The best substitute for experience is being sixteen — American dancer and poet Raymond Duncan
Sixteen is indeed the sweetest age to be at. You’re not an adult yet, and you are no longer a child. Sweet 16 is the age when we fall in love for the first time, we get butterflies in our stomachs, we try out the craziest of things and get bombarded by an overflow of emotions that are quite hard to fathom. Despite all the struggles, 16 is the sweetest age to be at, undergoing remarkable transformations and feeling everything so deeply… and what’s the best way to feel things if not in the form of literary masterpieces. Here are the Sweet 16 must-reads:
1.Mary-Kate and Ashley Sweet 16 series contains 18 books written by several authors that are a delight for young readers, especially the soon-to-be ladies. Never Been Kissed, Wishes and Dreams, The Perfect Summer, Getting There, Starring You and Me, My Best Friend’s Boyfriend, Playing Games and Little White Lies are some of our favourites among the 18. These books are mostly Sweet 16 birthday-themed as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the twins, turn 16. The plots revolve around dates, birthday parties, friendships, love and heartbreak. Suddenly Sisters was the last book of the series to come out in March 2005. Even now, it is our top Sweet 16 pick!
2.The 1970 romantic novel Love Story by American author Eric Segal gave us our first glimpse into romantic love and has remained an evergreen read. It became the epitome of a love story and was adapted into the eponymous film in 1970 by Paramount Pictures starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal. The book is a love story between Oliver Barret IV and Jennifer Cavilleri, making readers desperately hope for a happy ending but we were destined to cry copious tears as we close in towards the end of the story and Jennifer ends up being diagnosed with Leukemia. It was indeed heartbreaking but for a 16-year-old it’s a well-stitched plot that ensures to tingle all the emotional strings.
3. The Fault in Our Stars debuted as #1 on the New York Times bestseller list when it got published in 2012. This sweet little love story between Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters leaves the readers in tears. Hazel had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer but when Augustus Waters appears at the Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is altered and the plot takes a beautiful turn. Hazel is just 16 — when a girl normally falls in love, hangs out with friends and leads a normal life but not so much if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. The book’s a roller coaster ride of emotions and their love story feels so real!
4.Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mocking Bird published in 1960 has always been widely read by high-schoolers and middle-schoolers across the globe. It’s a young girl’s coming-of-age story about the co-existence of good and evil in one society. The age of 16 is when the fine line between innocence and adulthood is crossed. The title means to kill innocence and Jean Louise’s way of life is self-same of the innocence we lose while perceiving the world around us (all occurring as we step into sweet 16)!
5.The coming-of-age epistolary novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is set in the early 90s and is about an observant child named Charlie. If you are an introverted teenager, Charlie’s freshman year of high school is going to be very relatable. It’s a clear depiction of how one can be a fish out of water when they’re 16, looking at the world from their own perspectives and dealing with all the teen ongoings at school and college while trying to adjust with them.
6.Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries is a series of young adult novels with its first volume published in 2000. The series comprises 11 books revolving around a teenager named Amelia Mia Thermopolis in New York who suddenly discovers that she’s the princess of a tiny European principality called Genovia. Mia is just another clumsy ordinary teenager who falls in love, gets her heart broken, has a major identity crisis and also adapts ladylike behaviour only to realise that being yourself is the best policy. This entertaining novel series is a great choice for young adults.
7.Holly Golightly has been an all-time favourite female character. She’s not level-headed for sure but she grows with time. Her sense of freedom and independence depicted in Truman Capote’s novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s is very relatable to any girl seeking freedom. She was a rebellious figure much like teens stepping into sixteen. It’s a shoutout to passionate friendships and things one can do for pals.
8.Ransom Riggs’s contemporary fantasy novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is an enjoyable book full of sensory details delving deep into vernacular and archived photographs set in an abandoned and mysterious orphanage. A family tragedy befalls the 16-year-old Jacob travelling to Wales and he discovers the ruins of the orphanage. For a teen who takes pleasure in fantasies, fictions and horrors, this is a top pick!
9.You can be a Potter-head whether you’re 16 or 60. There’s no age for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The seven fantasy novels set in the magical castle at Hogwarts are just a reflection of the fact that magic is enjoyable anywhere at any time of the day!
10. Afghan-American novelist Khaled Hosseini touched our souls with the 2003 novel The Kite Runner, which tells a story about the young boy Amir from Kabul. He struggles to find his place in the world due to a result of his traumatic childhood events. These deep-seated emotions and values are set quite early in age and mirror what you’ll be like in a few years’ time. The Kite Runner is much loved by 16-year-olds as they find it educative, relatable and quite interesting a literary piece!