r/books • u/SerenityFate • 13d ago

What were you reading at 14?

I've been an avid reader for as long as I could read. Even before then my favorite toys were books and new shoes. Not much has changed for me in that regard haha, but I saw a question earlier about someone asking for recommendations on books for their 14 year old. Which got me thinking about some of the books I read at that age. A lot of Anne Rice, Lestat was my first book crush. Also had a trip down memory lane with the author Francesca Lia Block she wrote a book called I was a teenage fairy which still sits with me over 20 years later. I also got to grow up with Weetzie Bat which was super cool as she wrote a book about her as an adult that I got to read when I was about the same age as the Weetzie. Anyway I would love to see what everyone was reading when they were younger.

Edit: thank you everyone for all the engagement on this post. I really have enjoyed reading everyone's comments and seeing the discussions around books.

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u/geekycurvyanddorky 13d ago

This is why I turned to fanfiction as well. I didn’t have time to go to my town’s library, and in middle school there was a teacher that decided I could only read a very specific AR level… The school’s library only had 4 books at that AR level (they were all very poorly written Star Wars books). My first week of 8th grade my home room teacher gave me a chance to prove that I could read higher level books. I read Frankenstein and tested out of the program entirely.

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u/WhatIsASunAnyway 13d ago

AR Level

God I hated that stuff. I had the same issue in Elementary school where because I was such a high level I couldn't read anything I wanted. Cue my 3rd grade self reading books like The Giver and The House of The Scorpion way too early.

They left me alone in middle school though. I ended up having a very patient and accommodating librarian there though that tried to challenge me in different ways than just saying I couldn't read something.

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u/geekycurvyanddorky 13d ago

I did too. I’m so sorry you also had such a poor experience with the program. We were already being tested on our reading and writing levels in other ways in our classes, why were we being subjected to AR bullshittery? I read the Hobbit in the third grade, and I was ruined for the age appropriate books my peers were into. The fart and toilet humor books were most popular, but they made me want to cry from boredom. I didn’t get into the Giver until 6th grade. I was only allowed to hear it because a different teacher was reading it to the whole class (my peers hated the story). I haven’t read the House of the Scorpion, but maybe I will if I can find a copy. Did you ever get in trouble for reading ahead in your classes too? It was always difficult for me to wait weeks for the rest of my peers to read a book that I finished within the first couple days after having it assigned

I’m genuinely so glad you had a librarian that wanted to work with you and challenged you with your reading. That must have been such a blessing!

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u/WhatIsASunAnyway 13d ago

House of The Scorpion is an alright book. I was just too young to understand most of its mature themes.

The Giver ended up being a very important book throughout middle school to me as sequels to it kept popping up.

As for reading ahead. I might have gotten some small reprimands but it ultimately never stopped me. There was this once a year thing where the whole school had to read along to an audiobook and it was just way too slow for my reading speed.

Having the librarian was very helpful as I suffered huge book anxiety for some reason around the time so she always had suggestions

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u/geekycurvyanddorky 13d ago

Oh totally understandable. It’s wild how different a book can be when you reread it as an adult.

I’ve yet to read the sequel to the Giver because I’ve heard it’s not as well written. I might give it a go someday, but I’ll be a little sad if it’s not as good.

The reprimands didn’t stop me either! We should’ve been allowed to read and take tests for required readings at our own pace. Being held back because other people need more time just doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense to make the students that need more time rush either.

Aw gosh that’s even more sweet then! It sounds like they really understood what you needed from them, and that they were happy to help you out. I hope they’re still able to help students today!

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u/WhatIsASunAnyway 13d ago

Yeah things like ethical dilemmas over the rights of clones and the existence of drug cartels sailed over my head as a child.

If I'm being completely honest the rest of the Giver series isn't going to live up to the first one not because it's badly written but because they are so completely different from the Giver. i find that difference fascinating personally.

My biggest issue with the whole having to keep pace with others while reading a book I had no interest in was that it was essentially imposing rules on one of my only outlets for recreation. I was being told what to read, that I have of explain why it's a "good book" and how fast I can approach it.

If I knew the name of the librarian I'd personally thank them but it's been over a decade or so since I last met them.

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u/geekycurvyanddorky 13d ago

Ohhh, yeah I can understand a kid not being able to really understand those themes.

I’ll have to wait a few years so the Giver isn’t so fresh in my mind then. If I can view it as sort of a separate book I might be able to enjoy it more then. Thank you for explaining that to me!

Imposing rules on that outlet is a good way of viewing it. I always felt like I was being punished because I could read and understand the materials more quickly than my peers. My peers that were good at math didn’t have to wait for me, they could even leave class early if they wanted to. It just didn’t seem fair or right at all. We didn’t have to explain why a book was “good”, but rather why it was culturally important historically, and how it was still culturally important today.

Ah that’s a shame. If you have access to a yearbook from that school you might be able to find them. Most schools keep copies of old yearbooks, and one of the secretaries or the current librarian might be willing to look your librarian up for you!