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First Love, School Friendships, and Growing Up – Today’s Teenagers Love the Same Themes as Their Parents and Grandparents

This Christmas, Libri recommends Mária Szepes’s youth novel Gyerekcsillag to teenage readers.

While previous generations of teenage girls grew up with polka-dotted and striped books, today’s teens devour works by Judit Berg, Laura Leiner, and Betti Kollár. Although it may seem that today’s adolescents crave completely different reading material than older generations, in reality they are drawn to the same timeless stories—novels about first love, friendship, or the challenges of fitting in—that their parents and grandparents loved.

Surprisingly often, today’s teens pick up books: according to a 2023 British survey, young people in England and Ireland read nearly 25% more books than the previous year, and their choices are often influenced by book recommendations available on TikTok or other online platforms.

While younger teens and preteens are fans of Judit Berg, Betti Kollár, and Laura Leiner, older teens aged 17–18 tend to prefer genres such as romantasy, cozy crime, cozy mystery, and historical fantasy. Although it may often seem that today’s adolescents read completely different material than their parents or grandparents, the essence remains the same: young readers seek heroes facing dilemmas similar to their own and wish to explore worlds where they can safely discover their own emotions and ask the questions that matter to them.

Of course, alongside popular contemporary authors, the timeless classics should not be forgotten—teenage girls can still enjoy works such as Magda Szabó’s Álarcosbál, Születésnap as well as Mondjátok meg Zsófikának! The popularity of these books is no coincidence: among the authors of polka-dotted and striped books, one finds some of the most significant figures of Hungarian literature.

Echoing the world of the polka-dotted and striped books while promising magical, cozy holiday moments, Libri’s special edition of Mária Szepes’s youth novel Gyerekcsillag is ideal for young readers. The story follows Takács, also known as Tücsök Rozi, who discovers not only new, unknown worlds but also learns to navigate the labyrinth of human relationships. The main message of Gyerekcsillag is that deep down, we are all good—and our “better selves” can emerge not only in fairy tales, dreams, and imagination but also in real life.

Mária Szepes, who also authored the Pöttyös Panni series, first published Gyerekcsillag in 1976, and readers have waited ever since for a new edition. Libri is now releasing the book in a special Christmas edition, featuring charming illustrations by Emy Róna that bring the world of children’s drawings vividly to life.

The special editions will be available from November 1 while supplies last at Libri bookstores and on libri.hu: with purchases over HUF 9,990, readers can take home one of the books for HUF 1,499; for purchases over HUF 13,990, both books can be taken home for HUF 1,499 each.

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Libri Bookline Zrt.

Good Life Books is a worldwide publisher of bestselling books on self-improvement, healthy living, psychology and spirituality. A balanced, healthy harmony of our physical body, mind and spiritual self is at the heart of the publisher’s holistic approach. Its mission is to empower as many people as possible with self-knowledge. One of the major challenges of our time is the unity of physical and mental health, the discovery of paths to self-knowledge, which is an important prerequisite for the development and functioning of a creative and innovative personality.

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Since its foundation in 1989, this publishing house with one of the most distinctive profiles on the Hungarian book market has brought popular self-help, lifestyle, self-improvement, spiritual and esoteric books to Hungarian readers. Their international bestsellers include Roxie Nafousi, Louise Hay, Anthony William, Joe Dispenza, Nick Trenton, Dr. Michael Greger, Neale Donald Walsch, Dan Millman, Rhonda Byrne, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra.

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Founded in 1994, Scolar has become one of the country’s leading publishing houses, based on its values rather than on the trends of the moment. Their titles include fiction, children’s books and science textbooks. Their authors include such distinguished domestic and foreign writers as Ian McEwan, David Grossman, Sofi Oksanen, Orsolya Karafiáth, Dezső Tandori, Kata Tisza and Ferenc Temesi.

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For over twenty years, Jaffa Publishing has offered books on psychology, self-development, literature, and popular science that set readers on the path of change. Its catalog includes the outspoken works of Imre Csernus, literary rarities such as the complete works of Magda Szabó, Fanni Gyarmati’s Diary, the writings of Ádám Kosztolányi, and the volumes of the Modern Hungarian History series. Among its authors are prominent Hungarian and international creators, including Balázs Ablonczy, Barbara Bauer, Leonóra Mörk, Harlan Coben, and Jeff Abbott.

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Hitel Publishing, a subsidiary of the Libri-Bookline Group, was established in October 2023, offering fiction, sophisticated entertainment literature and biographies, as well as scientific and popular science books. As publisher of the Hitel magazine, it is also responsible for the publication of the magazine’s issues, inheriting its spirit and traditions.

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Diafilmgyártó Kft., founded in 1954, is the successor to MDV and is now Europe’s only producer of slide films.

Its selection includes over 300 titles, including many new titles by contemporary authors and illustrated by renowned graphic artists. Slide film owes its popularity not only to the product, but also to the uniqueness of the genre. Psychologists also recommend slide films to families with young children, emphasising their many benefits and values.

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Launched in 2012, its growing selection includes classic children’s and young adult literature, as well as books related to Disney and Marvel heroes, Star Wars, Minecraft and DC. The publishing house an important role to play in promoting reading, and they try to put reading materials in the hands of children and their parents from birth to adulthood.

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In the spirit of its decades-long tradition, this publishing house is still responsible for the life works of Sándor Márai, István Örkény and Ignác Romsics. It also publishes outstanding world literary classics (such as Kurt Vonnegut and Vladimir Nabokov), Hungarian contemporary authors (including Tibor Bödőcs, Zoltán Kőhalmi, János Lackfi and András Cserna-Szabó), biographies and high-quality works on philosophy, history and cultural history. With the Helikon Pocket Books series, launched in 2015 and awarded the prize for Fine Hungarian Books, it offers the classics of world literature at affordable prices.

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For more than thirty years, it has been a significant Hungarian publishing house. During this time, it has published 1500 books in print and received numerous awards and recognitions. In both its popular science and fiction titles, it strives to provide readers with timely and accurate interpretations of the world. Its main objective is to produce professionally proofread, rigorously edited, beautifully produced, high quality and interesting books for open-minded readers.

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Founded in 1993, the legendary company aims to showcase the diversity of contemporary Hungarian literature and to convey the values of late modern and contemporary world literature. Its world literature authors include Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy and Albert Camus. This is where the books of several young Hungarian poets are published. The publishing house is responsible for the works of Alaine Polcz, Miklós Mészöly, Ágnes Nemes Nagy and Szilárd Borbély, and also publishes books by Noémi Orvos-Tóth.

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Since 2011, as a major player in the Hungarian book market, it has been publishing both novels and popular fiction, and its portfolio includes nearly every genre from historical and romantic novels to cookbooks and psychological guides. Some of its most popular Hungarian authors, such as Tamás Náray, Tamás Frei, Beáta Bibók and Janka Fábián, are regulars on the bestseller lists.

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