Book Club

Our lab is filled with avid readers.  Since we often get requests for book recommendations for teens, we thought we would share some of the books which meant the most to us when we were adolescents ourselves.

Jane Mendle:

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle was one that I read over and over again.  Sixteen-year-old Vicky Austin is spending the summer with her dying grandfather on a small New England island when she discovers she has a rare knack for communicating with dolphins.  This is – on its surface – a book about love and loss, but it is even more a book about how we talk and connect with those around us.

 

Zhana Vrangalova: 

A book I loved that is directly relevant to my work today is Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. It’s a science fiction book about a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interactions with, attempts to comprehend, and eventually transform terrestrial culture, including the social norms and expectations of monogamy in sexual and romantic relationships. That was one of the important developments of my life-long personal and professional interests in non-traditional and non-normative expressions of sexuality.

 

Sarah Merrill:

When I was younger, I loved the Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce, a female reimagining of the development of a traditional male hero. The quartet features Alanna of Trebond, a girl who desires to be a knight in a time when women are not allowed in such positions, so she takes it upon herself to dress as a boy and show the whole country that a woman can not only be a knight, but the King’s Champion. It is a story of awakening and self-discovery that is an inspirational feminist tale, which, as a young girl who asked why we said “Amen” instead of “Awomen”, I truly appreciated.

 

Natalie Finn:

As an adolescent, my favorite book was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  It explores serious topics through simple, but very honest writing, and has wonderfully quirky, endearing characters.

 

 

 

 

Jillian Strayhorn:The Chosen

One book that meant a lot to me as an adolescent is The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. It deals directly with the subject of adolescent transitions, beautifully depicting the main characters’ struggles to navigate complicated peer and family relationships, while grappling with pressures to answer those age-old questions of “who-to-be?” and “how?”

 

 Gracie Monks:

One of the books I enjoyed most as an adolescent, and still enjoy today, is Jodi Picoult’s 19 Minutes. It explores what it means to be different in or society by following the events leading up to a school shooting, and the aftermath of that event. Can verbal and physical abuse by classmates culminate in disaster? And, in that case, is it justified?

 

 

 Meredith Moser:

Looking at my bookshelf, the most tattered and well-read book I own is Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson.  The book focuses on the sibling rivalry between the narrator and her twin sister, who is always the center of attention.  The main character struggles to find herself and to leave her sister’s shadow during the challenging years of adolescence, and the transition to adulthood.  This book is relatable for anyone with a sibling close in age, which is what makes it a favorite constantly returned to. 

 

 Amanda Molina:

A book recommendation from my adolescence is Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter.   

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Mai:

My favorite book from adolescence was Uglies by Scott Westerfeld!