Thanks so much for having me here! On this leg of my DEADLY COOL blog tour I’m talking about my life as a teen. Obviously I was a big reader when I was a teen. I gobbled up just about everything from classics to soap-opera-ish teen dramas to even Shakespeare. Books were a great escape from whatever happened to be bugging me that day – homework, little brothers, parents, acne, you name it. Opening a book was like stepping into someone else’s life, and often into another time/place/world. While I read a ton when I was younger, some books have stuck with me as favorites. And they are…
1. Little Women
Okay, I probably first picked this one up when I was more a tween than teen, but I re-read it so many times that the cover fell apart. It was my absolute favorite book, and I promptly devoured both Little Men and Jo’s Boys afterward.
2. The Stand
I told you my states were eclectic. ;) From Louisa May Alcott to Stephan King, but both are such great storytellers that they completely sucked me into their world. Plus, at the time, The Stand was the longest book I had ever read. It felt like a cool challenge to get through it. I was so psyched when I finished it to find out there was going to be a made-for-TV movie, too! Ironically, I got through the book but ended up missing parts of the movie.
3. Anything by Agatha Christie
As a teenager, I was obsessed with her work. My walls were lined with Agatha Christie novels, and my parents used to have to limit me to buying only three of her books a week in order to stave off bankruptcy. I loved everything about her characters, plots, and intricate murders. I even cried when Poirot made his last stand.
4. Anything by Christopher Pike
Sex, drinking, and murder at teenage slumber parties. Ohmigod, the absolute best of ten junk-food novels. I read these on the sly as my parents were not huge fans of what went on in these books. Go figure.
5. The Sweet Valley High series
I totally wanted to be Jessica. Or Elizabeth. Or maybe both! They had the best life, the best boyfriends, the best friends, and the best drama ever. This was another series my parents didn’t approve of, so I borrowed the books secretly from my best friends – who were actual twins, too! Ironically, as an adult I moved to Los Angeles and got a job as a regular actor on the Sweet Valley High TV series. My mom got a kick out of that.
So what were/are some of your favorite books as a teen? Which ones have made it to your keeper shelf?
~Gemma
Gemma Halliday is the award winning author of the bestselling High Heels mysteries and Hollywood Headlines mysteries. Her first young adult book, Deadly Cool, debuted Oct 11th from HarperTeen.
First I find out that my boyfriend is cheating on me. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And now he’s depending on me to clear his name. Seriously?
As much as I wouldn’t mind watching him squirm, I know that he’s innocent. So I’m brushing off my previously untapped detective skills and getting down to business. But I keep tripping over dead bodies and I’m still no closer to figuring out who did it. And what’s worse: all signs seem to point to me as the killer’s next victim.
I really need to pick a better boyfriend next time.