By Kylie Sturgess     The season is bound to have every teenager's Christmas stocking stuffed with J.K Rowling's 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'.  But what are teenagers really reading now? What will challenge and extend their range into 2009?  Better yet - what might get you into checking out what's on offer so you can model some good reading habits too?

One of the first challenges I had with what is termed a 'resistant reader' involved a young woman who didn't even read magazines or blogs. There was one passion in her life - the TV show 'Lost'.  After suggesting Victor Kelleher's Australian classic 'Taronga', she realised what literature had to offer and she soon got into Anthony Horowitz's 'Alex Rider' series.

From there, her established taste for adventure and mystery led her to checking out the adventures in the many fantasy series written by Tamora Pierce.  Then she went from Richelle Mead's 'Vampire Academy' to Scott Westerfield's 'Uglies' series to John Boyne's 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' and then Gary Crew's 'Strange Objects'.  Consider a child's passions to be a potential source for better reading habits, even if they might not gell with your own genre preferences.  After all - shouldn't we challenge and extend as much as we urge young adults' reading habits?

Now, of course everyone has been talking about the ongoing appeal of the works of Stephenie Meyer and her 'Twilight' series.  Whether you're worried about the media saturation or shrugging because 'Wuthering Heights', 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and Daniel Handler's 'The Basic Eight' (also known as author Lemony Snicket of the 'Series of Unfortunate Events' fame) all demonstrate arguably worse role-modelling for teens... you can't ignore that they're being read.

We can encourage that intial love of one particular author's works by offering extensions upon enriching themes and ideas, issues and genres contained within such 'books of the year'.  Rather than fight and censor - why not investigate and get into reading ourselves?

Many teachers already know and teach John Marsden's 'Tomorrow, When The War Began' series - which can arguably be just as rebellious and engaging in terms of characterisation and are now considered Australian classics.  The latest offering by Melina Marchetta, 'Finnikin of the Rock' also taps into the fantasy/sci-fi genre. In addition, Neil Gaiman's 'Coraline' and newly released 'The Graveyard Game' can engage those readers who picked up Stephenie Meyer's take on 'bodysnatching' with her other best-seller, 'The Host'.

Whilst many young women identify with the characters within Gossip Girl' sagas, Ann Bradshares' 'Travelling Pants' tales and the works of Ellen Hopkins and Kristen Tracy - we could argue that much of what they're interested in are the questions about identity and 'fitting in', rather than merely being just about the fashion or the appeal of Edward Cullen's fangs.  The popularity of earlier Melina Marchetta books, 'Saving Francesca' and 'Looking For Alibrandi' were due to such explorations, for example.  'Guitar Highway Rose' is just the first book by Perth author Brigid Lowry, which investigates similar themes of alienation and identity and is popular amongst many teachers as a class text.

If a reader is heading towards more speculative fare, Cory Doctorow's 'Little Brother' is new and a fantastic take on questions about technology, surveillance and human rights via a Nineteen Eighty-Four scenario set in a post-terrorist attacked San Francisco - and certainly poses questions with more modern-day relevance than the potential existence of a vampiric boyfriend!  There is also the fast-selling 'The Underland Chronicles' series by Suzanne Collins, who has now begun a new science fiction dystopic tale with 'The Hunger Games'.

More recently graphic novels are coming into the mainstream - the works of Shaun Tan ('The Arrival', 'The Lost Thing' and 'The Rabbits') are highly recommended. Authors such as Nick Abadzis, Craig Thompson, Marjane Satrapi and Art 'Maus' Spiegelman are gaining recognition by many English teachers and are certainly well worth adding to your bookshelves. Whilst some of Alan Moore's works are distinctly more adult-fare (despite the film versions that are gaining popularity), there are well- super hero stories from X-Men to Batman, such as those authored Grant Morrison. I would also recommend Jeff Smith's 'Bone' Series.  Manga of the likes of Kaoru Mori's 'Emma' and Natsuki Takaya's 'Fruits Basket' have become acceptable additions to school libraries and can lead to manga-versions of classic texts that can even introduce young people to Shakespeare.

I should note that quite a few of these books have become filmed or turned into television series and parents should consider 'tie-ins' by seeking out such adaptations of books, from Frank Herbert to Charles Dickens, in order to introduce concepts that can lead to a better understanding of classics.  After all, many teachers use the very Gossip Girl-like film 'Clueless' in order to introduce teenagers to Jane Austen's 'Emma'.

Overall, I would argue that when a teenager is eagerly hefting over three-hundred pages of a book like 'Twilight' around with them, there must be something to the text that can encourage extended reading. Therefore, I say embrace the 'rebel elements' within the narrative and encourage discussion, further reading and suggest book clubs for the teenagers who are swapping much-loved editions.

The popular features on Facebook pages have and can can be used to create online bookclubs and fanpages for author's works.  Make plans to talk to your school library in 2009 about the possibility of a book club being created there for teens, where they can network and highlight what they want to read and what they'd like to be introduced to next.  Best of all, when it comes time for class assignments and book-box reviews and responses, young people can be ahead of the class with novels that they have chosen on their own and respond to with passion.

About the author: Kylie Sturgess is a Education research assistant at a Perth university and is currently completing her M.Ed at the University of Western Australia. She has taught secondary education for ten years and is a researcher of paranormal and pseudoscientific beliefs. Kylie is a podcaster for the top ten on iTunes science podcast 'The Skeptic Zone' and her articles and essays have been published in journals and magazines nationwide.

Links:  Podblack.com

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