{"id":6598,"date":"2018-06-15T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T09:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6598"},"modified":"2021-08-18T11:12:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T11:12:01","slug":"books-for-teens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/educational-advice\/books-for-teens\/","title":{"rendered":"Books for teens: classic or contemporary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What books should you read over summer? There is some argument about whether recommended books for teens should be contemporary or classic. Which will help you more in school and, the rest of your life. Find out all the answers here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Classics<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Why should we read classics?<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>They have made the literacy traditions that have lead to what we read now.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">It can make you love reading more, you&#8217;ll unpack depth in contemporary books that you may not have noticed before.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">Classic books are classics for a reason &#8211; they are incredible piece of literature.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">The challenging writing styles can improve your own writing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">Classic books span many genres &#8211; see if you&#8217;re interested in any of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/list\/show\/449.Must_Read_Classics\">these<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But you don&#8217;t have to leap the void between children\u2019s books and adult novels &#8211; particularly with tougher \u2018classic\u2019 texts &#8211; just because you feel you ought to.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Contemporary<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The teenage years are marked by a transition from childhood to adulthood and reading should be part of that process too. Young Adult novels are the perfect stepping stone. They are what it says on the tin \u2013 books for teenagers. There are snobs out there who believe Young Adult novels are nothing but low brow literature, a quick and easy read that will contribute nothing to the reader\u2019s literary skills and appreciation. But I loved Young Adult novels at secondary school, and not only have I just graduated from Durham University in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/view-tutors\/English-Literature\/\">English Literature<\/a>, but I have also written two Young Adult novels myself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As author Markus Zusak said<\/p>\n<pre>\"We underestimate teenagers at our peril.\u201d<\/pre>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Teenagers have an underappreciated ability to understand and cope with serious and stimulating topics, mainly because the teenage years are marked by such emotional and physical upheaval. These ups and downs are all incorporated in Young Adult novels.<\/p>\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Stephen Chobsky\u2019s\u00a0Perks of Being a Wallflower\u00a0is about homophobia, rape, and anxiety.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">John Green\u2019s\u00a0Fault in Our Stars\u00a0is about teenage cancer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">Rainbow Rowell\u2019s\u00a0Eleanor and Park\u00a0is about body image and xenophobia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">Jay Asher\u2019s\u00a0Thirteen Reasons Why\u00a0is about bullying and suicide.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #555555;\">Ned Vizzini\u2019s\u00a0It\u2019s Kind of a Funny Story\u00a0is about eating disorders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There\u2019s nothing lowbrow about these stories, and the ideas presented are just as challenging as Dickens\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/view-tutors\/Politics\/\">socio-political protests<\/a>, even if the language they\u2019re written in is more accessible than the weightier classics.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Which one?<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Classic literature is not the be all and end all of reading, particularly when you\u2019re only at secondary school. The most important thing about reading is creating a love of reading itself, and the worst thing you can do is extinguish enthusiasm. Reading should not be a chore, like washing the dishes or doing homework: if a book doesn\u2019t put a smile on your face, put it down and pick it up when you\u2019re ready to read it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So read what you love\u00a0and read a variety! For every Young Adult novel you enjoy, try matching it with a classic that has similar themes, context, ideas, writing style, tone, or character development. Have you been enjoying The Hunger Games? Then try a dystopian classic such as Aldous Huxley\u2019s Brave New World. Are you into vampire books, such as Twilight? Bram Stoker\u2019s Dracula will take you back to where the now-popular trend began.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Don\u2019t spend four months struggling through War and Peace, when in that time you could have skipped through five or six more enjoyable books that will make you want to pick up more. Passion needs to be nurtured, not forced, and everyone\u2019s reading journey is different. All that matters is growing one of the greatest pleasures in life &#8211; to get lost in a really good book.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Written by Florianne H.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What books should you read over summer? There is some argument about whether recommended books for teens should be contemporary or classic. Which will help you more in school and, the rest of your life. Find out all the answers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":6599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[108,354,295,296,788],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Books for teens: classic or contemporary | MyTutor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Books for teens. 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