PUBLISHED 14 May 2021
READING in the MIDDLE SCHOOL
Each week, AKS English Dept will recommend books in various genres which we hope 14 to 16-year-olds will enjoy.
In Years 10 and 11, you could be forgiven for thinking that GCSEs are the only things that matter in life. But teenage life is fraught with much deeper worries than wondering how many grade 7s you might get. What about relationships, changes in outlook, conflict with parents? Why are you only ever expected to behave like an adult when it comes to boring things like tidying and cleaning?
It’s a common theme and treated entertainingly in contemporary books.
This week– the ‘Coming of Age’ novel. We’ll look at some contemporary accounts of teenage life as our heroes and heroines bridge that yawning chasm between childhood and adulthood – too young to drive, too old for the Kiddies’ Meal at the burger restaurant.
Next week, we will look at some classic Coming of Age works from the past, but this week the recommends are more up to date.
City of The Beasts by Isabel Allende (2003)
City of the Beasts centres on the adventures of Alexander Cold, a typical fifteen-year-old boy. He goes to school, where he's in band; he has a crush on a girl in his class, likes to rock-climb with his dad, fights with his sisters. But when his mother becomes ill, he is sent to stay with his grandmother, Kate, who is most untypical. She is a writer for International Geographic magazine. She is portrayed as an old-school journalist of the hard[1]drinking, hard-nosed, kind Alexander's grandmother is on assignment to find "The Beast", a yeti-like monster with a stench so bad that it has been known to paralyse or even kill those who smell it. Traveling by boat to reach the remote jungle outpost where they will meet the rest of their group, Alex begins to see the larger world around him, far from his suburban home. Although still feeling very sorry for himself, and absolutely refusing to eat the exotic dishes (monkey, tapir, cassava) presented to him, he begins to show some interest in the adventure when he meets Nadia, the daughter of another expedition member. Nadia has been raised in the Amazon, has a pet monkey, is friends with a shaman, talks to the animals and is just all around a different kind of girl than he is used to. They become firm friends. With Nadia's help, Alex learns the ways of the jungle.
The Amazon is full of dangerous characters – vicious animals, savage Indian tribes, unscrupulous smugglers, corrupt soldiers - not to mention the legendary Beast. When the young friends uncover clues of a plot to kill off the natives so the area will be opened for mining, they resolve to keep their eyes open and try to foil the plan – a goal that becomes even more urgent when they meet and befriend the mysterious People of the Mist. But nothing turns out like they expect. Who should they trust?
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (2006)
In David Mitchell's "Black Swan Green," thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor learns some hard realities about life. His coming-of-age story dealt not only with Jason’s challenges as a teen but also with his own family struggles as his parents’ marriage falls apart. Throughout the course of the novel, Jason struggles with grief and guilt because he accidentally broke the heirloom watch that had belonged to his grandfather. He is also tormented by his speech impediment and his struggle to stay on the good side of the popular kids. When Jason becomes the target of the bullies, he finds a unique way to fight back.
Each chapter in this novel gives the reader a snapshot of a significant event in Jason’s life during each month of his thirteenth year. The novel’s thirteen chapters each correspond to one month in the year.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013)
As teenagers in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.
Thirteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a blogger. But after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?
The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
Fifteen-year-old Charlie is coping with the death of his friend, Michael. To lessen the fear and anxiety of starting high school alone, Charlie starts writing letters to a stranger, someone he heard was nice but has never met in person. At school, Charlie finds a friend and mentor in his English teacher, Bill. He also overcomes his chronic shyness and approaches a classmate, Patrick, who, along with his step[1]sister Sam, become two of Charlie's best friends.
During the course of the school year, Charlie has his first date and his first kiss, he deals with bullies, and he makes friends, loses them, and gains them back. He creates his own soundtrack through a series of mix tapes full of iconic songs, reads a huge stack of classic books, and gets involved in the Rocky Horror Picture Show audience-participation culture.
Charlie has a relatively stable home life, though, with supportive, if distant, parents to fall back on. Unfortunately, a disturbing family secret that Charlie has repressed for his entire life surfaces at the end of the school year. Charlie has a severe mental breakdown and ends up in hospital.
Charlie's final letter closes with feelings of hope: getting released from the hospital, forgiving his aunt Helen for what she did to him, finding new friends, and trying his best not to be a wallflower. Charlie hopes to get out of his head and into the real world, participating in life instead of just watching it fly by.
My Fat Mad Teenage Diary by Rae Earl (2007)
The subject of mental health is something that is being widely spoken about. One book that focuses on this subject is My Mad Fat Teenage Diary by Rae Earl. This book relates Rae Earl’s complicated teenage years during the late 1980s, published in 2007. Rae struggled with body image and her mental health, she was admitted to a psychiatric ward when she was 16 and this is her original diary during the time after she left the hospital and regained contact with her family and friends.
Her diary is honest, which is the most important thing about this book. She doesn’t seem to leave any stone unturned: anything she felt at the time she wrote down. Teenage Rae went through struggles that almost every teenager goes through. The issues of body image, family troubles, making friendships, fancying a friend, and mental illness. You laugh, cry and cringe alongside her, which makes this a heart-warming and enjoyable read.
The book is filled with Rae’s own little creations, songs, and poems, that are not only hilarious but also a great insight into Rae and how she felt during that time. This book is raw and real, and makes anyone who is struggling, realise that they are not alone, and it will get better.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)
Hazel Grace Lancaster has been living with cancer for three of her seventeen years of life. Despite this, she is a girl with a vibrant mind, biting wit, and incredible empathy for the position into which she puts her parents of having to care for her. Her cancer began as thyroid cancer but spread to her lungs, causing her to need to always breathe oxygen from a tank throughout the day.
She attends a support group at a church; there, she meets a friend named Isaac and a romantic interest named Augustus. Augustus has been in remission after losing his leg some years prior, so Hazel hesitates in starting a relationship with him, not wanting to hurt him if her illness takes another turn for the worse. She introduces Augustus to her favourite book, and he forms a plan in which they will travel to Amsterdam together (using the "Wish" given to him by a foundation for children with cancer) to meet the reclusive and mysterious author and find out what happens after the book's end.
They are able to take this trip, but when they arrive to meet the author he is drunk and surly. At the end of the trip, Augustus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has come back and is much worse than the previous time. Despite the sad themes, this is a life-affirming and romantic story that appeals to many teenagers.
My Name is Leon by Kit De Waal (2017)
A story set in the 1980s, My Name is Leon explores issues surrounding family, the bonds between siblings, the social and foster care system in the 1980s and the ability of children to survive during times of adversity. Beginning with the birth of Leon’s little brother Jake, the reader is instantly introduced to the fiercely protective, unquestioningly loving big brother that Leon is. A boy who is amazed by his tiny new sibling and who sees it as his responsibility to guide him as he grows. As the novel continues and Leon and Jake’s mother’s health issues become clearer it quickly becomes evident that Leon has taken on this role in more ways than just as a big brother.
Torn away from their mother after one incident too many, Leon and Jake end up being taken into care, where they are looked after by Maureen. The boys are happy there, but then, hearing the adults talk, Leon realises that Jake is about to be given away to strangers… because Jake is white and Leon is not. Now, life for Leon is going to be very different than life for Jake but that doesn’t mean that he will ever stop being his brother.
My Name is Leon not only portrays with a stark honesty the foster care system of the 1980s but also attitudes towards race, opportunities and limitations associated with race and an unshakeable sense of courage displayed by a very brave boy.
Leon might be a boy who has lost everything: his mother, his father, his brother, his toys, his home, but as long as he doesn’t lose heart, aided by the kindliness of the people he meets along the way he may just be alright…
His name is Leon, he may be small, but he is mighty and he is amazing.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2018)
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful, gripping and piercingly relevant YA novel about inequality, police violence, 21st century prejudice and one girl’s struggle for justice.
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised, and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer.
The things people are saying about him aren’t true – that he was a pusher, a gangster, a thug. Now she’s caught between the cops, a scary drug lord, and rioting protestors. Speaking up could destroy her community and get her killed. But she can’t keep silent. What should Starr do? Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.