Life Lessons for Teens

Teens can learn some important life lessons by reading contemporary biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. Among those recommended by teen librarian Jennifer Kendall are - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah; Three little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter's memoir about life in the foster care system; Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton, about her life after losing her arm in a shark attack and Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos, who is now a well-known author of books for children and young adults, about the far-reaching effects of a bad decision.

For more about these books and several others, see Contemporary Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs. For additional books recommended for teens, see Reading Lists for Teens.

(Cover art courtesy of Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

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