She doesn’t read! Please help!
I think she would love fantasy. Possibly mystery. She enjoyed the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books, so something like that would be great, but for older kids. Nothing too graphic or gory or sexual. If you recommend a book where a central or beloved character dies, please let me know, she likes to be forewarned.
Thank you so much!
by iamnotabot11
17 Comments
How about the graphic novel version of The Golden Compass, by Phillip Pullman? It’s part of the fantasy series called His Dark Materials. It might be *slightly* young for her, but still roughly the same age group.
The inheritance games are fun
The westing game
hunger games but that’s prob too gory
Shadow and bone
Throne of glass series
Anything by John or Hank green
Divergent
The book thief
Holes
The outsiders – death
A wrinkle in time
The maze runner
Island of the blue dolphins
Sisterhood of the traveling pants
Matched
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman is really wonderful. A couple folks die but their deaths are not in vain. The Old Kingdom books (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen) by Garth Nix are great too. Both these series have female main characters too, FWIW. The Old Kingdom books do feature reanimated dead a fair bit but it’s not over the top.
Harry Dresden might fit. It is basically Harry Potter becomes a private detective. Sex is talked about, but never anything spicy. More like “they were blown up while they were in a comprising position” i dont remember the exact wording. It is violent, people die, but not the main character
I think the Grishaverse books would be great. Start with Shadow and Bone for more of the magic and fantasy, chosen one type of vibes, or you can start with Six of Crows if she’s more into magic and mayhem and heists.
The be all to end all, Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”.
The first couple of Tiffany Aching books (The Wee Free Men, A Hatful of Sky, and Wintersmith) from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series might catch her interest, and if she likes them enough there’s about 40 Discworld books.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Someone dies, just not who you initially think. Great book. Anything from John Green really.
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and the following two books in the series (Gemma Doyle series).
Jane Eyre.
The Drizzt series is an awesome fantasy series I read around that age. One of the main character dies in a book but returns later in a lore consistent way.
Redwall may be a little young but it’s a fun series.
Princeps fury is super fun, good magic system and characters. It’s accessible reading.
Piranesi!
“Sorcery and Cecelia” by Patricia Wrede. It’s the first of a trilogy. It’s magic and regency era. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it but I remember it being funny and interesting. I don’t believe any main characters die.
Beauty, Spindle’s End, The Hero and the Crown, and The Blue Sword all by Robin McKinley
Poison Study and other Maria V Snyder books are great for this age!
My 14 year old, who also loved Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, has recently enjoyed the Divergent series, the Hunger Games series, and the Maze Runner series. He is currently reading Project Hail Mary and liking it.
The Inkheart series would be a good fit. They have magic and fantasy elements, but nothing inappropriate. It has danger and tense moments, but nothing too intense or scary. Plot wise, it’s about a girl and her father that can bring books to life by reading them aloud, but her dad unleashed the villain from a story by mistake