Although there are tremendous YA memoirs for teens, so too are there awesome adult memoirs perfect for teen readers. They either tell gripping personal stories from the author’s younger years or their coming-of-age, or they share stories that haven’t yet been seen in YA but connect with adolescent readers. A memoir, being a first-person narrative from a specific period of time in an individual’s life or covering a particular experience within their life, connects with YA readers in particular because of the immediacy of the storytelling. There’s a natural crossover for voice, and pairing that voice with a story of appeal to teen readers means that the possibilities are wide open. This list includes only 20 of the best adult memoirs for teens, a mere slice of the world of great adult-published titles teens and YA readers might love. I’ve mostly avoided including titles with a young reader’s adaptation. Find below stories of immigration, of adoption, gender identity, race, culture, and so much more. There’s something here for every kind of teen reader eager for a good book.
The Best Adult Memoirs for Teens
Want more great adult books for teens? Here are 20 outstanding crossover books, as well as excellent books for the college bound. For the teens and YA readers especially taken with true stories, dive into these works of narrative journalism.
Several vital immigration memoirs pepper this roundup, showcasing how wide-ranging the experiences are, as well as the threads which unite them all.
He made the choice to attend the program, and the brutal experience not only showcased the deep homophobia within the church but also that no matter what “deprogramming” exists, a person who is queer cannot erase who they are.
This book was made into a 2019 film, so readers may already be familiar with the story.
Once they began to ride, the brothers learned about polo and pursued the sport with aplomb, leading to Kareem becoming part of the first all-Black national interscholastic polo championship team.
This is a sports memoir, as well as a story of keeping a family riddled with challenges together.
Tubbs earned a scholarship to Stanford and earned an internship in the Obama White House after high school. When he came back to his hometown of Stockton, California, he became the first Black mayor, as well as its youngest one, at the age of 26. That was when he realized how important telling his story of the complexities of being Black in America was vital.
This is a story of family violence, but it’s also one of hope, resilience, and of reclaiming one’s power and individuality.
At 12, both girls became refugees in the U.S., and when they landed in Chicago, they were separated. The sisters remained close, but their lives could not have been more different. Clemantine shares her story of survival, including thriving at Yale and in athletics, and how her young experiences continue to play a major role in who she is as an adult.
This should be required reading anyone who cares about immigration, inclusivity, and how terrible the U.S. government is toward those who just want to make a better life for themselves.
Backderf’s art and story line work together; one does not outshine the other one. You watch as Dahmer goes from being a social outcast to being wildly ill and deranged. His family life was terrible — especially in light of the social conventions of the mid-1970s — and Dahmer himself experienced alcohol addiction, to the point he skipped classes to drink.
For readers who love true crime or notorious individuals like Dahmer, this pulls back the curtain of popular mythologies surrounding these stories.
What transpires is a story of a family fleeing from international law enforcement agencies and what it takes to escape that situation to find out who you truly are…especially when you have no proof of existence at all.
This raw story of growing up with an ex-con as a father, a mentally ill mother, and the lengths at which children need to go to protect themselves — as well as to find forgiveness for their parents’ actions — is a challenging but unforgettable read.
At the Moore River Native Settlement, three girls were stripped of all the things that made them who they were, in order to assimilate into white culture. But the girls escaped the school and made a journey back to their homeland, to reconnect with their Aboriginal heritage.
Readers who are engrossed with this story of survival and resilience will be eager to tune into the film made from the book, too.
When her grandmother tells her the truth about her father, Ashley’s entire world is upended.
This is a moving story of growing up poor and Black in Indiana and what it is to discover the truth behind troubling family secrets. It’ll especially reach young readers struggling to understand the personal and political ramifications of their changing bodies.
Lola lived through several political and cultural revolutions under the USSR, eventually becoming a U.S. refugee. Julia finds inspiration in Lola’s story as she herself becomes more politically engaged in her community.
This particular story makes for a timely read, despite being published in 2017.
This is a memoir that epitomizes the ugly cry: sometimes it’s funny because it’s funny and other times, it’s funny because the sadness and darkness need that outlet to diffuse.
This book would make a particularly interesting contrast with Admissions.
