If I Stay, the new novel by Gayle Forman to be released this Thursday, April 2, is being touted as the next Twilight, because of its ability to attract both teens and their parents. However, If I Stay really has much more in common with The Lovely Bones. Both books show a very intimate portrayal of death and have out of body narrators.

If I Stay is about 17 year old Mia, a senior in high school, who has everything going for her. Mia and her family are involved in a terrible car accident that kills her family and leaves her in a coma. Mia must decide whether she wants to give up and be with her family or fight to stay alive. The characterization of Mia and her parents are very realistic and the book is written in a way that makes it very readable despite the tragic subject matter.

There have already been rave reviews for the book by both adults and teens. Before it has even gone on sale, Summit Entertainment has acquired If I Stay and hired Catherine Hardwicke, Twilight's director, to direct the movie. Not only do I see If I Stay becoming a huge hit, I think it will also bring about renewed interest in The Lovely Bones. Teenagers too young before, will be rushing to read it after they've finished If I Stay.

See also:  
Best Books for Families
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - YA Novel by Two Award Winning Authors
 

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Now that computers are used for everything from banking and shopping to playing and communicating, it is no longer easy for family members to share just one computer. If your family includes teens and tweens, it is almost impossible. If you do have multiple computers in your home, there good reasons why they should all be networked. And, even if you aren't tech-savvy, you can do the networking yourself. There is a new book, Network Know-How: An Essential Guide for the Accidental Admin by John Ross that will easily walk you through the steps and answer any questions you may have.

Why should you network your computers? Because each of them will then become more useful. Since each of the computers in a network can send and receive instructions from one another there are many benefits such as:

• You will save money on Internet connections. You only need have one Internet connection in your home and all the computers can share it.
• All of your computers can share the same printer.
• You can easily share files between computers, including music, movies and photos.

In Network-Know How, you will be taken through the nuts and bolts of networks, learn how to run cables, set up Wi-Fi access points, configure fie sharing and printing and implement security. In addition to computers, there is also a chapter explaining how to connect other devices to your network, such a home entertainment, audio and video. Network Know-How is written in such a clear and organized manner that almost anybody will be able to use it to create their own home network. Just think of how impressed your teens will be.

See also:  Organize Cord Clutter with Colorful Dotz Products

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Dweeber is a social networking website for students to connect with friends and do homework. I can hear the parents reading this saying to themselves that their teen would never get any work done while online with friends. However, studies of the millennial generation all show that they prefer working in groups than alone. So, Dweeber might really be onto something.

To work with your friends on Dweeber, you enter study sessions with them and work through problems together on the whiteboards provided. For further incentive, Dweeber allows students to earn Guru points. These can be earned by helping friends with homework, pointing out your friends successes and sharing and voting on websites. The points will eventually earn students gifts and prizes.

Dweeber was created by SmartWired, "an organization dedicated to helping kids and young adults maximize their capabilities and bring out their best in all areas of life." Working together in groups helps prepare teens for the future. Many jobs require groups to work together for projects to get done. I think it sounds like a good idea. What about you?

See also: Study and Homework Help - 5 Great Student Websites


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There was a lot of excitement in this penultimate episode of Life on Mars. It was trickier watching this episode than usual because knowing that everything is going to wrap up next week, I fell for the types of writer's tricks that I usually don't fall for. I can't wait to find out Sam's real story. All I know is that the producers have said that Sam is not in a coma.

The songs played on episode 16 of Lost on Mars "Everyone Knows Its Windy":

1. Satellite Of Love - Lou Reed

2. Go All The Way - The Raspberries

3. Windy - The Association

All great songs, once again. I am going to miss Life on Mars after next week. Please check out Castle on Monday nights at 10 ET on ABC. I don't think I could stand it if another new show that I love gets canceled.

Life on Mars music Finale

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"He's our You" was a Sayid episode through and through. We even got to see a flashback of him as a child, something we haven't had for any of the characters on Lost in a very long time. Except for the few short scenes about the love quadrangle of Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Juliet, the entire episode was about Sayid.

Lost season 5, episode 10, "He's Our You" observations and questions:

1. We learn from Sayid's childhood flashback that he is a natural killer when he easily kills the chicken that his father had ordered his brother to kill.

2. When Ben told Sayid that there was nobody left to kill of Widmore's group, Sayid seemed disappointed, like he didn't know what he would do with himself.

3. Every time that Sayid has tried to give up killing, he has been brought back to it. When Ben visited Sayid in Santo Domingo he said "Your a killer Sayid". Sayid responded "I'm not what you think I am. I don't like to kill".

4. Right before Sayid shot young Ben at the end of the episode (WOW!), he says "You are right about me, I am a killer".

5. Young Ben delivered Sayid a chicken salad sandwich right after we saw Sayid kill a chicken as a child.

6. Sawyer could not talk Sayid into going along with his story. He refused to have anything to do with becoming part of Dharma.

7. It turns out that Dharma had an interrogator/torturer in their midst. When Sawyer, Horace and Radzinski brought Sayid to the tepee and a man came out, Sayid asked Sawyer who he was. The answer "He's our you" was the perfect way to answer Sayid since he previously held that position both on the Island and in Iraq.

8. The truth drug given too Sawyer worked perfectly but the truth sounded so crazy they didn't believe it. Very funny scene.

9. I actually thought Sayid felt sorry for Ben during the scene when his father (Roger Linus, better known as Roger Workman) beat up on him. Even if he did feel bad, he shot Ben anyway.

10.Even at that young age, Ben didn't care who he hurt to get what he wanted. It must have been Ben that started the fire to distract everyone so that he could help Sayid escape.

11. We finally find out how Sayid wound up on the Ajira Airways flight going to Guam. Ilana was not a marshal, but some sort of bounty hunter bringing him to Guam for killing the golfer back in "The Economist" in season 4. When he got to the airport and saw Hurley, he knew something was up and wanted to switch planes. He desperately didn't want to go back to the Island.

12. During Sayid's conversation with Ilana on the plane you could see the guilt he felt from working for Ben. His killing young Ben at the end probably had more to do with that guilt than any other reason.

13. When Juliet was making breakfast for Sawyer, she told him that she was worried that things were over. Although she spoke of Sayid ruining their cover, while she was talking she was looking out the window at Kate. She seemed more worried of things being over between her and Sawyer because Kate was back.

14. Hurley, Jack and Kate had breakfast together. Hurley brought up Juliet and Sawyer and Kate didn't understand. Hurley explained "They live together, not as roommates. Like you guys were". The look on Kate's face was priceless.

15. Later that day Kate and Juliet are together and Kate brings up the relationship. The have a nice talk and everything is okay. Sawyer, walks by and sees them together and does a double take.

16. Did young Ben really die? I don't think so.

17. If Ben died, and supposedly according to Daniel, they can't change the future, what is going to happen. How will the future not change if he is dead.

18. We still haven't seen Daniel in 1977, and where is Miles?

19. Are we ever going to see Rose, Bernard and any other remaining Oceanic survivors again?

20. There are only 7 episodes left this season!

SPOILER ALERT

Below are a few spoilers for the remainder of the season. Don't look if you don't like spoilers. You may have already read these:

• A major character on Lost will die this season
• A minor character on Lost will die this season
• There will be a wedding on the last episode of season 5. From what I heard, there are many Korean guests at the wedding so it appears that it mostly likely is Sun and Jin renewing their vows. However, I've heard theories that it might be Ji Yeon and Aaron. If so, I have no idea what year this takes place.

Lost ABCs: Must-See Slideshow for Lost Fans

Lost Season 5 Episode 12 "Dead is Dead" Highlights

Lost Season 5 Episode 11 "Whatever Happened, Happened" Highlights

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In today's economic climate, one of parents biggest worries is being able to afford to send their teens to college. Upromise, the largest private source of college funding contributions in America, has been around since 2001 to help. However, they are taking it to a higher level with their new contest. On March 24, 2009 they launched their Tuition Tales video contest in which the first place winner will get $10,000 for college education expenses.

I attended the big kick-off event yesterday, at the Time Warner Center in New York City, where the details of the contest were unfolded. One of the highlights of the event was seeing the world's largest piggy bank, built by students of LeAp's afterschool programs. The pig was funded by Upromise to symbolize the importance of staying in school and setting goals.

To enter the Tuition Tales video contest you should submit a 30-second video entry about why you or someone you know deserves to win to Tuition Tales. There will be a winner in each of three categories

1. Saving for College
2. In College Now
3. Paying it Back

In addition to the $10,000 prize to the top three winners, they and an additional nine finalists will win $250 gift cards from both Bed, Bath & Beyond and Bank of America Visa.

Upromise was launched in 2001 to help families find ways to save for college and offers various strategies for funding college tuition. It is never too soon to begin. Many families with young children are using programs like these to begin saving now. And if you already have teenagers, college is creeping up on you faster than you think. Good luck with the Upromise tuition tales contest.

See also: College Financial Aid Packages


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Cover of Highway 61 Revisited

Growing up as a baby boomer, I could never really connect with my parents through music. I think the reason is simple. They were teens before rock music and I was a teen after. That is why music is one of the best ways that we can bond with our own teens today. Even though other types of music, such as rap, have been introduced, rock is still alive and well.

Some of my favorite moments with my teens have been when they've discovered the music of the bands from my youth. Many of them have now become their favorites. The Young Adult Library Services Association (Yalsa) has put together a list of 25 Classic Albums Teens still Love. That list contains classic albums from the 1960s through the 1990s. Here are the albums on the list from the 60s and 70s, those albums that the parents of teenagers today, or the baby boomers grew up listening to:

1. Abbey Road - The Beatles (1969)
2. Paranoid - Black Sabbath (1971)
3. The Doors - The Doors (1967)
4. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan (1965)
5. Are You Experienced - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)
6. IV - Led Zeppelin (1971)
7. Burnin' - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1973)
8. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975)
9. A Night at the Opera - Queen (1975)
10. The Ramones - The Ramones (1976)
11. Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols (1977)
12. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground (1967)

I am a little surprised that Jethro Tull's Aqualung and Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run aren't on the list. However, I am just happy to see lists like this made up. Anything that shows that parents and teens have music in common to connect over, is great by me.

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With everything in the news lately about cyberbullying, sexting and identity theft, even the most tech savvy teens could use a lesson in online safety. NS Teens - Making Safer Online Choices is a fun website where teens learn through comics and videos.

NS Teens is part of a larger organization, NetSmartz.org, whose main website is NetSmartz Workshop: Educate, Engage, Empower. There areas for five different groups:

1. Parents & Guardians
2. Educators
3. Law Enforcement
4. Teens
5. Kids

The Teens and Kids sections take you out to separate websites, with NS Teens above, and NetSmartz Kids. The kids website teaches mostly through games and activities. The main site also has a blog for all ages on its front page.

I know that it isn't easy to talk your teen into reading about Internet safety. That is the beauty of NS Teens - Making Safer Online Choices. Since the entire site is videos and comics, I think that most teens will be much more accepting of it.

See also: YA Authors and Musicians Take On Bullying



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Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time is so much more than the title suggests. It is also a complete introduction to and how to use manual for twitter. Only after the chapters on mastering twitter use does the author then discuss the best ways to use twitter for marketing (although suggestions are sprinkled throughout).

Twitter Power is extremely readable and includes screenshots, guides and directories. Nothing has been left out. This book can be used by both individuals and companies looking to market their businesses or just themselves.

A few sample chapters in the book are:

• Building a following on Twitter
• The art of the tweet
• Using Twitter to help build your brand
• Leveraging the power of Twitter to drive behavior in your followers

In the Foreword to Twitter Power, Anthony Robbins writes:

"In Twitter Power, Joel Comm provides us with the tools, techniques, and benefits for growing our network of resources to create even more fulfilling connections. He show us the powerful uses of Twitter for brand expansion,building a community that ultimately enriches us personally and professionally and allows us to grow and contribute beyond ourselves."

I have already been on Twitter for five months and I still learned so much from Twitter Power. I would highly recommend it to anybody, whether you have never used Twitter or have been using it for months and whether you are a business or just somebody with a blog.

See also:
25 Most Popular Twitter Entertainment Users
Network Your Home Computers and Impress Your Teens

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We are counting down to the final episodes of Life on Mars. At least they are going out with a bang. Last night's episode "All The Young Dudes" had fantastic acting, great songs and a "What the Frak?" ending.

The two 1970s songs that were played in episode 15 of Life on Mars were:

1. You Don't Mess Around With Jim - Jim Croce

2. All The Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople

All the Young Dudes is one of my favorite 70s songs. I will miss the music just as much as I will miss everything else about Life on Mars. Although, if Lost stays in 1977 for awhile longer, I may still get a dose of 70s music there. Last night, Ride Captain Ride by Blues Image was heard playing on Lost.

Life on Mars music Finale

Life on Mars episode 16 Windy


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While nothing earth shattering occurred in episode 9 of Lost, Namaste did provide some interesting information and great character development.

The highlights of Season 5, Episode 9 of Lost "Namaste" were:

1. The Runway. The talk of building a runway back in season 3, when the Others had Jack, Kate and Sawyer as prisoner, actually did happen. Was the runway built specifically to bring the Oceanic 6 back?

2. Why was Sun the only one of the Oceanic 6 to wind up in the present? Frank, Ben and Locke landed there, but even though they have been on the Island before, they were not part of the Oceanic 6.

3. The plane landed on the smaller island, which makes sense since that is where the Others were building the runway.

4. When Ben offered to take Sun to the other Island, I had a feeling that he wouldn't make it because we knew from "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" that he ends up still with the other passengers. I thought that Frank was going to knock Ben out and was pleasantly surprised when it was Sun.

5. When Frank and Sun crossed to the main Island, they left the boat at the dock. I don't understand how those boats were found on the beach in the future by Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, etc., when they were still jumping through time.

6. Sun and Frank come upon the Dharma/Others deserted compound and who just happens to appear with advice but Christian Shepard. He shows Sun the 1977 Dharma Orientation picture with Jack, Kate and Hurley in it and say Jin is with them.

7. Back to 1977 - I enjoyed seeing the different way each person greeted Sawyer. Hurley gave Sawyer and big enthusiastic bear hug. Jack shook hands warily. Kate and Sawyer hugged but not with the same abandon as Hurley.

8. After Sawyer told them they were in 1977 and that they had to join Dharma, Hurley asked an obvious question, why doesn't he warn Dharma that the Others are going to kill them all. Sawyer says that its partly because of Daniel saying that you can't change the past and that he is not there to be Nostradamus.

9. Probably the biggest surprise of the night - Horace and Amy named their baby ETHAN. As in Ethan Rom.

10. Where is Daniel? Sawyer said that he wasn't there anymore. Could he have taken the submarine off the Island and gone to England to try to change things with his experiments?

11. The funniest moment of the episode - Jack is assigned the job of being a janitor. Sawyer must have had a real chuckle arranging that.

12. Jack's visit with Sawyer was very interesting. It was nice to see him and Juliet greet each other, and then of course he thought he was at the wrong house. Sawyer and Juliets relationship wasn't discussed but it looks like it comes up next week.

13. The rest of Jack's visit with Sawyer was even better. Their entire dynamic has changed. Sawyer is now in charge and Jack must take orders. Jack is not being used to being in this position and yells at Sawyer for relaxing and reading a Book. Sawyer mentions that Winston Churchill would read every night to help him think and that is what he does also. Then Sawyer said to Jack, "You just reacted and a lot of people ended up dead. So I'm going to go back to reading a book and thinking". Wow!

14. Interesting that even though Sayid was handcuffed to Illiana, the marshall, he wound up in 1977 and she is in the present.

15. Sayid is in jail because the Dharma people think he is a hostile and wanted to kill him. The best that Sawyer could do to save him was put him in jail.

16. A young Ben serves Sayid a sandwich in jail. When Sayid finds out that it is Ben, you could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. I'm thinking he has murder on his mind.

17. We saw models of the Swan station throughout the episode. That is the station that the Losties pressed the button in during season 2.

18. We heard the 70s song Ride Captain Ride by the Blues Image during Namaste. I watch "Life on Mars" after Lost, which plays great 70s music every week. Now that the Lost characters are in the 70s, its like Wednesday night is classic Rock n Roll night each week.

19. Sawyer called Radzinsky "Quickdraw" when he wanted to shoot Sayid.

20. Sawyer called Hurley "Kong" when he first saw him. Hurley was so happy to see Sawyer he said he didn't care. Sawyer then switched to calling him Hugo.

21. Most of you might not care about this, but the co-pilot was one of three ex One Life to Live actors in this episode, the other 2 being Frank and Amy. There have also been two other OLTL actors on Lost, Kate's husband, played by Nathan Fillion, and the guy that Kate robbed the bank with back in season one.

Please comment if you have any other thoughts or questions about Namaste, Lost's episode 9 from season 5.

Lost Season 5 Episode 10 "He's Our You" Highlights

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Are you an American Idol fan? Do you want to keep up with everything surrounding American Idol and all the Season 8 contestants? If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, there is a new app that will allow you to do all this. It is called American Idol Season 8 Exclusive Videos by Zumobi and it is only $1.99.

There are three different modules in this application. The video module has custom video clips of each idol contestant. The idols module gives you background information and bios on all the idols. Buzz is made up of news and blog posts for you to follow everything that is happening on the show each week.

Every week there will be a new video from each remaining contestant. There is also a place where you can rank your favorites. This appears to be a must have iPhone app for any true American Idol Season 8 fan.


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A few months ago, the Pew Internet & American Life Project published the study "Teens, Video Games, and Civics". This was the first survey that looked at whether teens' video gaming had any effect on their civic engagement. This large-scale study examined "the relationship between specific gaming experiences and teens' civic activities and commitments".

This is a summary of the findings of "Teens, Video Games and Civics":

1. Nearly all teens play video games (97% of teens 12-17).

2. Age and gender are the key factors in the types of games and how much time each group spends playing video games.

3. Teens play many different types of video games,

4. Playing video games is very often a social experience for teens.

5. Almost half of teens who play online games do so with people that they know in person.

6. While gaming, teens see both pro-social and anti-social behavior.

7. The most popular game genres include games with violent and nonviolent content.

8. Parents tend to monitor game play of only certain groups of kids and nearly 2/3 of parents feel that gaming has no effect on their teens.

9. There are civic dimensions to video game play.

10. The amount of time that teens spend playing is not related to their interest and engagement in civic and political activities.

11. The type of games and the contexts in which they play are strongly related to teens interest and engagement in civic and political activities.

12. Playing games socially in person was related to teens interest and engagement in civic and political activities, but playing socially online was not.

13. However, teens who took part online in social interaction related to the games, such as commenting on websites or discussion boards, were more engaged civically and politically.

14. Civic gaming experiences are more equally distributed than many other civic learning opportunities.

See the full study online at Teens, Video Games and Civics: Teens' gaming experiences are diverse and include significant social interaction and civic engagement". The Pew Internet & American Life Project is supported by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

See also: Online Video Games Can Improve Our World


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To celebrate Connect with your Teen's one year anniversary, I decided to get a professional blog makeover. After a year of redesigning and tweaking themes by myself, I realized that I could not do what a real blog designer could. LadyJava's Creations was highly recommended so I decided to give her a try.

The experience was delightful. The entire thing was done in no time. She incorporated everything that I wanted into her ideas and she installed everything (which was my favorite part). LadyJava's pricing is extremely reasonable.

What do you think of my new design?

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NOW CASTING dynamic families with teenagers for their own reality series! Have you been told your family is just like The Osbournes? Or maybe your family is the total opposite of them.

The producers of “Supernanny” and “The Real Housewives of New York” are looking to give one amazing family their own show! This documentary-style series will take a look at an American family and the issues that they face in their day-to-day lives including their relationships, challenges, laughter and tears that comes with being a family.

They are currently looking for outgoing, opinionated and outspoken families with teenagers who are ready to step into the spotlight. Families of ALL types are welcome, but there must be at least a few teens living in the home.

CONTACT the casting producer at tbarcinas@shedmediaus.com with your contact info, family photo, and a paragraph about why your family is entertaining enough to star in your own TV series. They will not talk to minors without parental permission. If you are a teen applying for your family you must include your parent's name and phone number so a casting producer can speak with them about the show. No exceptions. The application must be submitted by April 2, 2009.

This sounds like an exciting opportunity. Good luck to any of you that apply.


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I enjoyed this episode of Life on Mars even more than usual. It was fun seeing all the different seventies outfits and hairstyles when Annie and Sam were undercover. I also enjoyed the Tom Cruise and David Cassidy references. Sam, using the names of Tom Cruise movies to describe himself at the party, was hysterical. While it was somewhat absurd that a beautiful woman in her twenties would hang pictures of a teen idol all over her room, I liked the way they used two Partridge Family songs in the episode. Sam's mention of "I Think I Love You" while talking to Annie and "Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque" at the end.

The songs played in episode 14 of Life on Mars "Coffee, Tea or Annie":

1. Fakin' It - Simon & Garfunkel

2. Venus - Shocking Blue

3. Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque - The Partridge Family

I just read in TV Guide that not only is Life on Mars not renewed for next year, as I said last week, but its last episode will air April 1st. That is only 3 weeks from now. According to the executive producer Josh Appelbaum, we will be given the answers as to why Sam was transported back to 1973 and entered the 125th precinct. "Its one of those endings I believe will make you want to watch the series again, because you'll see that we've given you very distinct clues that will come together". For fans of the BBC version of Life on Mars, this version is going to have a completely different ending.

Life on Mars music Finale

Life on Mars music episode 16

Life on Mars music episode 15

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I've already written a few times on Connect with your Teens about movies for teenagers. I wanted to take another look at teen movies, but just the ones that both star and are about teenagers. I could not narrow this down to a top 10 or even a top 20. So here is my list of the top 35 best movies about teens, in chronological order:

1. Rebel Without a Cause - 1955
2. American Graffiti - 1973
3. Carrie - 1976
4. Breaking Away - 1979
5. Fame - 1980
6. Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 1982
7. Risky Business - 1983
8. The Karate Kid - 1984
9. Sixteen Candles - 1984
10. Footloose - 1984
11. The Goonies - 1985
12. Back To The Future - 1985
13. The Breakfast Club - 1985
14. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986
15. Stand and Deliver - 1988
16. Say Anything - 1989
17. Heathers - 1989
18. Dead Poet's Society - 1989
19. Dazed and Confused - 1993
20. Clueless - 1995
21. Scream - 1996
22. Cruel Intentions - 1999
23. American Pie - 1999
24. Election - 1999
25. Donnie Darko - 2001
26. Ghost World - 2001
27. Harry Potter series 2001-
28. Varsity Blues - 2001
29. Spider-Man - 2002
30. Bend it Like Beckham - 2002
31. Napoleon Dynamite - 2004
32. Mean Girls - 2004
33. Superbad - 2007
34. Juno - 2007
35. Twilight - 2008

Since the word "Best" is very subjective, I am sure many of you will disagree with this list. Please let me know if you think I left out anything that should be on this list of top 35 movies about teens, or if you think that any movies on this list don't belong.

See also: 
30 Movies for Teens 2012
15 Halloween Movies for Teens
42 Movies for Teens 2011
75 Classic Movies Teens Should See!   
20 Fall Movies for Teens 2010
Top 12 Cult Movies for Teens   
36 Movies for Teens 2010
10 Movies to Recommend to your Teens from Before they were Born



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