The problem of choosing books at this age is connected, in my opinion, with two things. Firstly, with the internal state of an individual child (some grow quickly and have long been eager to read books as adults, while others have not yet grown out of childhood); secondly, with the inevitable but painful transition from a complete ban on reading (watching) anything about “adult” love to the ability to read (watch) about it calmly, without “obsessing”, that is, in an adult way. It is impossible to save children from this threshold. Keeping them in blinders until the birth of their own children is not very wise, to put it mildly. Just from 14 to 17 years old, you need to somehow be able to take teenagers across this reading line, and each child probably needs to pave some kind of their own path into the jungle of purely “adult” books, in which for a hundred years they have stopped be shy anyway.
When compiling conventional lists of books for this age, I did not try to embrace the immensity. I asked my friends, added their opinion to my memories and tried to build some system, however, not very logical and academic. I had, strictly speaking, one criterion - how much these books were loved and “readable”. No “rules” (if we read “this”, why don’t we read “that” and violate historical justice?) are not recognized here. If “that” is unreadable for a teenager, that means we don’t read it. At 14 - 15 years old, the task is still relevant not to scare them away from reading, but, on the contrary, to make them want to do this activity in every possible way. The list includes only truly beloved books that have been read several times - strange as it may seem in some cases.
And one more consideration. An adult philologist, compiling such a list, willy-nilly begins to look around in embarrassment: how can I mention a book that has long been considered rather mediocre, or even does not stand up to any artistic criticism? Am I spoiling the taste of the young reader? This kind of prejudice was not taken into account in this list. The point, in my opinion, is that in childhood and adolescence you need to read a lot not for aesthetic pleasure, but for the sake of your horizons. I once read a very apt remark from S. Averintsev: if a person knows only his time, his narrowly modern range of concepts, he is a chronological provincial. And if he doesn’t know other countries and customs, he’s a geographical provincial (this is my extrapolation). And in order not to be a provincial, by the age of 17 you need to read a lot of all kinds of books - just about life, about the “life and customs” of different peoples and eras.
The books in this list are grouped rather conventionally, and the groups are arranged in order of increasing “maturity”. This way, in my opinion, it will be easier to choose. As I present the texts, I will occasionally allow myself some comments.
Still “children’s” books
A. LindgrenSuper detective Kalle Blomkvist. Roni is the daughter of a robber. Brothers Lionheart. We are on the island of Saltkroka.
The last book is the most “adult” on the list, but, strictly speaking, all this should have been read by the age of 12-13. As, indeed, other books in this section. But if a teenager has lingered in childhood and has not yet read everything he should have, then these books will not irritate with their “smallness.” They are specifically for teenagers.
V. KrapivinKnee-deep in the grass. The shadow of the caravel. Squire Kashka. Sailor Wilson's white ball. Captain Rumba's briefcase.(And another fairy tale about a poplar shirt - I don’t remember the exact name)
Krapivin wrote many books, and some may prefer his “mystic-fantasy” cycles. And I love most of his books where there is almost (or no) fantasy, but there are real memories of childhood. The story about Captain Rumba is funny and cheerful - artistically, without effort, and teenagers lack this like vitamins.
R. BradburyDandelion wine.
Just a story about how difficult it is to leave childhood - from the point of view of childhood, not youth.
Alan MarshallI can jump over puddles.
Everyone suddenly remembered her with love.
R. KiplingPack from the hills. Awards and fairies.
The history of England could also be added to this, or just an encyclopedia where you can clarify who is who and what is where...
Cornelia FunkeKing of Thieves. Inkheart.
This is already an “arbitrary” part of the list. The fact is that every reader needs (except for masterpieces) a layer of average books - for a snack, for a break, just so as not to lift weights all the time. And also for a correct understanding of the scale. Those who have been fed only masterpieces since childhood do not know the value of books. When you constantly read texts written for children, you forget some, while others still stand out, even though they are not masterpieces. But you can probably replace them with something else, I just came across these.
Lloyd AlexanderA series of novels about Taren (The Book of Three. The Black Cauldron. Taren the Wanderer, etc.).
History, geography, zoology and more
D. LondonNorthern stories. Smoke Belew. Smoke and Baby.
D. CurwoodRamblers of the North(and so on - until you get tired of it).
Jules Verne Yes, everything that is being read, if not already read.
A. Conan DoyleLost World. Brigadier Gerard(and this is already history).
W. ScottIvanhoe. Quentin Dorward.
G. HaggardDaughter of Montezuma. King Solomon's Mines.
R. StevensonKidnapped. Catriona. Saint-Ives(alas, not finished by the author).
R. KiplingKim.
Boys love this very much, if they have the ability to read not the easiest book. You can slip it in with a brief comment: this is a story about how an English boy became a spy, and even in India. And he was raised by an old Indian yogi (“Oh my son, didn’t I tell you that it’s not good to cast magic?”).
A. DumasCount of Montecristo.
By now it would be high time to read the Musketeer epic. And “Queen Margot”, probably, too. But you can’t help but read it.
S. ForesterThe Saga of Captain Hornblower.(three books have been published in the “Historical Library for Youth”).
The book was written in the twentieth century: the story of an English sailor from midshipman to admiral during the Napoleonic wars. Meticulous, adventurous, reliable, very charming. The hero evokes great sympathy, remaining an ordinary, but very worthy person.
T. HeyerdahlTravel to Kon-Tiki. Aku-aku.
D. HerriotNotes from a veterinarian and so on.
The books are autobiographical, funny and curious, full of everyday details. For lovers of all kinds of living creatures, this is a great consolation.
I. EfremovThe Journey of Baurjed. On the edge of the Ecumene. Stories.
For some reason, even historians don’t know these books now. And this is such a help both in the history of the ancient world (Egypt, Greece) and in geography (Africa, the Mediterranean). And the stories are rather “paleontological” - and also very interesting. This is early Efremov, there are no (or almost no) seductive ideas here - about yoga, the beauty of all kinds of bodies, etc., as in the later “The Razor's Edge” and “Thais of Athens”. And there is no politics, as in “The Hour of the Bull” (all this is hardly worth giving to children). But it may be interesting and harmless to read “The Andromeda Nebula” - it is, of course, a very outdated utopia, but it successfully eliminates ignorance in the field of astronomy. Efremov is generally good (in my opinion) precisely as a popularizer of science. He has a documentary story about paleontological excavations in Mongolia, “The Road of the Winds,” which is very interesting.
M. ZagoskinYuri Miloslavsky. Stories.
And I don’t like “Roslavlev” at all.
A.K. Tolstoy"Prince Silver".
We’ve already read it, and no one particularly likes it - so, in moderation. And the ghoul stories (“The Ghoul Family” especially) are tempting - but you probably need to read them for general development.
What girls love
S. BronteJane Eyre.
E. PotterPollyanna(and the second book is about how Pollyanna grows up, although, of course, this can be read by the age of 10).
D. WebbsterLong-legged uncle. Dear enemy.
Charming, albeit simple books. And the rarest form is novels in letters, witty and quite action-packed.
A. MontgomeryAnne Shirley from Green Gables.
Nabokov himself undertook to translate... But the book is weak. There is a wonderful Canadian TV movie. And a cool (they say) Japanese cartoon - but I haven’t seen it yet.
A. EgorushkinaA real princess and a traveling bridge.
Fantasy, rather mediocre, and the sequels are completely weak. But girls 12-13 years old are absolutely delighted with her.
M. StewartNine carriages. Moon spinners(and other detectives).
And this reading is already for young ladies 14-16 years old. Also very beloved, educational and, it seems, harmless. English life after the war, Europe (Greece, France), marvelous landscapes and, of course, love. M. Stewart's detective stories are average, but good. Here is the story about Arthur and Merlin - a masterpiece, but about it in another section.
I. Ilf, E. PetrovThe twelve Chairs. Golden calf.
L. SolovievThe Tale of Khoja Nasreddin.
The text is charming and mischievous. Perhaps the most suitable one to get used to adult conversations “about life” without unnecessary pain.
V. LipatovVillage detective. Gray mouse. The Tale of Director Pronchatov. Even before the war.
V. AstafievTheft. Last bow.
"Theft" is very scary tale about an orphanage in the Arctic Circle, where children of exiled and already dead parents survive - an antidote to Soviet utopias.
V. Bykov
The dead don't hurt. Obelisk. His battalion.
E. KazakevichStar.
And a very interesting book, “The House on the Square,” is about a Soviet commandant in an occupied German town, but this, of course, is socialist realism with all its slyness. I don’t know any more lyrical prose about war. Is it “Be healthy, schoolboy” by B. Okudzhava?
N. DumbadzeMe, grandma, Iliko and Illarion.(And the film is even better - it seems with Veriko Andzhaparidze). White flags(a relatively honest exposure of the Soviet system, which was entirely bribed).
Ch. AitmatovWhite ship.
However, I don’t know... I’ll definitely say “no” about the later Aitmatov, but I can’t say with confidence about this either that it’s worth reading. I just know for sure that children should have some idea of life in Soviet times. It is wrong if there is simply a gap and emptiness left. Then it will be easy to fill it with all sorts of lies. On the other hand, we knew how to read Soviet books, putting lies out of brackets, but children no longer understand the conventions that were obvious to us.
Memories of upbringing
A. HerzenThe past and thoughts (vols. 1-2).
As a child, I read with pleasure, precisely during these years.
E. VodovozovaThe story of one childhood.
The book is unique: the memoirs of a graduate of the Smolny Institute who studied with Ushinsky himself. She writes both about Smolny and about her childhood on the estate very impartially (she is generally a “sixties person”), but intelligently, accurately, and reliably. I read it as a child (the edition was very shabby), but it was republished about five years ago.
V. NabokovOther shores.
A. TsvetaevaMemories.
K. PaustovskyA story about life.
A. KuprinJunker. Cadets.
A. MakarenkoPedagogicalpoem.
F. VigdorovaThe road to life. This is my home. Chernigovka.
This is the same Vigdorova who recorded the trial of Brodsky. And the books (this is a trilogy) were written about an orphanage created by Makarenko’s student back in the 30s. A lot of interesting details about life, schools and problems of that time. Very easy to read. The Soviet is noticeable, but the anti-Soviet is also noticeable.
A. CroninYoung years. Shannon's Way(continuation).
And probably “Citadel”. “Young Years” is a very nice book, although all sorts of problems with faith arise there. The poor child grew up as an Irish Catholic surrounded by English Protestants and eventually became a positivist biologist.
D. DarrellMy family and other animals.
A. BrushteinThe road goes into the distance. At dawn. Spring.
The memoirs have a revolutionary accent, uniquely combined with the Jewish view of Russian-Lithuanian-Polish reality. And it is very interesting, informative and charming. I don’t know how it will be perceived by modern children, but the mass of realities of the early twentieth century is reflected so clearly in few places. Perhaps A. Tsvetaeva - but she rather emphasizes the exclusivity rather than the typicality of their way of life.
N. RollechekWooden rosary. Chosen Ones.
The books are rare and probably tempting. Memoirs of a girl given by her parents to be raised in an orphanage at a Catholic convent. The case takes place in Poland after its separation from Russia, but before the war. The life and customs of the shelter (and even the monastery) are quite unsightly; it seems that they are described truthfully, albeit impartially. But they show life from a side unknown to us.
N. KalmaChildren of mustard paradise. Verney rooks. Bookstore on Place de l'Etoile.
What is called - under the asterisk. The author is a Soviet children's writer who specialized in describing the life of “your peers abroad.” It is very politicized, with class struggle, of course, strikes and demonstrations, but still, to some extent, the realities of a life completely unknown to us are faithfully depicted. For example, the election of a “president” in an American school or the life of a French orphanage during the war. Or the participation of very young teenagers in the French Resistance. It would be nice to read something more reliable - but for some reason there isn’t. Or I don't know. And these books are hardly easy to obtain anymore. But the author, for all his Soviet naivety, has some kind of unique charm, especially for teenagers. And I loved it, and just recently one of our children suddenly brought it to show me (“The Book Shop”) as something treasured and dear.
A. RekemchukBoys.
It is possible earlier, of course; Quite a children's story about a music school and a boys' choir. By the way, there is also such an author M. Korshunov, he also wrote either about students of a special music school at the conservatory, or about the railway vocational school. It's not all very serious, but it's very interesting at the right age. I don’t remember any other books of this kind, but there were a lot of them in Soviet times.
Science fiction and fantasy
A. BelyaevAmphibian Man. Professor Dowell's Head(and everything else - if for some reason you haven’t read it yet, it is not harmful for children).
A. TolstoyHyperboloid of engineer Garin. Aelita.
The latter is more strange than interesting. And “Hyperboloid” again amazes with the authenticity of pre-war Europe - something we have very little of in our books.
G. WellsWar of the Worlds. Green door.
And more as desired. It seems to me that his stories are generally stronger than his novels.
S. LemStories about the pilot Pirx. (Magellan Cloud. Return from the Stars. Star Diaries of John the Quiet).
Smart stories with good humor. And very sad novels, unusual for that time, with some alarming lyrics. “Diaries” is a funny book, teenagers appreciate it. And his later books are impossible to read - they are complete, creepy and, most importantly, boring darkness.
R. Bradbury451 Fahrenheit. The Martian Chronicles and Other Stories.
A. and B. StrugatskyThe path to Amalthea. Noon XXIIcentury It's hard to be a god. Attempt to escape. Inhabited island. Monday starts on Saturday.
These things are not surprising. The first two are utopia, very curious and charming, humorous and sad. In my youth, I myself loved the practically banned “Inhabited Island” - a deeply anti-Soviet thing. And all the guys love “Monday”.
G. HarrisonIndomitable planet.
This is a very prolific author. Boys (even adults) like a lot of things about him, because he has the imagination of a physicist and engineer. That's exactly why he's not very interesting to me. And this is an “ecological” novel, wise in its main idea and charming thanks to the rogue hero.
Now about fantasy or what preceded it
A. GreenGold chain. Running on the waves. Brilliant world. Road to nowhere. Fandango.
D.R.R. TolkienLord of the Rings. The Silmarillion.
C. Lewis, probably everyone has read before - “The Chronicles of Narnia”. But it’s probably too early to read “The Space Trilogy” or “The Divorce of Marriage.” I don’t know at all about “Letters of Screwtape” when they should be read.
K. SimakGoblin Sanctuary.
Surprisingly sweet book. He never wrote anything like that again, although in general he is a smooth and pleasant science fiction writer. His stories are better, his novels are worse (in my opinion). Is it “City”...
Ursula Le GuinA Wizard of Earthsea(the first 3 books are very strong, then it gets worse).
It’s even somehow awkward to advertise, but I know: there is a middle-aged generation that missed the appearance of these books, and they are very good. “Space Stories”, in my opinion, is still weaker (Hain cycle), but they are also suitable for teenagers. But the texts that study family, marriage, the psychology of men and women, and other difficult things (“The Left Hand of Darkness”) - although they are also disguised as science fiction - are first-class books, but, naturally, they are more than childish.
Diana W. JonesHaul's walking castle. Castle in the air. Worlds of Chrestomanci. Merlin's conspiracy.
In my opinion, the best of the books is “Castle in the Air.” There humor is based on stylization and wordplay. But in general, this is a children's author, always quite interesting and not serious enough. To make a deep film based on it, H. Miyazaki had to add so much...
M. and S. DyachenkoRoad magician. Oberon's word. Evil has no power.
A very decent fantasy for teenagers, written by “adult” authors. What they do for adults is uneven, but serious and interesting. Sometimes too harsh and too frank. You shouldn’t give them without caution. And this is just right.
S. LukyanenkoKnights of the Forty Islands.
A book about growing up and moral problems that have to be solved in artificially constructed conditions. The influence of Krapivin and Golding is noticeable. And it seems to me that this is enough. You can, however, read his more “adult” books, but “The Boy and the Darkness,” in my opinion, is not necessary to read, although it seems to have been written for children. The author is quite charming, but there is such a mess and confusion in my head...
M. SemenovaWolfhound.
A very strange mixture folk tales, myths and eastern “practices”. Worldview cocktail. A terrible confusion of sophisticated plots. Love for paganism with a hostile misunderstanding of Christianity (and any world religions, probably excluding Buddhism). Expertly described oriental martial arts. Lots of sensuality. But in general, the books are nice in their own way. True, I became a little bored by the end of the first (and best) part...
D. RowlingHarry Potter.
If they want to read it, well, let them read it. There is a lot of interesting stuff there, a lot of alien stuff, but in general, the popularity of these books is as much a mystery as the popularity of Charskaya, so it seems to me. I honestly read it, not so long ago, but I don’t remember it well.
Detectives
A. Conan DoyleStories about Sherlock Holmes.
E. PoStories(it’s better to start reading “The Gold Bug” - it’s not so gloomy).
W. CollinsMoon rock.
A bit girly reading, but entertaining. "The Woman in White" is noticeably worse.
A. ChristieDeath on the Orient Express.
The choice is not mine, but that of a young lady I know who has recently passed the age mentioned. You need to read something from the famous lady. But I don't love her at all.
G.K. ChestertonStories about Father Brown(and other stories).
He teases, of course, but does not push away.
M. Cheval and P. ValeuxDeath of the 31st department. And any other novels.
Scandinavians with a good sense of humor and with a sober look on modern civilization. It is, of course, not necessary to read them, but you can - if someone really likes detective stories.
Dick FrancisFavorite. Driving force.
I painfully went through all the other works of this author in search of decent ones. I didn't remember, unfortunately. The point is that he is a very useful writer. And I, for example, think that I clearly missed his books in my youth. Not the detective side, but an amazing attitude to life: courageous, direct, very interested, the opposite of weakness and despondency. And, above all, Francis's novels are an encyclopedia of reality. A man who went through the war (a military pilot) enthusiastically mastered everything new that he saw in life: computers, yachts, the banking system, tax accounting, glass blowing, photography, and... I wrote all this, as if It turned out that his wife was simply better at writing. In general, the author is amazing for the outlook and formation of life attitudes, but does not even try to be “decent”. Well, adult author, what can you do here?
A. HaleyAirport. Wheels. Hotel. Final diagnosis.
Almost the same story, only the books are many times weaker: there is no accurate and deep depiction of the characters. But there is knowledge about reality (a kind of natural school) that is so lacking in youth. By the way, he is “more decent” than Francis in details.
Great novels and serious novels (stories)
V. HugoLes Misérables. Notre Dame Cathedral.
The rest is based on inspiration. At the age of 14, I loved Les Misérables passionately. And later you won’t be able to read them seriously anymore. I liked “Cathedral” less, but this is a personal matter, and you need to know it first of all.
Charles DickensOliver Twist. David Copperfield. Cold house. Martin Chuzzlewit. Our mutual friend. Dombey and son(and so on. All the names are inaccurate, because he always makes them up).
In general, I have been reading Dickens since the second grade. I loved “David Copperfield” most of all - in the fourth grade. Later - “Bleak House”, but here, too, everyone has their own preferences. Usually, once you get into the taste of Dickens, you can’t tear yourself away. “Martin Chuzzlewit” is a difficult, evil book (as far as Dickens can be evil), anti-American, by the way. I liked Dombey and Son perhaps less than the others. But there is a radio play with Maria Babanova in the role of Florence, with a wonderful song about the sea. Nowadays radio books are in vogue - so maybe there is an opportunity to find this old production? A very worthy option. And there are English films: Great Expectations and the old musical Oliver! - absolutely wonderful. I haven’t seen the new film, but the American David - well, maybe someone will like it, it’s okay, it’s just very short. We also read Thackeray’s “Vanity Fair” - but that’s for Anglomaniacs.
D. AustinPride and Prejudice.
If it were up to me, I would force you to re-read all of Austen to sharpen your mind. But, unfortunately, children do not understand this subtle and mocking analysis. They expect passions from her in the spirit of Charles Bronte, but here there is a coldish irony. But this can wait.
G. SenkevichFlood. Fire and sword. Crusaders.
The best reading at this age. Romantic, militant, charming, emotional... It’s not very deep, but it adds to your horizons.
D. GalsworthyThe Forsyte Saga.
Maybe it's the graduate in me talking English school, who read it without fail, but for some reason it was this “average” book that provided something like a coordinate system to navigate at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries and beyond - until the Second World War. A sense of time as a change of styles - that's what it can give, in my opinion. Popular, superficial, but for starters - very reliable bindings. Lately I have been faced with the fact that children do not distinguish between the 19th and 20th centuries, and do not feel the difference between pre-war and post-war culture. This is a serious problem, and it seems to me that straws need to be laid down here. We had a completely different story going on at that time, and it had a different style.
T. MannBuddenbrooks.
I didn’t read this at school, but if I had, I probably would have liked it very much. A book that pretends to be sedate and thorough, but in fact rests on such a young and desperate nerve. It’s gloomy, though, towards the end, like an angry, hunted teenager. Mann also has a rather light piece called “Royal Highness.” The rest of his stuff is no longer for children.
R. PilcherShell finders. Homecoming. September. Christmas Eve.
Everyday charming books (women's prose). England during the Second War - we knew too little about it, by the way. And quite modern (that is, 1980s) England. And we know little about this either. The last book has a kind of parish utopia, although some things there will be strange for us. It's quite easy to read, girls will probably like it more. It was published here quite recently in the “By the Fireplace” series (those checkered volumes, they are most often exhibited in sentimental sections, sometimes in modern prose: the books are quite serious).
Now less weighty texts
Alain FournierBolshoi Moln.
Such a young, sad, achingly romantic fairy tale.
Harper LeeTo Kill a Mockingbird.
Everyone loves her, I don’t, but that’s not an argument. Children can fall in love.
S. LagerlöfThe saga of Jost Berling.
In her own way she is no worse than Nils wild geese. And creepy, and beautiful, and very curious. We never imagined Scandinavia like this.
R. RollandCola Brugnon.
As opposed to any modern-decadence. And, by the way, to get used to adult frankness: here it is stylized as a common people's rude frankness.
L. FrankDisciples of Jesus.
Germany after the war. Restoring justice, boys - Robin Hoods and all sorts of serious problems. The book is more than average (and it hasn’t been translated so well), but I’m all about my own: our horizons, our horizons... But it’s easy to read, the plot is dashing.
W. GoldingLord of the Flies.
It definitely needs to be slipped in - at least as a vaccine against brutality.
D. SalingerCatcher in the rye. Stories.
Last on the list because it comes as a shock to many. If the child is still very young, it is better to hold it, it seems to me, for a year or two. But it's a must read, of course.
Books “already beyond the border”
E. RemarqueThree comrades. No change on the Western Front.
In essence, very young books. But some people are shocked by the abundance of alcohol and so on.
E. HemingwayA Farewell to Arms! Stories.
The stories are better, I think. Yes, everything can be read.
G. BöllA house without an owner.
Everything else he has is not for children, of course. And this is where you can start. Also “Billiards at half past nine”, it seems to me, will pass without a serious shock.
M. MitchellGone With the Wind.
On the one hand, who else will tell us about this war? On the other hand, well, not childish details, of course... On the third, the heroine is not very charming (especially for readers of this age), it will probably be a little boring... But the movie is even more boring.
T. Wilder
Theophilus North. Day eight. Ides of March.
Yes, you can read everything from him. But “Theophilus” is so charming and likable that you can’t tear yourself away from it. Otherwise, there are a lot of mental patterns that are not so easy to understand (and you don’t always want to agree with). And so - a great writer.
I. VoReturn to Bricehead.
I don’t know of any other book where student life is described so nostalgically and in detail. Then, however, the question arises, where does hypocrisy and rebellion against it lead... But this is also a problem for teenagers.
M. StewartCrystal Grotto. Hollow Hills. The last magic.
The story of Merlin and through him - Arthur. The books are magnificent, the reconstruction is historically very detailed, reliable - how reliable is our knowledge about these times. And the traces of Roman life in good old England... And the visit to Byzantium... And the guide to various cults in that era when everywhere there was a jumble of beliefs... And what landscapes it has... And what a charming storyteller Merlin is... In general, try not to fall in love. True, the third book is already weaker, and attempts to continue are even weaker.
G.L. OldieOdysseus, son of Laertes.
If anyone else doesn’t know: this is not an Englishman, these are two Russian-language authors from Kharkov (Gromov and Ladyzhensky). They write fantasy and such novels that reconstruct myths. They write very well and very unusually, unexpectedly. If a legitimate doubt arises (why do we need reconstruction when there is “The Odyssey”?), you should take the book, open the first page of the text: “Do not compare life with death, song with crying, inhalation with exhalation and man with deity - otherwise you will then be like you blind Oedipus of Thebes..." - and decide. But it is written in a completely antique style - without any discounts on decency. These authors have many books, they are uneven. Maybe it’s better to start not even with “Odyssey”, but with “Nopperapon”. The book is lighter, more modern (paler...).
Finally, about the three “epics”
These books are definitely for “grown-up” children. The humor is that it was the children who introduced me to two of them - they brought me to show them because it was worth it. And I’m grateful to the children, but I don’t know when it’s wise to start reading.
R. ZelaznyChronicles of Amber.
The first five are especially good, where the narrator is Corvinus, a European and an esthete. Somehow, behind every word of his, one feels that he lived the entire European culture - just like his awkward life (as it, in fact, was). A most charming book. And the idea of the true world, in relation to which everything else is a pale cast, is shown very convincingly. There is no point in recommending a translation: it is unlikely that now it will be possible to get a version of a Russian-speaking Chinese who tried to adequately convey language tricks and games (“Nine Princes in Amber”, “burnt lizard legs”, etc.).
V. KamshaRed on red (cycle “Reflections of Eterna”).
The book about which I cried out (after finishing reading it at night): “Yes, this is some kind of War and Peace!” This, of course, is not “War and Peace” - it ended up being too drawn out (and complicated). But this is the most sober and adequate understanding of our current troubled life - albeit in fantasy clothes, with swords, sails, mysticism and horror. And the war is described very clearly and meaningfully. Even I found it interesting and understandable. The book is smart, tough, but in places naturalism is still over the edge. And the author has a general modern resentment towards faith and believers. By the way, there is something to talk and think about here.
Max FryLabyrinths Echo. Chronicles of Echo.
I myself did not dare to “slip” this into any of my classes, even to the most uncensored readers. So they read it on their own, without asking anyone or discussing it with anyone. This can be considered my quirk and sedition, but still it seems to me that this is the highest quality of our literature in history. recent years 10. True, very unchildish. And adults, as experience shows, often do not understand it - they consider it low-grade entertaining reading.
The list, naturally, turned out to be whimsical and incomplete. It makes sense to add to it something that will be remembered later. Or throw something away. However, this is nothing more than a cheat sheet that you can simply use as a starting point when you are looking for a book for a specific child.
O.V. Smirnova
At school, children study the literature of past centuries, but they have the vaguest ideas about modern Russian (as well as foreign) prose. Meanwhile, there are many modern stories that are not just accessible, but quite interesting for a teenager. But not only that: if children read them and discuss them with their parents, such reading can greatly bring different generations together. Recommendations for such family reading are given by Rimma Isakovna Zandman, Honored Teacher of Russia, teacher of Russian language and literature at Moscow gymnasium No. 1512.
At my gymnasium, in addition to Russian language and literature lessons, I run a literary studio, where teenagers come from the age of 13-14. During these classes, the children and I read and discuss the latest Russian prose. It is a misconception that it is inaccessible to teenagers, that they are only attracted to fantasy and horror films. No, they read with keen interest the stories of modern Russian-speaking writers that I recommend to them, and vigorously discuss them. Our studio is open; parents often come to classes and participate in discussions along with their children.
So, I have long noticed that such joint reading and discussion not only develops children, but also improves their relationships with their parents (as well as with grandparents), and helps different generations in the family better understand each other.
And, of course, such joint reading and discussion can take place not only in the format of a school literary studio, but also simply at home. The initiative, of course, should come from the parents.
However, the question immediately arises: what exactly to read with children? In my opinion, short stories are best suited for this, rather than stories and novels. This is a reading that is not annoying, but very meaningful, deep, and can be discussed in detail in the family. It is important that these are stories from today, from life that children can understand.
But where exactly can we get them, such stories? I have long taught my children to use the largest online resource that publishes high-quality modern prose and poetry - “Magazine Hall” (magazines.russ.ru). In addition, there are a lot good stories can be found in the longlist literary prize named after Yuri Kazakov (he is also published in the Journal Hall).
It is clear that selecting such stories to read and discuss with teenagers requires a lot of work. I constantly monitor periodicals, travel to bookstores and study the contents of shelves with modern prose. But I am a teacher, this is my job, but it will be more difficult for parents, especially those who are far from philology. Therefore, I took the liberty of recommending to the readers of “Foma” several stories from those that we discussed with children and parents in our literary studio classes. All these stories are freely available on the Internet.
1
Irina Polyanskaya. "Iron and Ice Cream"
This is a sad story that clearly poses the problem of the relationship between the child and the family. A story about how tragically parents can fail to understand their children and how children lose trust in their families. Of course, this topic is now being developed very actively in the literature for middle and older adolescents.
2
Vyacheslav Komkov. « I am German"
The story is on the same topic - the relationship between parents and children, but here the situation is the opposite. A very difficult child - and the patience and love of the parents... Such stories should definitely be discussed after reading together, and the situations described there should be analyzed. But show artistic features text - this is the teacher's job.
3
Elena Tarsier. "Watch"
This story is fantastic, or rather, even fabulous - where the teenage hero has the opportunity to change something in his past, but any such change changes his present. Is it worth it? A question that is very useful to discuss with children. After all, behind the fantastic surroundings there is a very real problem here - responsibility for any of your choices, awareness of its consequences.
Suitable for teenagers from 12 years old.
4
Anna Ignatova. "Djinn Seva"
It's horrible funny story. We were drinking Jay Seven juice - and suddenly an orange person appeared from the package. They ask him - who are you? He replies that since it is made of liquid, it means gin. Why not from a bottle? Because, he replies, you can’t save enough bottles for us genies. And this genie Seva, according to all fairy tale canons, must fulfill the wishes of the heroine girl. The encounter with this genie of a new formation is very funny, and the girl in it turns out to be kinder and better than the genie. When she has only one wish left, she asks: may there be peace in the whole world for at least five minutes...
Suitable for children from 10 years old.
By the way, I draw your attention to the magazine “October”, which periodically publishes children's issues - entirely consisting of works addressed to the young reader. And there you can also look for stories to read with your children.
There are stories that are best given to high school students (although in some cases they are quite accessible to children over 14 years old). For example, these:
5
Nina Litvinets. "Antique"
A sad story about old people, about their perception of life. There is also a sharp social line - the plot is based on how a certain antique swindler deceives an elderly woman. It seems that, from a rational point of view, nothing like this happened, but the heroine of the story could not survive what happened. “She was tormented by her conscience, she felt like a traitor - in relation to Alyosha, to the happy years lived together, to the things acquired together that had no antique value, but were so dear to both of them.” Thanks to such stories, teenagers will be much better able to understand the inner world of their grandparents.
Suitable for teenagers from 14 years old.
6
Oleg Ryabov. "The Death of an Old Man"
This very lyrical, piercing, touching story has a very important theme - coming to faith. If you read it with children, it will contribute to the spiritual rapprochement of elders and younger ones.
7
Andrey Volos. "Gate"
The story is about how an old man’s wife died and he lost the meaning of life - and this is a reason to talk about how love gives meaning to life. Here you can talk about how fragile human life is. The story ends with the old man, having cried at his wife’s grave, stepping over the low fence without opening the gate, and suddenly thinking: Lord, what is human life? Just like that, you stepped over - and you are in the world of the living; you stepped back - and you are already in some other world.
Suitable for teenagers over 16 years old.
8
Leonid Yuzefovich. "Late Call"
This is a story that both 10th and 11th grade students and parents will enjoy reading. A story about how a work appeared in which, by some indirect signs, a person recognizes the fate of his grandfather. And since in the work the grandfather looks very unpresentable, his grandson calls the author, a showdown begins... And here the correlation between creativity and life is very interesting, the desire to preserve the reputation of the family is important here. This is very important for discussion at home. Moreover, in some cases you can read it with 13-14 year olds.
Suitable for teenagers over 16 years old.
9
Elena Tarsier. "The Stingy Knight"
How wonderfully the literary tradition can be traced here! How interesting it is to show what life is all about! And how unexpectedly it is shown here that any house in which there is love and goodness can become a kind of Noah’s Ark. Moreover, all this is not torn off from the ground; the intersecting spaces of human life are depicted in a very interesting way - from the market to the monastery. And the hotel - with the meaning that here on earth we are only guests. In general, there are many layers of meaning in this story.
Suitable for teenagers over 16 years old.
10
Alexander Snegirev. "Photo in a black pea coat"
This is about the vicissitudes of human fate, about responsibility for every step of one's life, about the consequences of lies, about courage, about resisting aggressive fanaticism.
Selections of the best books for teenagers according to Time magazine, The Guardian newspaper, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, and also, as a bonus, according to the editors of Lifehacker. Adolescents will be considered boys and girls aged 10 to 19 years, according to the terminology of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Time's 10 Best Young Adult Books
In 2015, the weekly Time magazine published a selection of the hundred best books for young people. The list was compiled based on recommendations from reputable critics, publishers and reading clubs from around the world. You can see the full list, but here are the top ten.
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Half-Indian by Sherman Alexie. Original title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. A partly autobiographical book about a boy growing up on an Indian reservation, for which the author received a National Book Award. Main character- a “nerd” who dreams of becoming an artist, challenging the system and prejudices of society.
- Harry Potter series, JK Rowling. The first of seven books about a young wizard and his friends studying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was published in 1997. The story of Harry Potter has become incredibly popular all over the world. The books have been translated into 67 languages and filmed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series, starting with the first novel, has won many awards.
- "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Original title: The Book Thief. The novel, written in 2006, tells about the events of World War II, Nazi Germany and the girl Liesel. The book is on The New York Times bestseller list and, as the literary magazine Bookmarks aptly notes, is capable of breaking the hearts of both teenagers and adults. After all, the story in it is told from the perspective of Death.
- "A Crack in Time" by Madeleine Lengle. Original title: A Wrinkle in Time. A science fiction novel about thirteen-year-old Meg, who is considered too wayward by her classmates and teachers. Perhaps the girl would have remained a thorn and would have continued to suffer due to the sudden disappearance of her father, if not for one nightly incident... The book was published in 1963 and received a number of awards.
- Charlotte's Web by Alvin Brooks White. Original title: Charlotte's Web. This beautiful story about the friendship of a girl named Fern and a pig named Wilburg was first published in 1952. The work was twice filmed in the form of animated films, and also formed the basis of a musical.
- "The Pits" by Louis Saker. Original title: Holes. This novel by a Danish writer has won several awards and is ranked 83rd on the BBC's 200 Best Books list. The main character's name is Stanley, and he has absolutely no luck in life. So much so that he ends up in a correctional camp, where he has to dig holes every day... Unfortunately, the book has not been translated into Russian, but has been filmed under the title “Treasure.”
- "Matilda", Roald Dahl. The original name is Matilda. This novel came from the pen of an English writer, whose children's books are famous for their lack of sentimentality and often dark humor. The heroine of this work is a girl named Matilda, who loves to read and has some supernatural abilities.
- "The Outcasts" by Susan Eloise Hinton. Original title: The Outsiders. The novel was first published in 1967 and is a classic of American teen literature. It tells about the conflict between two youth gangs and a fourteen-year-old boy, Ponyboy Curtis. It is noteworthy that the writer began working on the book when she was 15, and finished it at 18. In 1983, Francis Ford Coppola shot a feature film of the same name.
- "Cute and the Magic Booth" by Jaster Norton. Original title: The Phantom Tollbooth. A work published in 1961 about the exciting adventures of a boy named Milo. Readers can expect puns and naughty wordplay, and Jules Phifer's illustrations make the book feel like a cartoon.
- "The Giver", Loris Lowry. Original title: The Giver. This novel, written in the dystopian genre, rare for children's literature, received the Newbery Medal in 1994. The author paints an ideal world where there are no diseases, wars or conflicts and no one needs anything. However, it turns out that such a world is devoid of colors and there is no place in it not only for suffering, but also for love. In 2014, the film “The Dedicated” was made based on the novel.
The Guardian's 10 Best Books for Teens
In 2014, the British daily newspaper The Guardian published a list of 50 books that young men and women should read. The list was compiled based on the results of voting by 7 thousand people. The works were divided into categories: “books that help you understand yourself,” “books that change your worldview,” “books that teach you to love,” “books that will make you laugh,” “books that will make you cry,” and so on. Here is the list.
The top ten included books that help shape the personality of a young reader and inspire them to overcome difficulties.
- The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins. Original title: The Hunger Games. The first book in this series was published in 2008 and within six months became a bestseller. The circulation of the first two novels exceeded two million copies. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, and Collins said she was inspired by ancient Greek mythology and her father's military career. All parts of the trilogy have been filmed.
- “The Fault in Our Stars”, John Green. Original title: The Fault in Our Stars. The touching love story between sixteen-year-old Hazel, who has cancer, and seventeen-year-old Augustus, who has the same illness, was published in 2012. That same year, the novel entered The New York Times bestseller list.
- To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. Original title: To Kill a Mockingbird. This work was first published in 1960, and a year later the author received the Pulitzer Prize for it. In the USA they study it as part of the school curriculum. This is not surprising, because through the prism of a child's view, Harper Lee looks at very adult problems such as racism and inequality.
- Harry Potter series, JK Rowling. Here The Guardian coincided with Time.
- "", George Orwell. A dystopian novel about totalitarianism, published in 1949. Along with Zamyatin's "We" is considered one of the best in its genre. Orwell's work is ranked eighth on the BBC's list of the 200 best books, and Newsweek magazine ranked the novel second in the hundred best books of all time. Until 1988, the novel was banned in the USSR.
- "The Diary of Anne Frank". Original title: The Diary of a Young Girl. The only non-fiction work on the list. These are the records kept by the Jewish girl Anne Frank from 1942 to 1944. Anna made her first entry on June 12, her birthday, when she turned 13. The last entry is dated August 1st. Three days later, the Gestapo arrested everyone hiding in the shelter, including Anna. Her diary is part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
- "A Street Cat Named Bob" by James Bowen. Original title: A Streetcat Named Bob. James Bowen was a street musician and had problems with drugs until one day he picked up a stray cat. The meeting turned out to be fateful. “He came and asked me for help, and he asked for my help more than my body asked for self-destruction,” Bowen writes. The story of two tramps, a man and a cat, was heard by the literary agent Mary Paknos and suggested that James write an autobiography. The book, co-written with Gary Jenkins, was published in 2010.
- "The Lord of the Rings", John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Original title: The Lord of the Rings. This is one of the most popular books of the twentieth century in general and in the fantasy genre in particular. The novel was written as a single book, but due to its large volume, it was divided into three parts when published. The work has been translated into 38 languages and has had a huge impact on world culture. Films have been made based on it and computer games have been created.
- "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. Original title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is a story about a guy named Charlie, who, like all teenagers, acutely feels loneliness and misunderstanding. He pours out his experiences in letters. The book was published in a million copies, critics dubbed it “The Catcher in the Rye for new times.” The novel was filmed by the author himself, with Logan Lerman playing the main role and his girlfriend Emma Watson.
- "Jane Eyre", Charlotte Brontë. Original title - Jane Eyre. The novel was first published in 1847 and immediately gained the love of readers and critics. The focus is on an early orphaned girl, Jane, with a strong character and a vivid imagination. The book has been filmed many times and is ranked tenth on the BBC's list of the 200 best books.
Patrick Marioné - thanks for > 2M/Flickr.com 10 best books for schoolchildren according to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science
In January 2013, the Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation published a list of one hundred books for secondary school students for extracurricular reading. The list includes works outside the school curriculum.
The creation of the list and its contents caused a lively discussion in the press and on the Internet. Much criticism was expressed against the Ministry of Education and Science, and some literary figures proposed alternative lists.
Nevertheless, here are the first ten of “100 books on the history, culture and literature of the peoples of the Russian Federation, recommended for schoolchildren to read independently.”
Please note: the list is compiled alphabetically, so our top ten consists of the first ten surnames. We will consider two works by the same author as one item. This is by no means a rating.
- “The Siege Book”, Daniil Granin and Alexey Adamovich. This is a documentary chronicle of the blockade, first published with banknotes in 1977. In Leningrad, the book was banned until 1984.
- “And the day lasts longer than a century” and “The White Steamship”, Chingiz Aitmatov. The title of the novel “And the day lasts longer than a century” contains a line from a poem by Boris Pasternak. This is Aitmatov's first major work, published in 1980. The story “The White Steamer” about a seven-year-old orphan boy living on the shores of Issyk-Kul was published ten years earlier.
- “Star Ticket” and “Island of Crimea”, Vasily Aksyonov. The story of the Denisov brothers, told on the pages of the novel “Star Ticket,” at one time “blew up” the public. The most harmless thing that Aksenov was accused of was the abuse of youth slang. The science fiction novel “Island of Crimea,” published in 1990, on the contrary, was received with a bang and became the main all-Union bestseller of the year.
- “My brother plays the clarinet”, Anatoly Aleksin. The story, written in 1968, is in the form of a diary of a girl, Zhenya, who dreams of devoting her life to her musician brother. But it turns out that each person is like a separate planet, and everyone has their own goals and dreams.
- “Dersu Uzala”, Vladimir Arsenyev. One of the best works of Russian adventure literature. The novel describes the life of the small peoples of the Far East and the hunter Dersu Uzal.
- “The Shepherd and the Shepherdess” and “The Tsar Fish”, Viktor Astafiev. Two stories on two main themes in Astafiev’s work - war and the village. The first was written in 1967, and the second in 1976.
- “Odessa Stories” and “Cavalry”, Isaac Babel. These are two collections of stories. The first tells about pre-revolutionary Odessa and the Benny Krik gang, and the second about the civil war.
- “Ural Tales”, Pavel Bazhov. This is a collection created on the basis of mining folklore of the Urals. “Malachite Box”, “Mistress of the Copper Mountain”, “Stone Flower” - these and other works by Bazhov have been known and loved by many since childhood.
- “Republic of SHKID”, Grigory Belykh and Alexey Panteleev. An adventure story about street children who lived in the Dostoevsky School of Social and Labor Education (ShkID). The authors themselves became the prototypes of the two characters. The work was filmed in 1966.
- “Moment of Truth”, Vladimir Bogomolov. The action of the novel takes place in August 1944 on the territory of Belarus (another title of the work is “In August of forty-four”). The book is based on real events.
The best books for teenagers according to Lifehacker
We decided to find out what the Lifehacker team read as teenagers. They called “Harry Potter”, and “The Lord of the Rings”, and other aforementioned works. But there were a few books not mentioned in the top ten of any of the lists.
Teenagers are often unsure of their abilities and cannot understand what they like. Many of them get lost among their more successful peers and doubt their abilities.
To help your child survive such a difficult period, give him a book by Thomas Armstrong, a teacher with 40 years of experience. It will be the first guide to self-development and will help you understand that each of us is smart in our own way. The book will also teach you to accept yourself for who you are, better understand those around you, and explain why IQ tests and straight A's at school are not always an indicator of a brilliant mind.
Be the best version of yourself
This book will teach your teenager about the true ingredients of success and help you understand that it's not about hard work, it's about who you are.
Under the cover are stories of real people who survived serious illnesses, won the Olympics, and managed to open their own business from scratch. All these are stories about overcoming oneself, courage and determination.
Thinking Traps
This book is simply irreplaceable for both adults and teenagers. It teaches us to make the right decisions and avoid the pitfalls that await us at every turn.
The book not only teaches you to make the right choice, but also promotes determination and self-confidence.
Transitional age
The best book on how to understand teenagers. The world's leading expert on adolescence, Lawrence Steinberg, uses the latest evidence and scientific research about the teenage brain—including his own—to show how you can build resilience, self-control, and more in this book. good habits in a child. His discoveries about how to educate, teach and treat teenagers will be useful to both teachers and parents.
Why me?
A kind and practical guide to dealing with school bullying, written for children by a child who has dealt with it.
Thousands of children and teenagers suffer in silence because they are bullied by their classmates. Often, even parents and school psychologists cannot help. But this book was not written by an expert, it was written by a simple girl who went through bullying at school and managed, against all odds, to make a good career and achieve success doing what she loves.
Flexible consciousness
This book is for parents who want to raise successful and happy children. It is based on a revolutionary concept discovered by renowned psychologist Carol Dweck as a result of 20 years of her own research. From it you will learn:
- why intelligence and talent do not guarantee success,
- how, on the contrary, can they stand in his way,
- why often rewarding intelligence and talent puts achievements at risk,
- and how to improve your child’s academic performance.
I refuse to choose
It is often difficult for a teenager to understand what he wants from life and what he dreams of doing. And it’s even more difficult to understand what he really is. In this amazing book Barbara Sher shows you how to adapt your wonderful, multifaceted mind to a world that has never really understood who you really are.
1 page per day
This creative notebook will help spark creativity in your teen. It contains interesting ideas that will help you create all year round. Every new page is a chance to create something new.
Fill out a notebook every day, page by page, draw, sketch, write, take notes, create and fill out lists, set goals for yourself, reflect, share ideas with friends.
Write Here, Write Now is a creative notebook for children aged 8 to 12 years. It helps teenagers understand themselves better, think about important things in a playful way, and write down interesting thoughts on paper. The book inspires little writers, artists, collectors, inventors and researchers to discover and develop their talents.
Hirameki
Every blot is an inspiration. Every line is free. Give this book to your child. Open up his imagination.
"Hirameki" in Japanese means "peculiar style", "special imprint", "the place where scribbling and imagination meet." Simply put, it is the art of turning a random blot into something amazing with just a few dots and lines.
This is not only a fun activity that will completely captivate the child, but also very useful for developing creativity and relaxation after a hard day.
Changing habits
We all often act on autopilot and do not want to change our habits. This also applies to teenagers, who, like adults, can make the same mistakes every day.
Read this book with your child and you will teach him from his youth to work on himself and improve his life every day.
Simple questions
How do bees find honey? Why do you need sleep? And money? How does a plane fly? What about the balloon? How were the Egyptian pyramids built? Why is the world colorful? Is the sky blue? Why do we have five fingers? What is blood type?
Most simple and naive questions do not have simple answers. Moreover, humanity did not know the answer to many of them for a very long time, and only the painstaking work of scientists made it possible to find them.
Vladimir Antonets, professor and doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, in his book answers dozens of simple questions that don't have easy answers.
An excellent educational book for a teenager, fascinating and not at all like an encyclopedia.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
A book that will help you and your child build relationships in any area of life. It is about an important component of life - emotional intelligence.
Essentially, emotional intelligence is the helmsman that controls our decisions, actions and actions and helps us make better use of our mental potential. It influences the formation of personality, the development of empathy, the ability to communicate, create strong marital relationships and raise children correctly.
Geniuses and outsiders
A book for parents. It will help you understand what success depends on and how to help your child achieve it. Why do some people get everything and others nothing? Is it right to reduce the reasons for success only to personal qualities bestowed by nature?
The book shows what Bill Gates, the Beatles and Mozart have in common and why they managed to outdo their peers. “Geniuses and Outsiders” is not a “how to become successful” manual. This is a fascinating journey into the world of the laws of life that you can use to your advantage.
Where is Warhol
A book that will introduce a child to art in an unusual way.
If Andy Warhol traveled back in time, where would he go? "Where's Warhol?" supplies him with his own time machine, and what do we see... The book depicts interesting events in the life of Andy and himself, and the reader needs to find him in the crowd. It’s incredibly interesting to look at each spread. There are so many details that correspond to some event, era and setting. And if you don’t understand something, at the end of the book there is a description of each spread.
Andy celebrated 12 significant moments in art history and invites readers to find him in each of them. From Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel to Jean-Michel Basquiat painting the streets of New York. Each scene is painstakingly recreated by art historian Katherine Ingram and illustrated by Andrew Ray.
From here to there
Under the cover of this book there are 48 labyrinth worlds through which you can walk.
Bright, detailed labyrinths reflect the beauty of nature, works of art and architecture. They give space to the imagination and let your thoughts fly free while you take a leisurely stroll through village streets and park alleys, through the castle grounds, picturesque towns and even futuristic landscapes. Let your thoughts wander and your hand follow the turns of the path.
A great book for children and adults who love mazes and puzzles.
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