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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

What should a fourteen year old girl read?

  
 
Phex: Dorset Doom
22:48 / 23.06.07
So, like in any good story it starts with a girl*. The girl, in this case, being my youngest sister, who is fourteen.
Like any older brother I want her to turn out right, but since I'm living on the other side of the country explaining to adolescent boys what happens if they touch her requires a seven hour commute. Since I'm home for a little while I want to do something positive for her and I've decided that this should be getting her to read more widely. She's a smart enough kid, but lately she seems to be making a lot of the same mistakes that me and my other sister made when we were her age and I really don't want that for her. She does read, but only occassionally: there's perhaps only one book on her shelf that she bought herself, Let's Get Lost by Sarra Manning. There's a collection of His Dark Materials books I bought her last Christmas that's gone unread. I did lend her Scott Pilgrim, which she enjoyed. Overall her reading seems a bit limited compared to myself at that age, when I would read everything I could lay my hands on.
I'd like her to be more widely read, and to this end, I'm using this thread to solicit suggestions from 'lithers (some of whom may have actually been fourteen year old girls at one point) as to what she should be reading.
Without sounding like I want the suggested books to teach her good moral values, I do want them to be more than entertainment. For example, one book I'm considering is Jessica Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism- not as intensive as A Room of One's Own and the like but still with a message that a young woman could benefit from- I really don't want her entering University in a few years thinking, as many of my male and even female peers do, that feminists are 'bra-burning man-haters'. While we're on the subject of feminists and feminism, I would like as many suggestions as possible to be for books by female writers- my sister writes a lot, just as I did at my age, and I'd like to give her something to inspire her.
Then there's the problem of how to pitch reading anything to somebody whose natural reaction is to automatically dismiss anything and everything. If I start offering incentives to read there's no garauntee that she won't fake having read the book to get whatever monetary/confectionary reward awaits her at the end, so I need to make her read in a way that doesn't look like I'm making her read.
Any and all suggestions on any aspect of this endevour are of course welcome.

*=This isn't technically true of course. Some start with drinking bourbon.
 
 
pony
23:21 / 23.06.07
I know it's been attempted, but i'd just like to say: HIS DARK MATERIALS, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

the only other thing i can think of is warhol's "a to b and back again". i discovered it towards the end of high school, but i can't imagine it would have done me any harm a bit sooner.
 
 
matthew.
23:24 / 23.06.07
Until she's finished His Dark Materials, I don't want to even think of her.



Don't even breathe her name.
 
 
Sebastian Flyte
07:14 / 24.06.07
Three books spring to mind that might be of use, which I have got positive reactions to from my own little sisters.

Haroun and the sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie could work... but she might be at the point where she's put off by it being superficially aimed at slightly younger children. Still damn good, though...

Room with a View, by EM Forster might also work... I have a real soft spot for this book, and could see it going down rather well were I a girl and 14.

Another I would consider recommending is Prozac Nation, but Elizabeth Wurzel... it would certainly provide an 'I'm-not-alone-after-all' feeling if she is at all, well, female or teenaged, which it seems that she is. This could, perhaps, wait a year though.

The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter is one I would recommend too. It's a wonderful collection of short stories (therefore not demanding of too much attention), which are slightly familiar but deliciously twisted... and with a feminist slant (as one would expect from Carter), which might go down well with said sibling.

Finally... have you thought about Austen or the Brontës? If not, now might be about the time to do so. The wealth of televisual adaptations might be the hook that draws her in, and they are wonderful stories.
 
 
Triplets
00:38 / 25.06.07
You could recommend the work of Valerie Solanas.
 
 
Triplets
00:42 / 25.06.07
As a self-publishing author she could be a strong, independant role-model.
 
 
Jack Fear
02:53 / 25.06.07
Q: What should a fourteen year old girl read?

A: Whatever she bloody well wants to.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
07:14 / 25.06.07
Certainly, the idea that failure to go for a thousand pages plus of geekfest is a sign of damnation is pretty unhelpful. IF she didn't like "His Dark Materials", or has not felt up to it, and did like Scott Pilgrim, how about using that as a guide - perhaps go for shorter, contemporary settings... Just in Case by Meg Rossof?
 
 
Tryphena Absent
09:21 / 25.06.07
How about some Marjane Satrapi? I'd give her Embroideries because it's about women and if she enjoyed Scott Pligrim I'd bet it's partly because the female heroines are all so great.

When I was 14 I started reading Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed was my favourite book at that age but I think I might have been a little out of the ordinary.

The other book that I really remember adoring at 14 was the second of Simone de Beauvoir's auto-biographies The Prime of Life, which really made me feel like there wasn't one type of life that people had to conform to. I think giving her an overview of de Beauvoir, her living arrangements, her body of work, her time in the French resistance, might inspire her to read her perception of her life.
 
 
Whisky Priestess
11:12 / 25.06.07
Same as a 14-year-old boy without Dad's porn I suppose - a lot of sci-fi, horror, Victorian fiction (especially Conan Doyleand the Brontes), Tolkien, Peake, Huxley, Agatha Christie and George Orwell.

Well, it worked for me.
 
 
Whisky Priestess
11:24 / 25.06.07
PS - By the way, I don't think you should try to gender-ghetto your sister's reading. There are enough good female writers out there for her to discover on her own, and if you force-feed her stuff by female authors simply because they are female and not because they are drop-dead brilliant, she will probably react very strongly against your "programme". Age 14, I know I would have.

Reading taste is intensely personal and there's nothing more icky than the feeling of someone trying to mould or manipulate you through the judicious application of books. Subtlety would be the key here, I reckon.

Obviously I don't know what sort of girl she is, but I think consciously feminising (or politicising) her reading list is potentially as patronising and futile as telling black people to read more black writers because ... you know ... because they're black. Or "because I've - I mean *you've* got to be aware of your heritage and raise your consciousness".

Yeah, so, choose the art, NOT the artist, I would say, and I expect your suggestions will be much more useful and enjoyable and therefore much more appreciated.

Sorry if I'm stating the bleedin' obvious here, by the way ...
 
 
Happy Dave Has Left
16:12 / 25.06.07
This AskMetafilter thread may prove useful.
 
 
xenoglaux
16:33 / 25.06.07
I agree with Whisky Priestess -- I think that trying to force a feminist perspective on your younger sister is quite patronizing. However, here are some books and authors off the top of my head that might (MIGHT) appeal to her if she has any feminist bent:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks (Or something less obviously-titled by bell hooks--she has a way of breaking down feminist principles with grace and simplicity that I have not found anywhere else
Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy

Just some ideas. Otherwise, let her read what she wants to! There's nothing worse than someone trying to impose their literary tastes and intellectual opinions on someone else. It's been done to me, and as a result I will never look at those books in the same light again.
 
 
invisible_al
19:29 / 25.06.07
Something by Diana Wynne Jones perhaps? I know there are many people here better qualified than me to suggest specifics there .

I go with the general suggestion of just getting her reading, once she's got into the habit she'll find her own way, the trick is to get her hooked on the old printed matter .
 
 
Tryphena Absent
10:45 / 26.06.07
Howl's Moving Castle!
 
 
EvskiG
20:10 / 26.06.07
Leaving aside the usual disclaimers (which others already have covered) here are a few books I've read recently that seem especially popular with teenage girls:

Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, by Scott Westerfield

Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Dangerous Angels: the Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block

Plus manga. Lots of manga.
 
 
Triplets
23:19 / 26.06.07
How could a girl not love World War Hulk?
 
 
All Acting Regiment
13:28 / 27.06.07
I don't know whether there are certain books that one has to read at any point on the age or gender spectrum simply because you happen to be at that point. The idea seems unpleasant to me.

A lot of these "Teenagers should read this book" schemes (both interpersonal and social, i.e. in families and in libraries) seem to make a lot of assumptions about what the subject will or should be interested in. So there's usually some George Orwell in there, because young people should be concerned about that sort of thing, but there's also a lot of silly books about horses and princesses which nonetheless deal with issues, and which all my female family tell me they despised. Even the phrase What books will prepare a young mind for the big wide world? seems dodgy.

Which set of observations, easy for me to make because I don't need to get anyone reading, doesn't really help this thread much, I know. I think the only way I could suggest books without helping patriarchy is simply to list a few authors and books I enjoyed at that age (and "enjoyed" is the point here, no-one likes educational books). So that would be The Magus, by John Fowles, a bunch of D.H. Lawrence, and Nabokov. What all these have got in common is that there's a certain anger and a certain element of satire, expressed in various ways, and, of course, the language. I think good language is more important than good content.

You could also ask her?
 
 
gridley
13:31 / 27.06.07
I strongly agree with Ev G about Francesca Lia Block's Dangerous Angels. Those novels are so great for teens, partially because she didn't think she was writing for teens when she wrote them. They're fun, deep, sad, and joyous (sometimes all at once). I do everything in my power to convince teens in my family (male and female) to read them.
 
 
Jack Vincennes
18:09 / 27.06.07
I'd recommend Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys, but I recommend that to anyone who likes happiness. It's a superb book; funny, well-written, wistful and just referential enough. Also, it's about writing and being an author, and never (for me) descends into self-regarding nonsense. I bought it for three of my best friends last Christmas and that wasn't because of paternalism but because I wanted them to laugh.
 
 
kathygnome
18:23 / 28.06.07
The book that was most important to me at that age was the somewhat obscure Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee. It's a coming of age story. For those of us who "got it" it became almost an obsessive cult.
 
 
Charlus
11:32 / 29.06.07
JUDY BLUME

Whilst I agree that your female sibling should be allowed to read what ever she wants, and that honestly your post seems to allude books that you want her to read, I can't stress the value of a Judy Blume novel, I really can't. Are you there God, it's me margaret, and Deenie are some examples. These novels are not only timeless, and classical, but they handle teenage life, and more specifically the entrance into teenage life in the most sophisticated and intelligent manner. which I think is what makes them timeless and classical. It is these novels which will provide her foray into reading, and encourage her to read often. Classics and other novels such as mentioned above should be read when she has emotionally and mentally matured. Though the Brontes are a good choice, I must admit.
 
 
Phex: Dorset Doom
17:59 / 29.06.07
Thanks to everybody for your suggestions- there are at least a few here that seem perfect for her.

As for the various criticisms of this little project of mine, they're all well-founded and I've already beaten you guys to the punch on all of them, hence the line in the thread summary which asks whether it is even worthwhile to try to get somebody to read (I was going to write a paragraph or two on this in my original post, but it was long enough already). There is probably a useful discussion to be had (in Headshop most likely) on the politics and practicality of trying to better people through exposing them to 'good' culture.
My concerns were trumped by my overriding concern that a sibling not miss out on an enjoyable part of life. The problem is not, as Charlus says above, that I am trying to get her to read the books I want her to read rather than those of her own chosing, but that she chooses not to read at all. I really don't think anybody can argue that completely ignoring literature is a good choice (but if anybody wants to then let's go), so anything I can do to help my sis' read has to be a good thing.
 
 
Proinsias
22:16 / 29.06.07
Perhaps it's not a good choice although it is possible that she may , if left alone, realise all on her own that reading is the bee's knees and embark on compulsive reading as opposed to being put off by your efforts. On the other hand one of the books above as a gift may kick start this process.

Catch 22?
 
 
ibis the being
20:52 / 30.06.07
I at first misread the title as Why should a 14 yr old girl read and was a little excited to see that conversation - oh well... as to what, man, what an incredibly broad and subjective question. At 14 I was really into Joyce Carol Oates books and also (embarrassing) John Updike. I found books to read by wandering through the stacks at the library and look for fiction authors who had huge bodies of work that were all sort of similar in tone & character - the familiarity (I'm in Oates world, I know this world) was comforting to me as I first ventured into adult fiction.
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
08:29 / 02.07.07
Hmmm, I don't think my sister starting reading in any serious way until she left school, so maybe she'll be a late developer. Give her a couple of book tokens and throw her into Borders. When she gets the reading bug, point her in the direction of your local library.
 
 
This Sunday
08:58 / 02.07.07
I agree immensely with everything Whisky P has posted above, and can only add the suggestion that, instead of lending/forcing-on your sister specific books, leave them around. Leave them (them could be specific books attending the slant of feminism you'd like to enlighten her on, or, well, random stuff she might like but is unlikely to pick up on her own - the Ken Kesey, the odd Kathy Acker, or children's books, even; things she might well enjoy but could plausibly be too embarrassed to try pulling from a bookstore or library herself) behind when you split, somewhere she's likely to pick them up if she's intrigued by the cover, title, or the blurbs and synopsis on the back. She's less likely to feel she's being guided or educated, which is always uncomfortable, no matter how well-meant, and she'll be selecting the things she wants to dip into on her own, finding her own tastes and tendencies.

Thinking on my own reading at fourteen, or thereabouts, I'm recollecting the prose of the Brontes, the essays of bell hooks, and the poetry of Ann Sexton. (Whom are all mentioned above, I believe, which is nice.) And Philip Farmer's fictional biographical tales and analyses of Doc Savage and Lord Grandrith. (Which are not mentioned by previous posters.) If you have deep issues against thinking of your sister reading excitedly about pulp heroes past their prime and pushing their immense hard-ons together with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, or rhythmic relaying of the rape aspect of that infamous Sleeping Beauty tumble in the bramble, you might want to pass on some this, though she may not.

I'd be more concerned with when she reads this thread and sees you've noted her as the 'snot-nosed sibling' in need of structure and education. The Valerie Solanas might be less conflagratory.
 
 
Tryphena Absent
09:00 / 02.07.07
There's a collection of His Dark Materials books I bought her last Christmas that's gone unread. I did lend her Scott Pilgrim, which she enjoyed.

I think that when you buy books for your sister you should think about the actual text on the page. It sounds like she doesn't enjoy reading a lot of the time, so if you buy her books where the print is particularly crammed together and small (this is often the case with a lot of classics like Jane Eyre) she might actively reject reading the stories. Perhaps when you buy books for her you should think about the actual aesthetic of the book itself. If she enjoyed Scott Pilgrim you should think about buying her something like the Hopeless Savages and other graphic novels rather than books where she's expected to cram through word after word? For some people that's just not a pleasant experience.

The last book I bought for someone in her vague age group that went down really, really well was The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo.
 
 
Janean Patience
09:35 / 02.07.07
Tom Wolfe and Graham Greene are writers my partner and I remember accompanying adolescence particularly well. My copy of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test made the rounds at school, and it wasn't a school where people liked to read. I also read a lot of plays at that age, good for trying different writers and styles without taking ages to plough through the prose. Depends on if you can read plays, though. Some people hate to.
 
 
Thistle
09:41 / 02.07.07
I know what you mean, I can't get my teenaged sisters to read anything other than horse and ponie magazines. Though I used to read Tamora Pierce's Allana series. Lots of magic and fighting.
Anything with a good cover?
 
 
grant
14:51 / 02.07.07
I wonder if Pete Bagge's Hate has aged well.
 
  
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