The full range of adolescence is best exemplified in the hot days of summer when the sun sets past 8:00 p.m. For some inspiration to live your teenage dream, here is a totally summer-y concoction of totally teenage media.
Movies
Perks of Being a Wallflower: Awkward freshman Charlie, a wallflower watching life from the sidelines, struggles to fit in until he meets two eccentric seniors who help him navigate life’s growing pains. With warm lighting and grainy film, the movie feels like a sentimental hug, encapsulating friendship, first love, and the bittersweet experience of understanding the messy emotions of young adulthood.
Ladybird: Opinionated and bold teenage girl Ladybird attends a stifling Catholic high school in Sacramento. She dreams of attending an East Coast college, though her family’s financial struggles remain the strongest barrier. This movie feels like a familiar story of a teenage girl, clumsily navigating relationships and arguing with her mom, lovingly. It captures the restless desire to leave your sleepy hometown and differentiate yourself from the suffocating norms of high school.
Books
Never Let Me Go: The book follows three friends who grow up in a boarding school and discover their purpose in the world outside it, navigating love, nostalgia, and identity. This story might be categorized as science fiction, but its focus isn’t on society’s technology. Instead, it’s how the characters grow within these structures. For fans of literary fiction, it’s best to enter the book knowing as little as possible of its plot.
The Goldfinch: This 700-page odyssey is an introspective read. The book follows preteen Theodore Decker after his mother’s death and all the places life takes him from there, featuring his relationship with lost loves, beautiful artworks, and stifling addiction. With ugly characters and bleak situations, it’s a rocky read meant for those who love character-driven journeys, curious about the minute details of other’s lives.
A Tale for the Time Being: A diary is 16-year-old Naoko’s only solace from her loneliness, distant father, and constant bullying as a foreigner to Japan. Across the Pacific, a novelist finds this diary decades later, filled with Naoko’s humorous insights, witty cynicism, and an intriguing look into Japanese culture capturing her own ancestors’ history. This metafictional book features passages switching from Naoko’s diary entries and Ruth’s own narrative. Naoko’s voice, distinct and bold, feels like a close friend writing a letter.
Music
Lorde: Full of angst? Listen to “Pure Heroine.” Feeling summery? “Solar Power.” As the poster child for eccentric female artists to come, her words are meant for the teenage soul.
Declan McKenna: Maybe “Brazil” has been overused by TikTok, but for good reason. His songs are meant for adventures.
Wallows: This indie band’s songs make you feel like a suburban teenager going on late night bike rides with your friends.
Take on the world after being inspired by these stories and tunes. Adolescence may not be as glamorous, dramatic, or adventurous as pop culture paints it as, but don’t let that stop you from romanticizing it to its fullest.
