The following information has been produced by The Scottish Book Trust
Top Tips for engaging teenagers with fiction
- Encourage them to create something new from their favourite books.
Many teen readers enjoy interacting with the content of their favourite books. One great way to do this is by writing fan fiction, which means writing something new which features some or all of the characters from a book. Good fan fiction sites include:
http://hungergamesfanfiction.com/
http://www.squidoo.com/fanfictionsites
- Encourage them to read different types of fiction.
Graphic novels, for instance, are a great way to get teens reading and appeal to both reluctant and keen readers. The genre has given readers a whole range of classic characters and stories: the website below gives you a good starting point!
Malorie Blackman’s Top 10 graphic novels for teens:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/19/malorie-blackman-top-10-graphic-novels
- Help them find places to discuss books
It’s often the case that young people feel much more comfortable talking about books without adults in the mix, and there are plenty of websites available to help them do this – you’ll find a few suggestions below.
- The Teenage Book Forum: http://theteenagebookforum.proboards.com/
The Spark (competitions, reviews, blogs, and more) – www.facebook.com/thesparkpage
This doesn’t mean you should stop talking about books with your teens – just that young people may appreciate a range of different people to share their thoughts with.
- Model yourself as a reader
Teens are more likely to read if they are surrounded by reading role models, so make sure they’ve got a chance to talk to you about your reading choices and the reasons behind them. Talk about everything: why there are some books you didn’t finish, why you re-read certain books, how you go about choosing a new read, etc.
