles All the Way Down – John Green

Turtles Down follow the life of Aza Holmes, a sixteen-year-old girl struggling to live a life she fears is not her own. When a local billionaire absconds following allegations of fraud, her best friend, Daisy, pulls her along into an investigation in hopes of winning a $100,000 reward. The novel is filled with dark humor and written with a beautiful simplicity that draws the reader in so deeply that it’s not just the twist and turns but the gentle bends and curves that you feel tugging at your emotions.

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green tells the story of Hazel, a young sixteen-year-old girl who struggles with thyroid cancer. She meets Augustus and falls for him. However, her life changes when she meets the writer she has always cherished and discovers he is far from the person she imagined. Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Looking for Alaska – John Green

Looking for Alaska tells the story of Miles “Pudge” Halter, a high school junior who divides his life into time before and time after a life-changing event that the reader will not discover until later in the novel. Miles plans to attend the Culver Creek boarding school for his junior year of high school. Miles Halter’s life has been one big non-event until he meets Alaska Young. Gorgeous, clever, and undoubtedly screwed up. Alaska draws Miles into her reckless world and irrevocably steals his heart. For Miles, nothing can ever be the same again.

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years—from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding—that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is an epic tale that is simultaneously devastating and inspiring, a masterful and painfully honest story of great hidden intricacy and wisdom. The novel is a gripping read and a haunting story of love, loss, and betrayal. Guaranteed to move even the hardest of hearts.

And the Mountains Echoed- Khaled Hosseini

Ten-year-old Abdullah would do anything for his younger sister. In a life of poverty and struggle, with no mother to care for them, Pari is the only person who brings Abdullah happiness. For her, he will trade his only pair of shoes to give her a feather for her treasured collection. When their father sets off with Pari across the desert to Kabul in search of work, Abdullah is determined not to be separated from her. Neither brother nor sister knows what this fateful journey will bring them. And the Mountains Echoed is a deeply moving epic of heartache, hope, and, above all, the unbreakable bond of love.

Kite Runners - Khaled Hosseini

Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this enchanting classic- a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humor the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.