Monday, December 17, 2012

The ten best books with teenage narrators

At the Observer, Robert McCrum came up with the ten best books with teenage narrators, including:
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins

This complex cult novel, published in 2008 and championed by Stephen King, is written in the voice of ballsy 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the post-revolutionary society of Panem, one of the 12 districts controlled by the Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis. The games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12-18 from each of the districts are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle to the death. The games are supposed to be a warning against teenage rebellion, but Katniss’s triumph is a victory for youth everywhere.
Read about the other entries on the list.

The Hunger Games also appears on Sophie McKenzie's top ten list of teen thrillers, Gregg Olsen's top ten list of deadly YA books, Annalee Newitz's list of ten great American dystopias, Philip Webb's top ten list of pulse-racing adventure books, Charlie Higson's top ten list of fantasy books for children, and Megan Wasson's list of five fantasy series geared towards teens that adults will love too.

--Marshal Zeringue