***<\/p>\n
Sorry this is so long.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have time to write anything shorter.<\/p>\n
Seven Quick Takes:\u00a0 Seven Really Good Books for Young Adults<\/strong><\/p>\n When I was in high school, everything we read had to be about either the Holocaust, or suicide, or both.\u00a0 An exception could be made for books about racism, provided several lynchings were described in technicolor.\u00a0 Then, after we finished our assigned reading for the year, the school board would hold a workshop on what to do about rampant and debilitating depression in the student body.<\/p>\n Well, it\u2019s too late for me, of course.\u00a0 As soon as I\u2019m done with this post, I\u2019m going to go huff some wood glue, write a note blaming my parents, and OD on some Xanax I stole from the locker room while listening to Nevermind (to my younger readers:\u00a0 check your oldies station if that reference puzzles you.\u00a0 Oh, lord. . . )<\/p>\n But you still have a chance.\u00a0 Here are seven books of fiction I recommend for your teenager or almost-teenager.\u00a0 Kids that age do enjoy a good bout of angst, but these are books that don\u2019t glorify teenage gloom, or teach that it\u2019s the world\u2019s job to learn to appreciate the delicate genius that is Teenage Me.\u00a0 Not all of the books are about teenagers, and all of them could easily be enjoyed by adults.\u00a0 Most of these books are about courage, and about something that teenagers really need to know:\u00a0 how to discern true love from its flashier counterfit.\u00a0 With the possible\u00a0 exception of the Patterson novels, I don\u2019t think this list is too girly.\u00a0 The only other thing they have in common is that they are stuffed with good ideas that young people need to hear, and the writing is far above average. There is even one post-apocalyptic dystopian novel, such as the young parsons enjoy these days.<\/p>\n \u20131\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n Till We Have Faces<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>by C. S. Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\n This one is often included in YA lists, but not for the right reasons, I think.\u00a0 Teenagers won\u2019t fully appreciate the themes of love and fidelity in this\u00a0 fleshing-out of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, but there is plenty else in this gorgeous and searing novel to grab them by the scruff of the neck and shake the stupid ideas out of them.\u00a0 Heartrending and intense.\u00a0 For grades 9 and up.<\/p>\n \u20132 and 3\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n Two novels by Katherine Patterson:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jacob Have I Loved<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>is a coming-of-age novel about twin girls living on a crabbing island in the Chesapeake Bay in the 1940\u2032s.\u00a0 One sister is lovely, talented, fragile, and secretly vicious \u2014 the other, the narrator, is plain, strong, and full of rage.\u00a0 The character of the horrible old grandmother is unforgettable.\u00a0 The book achieves something I always look for in a novel:\u00a0 honesty about the flaws of the main character, with flashes of sympathy for even the worst characters.\u00a0 Flawless in structure, characterization, and style.\u00a0 For grades 7 and up.<\/p>\n Another excellent novel by Patterson, suitable for grades 5 and up, is\u00a0The Great Gilly Hopkins<\/em><\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s like Flannery O\u2019Connor, Jr.\u00a0 Great portrayals of hypocrisy, great portrayals of genuine love by a genuine Christian, who happens to be a fat, trashy, semi-literate foster mother named Trotter.\u00a0 It could easily have dissolved into melodrama, but resists.\u00a0 My only quibble is with the character of the black teacher, Miss Harris \u2014 she seems a bit too glibly drawn as the hard-as-nails and smart-as-a-whip black teacher with a heart of gold, etc.\u00a0 All the rest of the characters, though, are thoroughly believable, from Trotter, to her pathetic ward William Ernest Teague (W.E.T.), to the greasy-haired would-be sidekick, Agnes Stokes.\u00a0 (See, I remember all their names, and I haven\u2019t read this book for years.\u00a0 It sticks with you!)\u00a0 I believe it\u2019s sold as a novel about racism, but it\u2019s really just about love, failures of love, and redemption.<\/p>\n \u20134\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n The Education of Little Tree<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>by Forrest Carter<\/strong><\/p>\n I know, I know.\u00a0 The guy passed it off as an autobiography, and it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Pretty awful \u2014 but darn it, I still like the book.\u00a0 It is beautiful and funny, and I feel happy while reading it.\u00a0 I wish I knew the characters in real life, which is more than you can say for most novels\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0autobiographies.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve heard that this book is just a piece of anti-white propaganda, you\u2019ll be surprised.\u00a0 I suppose there\u2019s a message in it, but it\u2019s not the main point \u2014 the story is, and it\u2019s a wonderful story about a boy growing up with his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the mountains during Prohibition. \u00a0 Also, it makes descriptions of scenery interesting.<\/p>\n Apparently it\u2019s been criticized as perpetuating the \u201cnoble savage\u201d stereotype of the American Indian, but, again, I just don\u2019t see that.\u00a0 What I read was an ancient story of happiness, broken by a terrible grief and darkness of separation, and then a return to happiness, until Eden is outgrown.\u00a0 To read more into it than that is to deprive yourself of a good story.\u00a0 For grades 6 and up.<\/p>\n \u20135\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n A Canticle For Leibowitz<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>by Walter M. Miller, Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n This one is for older teens, for sure.\u00a0 The story is complicated and demands a lot of the reader.\u00a0 To be honest, I\u2019m too tired to explain the plot to you.\u00a0 It\u2019s about Catholic monks and Jews and miracles and nuclear war and space travel and mutants.\u00a0 It\u2019s a crazy, grotesque, hilarious, fascinating epic with lots and lots of ideas.\u00a0 There is a disturbing theme of the cyclic nature of history that seems to imply a \u201cnew\u201d Immaculate Conception, but a teenager with a good grounding in the faith won\u2019t be troubled by it.\u00a0 I like how the priests are real men.\u00a0 It will appeal to lovers of science fiction, but is so much more than that.<\/p>\n \u20136\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Don Camillo<\/em>\u00a0stories<\/a>\u00a0by Giovanni Guareschi<\/strong><\/p>\n Three collections of short, sweet, funny and poignant stories from post-WWII Italy about a large and rash village priest and his rival, the equally large and rash communist mayor Peppone.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t enjoy these stories, there is something wrong with you.\u00a0 I could do without the cartoonish illustrations by the author, but the stories are hugely entertaining, and touch on all kinds of interesting theological ideas.\u00a0 Don Camillo\u2019s conversations with the crucified Christ in his church are authentic and moving.\u00a0 For grades 7 and up.<\/p>\n \u20137\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n Out of the Silent Planet<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Perelandra<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by C. S. Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\n Please note that, for your edification, I hunted until I found what is probably the most hideous and irrelevant book cover ever to cover a book. I mean, look at it! What the hell is that?<\/p>\n The first two books of the space trilogy are great stories and provide so many memorable scenes (the third in the series,\u00a0That Hideous Strength<\/em>, takes a different turn and is not for the kiddies).\u00a0 It was from\u00a0Perelandra<\/em>\u00a0that I learned that evil isn\u2019t interesting and the devil isn\u2019t clever or charming \u2014 as Ransom learns one night as keeps watch on the beach with the Un-Man, and they have the following dialogue all night long\u00a0 \u201cRansom.\u201d \u2013\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d \u2013 \u201d . . .Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n For more mature teenagers \u2014 there are ideas about sexuality which are entirely Catholic (yes, I know Lewis wasn\u2019t), but which less mature kids won\u2019t be able to manage.\u00a0 The only part that might strike readers as dated is the fact that the villain wants to conquer worlds and force humankind on the universe, whereas today\u2019s humanist villains are more interested in shrinking and curtailing the human race.\u00a0 It might be an interesting conversation to discuss what the current evil ideas have in common with the ones in the books.<\/p>\n There are many, many wonderful scenes in both books.\u00a0 I was especially affected, as a teenager, by the passage in\u00a0Perelandra<\/em>\u00a0where Ransom protests to God that there is a representative of Evil in the world, fighting for the soul of the unfallen Lady \u2014 and why is there no champion of Good?\u00a0 And the silent and terrifying\u00a0 answer comes booming back at him:\u00a0 you.\u00a0 There is also the memorable phrase, \u201cIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, here goes!\u00a0 I mean, Amen!\u201d\u00a0 Lewis\u2019 descriptions of scenery are the only drawback to these books \u2014 he does go on and on, and you have to read really carefully to understand what he is describing.\u00a0 I think these passages could simply be excised without any damage to the books.\u00a0 For grades 10 and up.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice there is no\u00a0Madeleine L\u2019Engle\u00a0<\/a>in this list.\u00a0 I read her books several times as a Young Adult, and I\u2019m sure they influenced me, but I just don\u2019t like her.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like her smarmy characters, I don\u2019t like how her ideals of family life are utterly saturated in six kinds of snobbery.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like the loosey goosey games she plays with comparative religion, and her stories leave me cold,\u00a0 irritated and unsatisfied.\u00a0 I\u2019m always astonished that she\u2019s described as some kind of genius \u2014 her prose always strikes me as hokey and stilted.\u00a0 She is very original, I\u2019ll admit, but I have very little patience with her \u201cOh-the-aching-wonder-of-it-all\u201d genre.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t say \u201cdon\u2019t read her stuff,\u201d but I think you\u2019ll do just fine if you never do read her.<\/p>\n Okay, so, yay, I wrote a blog post!\u00a0 Thanks to the gracious and prolific (in every way)Jen Fulwiler<\/a>\u00a0for hosting Seven Quick Takes every Friday.<\/p>\n UPDATE: \u00a0In the comments of the original post, several readers mentioned Patterson\u2019s\u00a0Bridge to Terebithia\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<\/a>\u00a0by Betty Smith.\u00a0 My take:\u00a0 yes,\u00a0Bridge to Terebithia<\/em>\u00a0is just awful.\u00a0 As reader\u00a0Suburban Correspondent<\/a>\u00a0put it,\u00a0 \u201cIt was everything that was wrong with YA books in my youth \u2013 all the hopelessly messed-up adults, the characters manipulated by the author to send some sort of message.\u201d\u00a0 Yup, pretty much a blight on Patterson\u2019s career.\u00a0 Her books that I recommended are totally different.\u00a0 I also remember that her novel\u00a0The Master Puppeteer\u00a0<\/a>was quite good, and is about a boy.\u00a0 She has written many\u00a0 historical novels for young adults.<\/p>\n A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<\/em>\u00a0is fantastic \u2014 good call, folks.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine a boy really enjoying it, but it really is a wonderful book, despite some hokiness \u00a0It\u2019s about a girl growing up in the slums in Brooklyn before and during World War II.\u00a0 Betty Smith\u2019s other books, unfortunately, are dreadful!\u00a0\u00a0A Tree Grows in Brooklyn<\/em>\u00a0is fiction, but obviously semi-autobiographical, and is very moving and full of insight into a young girl\u2019s mind.\u00a0 Some of her notions about sex could be a little damaging to susceptible girls, though, so you should probably read this one first, and discuss it with your daughter.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wow, I haven\u2019t done a 7QT in forever! And I\u2019m not actually doing one now.\u00a0This post originally ran in 2010. I was inspired to rerun it when the The\u00a0New Yorker printed this appreciation of A Canticle for Leibowitz\u00a0.\u00a0Enjoy, thou parents looking for some decent fiction for your older kids! *** Sorry this is so long.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1533,"featured_media":13859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,92,843,156,854],"class_list":["post-13858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-books","tag-kids","tag-older-kids","tag-seven-quick-takes","tag-young-adult-books"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/7_quick_takes_sm.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/till-we-have-faces.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/jacob-have-i-loved.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/great-gilly-hopkins-katherine-paterson.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/education-of-little-tree.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/canticle-for-leibowitz.jpg\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/don-camillo-author.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/358\/2010\/12\/perelandra500.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n