Young Adult (YA) Books that Build Character

 

Young Adult Books that Build Character

I believe that the children's and Young Adult books I read growing up helped develop my character and personality. Many others have noted the power of young adult books to shape minds and values in children. This is largely why English was always my favorite and best class growing up: because I love reading, being transported into other stories and worlds, and most importantly, gleaning the moral lessons. I still love Greek mythology and other cultures' folklore thanks to English class. However, I first started reading when my Dad gave me the first Harry Potter book at 6 years old. I haven't stopped loving to read (or write) since. Here are the books that impacted me as a kid.

1. Harry Potter - 1st grade

Well, this one practically goes without saying. Harry Potter was the gold standard for children's literature for generations, beloved by kids and adults alike. The books became a zeitgeist and sold exorbitant numbers around the world. They were made into 8 internationally high-grossing films. Not even this descriptor quite captures the global phenomenon Harry Potter was and how many hearts it captured. Many children like myself picked up on the social justice themes in Harry Potter and how they were formative in our own character development. For instance, the way the rich Malfoys treated the more humble Weasleys and other families badly (though importantly, what the Weasleys didn't have in wealth, they more than made up for in love). Or how pure bloods (again, like the Malfoys) treated "mudbloods" like Hermione (a witch or wizard born to two non-magical humans or muggles) and half-bloods (born to a muggle and a witch or wizard) as inferior due to their mixed blood lines. All of this culminated in the ultimate struggle of the Harry Potter universe: the fight against bigoted pure bloods (whose genealogies contain only wizards and witches), their leader Lord Voldemort, and their effort to capture the magical world under a genocidal, authoritarian rule based on blood purity and related fascist ideas. This brings to mind the very real struggles of our world: against racism and white supremacy, poverty and exorbitant wealth, and against fascism in its many forms. All things we are still fighting and struggling against today. Along with these super important themes of justice, morality/right and wrong, the overriding message of Harry Potter was one of love. The message was that love beats bigotry, ignorance and hatred. Who wouldn't love that? As we now know, author JK Rowling is a flawed human being struggling with her own forms of bigotry. People have noted that Rowling's description of goblins resembled caricatures of Jewish people and that her careless naming of Cho Chang and treatment of other characters of color was lacking. Most damning, Rowling has recently come out as an anti-transgender bigot. While she has unfortunately besmirched her legacy, Harry Potter's impact remains. 

2. Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd - 3rd grade 

This is an adorable book about overcoming the social stigma and ostracization of disability. The main character, Hannah, is a young girl in middle school who is endlessly embarassed by her family's friendship (and therefore her connection) with the parents of her disabled and unpopular classmate Malcolm Murgatroyd. Malcolm has muscular dystrophy and is less than suave and Hannah cannot stand her association with him nor being told by her parents that she will marry him someday. But eventually, Hannah grows up and starts to appreciate Malcolm for who he is, flaws and all. This book taught me that character is seeing people for who they are and not judging, being mean or ostracizing them because they are different or have perceived flaws. This is a great book for beginning conversations with kids about disability justice. 

3. The Giver - 4th grade 

I read 'The Giver' in my 4th grade class. Later, I saw the movie based on the book when it came out in 2014; it was a good adaptation. The Giver is a dystopian novel that is short, easy to read, but nevertheless good for all ages because of the profundity of the story. Main character Jonah lives in a dystopian society where there is no color, people do not have biological families but state-ordered family units and the state chooses everyone's careers for them. One of the careers for women is birth mother, so young girls are bred and then tasked with birthing all of the people in the society, without any personal choice in the matter (reminiscent of today's novel turned Hulu series 'The Handmaids Tale.') Everyone takes a pill each morning that numbs their ability to feel emotion. However, there is one person in the society whose job it is to hold the memories of the way Earth used to be: filled with color, music, love, holidays, joy etc. But this person must also remember the pain: war, famine, poverty, death, agony. It is revealed that the pain and destruction of the world is why everything, including the ability to love, was taken away. It is revealed that Jonah is in training to fulfill this role for his society and it is his duty to keep these things a secret in order to maintain order. But the ultimate moral of the story is that love trumps all, even the pain that comes with it, and it is worth fighting for. 

4. Holes - 5th grade 

I read 'Holes' in my 5th grade class and I later enjoyed the Disney movie based on the book. The movie is one of the few that manages to be just as good as the book it is based on and to perfectly capture it. 'Holes' recently came to my attention again thanks to a Tweet by a millennial claiming that everyone she knew was profoundly changed by reading 'Holes.' Upon rewatching the movie and revisiting the tale, it is not hard for me to see why. 'Holes' is a young adult novel that contains plots about fatphobia, intergenerational poverty or "family curses," interracial love and racism, white supremacy, reparations and the prison industrial complex. Author Louis Sachar managed to create meaningful lessons about all of these things through an age appropriate story that contains history, folklore, magic and a happy Disney movie ending. 'Holes' is truly a masterpiece and I am glad that I and millions of American students got to read it and continue to every year. I am even happier that 'Holes' has changed some of us for the better. Main character Stanley Yelnats is a poor, fat kid whose family has struggled with intergenerational poverty ever since his great, great, great grandfather, who shares his name, brought a curse upon the family. Because Stanley is poor, he and other poor boys are targeted by the criminal justice system and sent to a work camp to dig holes in the desert in order to "build character." However, it is actually because the warden is trying to find a lost treasure chest full of money and riches that happened to be stolen from Stanley's great grandfather. It is a story that spans two centuries, starting when Stanley's great, great, great grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Latvia, to his descendants' misfortune in the American Great Plains and finally to Stanley's family living in Texas. It's important that 'Holes' deals with history, starting with Stanley's ancestor in Latvia (Eastern Europe), because it shows how the past shapes the present, that we are all implicated for what happened in the past and what our ancestors did, especially when certain people benefit from past injustices. It's important that more than half of the poor kids in the unjust work camp are African-American due to intergenerational poverty, racism and the original sins of this country, including slavery. The only thing I would criticize the book for is not having any Indigenous characters in the work camp to symbolize the immense wrongs America has committed against Indigenous peoples through ongoing genocide. It is meaningful that Stanley reversed his family curse by showing kindness to his friend at camp, Hector Zeroni, who is African-American. The eventual justice that Stanley's family receives is then shared with Hector Zeroni's family, reversing the curse of intergenerational poverty for both of them. It is a beautiful metaphor for reparations and the righting of wrongs against the people this country has committed great injustices against: African-Americans, Indigenous peoples and people living with intergenerational poverty.  

5. Catherine, Called Birdy - 5th grade

'Catherine, Called Birdy' is another book I read that stays with me. Catherine, called Birdy, is a young girl in medieval England whose fate is to be sold to an ugly, old, rich man by her greedy father. However, she refuses to accept her fate and remains steadfast in her conviction, using her wit, trickery and luck to evade an unhappy marriage. Catherine is inspiring because she refuses to give in even though the odds are against her. As a young girl in a medieval, patriarchal society, Catherine doesn't have the power to determine the trajectory of her life, but she is strong, rebellious and witty enough to change her fate anyways. Catherine is a great role model for young girls in that she defies gender norms to fight for herself and create a better life. She is reminiscent of the main character Danielle De Barbarac in the empowering retelling of Cinderella "Ever After" (film circa 1998). This is a great book for fostering self-esteem, confidence and countering harmful gender norms in young girls. 

6. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes - 6th grade

I read 'Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes' in middle school and it was my favorite book for a long time. Main character Eric is a fat kid and his best friend, Sarah, is a girl in his grade who has scars on her face and arms. Both Eric and Sarah are bullied by the other children because of their physical differences. Eric feels especially motivated to protect Sarah because she is living with her abusive father who killed her mother and gave Sarah her scars by burning her on the stove when she was younger. However, once Eric and Sarah reach high school, Eric joins the swimming team and sheds the extra weight. But Eric doesn't want to be distinguished from Sarah or to be treated better than her, so he stays fat in solidarity. One day, when Sarah stops talking and ends up in an institution, Eric goes on a mission to save her from her father. This quest is a gripping tale involving family, friends and even the criminal justice system. This is another great book for kids to learn about disability justice and fatphobia, along with domestic violence, child abuse and bullying. This is a great book to help kids learn empathy for other children and adults that do no look like them. 

7. Before I Die - 9th grade

'Before I Die' was on my required summer reading list for high school. I recently reread it and it holds up as an adult. 'Before I Die' is a young adult novel about a teenage girl who is dying of cancer and wants to really live before so. Set in Britain, the book contains a lot of British slang and terminology. This book could easily fall into the cliché, romantic drama, tear-jerker cancer genre. However, I found it impactful and it still makes me cry (as deaths/cancer in stories often do). Protagonist Tessa is a teenager dying of leukemia who makes it her mission to make the most of her life as she goes through the impossible journey of leaving the Earth so young. As is wont to happen, tensions run high with her family and friends, but she is able to find true love before she dies, something she wanted from the beginning. The last chapter containing her ruminations on life as she lies dying while surrounded by her loved ones is truly a work of art and will make you see the world and life through a different lens. This is a good book for kids to learn about disability (cancer is a disability), making the most of life and to learn empathy. 

8. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things - High school 

I first read 'The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things' in high school, of my own volition. I recently reread it and it holds up. Main character Virginia will feel familiar to people who have read YA lit about plus-size teens or who have been a plus-size teen. Virginia is a ball of anxiety and stress, worried about fitting in with her skinny and winsome family and desperately trying to lose weight. At the same time, she is balancing a new romance, a new outlook on her life and her body and the aftermath of a rape allegation against her popular, jock older brother. This is a good book to educate teens about fatphobia, diet culture and sexual assault. Virginia is a good role model for preteen and teen girls for building self-esteem and confidence. 

9. The Hate U Give - Adulthood

I read young adult novel 'The Hate U Give' shortly after it was released in 2017. I first read about it in an LA Times review in which writer Adriana E. Ramirez observed that dystopian, apocalyptic and sci-fi novels often center around white characters, when Black, Indigenous and Brown people are the ones living with the apocalyptic aftermath of climate change and the dystopian reality of socioeconomic inequality. It is telling that 'The Hate U Give' is the first young adult novel I read in which the main character is Black, as are the majority of the characters. I got to meet Angie Thomas, the book's Black author from Mississippi, at the LA Times Festival of Books and she signed my copy. 'The Hate U Give' follows main character Starr Carter, who goes through the common dilemma of having to code switch between her Black family and neighborhood and her white and upper class private school and friends. Meanwhile, Starr is forced to deal with being the sole witness when a white police officer murders her childhood best friend. The tale that unfolds after this gives any YA dystopian thriller or sci-fi adventure a run for its money as Starr and company navigate the criminal justice system, police brutality and corruption, protests and gang violence. Except this time, the story is real and one that is happening every day in the United States. 'The Hate U Give' has been dubbed the Black Lives Matter book, as it depicts the struggle for racial justice, against police brutality and the Black Lives Matter protests that have become more and more prominent since the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin (rest in power). A movie based on the book came out in 2018, and it did an excellent job of adapting the book into film (although there were a few details that were not the same as in the book). 'The Hate U Give' is a young adult novel that is essential reading for all ages because of how poignant, truthful and important its message is.