7 Clean Great Books That are Safe for Your Teen to Read.
Clean and Awesome Books for Teenagers
I have a 13 year old son and it is a constant struggle to keep his reading material age appropriate. After some research here is a list of books from 2013 that fit the teenage bill.
Besides, even though I am older, I love to wander into the young adult section of my local bookstore it should not be something your embarrassed about — even if you haven’t actually been a teen in years.
Here are are my top 13 picks.
1. In Darkness
By Nick Lake
This is the story of “Shorty”-a 15-year-old boy trapped in a collapsed hospital during the earthquake in Haiti. Surrounded by the bodies of the dead, increasingly weak from lack of food and water, Shorty begins to hallucinate. As he waits in darkness for a rescue that may never come, a mystical bridge seems to emerge between him and Haitian leader Toussaint L’Ouverture, uniting the two in their darkest suffering-and their hope.
A modern teen and a black slave, separated by hundreds of years. Yet in some strange way, the boy in the ruins of Port au Prince and the man who led the struggle for Haiti’s independence might well be one and the same . . .
2. Gollup the Woods
“WAIT STOP, Don’t step on those druidic stones……”
- An abandoned 10th century Irish village.
- A twin sister with no knowledge of her magic abilities.
- A giant wolfhound with telepathic powers.
- A supernatural relationship between 13 worlds.
- A fierce enemy that could destroy them all.
It all waits to be discovered in Gollup the Woods, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and friendships into a wonderful reading experience.
As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets thirteen-year old twins Josie and Seamus journeying to Glendalough Ireland, where they discover the crumbling ruins of a masonic community ten centuries old. As they explore its abandoned churches, it becomes clear to the children that there is much more to their story. Their grandmother may have been dangerous. Their parents may have been hidden from an enemy for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—the twins may be the key to the survival of 13 worlds.
A spine-tingling fantasy illuminated with beautiful illustrations created by artists from all over the world. Gollup the Woods will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure.
**Full disclosure, this is a blatant attempt at self promotion, but Gollup the Woods is truly a great read and has no swear words or even the remotest hint at sexual tension.
3. In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society’s definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything–and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love.
Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother’s pushiness and her father’s lack of interest tell her they’re the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn’t know the passengers inside, but they’re the only people who won’t judge her when she asks them her most personal questions…like what it means that she’s falling in love with a girl.
6. Divergent
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance
7. The Book Thief
The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that will be in movie theaters on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak’s unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
There are a total of 13 clean young adult books in my Amazon bookstore