Great Books for Teens

 

Nonfiction

 

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie.

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Mitch Albom rediscovered his sociology professor, Morrie, in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

Bolnick, Jamie. Living at the Edge of the World.

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New York City's Grand Central Station provides the eerie backdrop for Tina S.'s jagged transition from runaway to homeless young adult to supervisor at a support organization for the homeless. Focusing on Tina's friendship with April, a doomed teenage runaway, the narrative conveys the realities of drugs, violence, and wasted lives but also a remarkable camaraderie among misfits.

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood.

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Capote's spellbinding narrative plumbs the psychological and emotional depths of a senseless quadruple murder in America's heartland.

Caputo, Philip.  A Rumor of War.

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In March of 1965, Marine Lieutenent Philip J. Caputo landed at Da Nang with the first ground combat unit deployed to Vietnam. Sixteen months later, having served on the line in one of modern history's ugliest wars, he returned home--physically whole but emotionally wasted, his youthful idealism forever gone.

Cattrall, Kim. Being a Girl.

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Cattrall's advice-filled narrative recounts in detail many of her own experiences as an adolescent, a young woman and an adult. She addresses many topics such as developing self-esteem and a positive body image, discovering one's own sense of style, the importance of good nutrition, exercise and sleep, understanding dynamics among family members and friends, dealing with "toxic cliques" and the "queen-bee mentality," and dating.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed.

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Determined to find out how anyone could make ends meet on $7 an hour, Ehrenreich left behind her middle class life as a journalist to try to sustain herself as a low-skilled worker. In 1999 and 2000, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress in Key West, Fla., as a cleaning woman and a nursing home aide in Portland, Maine, and in a Wal-Mart in Minneapolis, Minn.

Filipovic, Zlata. Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries.

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This  collection of diary entries from young civilians and soldiers in World War I Germany; World War II Russia, Austria, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, and the U.S.; Holocaust Lithuania and Poland; Vietnam; Israel and Palestine; and, finally, Iraq, provides a compelling window into life during conflict. Heartfelt voices detail the fear, longing, hatred and angst associated with war, but also the banality of daily life, as the 14 authors struggle to interpret their changing societies and cling to normalcy.

Fisher, Antwone. Finding Fish.

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Antwone Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment his single mother gave birth to him in prison. As a foster child, he suffered more than a dozen years of emotional abandonment and physical abuse, until he escaped and forged a life on the streets. Just as his life was about to hit rock bottom, Antwone enlisted in the U.S. Navy -- a decision that would ultimately save him.

Hornbacher, Marya. Wasted.

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Bulimic since she was 9 years old and anorexic since she was about 15, the author reveals how and why women with these eating disorders can be helped and, most of all, how long it takes for that help to take hold.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild.

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After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. In a moving narrative, Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life.

Kuczynski, Alex. Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 billion Obsession with Cosmetic Surgery.

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New York Times reporter Kuczynski's documentary-like narrative on the U.S. cosmetic industry is at once an expose, a gripping series of related articles, and an autobiography. She has done her homework many times over, interviewing patients and doctors, talking to company executives who support the industry (for instance, imaging systems and pharmaceuticals), attending trade shows, and researching past news. What emerges is information about every surgery under the knife.

Lewis, Michael.  Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life.

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The turning point in his life, author Michael Lewis says, came in a baseball game when he was 14 years old. With the game on the line, his coach gave the young pitcher the ball. Lewis wasn't able to thank him then but does it with this book decades later. He describes the coach's life, the apocryphal stories that grew up around him, and the change in the atmosphere of youth sports today.

Maynard, Kyle. No Excuses.

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Born without arms or legs below his elbows and knees, Kyle Maynard excels as a champion athlete, inspirational speaker, college student and male model. No Excuses is his inspirational autobiography that shows how a positive can-do attitude gives someone we might see as disadvantaged the advantage over life.

Mezrich, Ben. Bringing Down the House.

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Mezrich tells the true story of a successful scam, in which teams of brilliant young mathematicians and physicists won millions of dollars from the casinos of Las Vegas.

Roach, Mary.  Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

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Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.  The author visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation.

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Everyone frets about the nutritional implications of excessive dining at America's fast-food emporia, but few grasp the significance of how fast-food restaurants have fundamentally changed the way Americans eat. Schlosser documents the effects of fast food on America's economy, its youth culture, and allied industries, such as meatpacking, that serve this vast food production empire.

Sedaris, David. Me Talk Pretty One Day.

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Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of 27 short essays. Whether Sedaris is writing about overcoming a lisp, learning to play the guitar, trying to master French, or taking an IQ test, whether the locales are North Carolina, New York, or France, the author deals with the theme of the inability of humans to communicate.

Underhill, Paco. Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping.

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Revolutionary retail guru Paco Underhill studies our ever-evolving consumer culture. He discusses topics such as what retailers are doing right and what they’re doing wrong and gives the reader a tour of the most innovative stores, mall, and retail environments around the world.