Teens Read

Autobiographies

Click on the book images below for catalog, holding, and location information.

Alvord, Lori Arviso

The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
204 p. (grades 9-12)

From her home on a Navajo reservation to Dartmouth on scholarship and surgical training at Stanford, Lori pursues her dream of integrating traditional Navajo healing with modern medical procedures.

Asgedom, Mawi

Of Beetles and Angels
148 p. (grades 8-12)

Asgedom, an Ethiopian refuge, tells of coming to America after three years in a Sudanese refugee camp. He overcomes racial, language, and financial barriers to realize his dream of graduating from Harvard.

Bitton-Jackson, Livia

I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing up in the Holocaust
224 p. (grades 9+)

The author writes about her harrowing experiences during World War II struggling to keep herself and her mother alive in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Crutcher, Chris

King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-advised Autobiography
260 p. (grades 7-12)

Chris grew from a nerdy, cry baby, with an incredible failure rate in competitive athletics, to a best-selling author whose characters are often high school sports heroes.

Dumas, Firoozeh

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America
187 p. (grades 9-12)

A touching memoir of growing up in an adopted country and appreciating cultural differences and family heritage.

Jordan, June

Soldier: A Poet's Childhood
261 p. (grades 8-12)

With humor and lyric beauty, Berkeley professor/poet Jordan relates her New York City childhood at the hands of her ambitious but sometimes abusive father who sets out to make her into a "sturdy brilliant soldier."

Kimmel, Haven

A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana
275 p. (grades 9-12)

Nicknamed "Zippy" for her energetic interpretation of a circus monkey, Kimmel tells the story of her childhood where her entire world was a small town full of weird and wonderful people, animals, and family.

King, Stephen

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
288 p. (grades 10+)

King's spooky characters are drawn from his tumultuous childhood and rocky teen years. This revealing book shows King at his best as he confides much about his personal life and offers helpful tips for folks who aspire to writing breathtaking fiction.

Mah, Adeline Yen

Chinese Cinderella
205 p. (grades 8+)

Now a successful doctor living in the U.S., Mah tells of life as an unwanted child growing up in 1940's China.

Monette, Paul

Becoming a Man
278 p. (grades 10-12)

A passionate, angry, and poetic autobiography about Monette's New England childhood, his growing passion for writing, and the pain of being a closeted gay man. This is a hopeful look at triumphing over self-hatred and the constraints of society.

Paulsen, Gary

Guts: The True Story Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books
144 p. (grades 8+)

True stories from Paulsen's interesting life including plane crashes, attack by a moose, Iditarod dog races, and more. Paulsen shows how his real-life events inspired the fictional adventures of Brian, the central character in his popular 1987 novel Hatchet.

Compiled by Teen Services Librarians July 2004.