Why should a teenager bother to read a book, when there are so many other demands on their time? We hear from Atlantic staffers about the books they read in high school that have stuck with them. Books you read in high school are your oldest friends, made during a moment in life when so many versions of yourself seem possible, and overidentifying with an author or character is a safe way to try one out. Later in life, they are a place you return—to be embarrassed by your younger, more pretentious self or to be nostalgic for your naive, adventurous self or just to marvel at what you used to think was cool.

Books mentioned:

• Spencer Kornhaber: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
• Jessica Salamanca: A Separate Peace by John Knowles
• Helen Lewis: Mort by Terry Pratchett
• David Getz: Chips Off the Old Benchley by Robert Benchley
• Shan Wang: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
• Sophia Kanaouti: Ypsikaminos by Andreas Embirikos
• Ann Hulbert: The Pupil by Henry James
• Shane Harris: Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
• Katherine Abraham: Sand and Foam by Kahlil Gibran
• Eleanor Barkhorn: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
• Robert Seidler: On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

​​When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

Share understanding this holiday season. For less than $2 a week, give a year-long Atlantic subscription to someone special. They’ll get unlimited access to Atlantic journalism, including magazine issues, narrated articles, puzzles, and more. Give today at TheAtlantic.com/podgift.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices