• Vampires are a particularly popular costume choice for teens.liebe eines vampirs image by Angie Lingnau from Fotolia.com
  
  As with young children, teenagers find costume inspiration from the characters of their favorite books. Ideas for dress-up costumes can come from classic teen books as well as more modern novels. Characters from popular series can be specific to a particular book or more general. For example, a teenager could dress up as a particular vampire from the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer or she could opt to dress as a prototypical vampire as described in the vampire books by Meyer, L. J. Smith or Charlaine Harris. In general, many teens choose to draw from books with well-known characters or distinct settings.
  
  

Fantasy Characters

• Costumes that come from characters in fantasy books are fun since many fantasy books create new worlds that allow costumes to expand into much more than clothes. Teen costumes that draw inspiration from the "Harry Potter" series, for example, could mimic the clothing worn by either title characters or from more whimsical supporting characters. Costume additions to consider include broomsticks, owls, crystal balls and magical textbooks. Other outfits include scarier alternatives from any of the seven books evil villains. Other fantasy series include "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" by Rick Riordan and the "Unfortunate Events" series by Lemony Snicket.
  
  

Historical Characters

• Dressing up as characters from the past is a hit with younger and older teens, although care should be taken if a teen chooses to dress as a character from a book that covers a sensitive time period such as the Holocaust or the Civil War. "The Luxe" Series by Anna Gobersen is popular with teenage girls; it is set in New York high society of the late 1900s, which allows girls to indulge in hoop skirts and sparkly jewelry. Historical books are also quite popular with teenage boys since they can dress up as sailors, soldiers or adventurers like Tom Sawyer.
  
  

Currently Popular Teen Series

• Since teens, more than any other age group, are strongly influenced by their peers, it is not surprising that teens would choose to dress up as characters from books that are currently popular in their demographic. As evidenced by the books, TV series and movies available, vampires are extremely popular and are a fun source of inspiration. Other popular series include those by Suzanne Collins, Garth Nix, Cecily von Ziegesar and Philip Pullman. Your local librarian is a good reference for suggestions and as a resource to understand the content and age group for a book that your teen would like to use as a source of costume inspiration.