Over the past few months we’ve been participating in a work experience program with students from high schools across Melbourne including Anna Louey, Olivia Walls, Matilda Morley, Joel Calabria, Estelle Sutherland, Kealy Siryj and Tess Devine-Hercus. While these students were with us, we asked them what kind of books they like to read. Here are our findings…

Everyone had different favourite reads.

Joel said The Messenger is probably the closest he’s come to finding ‘a perfect book’. Olivia’s particular love was ‘bad boy’ ‘good girl’ romances’. Estelle said The Woman in Black is a thrilling and creepy read for all age groups. Matilda said Eleanor & Park smashes stereotypes into oblivion. Nearly everyone agreed that no-one could pick just one favourite.

They were confident talking about books they didn’t like.

Olivia said, ‘Recently, I read The Fault in our Stars and though I think it was well-written and very thoughtful, I wouldn’t rave about it like the whole population of the world.’ Tess said, ‘The two things that I absolutely can’t stand are clichéd romances and poorly-written female characters.’

Most of them agree that they’re starting to get tired of so many dystopian novels.

Estelle said, ‘These books can be interesting but I find that they can end up all blurring into the same story line, with a divided society striving for perfection but falling short in the eyes of the protagonist.’ Matilda said, ‘I read Divergent a few months ago and it was pretty good, it just seemed really generic and predictable.’ Kealy said, ‘I used to read a lot of dystopian young adult fiction but over the past few years I’ve moved away from that and tried to broaden my taste.’

Nearly all of them share books with friends.

Anna said, ‘My friends and I are constantly discussing our latest readings, good or bad.’ Olivia said, ‘I have a few friends that I rant about books to, who also rant back.’ Taking this culture of sharing to a whole new level, Tess described she’d started her own ‘Library Locker’ in one of the spare lockers at her school: ‘I have about thirty of my books that sit in there and these are lent out to other people in my year level. This is how I got nearly half of them to read Divergent before the movie came out, which led to many, many lengthy discussions on actors and characters.’

And those without book-loving friends have found other ways of sharing their reading.

Kealy said, ‘I have some friends that I share books with, but we have very different tastes so instead I usually discuss and share books with my older sister.’ Joel said, ‘My friends don’t tend to actually read, and if they do it’s just because of a school assignment. I don’t really discuss books too much except with one of my mates. We have similar interests and are nearly always recommending or inspiring each other to read things.’

Holden Caulfield still resonates with teenagers today.

The Catcher in the Rye, 1979 Russian edition.

Two different students referred to The Catcher in the Rye as one of their favourite books, and described the story as being applicable to their experiences. Anna said, ‘It deals with powerful themes such as the loss of innocence, truth and sexuality, which are all relevant to young adults’. Kealy said, ‘I felt like I had an emotional connection to the story in ways I hadn’t experienced with other novels’. She also added that while the book could make a good film, she hope it wasn’t turned into one: ‘Something about it only being a book makes it so much more special.’

They all had suggestions for filmmakers tackling book adaptations.

Joel said The Passage would make a good film: ‘Although the cinematic experience would probably last close to four hours (for an accurate adaptation) and leave a lingering unease at the sight of gruesome medical experiments, it would be a stunningly atmospheric and ominous film.’ Anna would love to see The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer as a film, and Tess would love to see Legend – as long as both were ‘done right’.

And Matilda has a special request for all filmmakers: ‘Stop making every single ‘plain’ female character into a supermodel!’

For more insights into what teenagers are reading, you can also read all of our full interviews with the students online:

• Read our interview with Anna Louey here.
• Read our interview with Olivia Walls here.
• Read our interview with Matilda Morley here.
• Read our interview with Joel Calabria here.
• Read our interview with Estelle Sutherland here.
• Read our interview with Kealy Siryj here.
• Read our interview with Tess Devine-Hercus here.