Teen Movies

The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie goes behind the scenes of a genre where cult hits mingled with studio blockbusters, where giants like Spielberg and Coppola rubbed shoulders with baby-faced first-timers, and where future superstars Sean, Demi, and Tom all got their big break. Music, comedy, and politics all play a part in the surprisingly complex history of the '80s teen movie. And while the films might have been aimed primarily at adolescents, the best tackle universal issues and remain relevant to all ages.

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved - five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

For a few beautiful months, Wes and girl-next-door Liz were together. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA together, tragedy struck and their relationship ended. Flash forward and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart, but is determined to make her fall back in love with him. And he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only … Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet. The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes.

From a longtime Vanity Fair writer and editor, a delightfully entertaining, intelligent, and illuminating history and tribute to teen movies—from Rebel Without a Cause to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and on to John Hughes, Mean Girls, The Hunger Games, and more.

" Parfois, on est tellement perdu dans nos propres illusions qu’on passe à côté de ce qui aurait pu vraiment arriver. " Liz Buxbaum est fan de comédies romantiques. Elle croit en l’Amour avec un grand A depuis toujours, et – elle en est sûre – le prince charmant est forcément là, quelque part, à l’attendre. Pourtant à l’approche de la fin du lycée, ses espoirs de trouver le garçon idéal s’amenuisent. Mais voilà que Michael Young, son amour d’enfance, revient s’installer dans le quartier après dix ans loin d’elle.

Welcome to Saturday Fright at the Movies, where the projector is stuck on mayhem and thirteen B-movie tales are lurching off the screen. In the flickering light of this hallowed multiplex, you'll witness outrageous creature features and gritty found footage, nostalgic popcorn slashers and haunted VHS tapes. Run screaming down the aisles with intergalactic zombie unicorns, tentacled rock-gods, brat-packs of unearthly trick-or-treaters, a goo-monster with an existential crisis, and one starry-eyed coroner as he meets-and-greets his favorite masked maniac.

What really happened to Charlie? It's the question that John can't seem to shake, along with the nightmares of Charlie's seeming apparent and miraculous reappearance. John just wants to forget the whole terrifying saga of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, but the past isn't so easily buried. Meanwhile, there's a new animatronic pizzeria opening in Hurricane, along with a new rash of kidnappings that feel all too familiar. Bound together by their childhood loss, John reluctantly teams up with Jessica, Marla, and Carlton to solve the case and find the missing children.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might die. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom.

A dark bridge to the past . . . Dirk sets out on a long-shot quest to recapture a cherished childhood memory from a unique animatronic pizzeria. Mandy finds something lurking in the files of her favorite horror game and opens herself up to a haunting. In light of her son’s fascination with Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, Sylvia buys her son a unique birthday present—a Freddy Fazbear mask that’s the genuine article . . . in more ways than one.

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn't look all that great; they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Over a few bags of cheese puffs they decide to form a sisterhood, and take the vow of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.

What if Anna and Elsa never knew each other? As the future queen of Arendelle, Princess Elsa leads a life full of expectations and responsibilities - not to mention questions. What type of ruler will she be? When will she have to pick a suitor? And why has she always harbored the feeling that some critical piece of her is missing? Following the unexpected death of her parents, Elsa is forced to answer those questions sooner than she'd hoped, becoming the sole ruler of her kingdom and growing lonelier than ever.

After Beacon Academy fell, Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi made a vow: No one else is getting left behind. It's been more than a year since Team CFVY saw their school destroyed by the creatures of Grimm, their friends felled in battle or scattered across the world of Remnant. Since then, they've been settling into life at Shade Academy in Vacuo, fighting hard to finish their training so they can find their friends and save their world.

Born over a century after "The Rise", Jeff scavenges with his tyrannical mother for survival. Banned from cultivating freely, Jeff wants none of this life; his one objective is to join the immortal rankers as they attempt to climb the Northern Tower. On the day of his escape, a powerful guild attacks Leah’s group, and Jeff is thrown through a unique dungeon portal—a portal that hasn’t been used in nearly a hundred years. In the pursuit of Jeff’s ultimate goal, he must choose whether to follow the Church, join a guild, or try it all on his own.

Following the many challenges in the best-selling novel, The Tribe: A New World, the Mall Rats find themselves faced with an even greater struggle as they try to unravel the many unexplained mysteries they now encounter. What was the real mission of the United Nations survival fleet? Who is the enigmatic leader of The Collective? What really did occur at Arthurs Air Force Base? Is there something more sinister to the secrets revealed on the paradise island where they are now stranded?

Nicky Roth has always been a lonely kid. But that all changes when he and his family move to Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons. Nicky befriends the Petersons' son, Aaron, bonding over their talents for tinkering. Soon the boys are inseparable and using their skills to pull pranks on the townspeople. But something about Aaron bothers Nicky - people seem almost afraid of him and his family.

The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful. And always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch. And yet this is only half the story. What of the old witch, Mother Gothel?

Released in 2004, iconic teen comedy Mean Girls remains as relevant now as ever. But what made an adaptation of a parenting guide by SNL writer Tina Fey so successful? And why, two decades later, can we all just not stop quoting it? Drawing on revealing interviews with the director, cast and crew, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong takes us behind the scenes of the film’s genesis, production and release.

Throughout the Villains series, the Odd Sisters have meddled in the lives of the Wicked Queen, The Beast, Ursula, Maleficent, and Mother Gothel, changing the course of fate for the greatest villains ever known. Now, it's time for their reckoning. This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular Villains series goes deeper into the lives of the twisted, diabolical Odd Sisters, finally revealing the dark truth about who they are and where they're from.

Not long ago, I had everything a girl could wish for: amazing friends, an adorable boyfriend, a loving family. But none of them know that I’m gone - that I’m dead. To solve my murder, my long-lost twin sister, Emma, has taken my place. She sleeps in my room, wears my clothes, and calls my parents Mom and Dad. And my killer is watching her every move. I remember little from my life, just flashes and flickers, so all I can do is follow along as Emma tries to solve the mystery of my disappearance.