Teen Recommended Reads 2023

This is a book review

By Rutheeksha Satheeshkumar

Ok, so I guess very few people read nowadays, like actually sit in a library and READ every page of a book. I think it's sad…you guys are missing out. Seriously, you have to read!

Well, hopefully this article makes you pick up a book.

Ready?...Let me tell you my story…Once I was a little girl with no care in the world; I loved to ride my bike and drink coffee. It's not that I didn’t care about books at all, I would read thin books…fairy tales, short stories and excerpts; but I didn’t like big books…no matter how pretty the cover, big books used to frighten me. “It’s not fair Ms. Annapoorani, I got a very big book, and everyone else got small ones” I told my 5th grade teacher.

Then came middle school, and all the weird phases and obsessions: luckily, I became obsessed with mystery and crime thriller novels: Agatha Christie was my favorite, followed by Karolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew series and Sherlock Holmes! 

I could literally read the minds of all the characters in Christie’s books; she had a unique narrative style that presented the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters. Murder of the Orient Express, Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death on the Nile…are some of her intriguing works.

Freshman year was kind of a challenge, but I read my loneliness away. Books filled a void, a gaping hole that was left by rude attitudes and ignorance; I had a friend, always in my clutches.

The high school library was my refuge from loud students and traumatic trash talks. I would inhale my food, and sprint to the library to read…I was comforted by the calmness, amazed at how different the library was from the jubilant cafe; 

Here, I explored the works of classical writers; a.k.a the old books. Little Women, A Christmas Carol, Jane Austen, etc.. I don’t wanna bore you.

I loved the complexity of the classics, it was like sight reading a hard music score; I felt vulnerable…like, all my life I’ve been such a kid!

Cora J Belden Library: love that place, I could spend my whole day there if my mom lets me; I felt overwhelmed with all the options and genres!

(I’m not gonna list them, I’d fill up this page)

Soon, I realized, I was not just reading…I was creating experiences.

A book: it has taught me so many values…self-control, independence, focus, acceptance, and empathy.

Go pick up a book, read 1 chapter a day.

…and soon, you’ll never be able to put it down.