What makes a teen want to read a book? According to students at St Paul's Community College, Waterford and the Oasis Academy, Enfield, a good book has the ability to shock, sadden or awaken some sort of emotion. A good book has characters the students can identify with and relate to; characters that remind them of friends or even themselves. A good book takes them to towns just like their own, or to far off cities they hope to someday visit. Based on these answers and what is popular right now, here is a list of the top ten books you can find in a library near you!
1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
This is a powerhouse of a book. It is a story in which, as the reader, you know what the inevitable outcome will be for the main character, but the journey that he goes on is so beautifully unravelled that you cannot help but be moved by it. A novel about pain and loss, acceptance and self-realisation, as well as the act of story-telling itself, this is a beautiful novel in so many ways. This is a novel that is essential reading, and is always top of my list when pupils are asking me for my suggestions of the next book they should read.
2. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
This book follows a girl called Stephanie who meets a stranger called Skulduggery Pleasant at her Uncle's funeral, and soon finds herself dragged into an adventure involving trolls, vampires, wizards and a walking, talking skeleton detective. This book, and the rest in the series, have a fantastic cast of characters and are funny, exciting and will keep you coming back for more. This book is an absolute treat, and I cannot resist recommending it to any young people in my school, from year seven and beyond.
3. Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah
Refugee Boy tells the story of Alem, brought to England by his Father fleeing the war in Ethiopia. This book convincingly conveys what it must feel like to be a young refugee, alone in a strange country and the struggle Alem must go through to find care and stability in the face of hostility and bureaucracy. This is a novel of both sorrow and joy, and a great book to recommend to young people from year seven and above who want a "real" story to get their teeth into
4. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
I read this a few years ago now by listening to the audio book and it is one of those books that lingers in your memory. The story follows a teenage girl from America, visiting her cousins and Aunt in the UK when war breaks out, and she and her cousins are left to look after themselves and each other. The story is told in an almost dream-like way while, at the same time, conveying some of the horrors of a war that they neither fathom nor understand. The last scenes of this novel are haunting, and I love to recommend this book to pupils in year nine and above.
5. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
This is one of those books that I studied during English Literature A-level and showed me what a serious novel could really do. This is one of my all-time favourite novels, and one of those books that I have read a number of times since studying it, and is better every time. I try to recommend this book to year eleven pupils and above, who have had a taste of dystopian fiction and are ready to make that step towards reading something that will challenge them.
6. New Town Soul by Dermot Bolger
New Town Soul is a supernatural thriller for older readers situated in the real world of the contemporary teenage experience in Ireland. Friendship and love are central to this story. Shane is Joey's new best friend. Joey pines for Geraldine, but his love is unrequited. Geraldine refuses to have anything to do with him while Shane is around. Shane and Geraldine have met before – an event neither of them will ever forget. The tale carefully and cleverly unravels the truth about Shane's history, taking the reader on a compelling, moving and unsettling journey.
7. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The One and Only Ivan is a beautifully written tale of how a mighty gorilla wins his freedom, and a deserving winner of the Newbery Medal 2013. There is just the right amount of humour and pathos. Ivan is an easy-going gorilla who has spent his life performing for the crowds at the Exit 8 shopping mall. He does not miss his life in the jungle. In fact he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Everything changes when a baby elephant called Ruby arrives and Ivan realises he must find a new life for them both
8. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman
The Walking Dead is a believable, realistic and thought provoking zombie story. It consists of a series of graphic novels, made into a popular TV show. Teens watching the show, turn to the books which are as good if not better. The graphic novels are engaging, the artwork is amazing, the characters are well developed, everything gets better and better as the series goes on.
9. The Zom B Series by Darren Shan
The Zom B is the first book in a 12-volume series (titles are being released at a projected rate of four a year until the middle of 2015). The protagonist of this series is a morally questionable kid trying, and usually failing, to move beyond the ingrained racism instilled in him by his father. It is a brave move by Shan to conceive such a bigoted hooligan as the anti hero. B. Smith is bored at school, his home life is miserable. He makes one wrong choice after another, leading up to the moment of truth, when a devastating zombie outbreak turns everyday existence into a life-or-death struggle. It is a page-turner building steadily to the cliff-hanger ending that readers expect from Shan. Fast paced and unpredictable, a good choice for any teen that likes the gore and grizzle of a good horror story.
10. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Hugo is an orphan and a thief, living in the walls of a Paris train station and trying to fix one of the broken machines while avoiding the Station Inspector. He is eventually caught by an old toymaker and his goddaughter, who vow to help him. This touching story sucks you in and has you hooked before the first line! Any fans of the film should track down this book.
Hilary Cantwell is a librarian at St Paul's Community College in Waterford, Republic of Ireland.
John Iona is librarian at the Oasis Academy in Enfield, Middlesex.
