Wow, this milk is really SOUR! Taste it!
I’ve been a sci-fi fan as long as I remember. My wife was a casual fan of Star Trek, but hadn’t ever read any sci-fi. I convinced her to read Enders Game and Xenocide, and she’s been hooked ever since. Those two really run a gamut of what sci-fi can be, from kids with lasers in space to something very character driven.
I’ve been reading some Octavia Butler recently. While she’s one of the best at bringing up issues of race and gender in her works, a subject my wife feels strongly about, I wouldn’t recommend them to her because they have some scenes I can’t see her making it through.
It’s damn near solid, too.
But not Heinlein if she’s past the age of 12.