My daughter really liked the Harry Potter series as well as the Keeper of the Lost Cities books. She also enjoyed the first Hunger Games but got bored halfway through the second. She doesn’t want anything with too much of a romance. Any suggestions? Thank you!
by PirateCheetoBurrito
15 Comments
Tamora Pierce has several fantasy series. All would be great for that age, so she can see which one would appeal to her.
The Land of Stories,
The Mortal Instruments,
A Good Girls Guide to Murder,
The Naturals,
One of Us is Lying,
Divergent,
Legend,
Percy Jackson,
A Series of Unfortunate Events,
Wings of Fire,
Warriors,
The Mysterious Benedict Society,
Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children,
Red Queen,
Shadow and Bone,
The Selection,
Enola Holmes,
Anne of Green Gables,
Five Kingdoms,
Fablehaven.
Most of these do have a romance aspect to them so if she strongly dislikes that then maybe stay away from The Selection because that is kind of the driving storyline.
If she’s interested in mystery then The Good Girls Guide to Murder, The Naturals, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, One of Us is Lying, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Enola Holmes all have that.
If she wants sort of like our world but with magic then Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, The Land of Stories, The Mortal Instruments, Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children all have that.
I think at 13 I was obsessed with Red Queen and The Mortal Instruments the most
Terry Pratchett has some YA books that are delightful.
Rich Riordian might be up her alley.
Animorphs
Look into some Garth Nix. He writes a lot of stuff for a younger age group that holds up even if you’re a bit older.
Also yes Tamora Pierce.
The Shannara books maybe? I loved them at that age.
Percy Jackson. Some of my son’s friends love them even more than HP.
Fablehaven – Brandon Mull
Keys to the Kingdom – Garth Nix
(Also Sabriel by Garth Nix because it’s too good not to include.)
Silverwing – Kenneth Oppel
Warrior Cats – Erin Hunter
Percy Jackson – Rick Riordan
The Ranger’s Apprentice series – John Flanagan
Everything written by Tamora Pierce
Fablehaven, inheritance cycle (eragon). The hobbit maybe
The author Frances Hardinge specializes in amazing MG fiction, so as long as your kid doesn’t mind that the characters are a year or two younger she’ll be great. Absolutely no hint of romance, gorgeous writing, highly creative settings (mix of alt-history and regular historical, largely but not all are fantasy), and each one includes serious topics that affect everyone and are portrayed in a kid appropriate way, but cut with enough surreal silliness that it never gets bogged down.
I love all of them but I might suggest A Face Like Glass or Cuckoo Song first (both have girl MCs and are oriented around fairies). If she’s into audiobooks they’re also all excellent.
I think the Scolomance series by Niomi Novik is like Harry Potter’s goth cousin in that it’s a magical world and closed school setting. I really loved it.
A good girls guide to murder! The hunger games, Percy Jackson and the olympians, keeper of the lost cities.
The unwanteds by Lisa mcmann
Jake ransom
Order of the majestic
Rebel of the sands by alwyn Hamilton is good it might be a bit more mature but idk
Northern Lights
Tamora pierce, rachel hartman, Patricia A. McKillip
I also really enjoyed the his dark materials trilogy around that age. Artemis Fowl is fun too.
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
Give her Ella Enchanted and Two Princesses of Bamarre!
Echoing a few others, but anything by Tamora Pierce or Frances Hardinge is brilliant, as is Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series. Garth Nix and Rick Riordan are wonderful, too.
You could also try Shannon and Dean Hale’s Squirrel Girl books, *Squirrel Meets World* and *2 Fuzzy 2 Furious*, about a big-hearted fourteen-year-old with squirrel powers – they’re sweet and funny and a lot of fun. (And if she likes that, there’s also the excellent *Unbeatable Squirrel Girl* comics.)