Top Ten Books That Should be Required Reading for Teens
1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky- This book was pretty helpful to me even now, so I can but imagine how much I would have loved it and needed it when I was a teenager. It's basically perfect, and if you're basically any kind of teenager you so need to read this now. It's beautiful and stays with you for a long time.
2. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling- I'm not sure if there's anything these books can't teach you, but I think the most important thing about them is that they are utterly fabulous and just make me want to dance a little bit with delight. Forget teenagers, these should really be required reading for all people (especially people who have only seen the films, because please, they don't even compare!)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee- So I know that this is required reading for a lot of teens (in England, anyway) but I definitely think that it's status as such is completely justified. It's probably the only book I've read specifically for educational purposes that I've totally and unashamedly loved, and have really wanted to read rather than just having to read. So completely freaking amazing.
That's about all I have for you today folks! I know it may seem lazy, but really I just don't like to tell people what to read, in terms of making them do it. I think it's scarring to force people to read certain books, unless, that is, they're the books I've listed above. Double standards people, that's how I live!
While I agree that required reading is hard to swallow, I sort of looked at this not so much as required, but reads that a well rounded reader should consider. There are so many great books out there and you have two I included on my list and one I need to read as it has appeared on several list today.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see what teens think of Perks. It's on every banned book list you ever see, so it has to be good.
ReplyDeleteI've been toying with the crazy idea of having teens read children's picture books. I highlighted ten favorites in my Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Should Be Required Reading for Teens. I'd love to see what you think. And don't forget to throw your name into the hat for my July Giveaway, a $25 Amazon gift card!
Yayyyy for Harry Potter! :-)
ReplyDeleteI keep seeing "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" on these lists and haven't even heard of it before! Must read it to feel like less of a dullard now!
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten
I had to read Mockingbird in high school and while I love the book I really wish we didn't read it then. Only because I must have skimmed it or something cos I took nothing from it, couldn't figure out why everyone loved it cos I could hardly remember the book and then I didn't read it again for years cos I figured I already read it. It wasn't until someone gave me a copy a few years ago that I read it again and loved it. It was wasted on teen me.
ReplyDeleteI formatted my list more as a "books that were really important to me" list. I don't think that any one book is particularly important for teens to read. I just think it is really important for them to read something.
ReplyDeleteCome visit me at The Scarlet Letter.
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteI don't like telling people what to read, either, but I can be sneakily opinionated about what I think people "should" read. ;-)