Teens also grow up reading
They want to be older and, effectively, "grow older", also in what they read. The adolescent is going through a moment of crisis, of searching for himself; stage in which a book can be key in the development of your personality. Here lies the danger: being older is not being able to read everything; Maturity plays an essential role in all this.
What do teenagers read?
Books that make them daydream, of intimate style and that tell stories of "real life". In general, they are attracted to books in which they are reflected somehow; of social themes, of action, of mystery, those set in other eras or on other cultures, of science fiction *, and those on current issues and psychological conflicts involving adolescent protagonists, with whose problems and concerns they feel identified. The adolescent is in a time of change in which he tries to orient himself, and for that he constantly searches for models and writers capable of expressing exactly what he thinks and feels.
The maturity of adolescents in reading
One of the greatest dangers of "I am no longer a child and I can read adult books" is the conviction that you can do whatever you want without any limit. On the contrary, we must make them understand that "to be older" is not really to have the field open to any issue, but to be able to inform yourself beforehand about what is best for you. They must understand that it can be counterproductive to read anything that comes their way, no matter how best-seller they may be. This reflection is where its maturity lies, is defined and manifested.
What should parents do? Advise without imposing
For their first steps in reading "more adult" they need company and, in this aspect, the decisive role is played by parents. How?:
- Orienting them but without provoking in them a feeling of disparagement.
- Procuring his intellectual recognition so that, without being identical, they may reach a certain critical level with their loved ones.
- Justifying the decisions and discussing with them the good and bad readings
If a climate of spontaneity and naturalness has been created in the family, this orientation will not be too difficult. It's all about help them focus their natural curiosity and the spirit of rebellion what characterizes them.
8 ideas of good books for teenagers
1. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
Let start the quarter seventieth Hunger Games! A past of wars has left the 12 districts that divide Panem under the tyrannical power of the Capitol. Only a 16-year-old girl, Katniss Everdeen, dares to defy the rules to get food. Its principles will be put to the test with Los juegos del hambre, a televised show that the Capitol organizes to humiliate the population.
2. The Minion (Sergei Kourdakov)
Sergei, educated in different Soviet orphanages in Russia in the first half of the twentieth century, becomes part of the oppressive communist system against Christians who meet clandestinely until the meaning of their existence is raised. Little by little, he begins to feel that the arm of God stops his hand every time he tries to apply the deterrent methods of the KGB against some believer, and discovers that he only has one and terrible possibility to stay alive: to flee from the USSR.
3. The Ender Game (Orson Scott Card)
The Earth is threatened by the buggers, an extraterrestrial race completely alien to humans, whom it intends to destroy. To overcome the buggers a new type of military genius is necessary, and therefore the birth of Ender has been allowed, which in a certain way constitutes a living anomaly: it is the third child of a couple in a world that has strictly limited to two. the number of descendants. The child Ender must learn everything related to war in video games.
4. Life comes out to meet (José Luis Martín Vigil)
In this novel, a boy of fifteen tells us his life in the bosom of his family, in the circle of his friends and in the school where he is a resident; all this in the course of a prodigal year in contrarieties for him. She feels her great admiration for her father, the affection for her brother, the total dedication she makes of her trust in Father Úrcola ... and the love for her cousin.
5. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Bilbo Baggins is like any hobbit until one morning he receives the unexpected visit of Gandalf, who will change his life forever. With Gandalf and a gang of thirteen dwarves, and with the help of a mysterious map, our hero will leave for the Lonely Mountain in order to rescue the valuable treasure guarded by Smaug el Dorado, a terrible and enormous dragon. What Bilbo does not know is that the ring he found on the road will be the beginning of another great adventure ... that of The Lord of the Rings. *
6. White as Snow, Red as Blood (Alessandro D * Avenia)
The moving story of a 16 year old teenager, faced with a difficult experience that leads him to redefine his feelings about friendship and love, life and death, and to learn the importance of fulfilling his dreams.
7. The Boy with the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
Bruno, eight years old, is the spoiled son of a Nazi officer. When his father is promoted, the family is forced to leave Berlin and move to an isolated area. Dying of boredom and attracted by curiosity, Bruno ignores what his mother tells him and heads towards the 'farm' he has glimpsed in the distance. There he meets Shmuel, a boy of his age who lives a strange and parallel existence on the other side of a fence. Bruno will establish a friendship with Shmuel in which they will analyze the world of adults around them in the most innocent way, a relationship with terrible consequences.
8. Little Red Riding Hood in Manhattan (Carmen Martín Gaite)
Sara Allen is a ten year old girl who lives in Brooklyn. Her biggest wish is to go alone to Manhattan to bring her grandmother a strawberry cake. The grandmother of this modern Little Red Riding Hood has been a music-hall singer and has been married several times. The wolf is Mr. Woolf, a billionaire pastry chef who lives near Central Park in a pie-shaped skyscraper. But the magic thread of this story focuses on Miss Lunatic, a beggar without age who lives in the hidden day of the Statue of Liberty and goes out at night to mediate in human misfortunes or, if necessary, get to give a capable elixir to overcome fear.
Immaculate Mansilla Sánchez
It may interest you:
- The importance of parents in the development of reading in children
- Keys to encourage reading in adolescence
- How to make teenagers passionate about reading
