Memoirs suitable for 14 year old DD

[Anonymous]

Educated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD-14, just finished reading “ I am Malala” and loved it. I have always enjoyed reading memoirs, especially those of successful people, from a young age myself , as I found them to be very motivational.
What memoirs do you feel would be age appropriate and motivational for a 14 year old girl?
TIA

If she's a good reader, throw her in the deep end and give her Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning.

But Bossypants is pretty good too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was that age I read Death Be Not Proud (a father’s memoir of his teen dying of a brain tumor) and it was such a wonderful book but totally gutted me.

For something totally different —— Race Across Alaska which is a memoir of the first woman to win the Iditarod. I found all the stuff about how to care for the dogs totally fascinating so if your daughter is very into dogs or into very outdoorsy stuff or just a fierce competitor, she might enjoy this.

Last year I was thinking of getting Death Be Not Proud, but I have brain tumors myself and my DH said it was going to be too much to handle, so I didn't read it. It interests me that this book still resonates when it was written in 1949 and so much else has been done/ discovered / experienced since then on this matter.

[Anonymous]

When Breath becomes Air.
Not a teen memoir but very well written and poignant

[Anonymous]

My kid enjoyed Mountains Beyond Mountains (Paul Farmer's bio).

I thought Sonia Sotomayor's bio (My Beloved World) had a lot of stories about her younger years that would resonate with teenagers.

[Anonymous]

Young adult version of Unbroken.

[Anonymous]

Roald Dahl's memoir Boy was fascinating.

[Anonymous]

Semi-autobiographical rather than memoir, but that’s the perfect age for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

[Anonymous]

Not a memoir but Diary of Anne Frank

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl

I just read these based on this recommendation-- they are both wonderful, especially Going Solo. I also really liked Beverly Cleary's two memoirs. Dahl's or Cleary's are just as good for adults-- they don't feel like they were written for children.

[Anonymous]

Trevor Noah’s book

[Anonymous]

YA version of Unbroken

[Anonymous]

Jacinda Ardern's memoir. She spends a lot of time in her childhood and high school discussing how sensitive and filled with self-doubt she was, but how she kept going, making herself do hard things anyway. When she entered parliament and later became prime minister, she discovered that her doubt and sensitivity were actually strengths, not weaknesses at all. Wish I'd read it as a 14 year old girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jacinda Ardern's memoir. She spends a lot of time in her childhood and high school discussing how sensitive and filled with self-doubt she was, but how she kept going, making herself do hard things anyway. When she entered parliament and later became prime minister, she discovered that her doubt and sensitivity were actually strengths, not weaknesses at all. Wish I'd read it as a 14 year old girl.

The documentary released with her recent book is quite good.

[Anonymous]

The memoir about Facebook, "Careless People," is a good read and may be useful for kids getting into social media stages to see a little glimpse behind the curtain.

"Rolling Warrior," is a memoir about one of the pioneers of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Trevor Noah's autobiography is such a good audiobook.

"Educated" is really good but may be appreciated more a little older.

If she hasn't read then already, the Little House in the Prairie series is one of my teen's comfort rereads.