By Violet Rivera, Mission High School, Mission, Texas

Books. The typical response to them is a slight cringe. But as the stories in the pages of these books become action-packed tales with hints of impossible love thrown in, teenagers all over the world are becoming crazy for them.

“They make me more imaginative; they’re an escape that put me in different worlds,” Miranda Rocha, junior, said.

But teenagers are not only looking for new worlds. A high percentage of teens go to books for the other worldly love like Twilight’s Edward and Bella or the intense love triangle of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale in the Hunger Games.

“Gale and Katniss are my favorite book couple because they’ve been friends all those years.” Cynthia Hernandez, freshman, said.

How the author delivers the drama, love, and action of the story also matters. For senior Ashley Vasquez, Sarah Dessen is the author to go to.  Sarah Dessen is a New York Times best-selling author dedicated to writing about girls and their family and boy drama.  This dedication is perhaps why girls nationwide have turned to her books, such as Lock and Key, Along for the Ride, and Dreamland.

“Anything from Sarah Dessen, I like, because she writes books that I as a teenager can relate to,” Vasquez said.

With teenager’s personalities ranging from dark and mysterious to bright and peppy, the most popular books in teenager-hood take on a variety of forms. Intense (Hunger Games) or light (Stargirl), lovey dovey (Darcy’s Passions)or forsaken tragedy (Beautiful Creatures), all types of books are available to captivate the teenage mind.

“I like to read anything that’s really surreal because those are the books you can get lost in,” Rocha said.

And some teens just come to books to find the in depth subjects of life that can’t be found in the real world. For Vasquez, it’s the real issues like romance that capture her eye.

“I like to read romance books because its deep stuff,” Vasquez said.

Even the dark and sad can interest this world of teens. With authors creating tales of forsaken situations, teen heads are turning toward the books filled with troubled characters and tragic endings.

“I like to read tragedies and mysteries because they get me thinking,” Freshman, Johanna Jimenez, said.

Sometimes even the characters themselves take on the hearts of those reading their lines. With characters like dreamy Edward Cullen or brave Gale Hawthorn, female bookworms go crazy for these memorable characters.

“In War of the Oaks, Phouka is a fairy guy that I loved like crazy,” Rocha said.

Relating to the character as he or she (or it) goes through all the hardships of a story takes a big part in them becoming the ultimate favorite of the reader.

“Ron Weasley is my favorite character because he’s a scaredy cat and I’m a scaredy cat,” Vasquez said.

Books are beginning to hold there stance even as people throw them tomatoes. But even as many refuse to lower their mainstream insults to these word-ridden objects, there are those who are daring to actually read the words. Books are taking over. They are meaning more to teens than ever before.

“It’s more than just words on a page,” Rocha said, “you have to read between the lines.”