My Ten Teen Reads

A bit late in the game, but I still want to celebrate Teen Read Week with the rest of the world. I left my teens almost half my life ago (now there's a mathematical conundrum for you), and I really have no desire of going back, except perhaps to reminisce about the books I read while I was at those turbulent years.

This post, by the way, is inspired by Zarah Gagatiga's efforts over at School Librarian in Action.

Let me qualify "teen reads" first. These will be books I read while I was a teenager. And considering most of the books I read when I was a teenager, some of these books aren't really meant for teens. But then, who really reads according to his or her age group anyway? I speak as one who now enjoys a lot of children's and young adult titles.

More importantly, whether my parents wanted me to read them or not, these books were discoveries. They were my first forays into the concept of empowerment--no one told me to read them. I just did, out of interest or influence, and I enjoyed them. That heady feeling of discovery and power--that is something that a lot of teenagers live for.

1. Edith Hamilton's Mythology - I was young and bored in my grandparents' home. So I scoured their shelves and came across this book, which I discovered belonged to my mother when she was still in high school. So I read it. And I read it again. And I finally stole the book from my grandparents' shelf. Now, I'm on my 6th copy of Edith Hamilton (because I keep losing them when I lend them), and I still love going back to the myths.
2. Sweet Dreams #1: P.S. I Love You by Barbara Conklin - I was a high school girl in the 80s. In that decade, you couldn't be a high school girl in Manila and not read at least one Sweet Dreams book. So this was #1, and it made almost all of the girls cry. And I actually respect Sweet Dreams for making a tragic love story their first book. 
3. Apprentice Adept by Piers Anthony- a gift from my first boyfriend. To be honest, I had no idea what it was about and I had never read fantasy before. But, out of kindness and curiosity, I read that trilogy and got hooked to fantasy thereafter.
4. If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon - For a long period of my life, my favorite author was Sidney Sheldon. The dozens of slambooks I signed when I was in high school will attest to that. Sidney Sheldon is no longer my favorite author, but I will not deny that I was gripped by his novels, especially this first one that I read. Heck, I even wanted to be a cat burglar after I read it.
5. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis - This is the first Narnia book I read. And it is and will always remain my favorite. Favorite line? "We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play world that licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world." Puddleglum rocks!
6. The Elf Queen of Shannara by Terry Brooks - The best book in the Scions of Shannara series. Taught me that a book can show you loss, but you'll still love the book nonetheless.
7. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - In the world before Peter Jackson's movie adaptations, my brother and I were LOTR fans. We were fans enough to protest the making of the movie for fear that it would never live up to the excellence that is Lord of the Rings. Thankfully, we were wrong. I mean, the movie still doesn't live up to Tolkien's world, but it comes pretty close.:)
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - read it in first year college because my best friend pushed it on me. But also because I saw my crush holding a copy. I figure, it can't hurt to try to impress your crush. He wasn't impressed, but I was--by the book. And to this day, it remains one of my favorite books ever, which I've read over and over again.
9. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - a priest was trying to wean me off reading my trashy romance novels, so he recommended Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd. Couldn't find that at the time, so I read this. And promptly went back to said priest asking, "Is God really unfair?" If you read Tess, you'll understand why. I don't know if the priest was thankful that he recommended Hardy.
10. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - One word: Idlewild. To me, the name always fit the beautiful idea--a place to run away, to escape. Oh, the tv movies helped a lot, too. I fell in love with Gilbert. 

"Read for the fun of it"--I'd say pretty solid advice, even for us way beyond our teens. I really don't know how many teen readers I have or if I have any, but I'm hoping some of my former students will find their way here and see, perhaps not the books alone, but the idea of empowerment in one's reading choices. And if you're reading this and you're not a teen, I urge you to grab one by the scruff of the neck and tell him/her to read! Doesn't matter what, just read. We'll worry about refining the choices later.

So what about you? What are some of your most memorable teen reads?