Grown-Up Books to Share with Kids & Teens

Even though I work in BookKids, I am secretly a grown-up. And, secretly, I enjoy adult books every once in a while. However, there are a lot of books marketed primarily to adults that would fit right in with young adult novels. These books are the sort that you want to read and pass on to your friend, whether he is thirty or thirteen. While, yeah, adult books do mean adult situations and adult language, the ones I’m featuring here are intense enough to hold an adult’s attention and tasteful enough to share with your favorite teen.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Nine-year-old Oskar has found a key in his deceased father’s closet. With a single clue – the word “Black” written on the key’s envelope – Oskar has embarked on a journey to find the lock to which this key belongs. His story is both heart-wrenching and inspiring as he treks all over the five boroughs of New York. Oskar’s narrative is interspersed with the unsent letters and journals of his mute grandfather, bizarre photographs, and tales of his grandmother’s experience in a war-torn Dresden. In a post-9/11 world, this is an amazing tale of joy and loss, a love letter to New York and to love.

When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale
Nine-year old Lawrence lives with his mum and sister, Jemima, in England. They constantly have to worry that their estranged father will come from Scotland and hurt them. So one day his Mum packs them up and tells them they’re going to stay in Rome until it’s safe again. They are passed from friend’s house to friend’s house and all Lawrence wants to do is help his mother, but it’s hard to tell who to trust. And he worries about his mum, since she gets really sad sometimes. Lawrence’s innocence lends itself well to Kneale’s narrative, letting us see only what he sees, while still giving us the implication that his mother has bigger problems than he perceives.

Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland
Hey Nostradamus! isn’t really about religion. Coupland’s characters, in various states of spiritual decomposition, don’t have a platform on Christianity. In the wake of a high school tragedy, the four narrators are all determined to move forward. The interwoven progress of the characters spans several decades, the impact of the incident never quite fading. Like most of Coupland’s work, this novel leaves both an apocalyptic and a hopeful aftertaste.

A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar
Nidali has an American passport, since she was born in Boston. Her Mama is Egyptian and Greek, her father is Palestinian, making Nidali “half-and-half.” Growing up in Kuwait, she never quite feels at home. On her thirteenth birthday, the Iraqi army invades Kuwait, leaving her mixed family with no option but to flee to Egypt.  A year later they make their last move to Texas where Nidali decides to step out into the world and find herself and her home. Jarrar uses charm & humor to transcend cultural implications uniting us all in the struggle that is adolescence, all the while shining a new light on growing up Arab. (Warning: there is some taboo language in this book,  but I promise it is in good taste and not simply for shock value)

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
Quite simply, this is one of the most lovely books of metered verse available. Eliot’s cats are eccentric and exciting, his rhymes wild and deadly serious. Each poem introduces the new reader to a different cat, a character that will not easily be forgotten. This is a lovely book to read as an adult, whispered to oneself on a rainy night, or to read aloud to a friend or a child in need of a good chuckle. There are several editions available, but my current favorite is illustrated by Edward Gorey, author of Cat E Gory.