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  2 0 The His Dark Materials Trilogy (Golden Compass, Amber Spyglass, and the other one -eep!) By Phillip Pullman. Great, fun stuff. Think I'll go back and re-read them, in fact. Caveat: there's some scary stuff in there, so hopefully the young person has a trusted adult to talk to about the themes of the books as well as some of the riskier, and more difficult situations the main characters find themselves in. Certainly! answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report 5 comments by CrazyCatLady, David Wright, and David Wright… 0 0 Excellent books! However, as Aislinn inferred, the book burners are already on to that one, since it was made into a movie recently and received an undue share of controversy. I suppose she's too young for Vonnegut? CrazyCatLady commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I sadly agree - the jig may be up w/ Pullman: fundamentalist and evangelical Christians have been largely responsible for putting the Harry Potter books at the top of the American Library Association’s list of challenged titles in schools and libraries for years now, and as a group they tend to have their own informal index of ‘forbidden works’ based on a variety of factors, among them irreligious themes. Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, which Pullman himself set up as something of a free-thinking, anti-supernaturalist response to C.S. Lewis’s theistic Narnia books, is already infamous among many right-wing Christians, so could conceivably raise the alarm. There are several other lesser-known works for younger readers that explore and critique religious fundamentalism directly that might be safer, among them Lucy Babbit's "Where the Truth Lies," Kathryn Lasky's "Memoirs of a Bookbat," Richard Peck's "The Last Safe Place on Earth," Steve Augarde's "X-Isle," (Hayden read and reviewed this recently, and can let you know what she thinks of its suitability) and Margaret Fisher's "Leaving Fishers" (which is not anti-religious, but takes on fundamentalism and lockstep cultishness). But it sounds like you may be looking for more subtle affirmations of free thought and self-determination. I look forward to hearing what others have to share, as I'm out of my depth on this one. David Wright commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I'll also tack on Becky Weinheimer's "Converting Kate," about which Kirkus reviews says "Struggling to free herself teaches Kate to value life in its beautiful mystery, including the discordant beliefs and passions it inspires and the flawed, contradictory human beings that espouse them. Richly multilayered characters, portrayed with empathy, make this debut novel a strong addition to a growing body of works about adolescents seeking to reconcile the cohesive faith of childhood with the fractured religious diversity of the adult world." Also "I am not Esther," by Fleur Beale. David Wright commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 These are all good suggestions--it's true, if the parents are up on YA lit at all, they'll know that Pullman is against them. X-Isle is about a group of boys in a post-apocalyptic world whose parents think they'll be safer working on an island. But when the boys arrive, they find the island is run by a maniacal man who thinks God is asking him for blood sacrifices. One more idea: "Once Was Lost" by Sara Zarr is about a preacher's daughter who begins to question her faith. In the end, she doesn't lose it, but she does being to realize that she may not be the evangelical that her father is. hayden commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I'm bummed! I knew the movie brought attention to the series, but was hoping the parents were checked-out enough that the books could fly under the radar. They are fantastic. Certainly! commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 1 Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Aislinn answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report 2 comments by Basil and Aislinn… 0 0 Was looking for something a little more subtle that that, but that sounds like a good book for me to read. The idea is trying to sneak books past very religious parents that would ban any book that they thought taught their teenage daughter to think for herself and question her religion. Basil commented about 1 year ago | Report 1 1 Oh come on! It's about a talking gorilla, what could be threatening about that? I was afraid you might shoot that one down (though I read it at 18, coming off a three-year stint as a Christian, and I swear it was perfect for me then), so I spent a while trying to think back to what I was reading back then that challenged my belief systems, but I was allowed to read whatever I wanted, so... most of what I found truly formative would probably be considered inappropriate. As Certainly! said, Golden Compass is the obvious choice, as it is taken to be the secular answer to the Narnia series, but it might be too obvious in that the parents have already heard that comparison. How about The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck? Should be allowed by parents since it's often on reading lists, but definitely brings up questions of situational morality. Also, while this may not be the direction you were hoping for, how about Christian authors who actually encourage free thought? G.K. Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday" is a good read for teenagers, and while the end is a sappy Christ-fest, there are elements leading up to then that could meet your subversive needs (the bad guy is the good guy, reality vs. perception). Rilke is another I'd suggest in that vein: religious, but smart about it. Parents shouldn't be so silly as to turn down writers with so much Christian credibility, but the quality of those writers can be a gateway to their more subversive contemporaries. Aislinn commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0   Hi there, Teen literature--and children's literature, too--has lots of great books about questioning the status quo. The first thing that comes to mind is Lois Lowry's The Giver, about a society in which (spoiler alert!) people have been trained not to have emotions, or even to see in color. Similarly, The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman features a future society governed by an apparently omniscient government that demands utter conformity from its few remaining citizens. A Wrinkle in Time, while not anti-religious (I think Madeleine L'Engle was actually Catholic), is all about thinking for yourself and questioning authority. The villan is a terrifying, pulsating brain thing. By twelve or thirteen, I second the suggestion for Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, beginning with The Golden Compass. The Church is actually sort of the big bad in that series, although you'd have to read them all to realize it.  The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld is very popular at about the 6th grade level--it takes place in a future Seattle where everyone gets surgery on their 15th birthday to become beautiful, and everyone else is Ugly.  But of course, a few teens question this system. As the teen gets older, there are more and more dystopic novels with similar themes to choose from. I recently wrote a blog post for the library listing a few of my favorites.  Other ideas:  Rash by Pete Hautman and Little Brother by Cory Doctorow are both about teen boys who subvert the government.  And of course, by eighteen (or before), he or she will probably be ready for some adult titles, like the ones listed here. I hope some of these will fit the bill.  Let me know if you have questions about any of them! Cheers, Hayden hayden answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by hayden… 0 0 Basil, I thought of a few more little-known (at least to average adults) books that deal directly with questioning religion. Nation, by Terry Pratchett What a fantastic book--probably my favorite published last year. A devastating tsunami makes a young island boy question the existence of god in a world where horrible things can happen. It's also funny and fun, like all of Terry Pratchett's stuff. Days of Little Texas, by R.A. Nelson A young evangelical is confronted by a ghost who tells him, "You have to believe bigger. The truth is not that small." Gravity, by Leanne Lieberman A summer spent with her liberal grandmother makes an Orthodox Jewish girl rethink her faith. Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature, by Robin Brande The title might give this one away, but it's the excellent story of a girl who is outcast by her fundamentalist friends when she defends a gay classmate. hayden commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Let me suggest the Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey The Doctor answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 How about "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"? We all know Blade Runner but the book focuses much more on a religious quandary - Do Androids have souls? Can they participate in the dominant religion of Mercerism? This was important to me as a kid as I wondered if My friends and I would be condemned to hell (or shut out of heaven as my mother liked to put it) because we were gay, jewish, didn't go to church etc. Jim answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 Most American parents lack knowledge of most European philosophers... the easiest way to displace faith is to provoke the question of existence. Introduce rules of logic and the scientific method to the young mind. If they are mathmatical, the works of great philosopher-mathmaticians of the late renaissance to modern era should do... if they are of the humanities and the philosophy, give them some of the works of the ancient Greeks, Epicurus, Diogenes... Soren Kierkegaard is a great philosopher. Fear and Trembling by Kierkegaard is an excellent book for a young mind. Do not shy away from giving the young mind a challenge. There are plenty of books that are written to help a mind examine the philosophical works. My god do I sound quite the boring pretentious snob... Free Busch answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 I will second and third A Wrinkle in Time, and the books that followed it (A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet). She was an Episcopalian (she was the librarian and the writer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC), but I don't know if super conservative Christian parents worry about her or not - super conservative Christians don't tend to love Episcopalians. But I don't know if she's on their list. (I wonder how we could find out what YA books are on their hit lists? Do they make websites about them? They must, right?) For the younger end of that age spectrum, I'd suggest some E.L. Konigsburg books. They are often about children discerning the rules that govern the adults around them, and figuring out their own truths (a wonderful example of this is Silent to the Bone). They often feature nontraditional families (like a brother and a sister making a family together in From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler). Stay away from the Jennifer, Hecate book because that's about witches. Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place might not be good either. honeyandlocusts answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 Super right wingers are onto it, especially since Albus came out of the closet, but otherwise: Harry fawking Potter. Also, there's christian allegory hidden in there - JK used to be a church-goer for sure. (ex: Elder wand? ...analogy for The Spear of Destiny / Holy Lance.) Also: Shel Silverstein. Rev.Enant answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 R. Crumb's Book of Genesis.   David answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 There were several factors at play, but the most influential book I read around the time I dropped religion was "Demian" by Hermann Hesse. mynameiskate answered in Book Recommendations about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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