Thanks for the great suggestions everybody. I think I will either go with HHGTTG, or the Wrinkle in Time books esp if I can find a set.
Thanks for reminding me!
for younger teens, I would recommend Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” and the “The Second Jungle Book” – they avoid the racial stereotyping and imperialistic trappings of his other books, and he did win the Nobel prize after all…
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - in fact, buy it for yourself… its got to the best book I’ve read this decade. I cried at the end… it’s too incredible for words.
BTW I’m 34 - its supposed to be a kids/teenagers book but it’s suitable for any age group IMHO.
Shirley Ujest, I immediately thought of The Prydain Chronicles when I saw the thread title. Lloyd Alexander writes terrific fantasy for young adults. The Book of Three is still one of my favorites.
A couple of years ago, we gave my then 13-year-old cousin Holes by Louis Sachar. It’s a great book and another one that’s suitable for adults as well as kids.
I read a lot of Stephen King when I was a young teen.
I second (or fourth?) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, fabulous, just fabulous.
Also:
Sophies World by Jostein Gaardner
owt by Alan Garner
The Vandal by Anne Schlee
and oh about a zillion others but I’m guessing you don’t want to be overloaded with options
I’ve actually read the Dark Materials books, and I did think they were good. I was going to get the Wrinkle in Time books because I like them.
In the end, I went with something completely different.
If you do donate to holiday toy charities, I strongly suggest bringing stuff for the teens and tweens. So much of what I saw was for really little kids, the 2-6 set. There was almost nothing for older kids, except for what I brought.
Moving this to Cafe Society.
I just finished this series. I know it is a YA series, but I loved it too. The ending was totally unexpected. I thought about it for days after I finished.
I was a fan of the classic swashbuckling novels when I was about 15 or so. See if you can get your hands on unabridged copies of The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Treasure Island, and The Black Arrow.
And I second the recommendation for classic science fiction.
How about Sherlock Holmes? I really enjoyed the short stories when I was 13-14.
I’ve always really loved The Land Remembers, by Ben Logan but I’m a farmgirl, so it reminds/ed me of me and my brothers.
I liked V.C. Andrews books because they’re easy and trashy and involve no deep thinking. Of course, they are trash, so don’t go with those.
Sabriel by Garth Nix is fantastic. When I read it in middle school, it made such an impression on me that I saw it in a bookstore this summer and snatched it up for my own.
The Belgariad series by David Eddings – Polgara is such a fantastic female character. Strong, instead of . . . er, not strong, I suppose.
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen. Anything by Gary Paulsen, really, though I did not like Hatchet. Stupid book; forced to read it in school. It would be great for a boy, though as a female reader, I didn’t really like it.
I really liked (and still do) the Redwall books by Brian Jaques. I see you Orson Scott Card and raise you Frank Herbert, though stick with the first couple of the Dune series. Why not Animal Farm?
After I turned fifteen, I really left the genre of young adult literature behind and took to reading adult literature. Basically, if you’ve read it and liked it, and older teenager probably would.
Sarah