Teens Read

Abadie, M.J.

The Goddess in Every Girl
258 p. (grades 9-12)

Through guided meditations, visualizations, rituals, journaling exercises, and Goddess games, this book shows teenage girls how to get in touch with their own inner goddess energy and take pride in being female.

Chambers, Aiden

Postcards From No Man's Land
312 p. (grades 10+)

Seventeen-year-old Jacob leaves his native England for the first time to go to the Netherlands to see Geertrui, who helped his grandfather during WWII—a visit that changes his understanding of the world around him.

Elie, Paul

The Life You Save May Be Your Own
544 p. (grades 9-12)

An engagingly interwoven biography of four influential 20th century Catholic literary figures: Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, and Flannery O'Connor. Elie compares the theme of spiritual pilgrimage in each writer's work with the unfolding of their personal and religious lives and styles of belief.

Feiler, Bruce

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths
244 p. (grades 10-12)

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are explored through the life of their shared ancestor Abraham as a point of commonality to bridge the conflicts among these three religions.

Ford, Michael Thomas

Paths of Faith: Conversations About Religion and Spirituality
272 p. (grades 7+)

People from eleven different faiths talk about their own youthful spiritual struggles and the joys and challenges of living out their beliefs.

Fraustino, Lisa Rowe

Soul Searching: Thirteen Stories About Faith and Belief
267 p. (grades 6-10)

Thought-provoking collection of stories by well-known authors, about many of the world's major religions and some lesser known ones, where teens deal with conflicting faiths and beliefs.

Koja, Kathe

Buddha Boy
117 p. (grades 6-10)

High school sophomore Justin has to make difficult choices when his friend Jinsen (aka Buddha Boy) an aspiring Zen monk, is harassed by school bullies.

Martel, Yaan

Life of Pi
319 p. (grades 10+)

Sixteen-year-old Pi, who genuinely practices various religions, undergoes a spiritually life-changing experience when he is stranded on a lifeboat with a 227-pound Bengal tiger.

Nolan, Han

When We Were Saints
291 p. (grades 7-10)

Archie is constantly challenging his Bible-thumping grandfather about religion until the old man calls Archie a saint on his deathbed. Archie begins a pilgrimmage to discover the truth of his grandfather's words.

Satrapi, Mariane

Persepolis
Graphic Novel. 153 p. (grades 9+)

An intelligent and outspoken only child, Satrapi—the daughter of radical Marxists and the great-grandaughter of Iran's last emperor—bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Singer, Marilyn, ed.

I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion
280 p. (grades 9+)

From confronting unwanted pregnancies to the nature of prayer, these twelve stories by leading young adult authors ponder the place religion has in the everyday life of teens.

Tatlock, Ann

I'll Watch the Moon
399 p. (grades 7-12)

In 1948 Minnesota, Nova and her older brother Dewey spend many hours looking at the evening sky, since Dewey wants some day to take a walk on the moon. When Dewey is hospitalized with polio, Nova is quarantined but continues to watch the moon for Dewey until he is well. In this beautifully written story, Auschwitz survivor Josef Karski brings hope to Nova and her mother who are dispirited after many losses

Thompson, Craig

Blankets: An Illustrated Novel
Graphic Novel. 582 p. (grades 9+)

Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith.

Wiesenthal, Simon

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
271 p. (grades 10-12)

You are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness. What would you do? A symposium of 46 responses, including those of the Dalai Lama, Harold Kushner, and Harry Wu, answers that question.