Ailish Kate Brassil – The Conversation

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April 17, 2026

The best books about being a teenager – according to our experts

Michael Amess, University of Birmingham; Ailish Kate Brassil, University College Cork; Andrew McInnes, Edge Hill University; Carrie Paechter, Nottingham Trent University; Joanne Bowser-Angermann, Anglia Ruskin University; Karen Sands-OConnor, University of Sheffield; Newcastle University; Roberta Garrett, University of East London, and Sophie King-Hill, University of Birmingham

Battling raging hormones and learning to navigate the worlds they live in, these literary teens reflect real life.

Rhea Perlman as Mrs Wormwood in the film adaptation of Matilda (1996). Everett Collection Inc

March 13, 2026

Alison Taft, Leeds Beckett University; Ailish Kate Brassil, University College Cork; Angela Dunstan, Queen Mary University of London; Christina Hennemann, University of Limerick; Clodagh Philippa Guerin, University of Limerick; Edel Semple, University College Cork; Faye Lynch, University of Liverpool; Sarah Olive, Aston University; Stephanie Palmer, Nottingham Trent University, and Wen-chin Ouyang, SOAS, University of London

From serious villains to children’s book baddies, these literary mothers subvert every maternal instinct.