Useful books for a very angsty 13 year old girl?

[victoryelf]

I've been asked to help my friends 13 year old who is going through a tricky time (as I had a time as a teen so can sympathise).

She's lovely and extremely bright but seems to have hit the teenage angst HARD, she's one of 5, in the middle and feeling a bit ignored I think. Current angst symptoms - poetry, wall punching, dramatic drawings.

She's a big reader and I want to give her some useful books, my first thought was some Caitlin Moran but I think it's a bit...wank-heavy? Any poetry books/ non- fiction or fiction anyone can recommend?

Looking for Alaska by John Greene

Can't recommend books but spending time is invaluable, the sort of things where she can talk are perfect, and not children's or teen type activities. I found walking the dog was the best time to really connect with my girls, a couple of hours or so they opened up, stopping for lunch half way, (dog is optional obviously) every day life can be hectic and one of 5 is challenging

Are there any options for involvement in youth theatre in her area? Lots of reading, lots of keen acknowledgement of deep feelings, lots of positive attention ...

A youth theatre group is a really good idea thanks! I think her mum is doing solo stuff similar to dog walks with her, although it must be challenging with 4 others to (three of which are under 7!). I really want to be able to pass on a book to show her other people have felt has terrible as she does and it honestly will pass but it's so hard to gage what's appropriate at that age.

Centuries ago when I was 13 my favourite reading was a combination of Georgette Heyer and The Chalet School. And I was just getting into George Eliot and Thomas Hardy. (With, I admit, a substantial helping of Mills & Boon.) I cant say I’d have welcomed any suggestions for teen novels specifically about ‘my feelings’. (That’s what music is for, surely?)

Diary of a teenage worrier, although probably very dated now, is a brilliant take on teenage angst. Lighthearted but in no way dismissive of teen dramas.

I first read Caitlin Moran at 13. Don’t think it’s inappropriate - just facts of life for a woman. I wouldn’t say I still agree with everything Moran says, but she was important in shaping my early feminism and channelling some of that angst! I’d also consider Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Normal People, The Grapes of Wrath, Tipping the Velvet, The Handmaid’s Tale, Rebecca, Anna Karenina, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, The Book Thief, To Kill a Mockingbird, Anne of Green Gables, Alias Grace, The Curious Incident of the Dog At Night Time.
It obviously depends how mature she is and how much of a reader she is. I wouldn’t shy away from books just because they have sex in - it’s on the brain at that age anyway. Books are, in my opinion, far better than having to trawl through the internet. It’ll also show that you trust her and recognise her maturity. I think a lot of my anger at that age was because I felt like I was in limbo between childhood and adulthood.