Illustration by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff Arts & Culture What it’s really like to be young Harvard faculty recommend books that capture youth in all its joy and agony Clea Simon Harvard Correspondent September 16, 2026 8 min read As the fall semester kicks in and students once again crowd the Square, Harvard faculty look back on favorite reads about youth — with a few choices from their own earlier days. “Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood” By Satya Doyle Byock The book asks young people to figure out their path through careful attention to their experiences and responses to opportunities and disappointments to see what really matters. The author, a Jungian psychologist, pr...