Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Top ten stories with a youthful protagonist

John Boyne is the author of numerous works of fiction, including The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a young adult novel that became an international bestseller and was made into an award-winning film.

One of his top ten child narrators, as shared at the Guardian:
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

My favourite of Mitchell's novels lacks the astonishing movements through time and place that characterize his work, but this story of thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, a stammerer, during the summer of the Falklands War is his most emotional and heartfelt book. Mitchell has recounted how some of his character's experiences mirror his own, which adds an intriguing autobiographical element to the narrative, and for those looking forward to September's The Bone Clocks, there's a nice connection between the two novels with a sort-of-shared character.
Read about another entry on the list.

Also see: The ten best books with teenage narrators.

--Marshal Zeringue