Vanity - Book/Author Suggestions for a 12/13 y/o Girl

highimpact | 11/31/09 | highimpact

[highimpact]

I'm seeking help finding a new author and/or book suggestions for my daughter for Christmas. She is 12 going on 13, and very smart (gifted student, genius IQ, home-schooled.) She is moving beyond her pre-teen books.

I'm looking for books/authors that are early adult, without graphic sexual/horror situations. She enjoys mystery, history (fiction or non-fiction), adventure, and romantic comedy. She is a big fan of Brian Jacques and Gail Carson Levine.

[magslinger]

Some of the Honor Harrington books might be just a touch racy for a 12-13 y/o, but would be approriate in a few years. Good reading.

[highimpact]

Excellent. Thanks for the suggestions.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

My Family and Other Animals — Gerald Durrell Adventure/Comedy

13 year old read it this summer. Both of us loved it. The humor in it is hilarious!

We also loved Hound of the Baskervilles.

[piasa]

I liked the puns in the Xanth books, too.

I dimly recall The Stainless Steel Rat as a good read though the main character was a juvenile delinquent.

Chuck Yeager’s autobiography was a hoot, as I recall.

The book The Right Stuff was great if she can handle slightly colorful language.

[ancientart]

Some favorites for precocious young people. Most with Christian themes, though not preachy.

Relatively easy books, written with young people at least partly in mind:

1. Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wooten Major (two somewhat lesser-known Tolkien stories)

2. Till we Have Faces (a hard-to-find C.S. Lewis book—somewhat more difficult than the Narnia books)

3. The “Great Brain” series (J.D. Fitzgerald’s books about growing up in turn-of-the-century Utah. Very funny, sound values, and good historical detail)

4. Chancy and the Grand Rascal (my favorite of the many fine books by Sid Fleishman)

5. Magic or Not? (My favorite of Edward Eager’s books. Fans of Lewis Narnia series tend to enjoy Eager)

6. The Treasure Seekers (Edit Nesbit Bland was a Fabian Socialist, and there’s an occult element in some of her stories, but this book is a classic—an inspiration to Lewis who makes reference to it indirectly in the Magician’s Nephew).

7. The Little Princess (or anything else by Frances Burnett)

8. The Light Princess (George MacDonald was C.S. Lewis’ favorite author I believe. This is my favorite of his books.

9. Anne of Green Gables (Your daughter has already read this series, probably)

10. A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle tends to be a favorite of gifted kids...with good reason).

Adult books particularly suitable for young people:

1. Jean Webster’s “Dear Enemy” (Letters from a gifted young orphan to her sponsor. More romantic than any romance....)

2. Winston Churchill’s “History of the English Speaking Peoples” (must reading—great history by a master of the language)

3. Night (Elie Wiesel’s account of his experiences as a young teen during the Holocaust. Probably should be followed up by his fictional Dawn, the novel where he regains his faith...)

4. The Scarlet Pimpernel (great book, but the writing is dated...maybe a young person should see the movie first)

5. Ogden Nash poems (always amusing, often wise)

If your daughter likes Scifi/fantasy, Christopher Stasheff, Terry Pratchett and Robert Asprin are worth looking at. In my opinion, these writers are more wholesome than Asimov and Orson Scott Card. Stasheff in particular writes from a believing Catholic point of view.

If your daughter likes mysteries, she might look at G.K. Chesterton’s “Father Brown” series.

Young people often have favorites among classic authors like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, and Alexander Dumas, but what some of them like, others find slow going. I loved Dumas when I was 12, but my own kids weren’t impressed. On the other hand, they like Dickens better than I did at that age.

I’ve lots of other suggestions if you want a longer list....

[grey_whiskers]

Most of the list below are for reference, and may be above her head (for her to grow into).

The ones I would start with are:

James Herriot's "All Creatures Great and Small" series.

Possibly P.G. Wodehouse (short stories, humor may be too subtle).

Shakespeare if she is ready.

Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

Madeleine L'Engle's Austin family novels.

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series.

Bertrand R. Brinley's The Mad Scientists' Club books.

Sherlock Holmes.

Maybe Agatha Christie.

Move into O'Brien, Chesterton, Sayers, Lawhead, the other L'Engles, Williams, C.S. Lewis as her taste and maturity dictate.

The entire list is below.

Cheers!

C.S. Lewis -- The Space Trilogy:

Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength

(She might not be ready for these for a couple of years, particularly the last one.)

Charles Williams (member of The Inklings) had a series of Supernatural thrillers:

War in Heaven. London: Victor Gollancz, 1930.

• Many  Dimensions. London: Victor Gollancz, 1930.
• The Place of the Lion. London: Mundanus, 1931.
• The Greater Trumps. London: Victor Gollancz, 1932.
• Shadows of Ecstasy. London: Victor Gollancz, 1933.
• Descent into Hell. London: Faber & Faber, 1937.
• All Hallows' Eve. London: Faber & Faber, 1945.

  Shakespeare (with annotations) or Chaucer.

  (Leave Boccacio alone 'till college.)

  Jane Austen:

• Sense and Sensibility (1811)
• Pride and Prejudice (1813)
• Mansfield Park (1814)
• Emma (1815)
• Northanger Abbey (1817) (posthumous)
• Persuasion (1817) (posthumous)

  Charles Dickens (Pickwick Papers is a long, droning novel).

  Alexandre Dumas:

  The Count of Monte Cristo

  • The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires, 1844)
  • Twenty Years After (Vingt ans après, 1845)
  • The Vicomte de Bragelonne, sometimes called "Ten Years Later", (Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, ou Dix ans plus tard, 1847): When published in English, it was usually split into three parts: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask, of which the last part is the best known. (A third sequel, The Son of Porthos, 1883 (a.k.a. The Death of Aramis) was published under the name of Alexandre Dumas; however, the real author was Paul Mahalin.)

  Patrick O'Brian "Seafaring" novels of the Brit Navy in the time of Nelson.

  The mystery novels of Dorothy L. Sayers (a couple may be above her head, have her start with Strong Poison and Murder Must Advertise).

  For lighthearted, early teen reading, try Bertrand R. Brinley,

  The Mad Scientists' Club
  The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club
  The Big Kerplop.

  (Geared towards boys, but they illustrate what life was like in the U.S. before libs took over.)

  The classic James Herriot "All Creatures Great And Small" books:

  All Creatures Great and Small
  All Things Wise and Wonderful
  All Things Bright and Beautiful
  The Lord God Made Them All

  Agatha Christie (for mysteries).

  *Anything* by P.G. Wodehouse (the ultimate literary butler, Jeeves, is found here.)

  Anything by H. Rider Haggard (Historical fiction from the Victorian era, mostly set in Africa).

  H.G. Wells (*old* science fiction)

  The original Frankenstein: more philosophy than horror.

  The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.

  A number of books by Madeleine L'Engle:

  (Not just the Wrinkle in Time series):

  Austin Family
  1. Meet the Austins (1960)
  2. The Moon by Night (1963)
  3. The Young Unicorns (1968)
  4. A Ring of Endless Light (1980)
  5. Troubling a Star (1994)
  The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas (1964)
  The Anti-Muffins (1980)
  A Full House: An Austin Family Christmas (1999)
  

  
  
  
   
  Time Quintet
  1. A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
  2. A Wind in the Door (1973)
  3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978)
  4. Many Waters (1986)
  5. An Acceptable Time (1989)
  The Time Quartet (omnibus) (1991)
  The Wrinkle in Time Quintet (omnibus) (2007)
  
  
  
   
  O'Keefe Family
  1. The Arm of the Starfish (1965)
  2. Dragons in the Waters (1976)
  3. A House Like a Lotus (1984)
  
  
   
  Crosswicks Journal
  1. A Circle of Quiet (1972)
  2. The Summer of the Great-Grandmother (1974)
  3. The Irrational Season (1977)
  4. Two Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (1988)
  The Crosswicks Journal (omnibus) (1988)
  
  
  

  (I haven't read the Crosswicks Journal, so can't vouch for, or warn against. The Vigneras novels contain extremely adult topics and are moreover apt to be depressing.)

  Sherlock Holmes -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

  The Father Brown stories -- G. K. Chesterton

  Books by Stephen Lawhead:

  Dragon King trilogy:
  In the Hall of the Dragon King (1982)
  The Warlords of Nin (1983)
  The Sword and the Flame (1984)
  
  Empyrion Saga:
  Empyrion I: The Search for Fierra (1985)
  Empyrion II: The Siege of Dome (1986)
  
  
  The Pendragon Cycle:
  Taliesin (1987)
  Merlin (1988)
  Arthur (1989)
  Pendragon (1994)
  Grail (1997)
  
  The Song of Albion:
  The Paradise War (1991)
  The Silver Hand (1992)
  The Endless Knot (1993)
  
  The Celtic Crusades:
  The Iron Lance (1998)
  The Black Rood (2000)
  The Mystic Rose (2001)
  

  Cheers!

[ancientart]

I second the motion on Ralph Moody. Wonderful author. He spoke at the school where my dad was principal back in the early 60’s. I didn’t get to go, but Dad was very impressed. Man of the Family was my favorite in this series.

[ODC-GIRL]

My 12 year old son has read the Foundation series and loves them! He likes the Percy Jackson series (1st movie coming out next year) and Eragon as well.

They’re probably too outdated now, but I know I LOVED the Nancy Drew mysteries.

[Little Bill]

Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass. Wind in the Willows, Narna, The Hobbit, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Lord of the Rings, The Illiad, The Odyssey, The Lives of the Caesar's, Shakespeare, Marlow, Dr Johnson, Blake, God the list is endless.

[magslinger]

If you have time to do a little recreational reading, you might want to check some of the Honor Harrington books by David Weber yourself. They are I believe intended for an adult reader, but see our discussion about challenging books. Good reading and might turn your daughter towards a career serving aboard CLACs.

[grey_whiskers]

Don't forget the teeny-bopper trash:

Gregory Maguire's The Wicked Years:

Wicked
Son of A Witch
A Lion Among Men

Or the ever-present Harry Potter and Twilight (barf)

Cheers!

[gemoftheocean]

Dorthy Sayers for mystery.

[Island Girl]

I read Podkayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein as a young teen. It’s about a teenage girl and even today is perfectly delightful! It turned me into a sci-fi fan.

I read Gone With the Wind when I was 12. It was the first book I’d ever read that didn’t have a happy ending. I cried and threw it across the room!

Little Women is Must Reading for all females. It’s still the best parenting handbook out there. Marmee knew what she was doing.

My 6th grade teacher threw all the classics at me since he knew I was an omnivorous reader. Surprisingly enough, I loved Les Miserables, long as it was.

All the old Newberry books are noteworthy (not the new, dumb-downed ones). The Island of the Blue Dolphins is remarkable.

Happy Reading!

[piasa]

“Rocketboys” is another good one. My neice & nephews liked it. The movie “October Sky” was based on it.

[stylecouncilor]

bookmark

[BenKenobi]

Podkayne is a good book. I like Heinlein, but I find him unreadable at times, and inappropriate for kids in others. See, Lazarus Long, and “Time enough for love.”

Glory Road is an excellent book that she will probably love.

[Island Girl]

Very much agreed about Heinlein, That’s why I only suggested Podkayne. All his early books are highly readable and unobjectionable. The Rolling Stones is great, and you’ll find out who thought up Tribbles.

Another good early SciFi book is Little Fuzzy, if you can find a copy. I read it aloud to my kids and they loved it!

[WVNan]

Has she read the Janette Oke books yet? A Christian book store would be the best place to find good books for a girl her age. I would recommend the Christian writer, Ted Dekker’s books for mystery, but they are a bit too deep for a teen. She is old enough to start reading the classics which teaches the structure and language of good literature.

[WVNan]

Sounds like it could have been written by Ted Dekker. I read his ‘Thr3e” by Dekker and I was hooked. He writes in sequels so you have to keep reading. His “Black”, “Red”, and “White” kept me up several nights. Couldn’t put them down.

[Claud]

Can’t go wrong with a Freeper-run publishing company! ;) We specialize in classic, wholesome literature for 12 and up.

http://www.arxpub.com/

Here’s one I particularly recommend for girls:

http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Niamh.html

Any questions, feel free to FReepmail me.