PG-13: Risky Reads

March 24, 2013 Author Nicole J. Georges discovered Michael Azerrad's Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana when she was 13. The book became the heart map for her teenage angst. What book helped you find yourself?

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February 24, 2013 Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda remembers finding a worn copy of the anthology Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural in the library as a young boy. He found the stories revelatory. Is there a scary story that made an impression on you when you were his age? Tell us in the comments.

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January 28, 2013 When author Ally Carter found out that S.E. Hinton had been a teenager when she wrote The Outsiders, something inside her clicked. It was the first moment she realized she could be a writer. Is there a book that has inspired you to write? Tell us in the comments.

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January 27, 2013 Author Teddy Wayne writes that the 1967 French novel Emmanuelle taught him not only about good sex, but also about good writing.

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January 13, 2013 As a young girl reeling from the revolution in Iran in 1979, author Roya Hakakian discovered the great Persian poet Ahmad Shamlou. His poems made her realize the importance of breaking from tradition. Has a poem ever changed your thinking this way? Tell us in the comments.

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December 26, 2012 The Virgin Suicides takes teenage angst to the extreme. Writer, blogger and professional teenager Tavi Gevinson explains why it's a book she can't put down, year after adolescent year.

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December 10, 2012 Elektra Natchios is the ultimate comic book heroine — sexy, smart and completely lethal. But author Sean Howe explains how a grim prequel destroyed his idealized vision of the sultry assassin. Have you ever read a prequel that ruined the book? Tell us in the comments.

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December 5, 2012 Lois Duncan's 1979 novel, Daughters of Eve, takes revenge to a whole new level. Author Mary Stewart Atwell explains why this classic novel is still relevant. Do you have a favorite story of revenge that goes too far? Tell us in the comments.

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November 12, 2012 For Alan Shapiro, reading Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poems was like an discovering an alternate universe. A Coney Island of the Mind elevated him out of the staid world of his parents and changed his sense of self forever. Is there a book that shook your convictions? Tell us about it in the comments.

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November 7, 2012 The cult favorite 1965 novel Dune was a classic of sci-fi literature. But author Leigh Bardugo says that when she was 12, Dune wasn't just an escape — it changed her world. Has a book ever opened your eyes to an alternate reality? Tell us in the comments.

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