Adult readers: check out these book for teens
By Marjorie Kehe | 12.01.08
A little more than a month ago I posted a blog about adult readers fascinated with teen literature. Little did I know that so soon I would become one of them.
As a post-holiday treat, I allowed myself the pleasure of picking up “What I Saw and How I Lied” by Judy Blundell, one of Scholastic’s newer offerings for teen readers (and the recent recipient of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.)
Wow. Once I started, there was no stopping.
Set in 1947, it’s the story of a New York teen whose stepfather comes back from the war in a joyous rush toward normalcy. Yet somehow the more time that passes, the further from normal things become.
The book is blessed with a deeply appealing young narrator, a gripping plot (what really did happen over there in Austria?), a believable love story, and a marvelous evocation of both New York and Palm Beach, Fla., in those early, happy post-war days.
My own estimation is that murder, adultery, and a few sex scenes make it a bit sophisticated for all but the most mature teen readers, but for adults it’s a humdinger.
Now I’m off to my next novel, another Scholastic book aimed at teens: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. One Monitor reader wrote to recommend this one, saying, “It was one of the best books I’ve read this year – and it was written for teens!”
If you’ve got older kids, this might be the time to start rifling through their bookshelves.
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1. Mrs Hale | 12.02.08
I read The Hunger Games a few months ago and I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s one of those books that you walk around the house with and sit on the top of the dryer so you can continue to read it as you transfer laundry around. Great book! And I’m 32.
Enjoy!