# Book suggestions for teen needed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412 "2010-05-14T12:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/21 "2010-05-15T22:18:45Z")
If she liked Nancy Drew, she may also like Trixie Belden. Or The Hardy Boys…clean, wholesome adventure/teen detective stuff. The _Little House_ series…think this was the inspiration for the _Little House on the Prairie_ tv series. Heinlein’s juveniles. Maybe start her with something like _Podkayne of Mars_. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/22 "2010-05-16T05:52:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Diana Wynne Jones, beginning with The Ogre Downstairs or Cart and Cwidder or Charmed Life - basically the older the better. She also wrote Howl’s Moving Castle which was recently made into a movie, but it isn’t one of her best. She does mostly fantasy with a little SF. I can’t recommend her enough - she’s not only brilliant but very prolific, and still writing. I found _Cart and Cwidder_ to be rather boring, and it’s not an essential part of the series. Jones is an excellent author, though. Some of her books are meant for adults, but most are very good for readers of any age. I can never get through the end of _Dogsbody_ without bawling, though. I read, and greatly enjoyed, Heinlein’s juveniles when I was a kid, and they hold up. I would NOT give her David Edding’s books. They might be OK for boys, but I found his attitude towards women to be between irritating and downright insulting. Depending on how mature she is, she might really, really like the Sheepfarmer’s Daughter trilogy by Elizabeth Moon. A young woman’s father tries to force her into an unwanted marriage, and she runs away and joins the army. There is a near rape in one of the books, but it’s not terribly graphic. I like Moon’s fantasy far more than I do her science fiction. When my daughter was 13, she read a copy of _The Silent Tower_ and _The Silicon Mage_ by Barbara Hambly to tatters. Again, there are sexual situations. One minor female character has a girlfriend, and one main male character is male, but has a thing for teenage boys. I was OK with this, but other people vary. _Dragonsbane_, also by Hambly, is another great book. People are in sexual relationships without being married, but I don’t think that there’s anything more explicit than a kiss shown. ---
**Author:** ![koryphos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a183cd/32.png) [@koryphos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koryphos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/23 "2010-05-16T06:36:51Z")
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black The Goosebumps series by R.L.Stine and the Babysitters Club series by Ann M. Martin were really popular in the 90’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - Rick Riordan Tollkien’s The Hobbit (and if she really, really likes it, maybe the Lord of the Rings) My niece and nephew are currently raving about the Warriors series, by Erin Hunter. They’re not quite so enchanted with her current series, Seekers, but they are reading them. (She’s almost 14, he’s 10). Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea stories (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, The Other Wind, Tales from Earthsea) Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern - especially the first trilogy (Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon) and the Harper Hall trilogy (Dragonsinger, Dragonsong, and Dragondrums) Any of those should be suitable for a 13 year old. And I’d say have her give Harry Potter another try. He’s 12 at the start of the first book, and they are very well written, and are intended as juveniles. When she’s a bit older, you might also consider: Tanya Huff’s “Blood” series, if she likes vampires specifically (Vicki Chase and Henry Fitzroy), with kind of a mystery element to each novel (some minor sexual tension, but nothing really explicit) Glen Cook’s Garret P.I. stories Hope that helps ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/24 "2010-05-16T15:58:02Z")
Tamora Pierce, starting with either the first of the [Circle Universe books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamora_Pierce#The_Circle_Universe), or, in the Tortall universe, either the [Immortals books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immortals_%28series%29) or the [Protector of the Small](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protector_of_the_Small) series. The first she wrote in the Tortall universe were the Song of the Lioness books - and they’re excellent, but I think the others are a good starting point too, with the Song books there to step back for more background once she reads the others. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/25 "2010-05-16T16:48:07Z")
> [@Lsura](#): > > Tamora Pierce, starting with either the first of the [Circle Universe books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamora_Pierce#The_Circle_Universe), or, in the Tortall universe, either the [Immortals books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immortals_%28series%29) or the [Protector of the Small](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protector_of_the_Small) series. That’s what I was going to suggest, as well. Also: _The Wolves of Willoughby Chase_, by Joan Aiken _From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler_, by E.L. Konigsburg _The Westing Game_, by Ellen Raskin anything by Marguerite Henry _Holes_, by Louis Sachar anything by Diana Wynne Jones _The Secret Country_ books, by Pamela Dean _Summers at Castle Auburn_, by Sharon Shinn The Safe-Keeper books, by Sharon Shinn and a maybe: _The President’s Daughter,_ by Ellen Emerson White. The later books in the series get pretty heavy, though I think a 13-year-old could definitely handle them. They are really wonderful, and recently updated to fit the times. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/26 "2010-05-27T23:08:00Z")
I have read two of the four books from the aboveforementioned Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars. Wow. Just awesome reads. ---
**Author:** ![UTejas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UTejas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UTejas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/27 "2010-05-27T23:27:40Z")
_The Giver_ by Lois Lowry ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/28 "2010-05-28T01:29:02Z")
Hmm…on the Sherlock Holmes track, I remember enjoying another Baker Street Irregulars series from when I was younger, by one Robert Newman—[The Case of the Baker Street Irregular](http://www.amazon.com/Case-Baker-Street-Irregular-Aladdin/dp/0689707665/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2) was the first book in the series. I’m guessing that if Harry Potter was too scary, _[Anno Dracula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Dracula_%28novel%29)_’s right out. A pity—I’d have really gotten a kick out of that at that age. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/29 "2010-05-28T01:43:36Z")
Terry Pratchett’s YA Discworld books: [_The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Maurice_and_his_Educated_Rodents) [_The Wee Free Men,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wee_Free_Men) [_A Hat Full of Sky,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hat_Full_of_Sky) and [url=]_Wintersmith._ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/30 "2010-05-28T01:46:10Z")
How about… > [@Lsura](#): > > Tamora Pierce, starting with either the first of the [Circle Universe books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamora_Pierce#The_Circle_Universe), or, in the Tortall universe, either the [Immortals books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immortals_%28series%29) or the [Protector of the Small](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protector_of_the_Small) series. Darn. Yeah, those are awesome. To this day, Alanna is my foremost hero, beautifully powerful and sweetly flawed. Hmm…what about > [@jsgoddess](#): > > _From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler_, by E.L. Konigsburg > _The Westing Game_, by Ellen Raskin > anything by Marguerite Henry D’oh! Okay, then > [@UTejas](#): > > _The Giver_ by Lois Lowry Drat! Hmmm…what else hasn’t been mentioned? Ooh! [The Positronic Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Positronic_Man), the novel form, written by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. It’s a fairly easy read, but expect some challenging dinner conversation as she nears the end. It’s a great introduction to a great author whose other works she’ll be ready for in a few years. Also [The Golden Goblet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Goblet), by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. I read this just a few years ago, as an adult, and was just captivated. My mom uses it in her sixth grade English/Social Studies class. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/31 "2010-05-28T02:03:19Z")
Two of my daughter’s very favorites: _Bloomability_, by Sharon Creech _Ella Enchanted_, by Gail Carson Levine And I only skimmed the thread, so maybe I missed it, but did anybody say\* Little Women\*? ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/32 "2010-05-28T03:24:59Z")
_Wise Child_, and the sequels _Juniper_ and _Colman_, by Monica Furlong. _Wise Child_ is one of my favorite books of all time, especially because I’m interested in medieval Britain and If Harry Potter is “too scary” for her if she tries it again, I don’t think she’d like John Scalzi’s _Zoe’s Tale_, but it’s a good book and she might enjoy it. It’s also one I recommend every chance I get. Has she read _Coraline_ or _The Graveyard Book_ by Neil Gaiman? They’re written for a slightly younger audience, but I didn’t read them until I was in my late teens/early twenties and love them both. The _Chrestomanci_ series by Diana Wynne Jones is really fun, besides her other works mentioned in the thread. I read most of the Chrestomanci books when I should have been working on my penultimate year of university. Any of Terry Pratchett’s YA stuff, not just the Discworld novels, is a good idea. I especially recommend the Bromeliad trilogy: _Truckers_, _Diggers_, and _Wings_. I read them before I started reading Discworld, because I wanted to see if I liked Terry Pratchett but didn’t want to start in on a HUGE series (there are over 30 Discworld novels, I think) in case I didn’t like them but still had to finish them because it’s kind of rude not to finish reading a story. Luckily, I adored them. When I was 13, I stayed up all night reading _Summon the Keeper_ by Tanya Huff. It’s not YA, but it’s not a hard read either. And it’s ridiculously fun. I think I was 14 when I started reading the _Wind on Fire_ series by William Nicholson. I really enjoyed it, but haven’t done a reread in several years (I’m 22 now) so my opinions might have changed. **koryphos** , just to nitpick, Harry is an infant at the beginning of the first book, and when it picks back up with his life, he’s 10 and about to turn 11. His age for the majority of each book is that book’s number in the series plus 10. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/33 "2010-05-28T14:33:25Z")
She might enjoy the Chronicles Of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer, starting with Eighth Grade Bites. If she enjoys EGB, it continues with Ninth Grade Slays, Tenth Grade Bleeds, and Eleventh Grade Burns and Twelfth Grade Kills is due for release this September. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/34 "2010-05-28T14:48:28Z")
While not necessarily a juvenile series, I read it as a teen and thorougly enjoyed them: [The Mrs. Pollifax Series](http://www.amazon.com/Dorothy-Gilman/e/B000AP8PLQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1275057801&sr=8-1) by Dorothy Gilman. Start with [The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax](http://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Mrs-Pollifax-Dorothy-Gilman/dp/0449208281/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2). Mrs. Pollifax is a widowed grandmother, president of her garden club, that becomes a CIA agent. Great reads and I would consider acceptable for teens. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/35 "2010-05-28T15:06:56Z")
My daughter **Attacklass** , being a 13 year old girl who has read many of the above mentioned books, has a few suggestions: -the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull ( **Attacklass** ’s favorite book series) -the Warriors series by Erin Hunter -the Alanna series by Tamora Peirce -the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy (it’s kind of intense and a bit scary) -anything by Jerry Spinelli -anything by Eric Walters -anything by Gereldine McCaughrean -The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin -Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce -the Echo Falls Mysteries series by Peter Abrahams -the Janie Johnson series by Caroline B. Coonie -The 10 PM Question by Kate DeGoldi -Ninjas, Piranahs, and Galileo by Kimberly Pauley -The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (maybe for when she’s a bit older, there’s cursing and substance use and other inappropriate content, **Attacklass** found it a bit too intense although she really liked it) Hope this helps. . ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/36 "2010-05-28T15:42:12Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > My daughter **Attacklass** , being a 13 year old girl who has read many of the above mentioned books, has a few suggestions: > -the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull ( **Attacklass** ’s favorite book series) My boy of the same age really likes those too. He’s also reading the Rick Riordan books, but his eyes light up for the new Fablehavens. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/37 "2010-05-28T15:47:04Z")
A very underrated series of books that WAS my childhood/early teen years. [Animorphs.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animorphs) Long story short it’s about a bunch of teenagers who can turn into animals who fight aliens. It’s a very funny, action packed, and educational (about the animals) series. The series itself is about 50 books deep, and has about 6 or 7 companion books along with it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/38 "2010-05-28T15:52:20Z")
**Frankenstein**. The fact that it (at least in its first edition) was written by a teenaged girl might resonate with her. She will, this very year, stop reading kid’s and YA books and start reading the same books you read. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/39 "2010-05-28T19:35:16Z")
the **redwall** series. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412/40 "2010-05-28T21:27:25Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > She will, this very year, stop reading kid’s and YA books and start reading the same books you read. I’m chuckling at this because I am a 31 year old woman with a degree in English Lit and I’ve been reading YA novels almost exclusively for the past year. Seconding Hunger Games trilogy. Truly awesome. [Leviathan](http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Scott-Westerfeld/dp/1416971734/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275081524&sr=8-1) by Scott Westerfeld is the best book I’ve read this year. Steampunk re-imagining of WWI, awesome. He’s also the author of the Pretties and Uglies series but I couldn’t get into them. Oh, and like almost all the books I’m going to mention this is the fist in a trilogy; the second has yet to be written. [The Forest of Hands and Teeth](http://www.amazon.com/Forest-Hands-Teeth-Carrie-Ryan/dp/0385736827/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275081688&sr=8-2) by Carrie Ryan is a total popcorn book- a zombie film in book form. Not a lot of literary merit but highly entertaining. I’ve just started the sequel, The Dead Tossed Waves. [The Maze Runner](http://www.amazon.com/Maze-Runner-Trilogy-Hardback/dp/0385737947/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275081782&sr=8-1) I just finished and liked it pretty well. The protagonist is a boy and it’s an awesome mysterious dystopic setting, kind of WTF like the Cube movies. Also beginning of a trilogy, looks like the second, The Scorch Trials, is due in October. Yay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-teen-needed/539412.md?page=1)