Ineffable
(Incapable of being expressed, indescribable, or unutterable)
Fiction for Teens about religion, God and spirituality
Author |
Title |
| Anaya, Rudolfo | Bless Me, Ultima (1994) |
| "Ultima, una curandera, came to stay with us, the summer I was almost seven. When she came, the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth." | |
| Ansa, Tina MacElroy | Baby of the Family (1989) |
| An African American baby is born with a caul - a sign of magical abilities. | |
| Bennett, James | Dakota Dream (1994) |
| Fifteen year old Floyd Rayfield searches for home and family on the Sioux Reservation. | |
| Bosse, Malcolm | Ordinary Magic (1993) |
| Ganesh's father embraced the wandering life of an ascetic Hindu and raised his son in India. When his father dies, Ganesh moves back to the Midwest, where he must integrate his spiritual practices into mainstream American culture. | |
| Bosse, Malcolm | Tusk and Stone (1995) |
| The adventures of Arjun, a fourteen year old Brahman, take place in seventh century India. | |
| Bradley, Marion Zimmer | Forest House (1994) |
| The high priestess of a Druid clan chafing under Roman occupation finds it hard to abandon her lover in order to become the perfect vessel for the goddess. | |
| Butler, Octavia | Parable of the Sower (1993) |
| In a gritty, near-future Southern California, an empathic teenager invents her own religion. Shelved with science fiction. | |
| Chambers, Aidan | NIK, Now I Know (1987) |
| A group of teens stage a play about the crucifixion. | |
| Dana, Barbara | Young Joan (1991) |
| Joan of Arc's teenage years. | |
| Dick, Philip K. | Divine Invasion (1981) |
| An inquiry into the nature of God, good and evil via Jewish mysticism, Christianity and the far reaches of the colonized universe. Shelved with science fiction. | |
| Dickinson, Peter | Tulku (1979) |
| The orphaned son of a Christian missionary makes his way from China to a Tibetan monastery. | |
| Hansen, Ron | Mariette in Ecstasy (1991) |
| Is young Mariette a saint, a fraud, or as uncertain about the meaning of her life as her fellow nuns become? | |
| Hesse, Herman | Siddhartha (1976) |
| This classic story of Prince Siddhartha's path to enlightenment was first published in 1923. | |
| Hillerman, Tony | Dance Hall of the Dead (1991) |
| Zuni and Navaho religious differences form the core of this mystery. | |
| Hurston, Zora Neale | Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) |
| "...Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh god, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves." Considered by many to be Hurston's finest work - a lyrical and joyous celebration of life. | |
| Le Guin, Ursula | Wizard of Earthsea, (1968) Tombs of Atuan (1971) and Farthest Shore (1972) |
| Three short novels chronicle the spiritual progress of Ged, from upstart apprentice to old sage. The wizard tries to understand the forces of good and evil within himself. | |
| Lenz, Frederick | Surfing the Himalayas: a Spiritual Adventure (1995) |
| Master Fwap explains the five approaches to snowboarding, as well as the differences between East and West, Buddhism and Christianity. | |
| Needleman, Jacob | Sorcerers (1986) |
| A teenager joins a circle of magicians-in-training. | |
| Neely, Barbara | Blanche Among the Talented Tenth (1994) |
| An African American woman, who happens to have a talent for solving murders, relies on her own brand of homegrown spirituality. Shelved with adult mystery. | |
| Paulsen, Gary | Woodsong (1990) |
| In an altered state born of physical exhaustion, a dog musher transcends reality while running the Iditarod. | |
| Potok, Chaim | The Chosen (1967) |
| The unlikely friendship between an Orthodox and a secular Jew brings deeper understanding to both young men. | |
| Ruby, Lois | Miriam's Well (1993) |
| Miriam, a member of a tiny Christian sect, meets Adam, a secular Jew. When Miriam is diagnosed with bone cancer, their relationship deepens. Faith, emotions and cultures clash because Miriam and her family oppose medical intervention. | |
| Rylant, Cynthia | A Fine White Dust (1996) |
| "It seemed like he came to town just for me. This man full of The Word, with The Power and The Light shining all around him. What was it... that made him come after me?" | |
| Shelley, Mary | Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1994) |
| This inquiry into the nature of life itself was first published in 1818. | |
| Silko, Leslie Marmon | Ceremony (1977) |
| A young Navajo man experiences conflicts when he returns home after World War II. | |
| Talbert, Marc | Heart of a Jaguar (1995) |
| A young Mayan man undergoes rigorous spiritual training in preparation for the ultimate sacrifice. | |
| Trevinio, Elizabeth Borton de | I, Juan de Parejo (1965) |
| A slave owned by Velasquez recounts his own spiritual growth as well as the life of the famous portrait painter. | |
| Wiesel, Eli | Night (1960) |
| When he loses sight of God at Auschwitz, the narrator faces the darkest night of his soul. | |
| Crowe, Chris | Two Roads (1994) |
| A love story emerges as 17-year-old Jared discovers beautiful Leisel, a Mormon. | |
| Ruby, Lois | Miriam's Well (1993) |
| When Miriam develops bone cancer, she finds herself the focus of a battle between the medical and legal establishments and the small Christian sect to which she and her family belong. | |
| Brooks, Martha | Bone Dance (1997) |
| The property was once their ancestors' burial ground; now they must come to terms with the inheritance. | |