A Coming of Age, by Timothy Zahn

The first couple of books by Zahn I read were the same sort of story: main character put into an odd situation with alien technology and forced to puzzle out what's happening. After that, though, Zahn's novels have been in a broad range of styles and themes.

A Coming of Age is about the planet Tigris, colonized by Earth in the past. Something about Tigris caused a mutation, leading to children developing telekinesis (teekay, in the book). That first generation with teekay was called the Lost Generation, and Tigris' society nearly collapsed under the onslaught of children with power.

Ultimately, what saved them was the Transition. At some point during their teens, the kids lost their teekay entirely. This allowed society to reform in a way that deliberately kept knowledge away from the kids, and monitored their development in boarding schools called Hives. Only after Transition were children taught to read and educated, lest children with both knowledge and power decide to take matters into their own hands again.

All of that is backstory. The novel itself deals with a teen (Lisa) who secretly learns to read, and a scientist who thinks he may have a way to delay or eliminate the Transition. We also have a police detective and his "right hand" (a teen with both powerful teekay and a good ethical sense), and a fugitive who has set himself up as a Prohpet of Truth, using kids as labor for clandestine schemes.

These characters collide, each acting from their own motivations, some concerned for Tigris' society, some not. The characterization is quite good, and we see growth particularly in Lisa.
The novel shifts viewpoints from character to character to tell the entire story. I don't always like that approach, but here it works well.

While not the most exciting of Zahn's novels, A Coming of Age is well worth reading. You'll have to find it used or visit your local library, though, since it's an older book.