5 Book Faves From my Teen Era

This story follows teenager Linus, who wakes up in a dark underground bunker with no memory of how he got there. Soon, five other strangers arrive by lift – the only connection to their unseen captor.

This was the very first horror/thriller I remember reading, and my goodness, what a stressful experience it was. I will never, ever forget this book – it’s one of those rare reads from my childhood that has stayed with me for years. It was gruesome, painful, disturbing, terrifying, and utterly sad, and God, I hated the ending! Even now, I think it’s the sort of story that people of any age could read, but I personally could never go through it again, simply because the horrendousness of it has been seared into my brain forever. I’m convinced I’m the only person I know who has read it, which has been so frustrating, because I’ve never had the chance to discuss it with anyone. If you have read it, please, please tell me!

Katarina “Kat” Bishop has spent her whole life surrounded by crime. Her family are world-class thieves, and she’s been trained in the art since childhood. Determined to step away from that life, Kat enrols at a prestigious boarding school. But her plans are ruined when her father is accused of stealing a mobster’s priceless art collection. To clear his name, Kat has no choice but to assemble a crew of teenage thieves and pull off the heist of a lifetime.

Deciding between Heist Society and The Gallagher Girls was so difficult – both are Ally Carter series, and both played a massive role in my teenage reading life. After Meg Cabot and The Princess Diaries, Ally Carter was my next big obsession, and she did not miss. I loved how she took the kinds of stories we usually only saw adults in – spy thrillers, heists, action-packed dramas – and gave them to teenagers instead. Heist Society in particular was fast-paced, witty, and endlessly fun. It felt like watching a slick Hollywood heist film but with characters my own age, complete with the romantic subplots we all secretly live for. That’s what made Ally Carter so special to me as a teen – she gave us stories that made us feel like we could be the heroes of the action, too.

The story follows Lissa, who, fed up with the endless rivalry between her school’s football and soccer teams, organises the other girlfriends to stage a “hook-up strike” to bring about peace. What they don’t expect is that it turns into a completely new kind of competition – a full-on girls-versus-boys showdown, hinging on who will give in first.

I do want to preface this by saying that Kody Keplinger (also the author of The DUFF) wrote this when she was only 19, and that fact alone should tell you a lot about its quality. I first read it during my Wattpad phase (which probably tells you even more). Still, I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s essentially a modern, teenage twist on the Greek play Lysistrata, and while it’s not a literary masterpiece, it is entertaining. More importantly, it’s very pro-feminist and a fun, entry-level introduction to themes of bodily autonomy and sexuality. I think that’s quite important for teenage girls to read about. Beyond that, though, it fits neatly into the “chick lit” or cosy reads of today – light, easy, enjoyable, but not groundbreaking.

Sephy is a Cross, part of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought, one of the “colourless” underclass, once enslaved by the Crosses. Their friendship, which began in childhood, grows into forbidden love against a background of racism, mistrust, and terrorist violence. But can they ever truly be together?

Last but certainly not least, Malorie Blackman! If Jacqueline Wilson was the author of my childhood, then Malorie was without a doubt the author of my teen years. I discovered Noughts and Crosses at about 14 and was immediately obsessed. I devoured the whole series and was completely wrapped up in Sephy and Callum’s world. Malorie Blackman was also the first person to introduce me to sex in books (lmao). Beyond that, they were probably the first books I read that dealt so directly with racism – albeit in an alternative reality – and they really pushed me to start analysing and thinking more deeply about political and social issues. At that point, I was older, with a bit more critical thinking ability, and the timing was just perfect. I’d already read The Hunger Games and other dystopias with heavy political undertones, but Noughts and Crosses felt sharper, more personal, and so much closer to home. It’s still one of the most powerful series I’ve ever read.