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Oh, how difficult is adolescence. For the parents, who suffer from the contempt and detachment of their offspring; for children who always feel misunderstood and frustrated, victims of the sadism and stupidity of parents who are so stupid that they are unable to upload a video to TikTok. Don't worry, as in any crisis, to better get through that stage of change in which hormones are disturbed and half of the myths of childhood are dismantled, there is nothing better than a book.
A few years ago I wondered why we read less, now I think that, as far as adolescents and young people are concerned, they now read much more than 10 years ago. And some do something as beneficial as writing a diary (who knows , may be the origin of a best-seller). There will be young people whose favorite books are adventure novels , or horror stories , or intrigue or mystery books, or science fiction . But what about novels deliberately written for that adolescent audience? How are they different from adults?
Well, in little thing; the theme is the same as those for adults (love, mystery, adventure, whatever), but they are usually written in such a way that the reader identifies with the characters, especially with the protagonists. One of the main characteristics is the protagonist's search for identity, which is very convenient because exactly that happens to them –it has happened to all of us– when we reach puberty. That moment in life when our happy childhood world falls apart and we are more lost than an onion in a fruit salad. Even so, most are not exclusively for young people, but for everyone. Novels that are considered "adult" today (ugh, this sounds like porn, I mean, they're for readers who have reached the age of majority) were conceived as juveniles. This is the case of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, or To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The best thing about "youth" books (I hate the label) is that they like them, and a lot, to teenagers. Yes, they have a certain whiff of morality, but at a time when you are so disoriented, when you question everything you have been taught, when the concept of good and evil is no longer so clear, it is good that values such as tolerance, equality, justice and solidarity are promoted and abuse and discrimination are shown for what they are, scourges of society. These books are our favorites, read and reread in adulthood, real gems with which to captivate the most listless and listless teenager. And to make you have a good time.
Alfaguara'Eleanor and Park' by Rainbow RowellTrad. Victoria SimóAlfaguara€14.72Buy
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Trad. Victoria Simo
Alfaguara
Eleanor and Park sit together on the school bus because they have no other choice. They're not exactly popular. Thus begins a relationship between the ugly ducklings of the institute. Although it sounds sweetened, the novel is not, in fact, the situations experienced by the two teenagers are quite harsh. Of course Rowell remembers well what it is to be a teenager. He displays his talent with narrative agility and conveys great empathy towards his characters. Her simple prose, without haste and without pause, with a beautiful rhythm, makes you immerse yourself in the lives of these two very peculiar characters. The novel is narrated in the third person but alternating the vision of the two protagonists. A masterfully told story, with a certain distance and frequent jumps to the past at the right moments, without dwelling too much on the present. Endearing, funny, fresh, universal.
Pocket'My sister lives on the mantelpiece' by Annabel PitcherTrad. Lola DiezDepocket€9.45Buy
My Sister Lives Over the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
Trad. Lola Ten
Pocket-size
When I first read the title I thought it would be a piece of humor. Yes, there is humor, but no, the title describes a reality in the home of Jamie, the narrator. He is a 10 year old boy whose older sister was torn to pieces by a terrorist bomb in London 5 years earlier. Almost nothing. His family is overcome with loss and torn by grief. As they begin to pull themselves together, Jamie goes to a new school. His desk mate is a Muslim girl named Sunya. Her thoughts are "Muslims killed my sister" over and over, but Sunya doesn't look like a terrorist at all... she's kind, funny and beautiful.
The characters are very well developed and the prose is clear, precise and beautiful. It's rare to find a book that makes you laugh and cry in equal measure, but it happened to me. A story that addresses Islamophobia from the perspective of an innocent girl. A novel that puts you on an emotional roller coaster from the first page, from which you come out with a clearer head and a softer heart. Highly recommended.
edebé'The tomb of Aurora K.' by Pedro Rieraedebé6.64 €Buy
The tomb of Aurora K. by Pedro Riera
edebe
A novel awarded the EDEBÉ prize that, like all those by Pedro Riera, deals with a social issue, in this case that of exile and identity, of coexistence between enemies, in reality all victims of the war, but from a point of very different and original view. The protagonist embarks on an inner journey to discover her roots in Turenia, a fictional land probably inspired by what the author lived in the Balkans after the war in Yugoslavia. The book also raises the issue of whether our true family is the biological one or the one that sees us grow up. They seem very serious issues, and they are, but the narrative rhythm, the stories that intersect with the main one and a mystery that is not resolved until the end keeps the suspense going until the last page. Riera's prose, agile, subtle, free of artifice, shows his narrative mastery. The result is a pleasant, interesting, different and very addictive book.
Ink Cloud'Invisible' by Eloy MorenoInk Cloud15.15 €Buy
Invisible by Eloy Moreno
ink cloud
A moving but rather harsh read. Invisible narrates, through the eyes of a child, a universal story, that of bullying from a different and necessary perspective. Moreno shows the shortcomings of the system but also points out which is the accomplice of the abuse and of which we can all be participants: indifference. The victim of bullying can be any of us, but it may also be that, without knowing it, we are the monsters who choose to look the other way and not find out. A powerful evocation of the raw pain of those who yearn for invisibility and go unnoticed for being the target of the frustrations of others. Very very original, surprising.
Salamander'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by JK RowlingTrad. Alicia DellepianeSalamandra€14.25Buy
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
Trad. alice dellepiane
Salamander
How could Harry Potter not be in a selection of children's literature? Although I really do not know if it is children's or youth literature. I think you can start reading Harry Potter at 9 or 10 years old, that is, long before reaching puberty, but the phenomenon has been such (and it has fans of any age, and especially teenagers) that I couldn't include it. 1997 was the year of the phenomenon that shook youth literature, when an unknown woman managed to publish her first novel. Nobody suspected the success it would have, and that it would be translated into more than 65 languages, including Latin and ancient Greek. Harry Potter guessed that it meant that publishers put more emphasis on publishing more YA novels and that authors didn't see this type of literature as a minor genre. The series has come to have 8 titles, and there are movies, video games and numerous pieces of merchandising from it. A phenomenon that has generated a lot of money. The truth is that Harry Potter is read with pleasure and, although it is aimed at a young reader (or child, I have already said that I am not very clear about it), many are the adults who have let ourselves be enchanted by the Hogwarts universe.
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Ocean Express'The Hate You Give' by Angie ThomasTrad. Sonia VerjovskyOcean Express€9.72Buy
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
Trad. Sonia Verkhovsky
OceanExpress
My great discovery of 2017, a young adult novel to which I owe a sleepless night. I started it in the middle of the afternoon and I didn't fall asleep until I finished it, I couldn't! Angie Thomas's debut, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, is the story of an ordinary girl subjected to harsh circumstances. He tackles issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart and unwavering honesty. The hate you give is not just a book about the fight for equality and justice, it is a book about family love, friendship and the responsibilities of our actions. It is a brave, real, hard and complex novel, easy to read and with a great social message. A text that goes with its own soundtrack, as any rap fan will already recognize in the title. It comes from rapper Tupac Shakur's definition of Thug Life, which was not just the tattoo he had on his stomach, but a street code in the poorest neighborhoods. Very powerful.
Atalaire'The Dream Castle' by Dodie SmithTrad. AtalaireSalamander17,00 €Buy
Dodie Smith's dream castle
Trad. watchtower
Salamander
Smith is most famous for her children's book The Hundred and One Dalmatians, which was quickly adapted by Disney and turned into a cartoon classic. But The Dream Castle is her first novel and for most, her masterpiece. Very well known in the United Kingdom and here, however, it has passed unnoticed. The Dream Castle is a coming-of-age novel set in the English countryside in the 1930s. The narrator is Cassandra, a 17-year-old girl who lives with her peculiar and eccentric family in a house built in a ruined castle. A castle, yes, but they have been living in abject poverty for five years. It is a charming book, very funny, with that fine irony that the British handle so well, but in which things also happen, some very hard. A somewhat ambiguous ending, which each reader interprets in her own way.
Nuve by TintaWonder, the lesson of August by RJ PalacioTrad. Diego de los Santos DomingoInk Cloud14.20 €Buy
Wonder, the lesson of August de RJ Palacio
Trad. Diego of the Holy Sunday
ink cloud
August is different, he has a different face, deformed because he was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by malformations. But his brain is that of a totally normal boy, a Star Wars fan, funny, a bit of a joker. His parents, in their zeal to protect him, decided to homeschool him. However, they later change their minds and at the age of 10 August starts going to school. He makes friends, like Jack and Summer, but his different face makes him the victim of others' cruelty. Through August's humor, the author explores friendship, tenacity, fear and the perception of oneself and others. A book that, without a doubt, promotes self-esteem and overcoming adversity. The structure is very original, since the story is narrated in the first person, but with different characters: the first is August, and then his sister Olivia, Jack, Summer, his sister's boyfriend..., each narrates the story from a different point of view. August's Lesson is followed by August & Me and Wonder. Mr. Browne's book of precepts, a compilation of phrases and quotes (from celebrities or alleged students of this endearing teacher) that invite us to reflect.
Ink Cloud'Paper Towns' by John GreenPaper Towns John Green Trad. Noemí SobreguésInk Cloud€7.59Buy
Paper Towns John Green
Trad. Noemi Overgues
ink cloud
John Green is a favorite of any teenager. He comes to them. Me too, mind you. Paper Towns was awarded the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Youth Mystery Book. It has since been read in many American college and university curricula, often alongside Whitman's Leaves of Grass , which is an important text within the novel. Paper Towns has three very different parts. The first part introduces us to the enigmatic Margo in a series of events that happen in a single night. The second is Q's internal struggle with himself and his perception of Margo. He rethinks aspects of her life and in general, it is a journey with himself. In this part the characters are finished to prepare for a third part that is a real road movie. Many readers are disappointed by the ending, for me the ending is a metaphor for life.
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Editions B'Nick and Norah a night of music and love' by Rachel CohnTrad. Rosa Martí Editions B$142.50Buy
Nick and Norah An Evening of Music and Love by Rachel Cohn
Trad. Rosa Marti
B editions
It's a bit wrong to recommend a book that you've translated, but it's really good. In America it was a bestseller and was even made into a movie, but here the novel was barely known, perhaps because of the title the publisher chose despite my suggestion of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was as it was literally called in English. Any teenager is put off by such a sappy title, and the truth is that this novel is anything but sappy. There is music and love, but above all there are tacos, there is sex, there are people who go wild and people who have fun, and on top of all that, there are adolescent worries and doubts, hopes and fears, an emotional roller coaster that has been with me since then it whisked me back to my own adolescence. The story isn't always predictable (even if you've seen the movie) and it's not without humor to deal with such daunting themes as teen angst, youthful rage, and misunderstanding. familiar.
'Flanagan's Red Diary' by Andreu Martín and Jaume RiberaDestino€12.30Buy
Flanagan's Red Diary by Andreu Martín and Jaume Ribera
Destination
I have read all 13 novels in the Flanagan series with genuine devotion, I recommend this one here for reasons I explain later, but they are all magnificent and highly recommended. Martín and Ribera have the peculiarity and the ability to mix crime novels and customs. Juan –or Flanagan– is a teenager who goes to high school and at times lends a hand at his parents' bar, the typical neighborhood tapas and beer bar. In addition, he conducts small investigations for his classmates and neighbors, helped by his sister Pili. However, what begins with an innocent investigation often turns into something more dangerous. And in this noir costumbrista novel, there is no lack of femme fatale, even if they are teenagers and everything is very romantic and innocent.
In Flanagan's Red Diary – parallel to Carlota's Red Diary by Gemma Lienas – Flannagan (and Carlota in Lienas's book) describe their sexual experience together, but from different points of view. This text deviates a bit from the style of the other novels and constitutes in itself a completely independent adventure and a fantastic novel of initiation.
Montena'Axlin's Bestiary' by Laura GallegoMontena€16.10Buy
The Axlin Bestiary by Laura Gallego
montena
Laura Gallego is the great reference for any teenager in this country, and half the world! Twenty-seven of her youth novels and some of her children's stories have been translated into sixteen languages, including English, French, German, and Japanese.
The world of Axlin belongs to her trilogy Guardians of the Citadel , which is completed with Xein's secret and Rox's quest . They are fantasy books, very entertaining but they are also imbued with values such as justice, solidarity, good work. Gallego writes clearly, in a row, with precision and a sense of rhythm. She has undoubtedly won over her young audience because she tells them about a world of monsters and fantastic beings, yes, but she also has a lot of inner journey of personal recognition. Perfect to give away, the only problem is that they already have them.
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