Books Both Teens and Adults Can Enjoy

Books to enjoy

Few cultures have segregated teenagers and adults as much as our own contemporary society. We have separate schedules, separate interests, separate friends, separate forms of entertainment, and even (to some extent) a separate language. Our written language is no exception.

Adults view books for teens as simplistic and shallow, too focused on fads and trends. Teens see adult books as boring and irrelevant to their world. In some cases, these perceptions are accurate, but literature is full of books that both teens and adults can enjoy. You can use our directory to find many interesting books to read from library stores in Dubai. Reading teens and adults who want to find common ground can start with some of these books:

"Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird" by Vivian Vande Velde

These fairy tales might have characters familiar to the nursery school set, but they are not for baby sisters.

"The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

Also geared toward younger teens, this "puzzle mystery" is complex enough to hold an adult's attention. Turtle Wexler, the book's thirteen-year-old heroine, works alongside older teens and adults to solve the mystery of who killed Sam Westing and win Westing's inheritance. Written in the 1970s, this book is sometimes criticized for playing on stereotypes, but it teaches not to stereotype others, as no one in the book is exactly who he or she appears to be.

Also like The Westing Game, it is more complex than a typical young adult book, interweaving generations and events to bring about a satisfying conclusion. The 2003 movie adapts the book fairly well, but as with any movie, some of the complexities of the book are lost.

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

Yet another Newberry Award Winner, this book portrays a young man coming of age in a future ideal" society where the community's elders choose careers for each teen. Jonas is chosen to be the keeper of the society's collective memories, an appointment that reveals much about the costs of utopia.

Both teens and adults can appreciate the yearning to belong that this society appeals to. Lowry's companion book, Gathering Blue, tells the story of a young woman in another future society that has developed in a contrasting way.

"Game" by Orson Scott

Exploring a young person's role in society seems to be a strength of science fiction. The leaders of the future world in Ender's Game are searching for a talented young person to save them from their enemies, and Ender just might be the one. Written for adults, this book will also appeal to teens who like futuristic fiction. Those who like it can read the rest of the series.

"Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Coming of age stories can take place in the future or the past. This classic novel explores adult issues of race and crime through the eyes of a preteen girl, so readers of all ages can relate to its events. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd  Published in the twenty-first century but set in the South in the 1960s, this novel deals with race and other "adult" issues from a similar point of view as To Kill a Mockingbird.

When fourteen-year-old Lily flees town with her nanny, who has insulted some violent white men, the two find their way to a town Lily has connected with her mother and meet a trio of beekeeping sisters who nurture Lily and satisfy some of her desire to know the mother who died when she was young.

"The Diary of Anne Frank"

An adolescent's view of tough issues is not exclusive to fiction. This classic book will personalize readers' knowledge of the Holocaust and will show teens that previous generations - even those before iPods and the Internet experienced many of the same thoughts and feelings they have now.

Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery  In this romance by the author of Anne of Green Gables, a young woman receives a fatal diagnosis from her doctor and persuades the town's outcast to marry her so she can experience life away from home before she dies.

Teens will appreciate Valancy's desire to escape the oppressive expectations of her family, and adults can benefit from the reminder that life does not have to be dominated by the mundane. 

"How I Relived My Life in Less Than a Year" by Joe Kita

In this little known non-fiction book, journalist Kita attempts to do all the things he wishes he had done the first time around, such as making the high school basketball team and asking out the girl. Though not all of the regrets come from Kita's teen years.