Good Apples vs. Bad Apples
Wholesome Books for Adolescents
There’s nothing like sitting down to read a good book…and there’s nothing quite like sitting down to read an un-good book. If you are like me, you’ll find that as you get older and begin to exit the tween years, the books you are now capable of reading begin to get darker and darker.
Let us label the good books “good apples” and the un-good ones “bad apples”. Is it easier to relate now? Hopefully. Let’s go back to our discussion.
Yep, there’s no doubt about it: good apple reads for teens get harder to find as they age. Sure, there’s many amazing reads out there, but oftentimes parents (and teens too) are forced to shake their heads and drop the book back into their library bag, despite the fact it’s only half-finished.
Feel like the bad apple books are out outweighing the good? Here’s a list of books for teenagers to read--ones you won’t have to throw back in the “apple barrel”-AKA: the library bag.
BOOK SERIES FOR ADOLESCENTS:
The Chronicles of Narnia
Perfect for…Tweens, teenagers, and even adults!
This series is a famous Christian allegory written by C.S. Lewis. It is a one-of-a-kind book series (consisting of seven books in all) that tells important spiritual truths through stories which take place in the mystical land of Narnia.
The stories are amazing and life-changing, and they really help you better understand God. However, the books are made for people with long attention spans (like me!), as C.S. Lewis is known for getting very descriptive.
Life of Faith
Perfect for…Teenagers and young adults
These books are centered for the female audience, but can be enjoyable for boys as well.
Most of the stories are adapted from the writings of Martha Finley. She wrote most of the series in the 1800’s, and the dialect had to be changed into today’s modern speech.
The Life of Faith series actually consist of series-inside-of-a-series, meaning there are five girls living in historical time periods, of whom each have a number of books which tells about them. The final result is a beautiful, Godly series for teenagers.
There are 29 books in all.
All of a Kind Family
Perfect for…Tweens
This is a five-book series (written by Sydney Taylor) about six Jewish children and their parents, living in New York in the early 1900’s.
The children are: Ella, the oldest; Henny, the troublemaker; Sarah, the quietest; Charlotte, the dreamer; and Gertie, the youngest. I will keep the sixth one a secret, or I’ll spoil the first book’s ending.
The first book won the Charles E. Follet award. All of the books are pleasing stories for, really, any age.
The Farm Mystery Series
Perfect for…Tweens and younger teenagers
From Castleberry Farms Press, these are the stories of two brothers, Jason and Andy Nelson, who live on a farm in Tennessee. Together they’ve found that through God anything is possible. They have also found quite a few mysteries coming their way! These books are ideal for boys, although girls can enjoy them as well.
The writers of this ten-book series, Mr. and Mrs. Castleberry, believe in writing wholesome books that you can feel good about reading.
Find out more about the Castleberry’s books at: http://www.castleberryfarmspress.com.
The Castleberry Farm Press’s Courtship series
Perfect for…Older teenagers and adults
The Courtship Books, written by the Castleberrys, are pure, Christian-based books. They each follow one young adult’s life, as he or she learns to trust the Lord and wait on His timing when searching for the match of their life. Some of the books are written specifically for males, while others are written only for females.
I’ve now gone through five good apple book series for the fellow youth. That’s fifty-five books in all! I dearly hope at least one of these series have caught your eye.
Do you have any suggestions for more good apple books? Go to www.kcparent.com and join one of their countless online-blog sections! Or, comment online on this blog to let me know some of your favorite books.
Get ready for a showering-down of good apples!
Anny Hiestand, Teen Blogger