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Forum
-> Parenting our children
-> Teenagers and Older children
amother
Pewter
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Thu, Mar 26 2015, 10:59 pm
Any books you can recommend for my 16 year old teenage daughter? she loves to read but the YA section in the library has too many inapropiate books for her, it's really hard to find the good ones. She read all the classics already (or decides they're too "heavy" for her). thanks
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sequoia
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:05 am
I agree that YA is horrific: a conglomeration of dystopias, vampires, zombies, zex, and "real life" problems like drugs. It may be something, but it's not literature.
The thing is, though, even good books -- very good books, excellent ones -- can have inappropriate stuff. For example, I'm reading Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" with my 16-year-old student now. (Of course I got the Okay from his parents first). It's a real work of literature -- profound, challenging, imaginative, thought provoking. Very meta-literary. We are analyzing it slowly and carefully. It also has some very inappropriate scenes.
If you're looking for books that are totally clean, and your daughter doesn't like classics, then it's not so easy.
What about:
The "Wooster and Jeeves" series by P.G. Wodehouse
"How Green Was My Valley" by Richard Llewellyn
"Till We Have Faces" by C.S. Lewis
The "Erast Fandorin" series by Boris Akunin
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tigerwife
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:12 am
What about Eoin Colfer books, like the Artemis Fowl series? (Loved it! So brilliant and witty and totally clean I think).
Gerald Morris's Squire's Tales? You might want to skim, they do have some violence and romance, but delightfully written books.
Which genre does she prefer?
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singleagain
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:15 am
sequoia wrote: | I agree that YA is horrific: a conglomeration of dystopias, vampires, zombies, zex, and "real life" problems like drugs. It may be something, but it's not literature.
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according to dictionary.com, literature is "writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays."
I'm pretty sure all YA especially, dystopias, vampires, zombies, zex, and "real life" problems like drugs, fall into that definition.
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sequoia
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:21 am
singleagain wrote: | according to dictionary.com, literature is "writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays."
I'm pretty sure all YA especially, dystopias, vampires, zombies, zex, and "real life" problems like drugs, fall into that definition. |
You know what I mean.
"C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre."
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singleagain
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:24 am
sequoia wrote: | You know what I mean.
"C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre." |
I'm sorry I have never heard that in my life.
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seeker
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:44 am
I don't know if there's a name for this genre, but I happen to love nonfiction books that are written in engaging narrative form. Having a hard time coming up with a title offhand, but they can be found on many topics, often history, memoirs, biographies but also science and other interesting areas where the narrative parts are about the researcher or case studies or something.
You still need to screen because some may include adult/inappropriate content but this is a genre where you might find interesting, appropriate things to read. And usually also with educational value but in an interesting form. I will let you know if I think of examples.
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sequoia
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:54 am
singleagain wrote: | I'm sorry I have never heard that in my life. |
Ok then.
When we say "Something is not X," we mean it's not a good example of X. For instance, if we taste something gross, we might say, "that's not kugel, that's garbage." It IS kugel, it's just not very good! Or the charge of the Light Brigade, which inspired Pierre Bosquet to say, "C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre: c'est de la folie." (It is magnificent, but it is not war; it is madness). Clearly it WAS war, but it was such a disastrous battle that he said it wasn't.
In the same way -- analogously -- most (not all) YA books are bad books, which prompted me to say, "It's not literature." I am pretty well aware of what literature is -- the expression is used here as a value judgment, not a factual statement.
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PinkFridge
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 8:51 am
seeker wrote: | I don't know if there's a name for this genre, but I happen to love nonfiction books that are written in engaging narrative form. Having a hard time coming up with a title offhand, but they can be found on many topics, often history, memoirs, biographies but also science and other interesting areas where the narrative parts are about the researcher or case studies or something.
You still need to screen because some may include adult/inappropriate content but this is a genre where you might find interesting, appropriate things to read. And usually also with educational value but in an interesting form. I will let you know if I think of examples. |
Yes, I've been reading a lot of this type lately, just a bunch of the top of my head (YMMV as far as appropriateness, I think all these are fine)
- Fannie's Last Supper
- The Power of Half
- The Promise of a Pencil
- King Peggy
- Year of No Sugar
I could come up with more but I must get off now.
As far as YA, I love Gordon Korman but unfortunately his Son of the Mob, etc. books aren't exactly great. I let my older h.s. daughter read them when she found them (at that age, possible she would have read anyway) but wouldn't have offered them. However, A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag is fine. (Fine literature on the same level as Sequoia's suggestions. Maybe not exactly )
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Fox
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 12:36 pm
I completely defer to Sequoia in this area. In my fantasy life, Sequoia would lead a book-and-film club featuring a mix of classic and more modern works from various eras and cultures.
In my experience, YA books are often far worse than adult fiction simply because it's harder to tell what you're in for.
If an adult book has a stylized rendering of a half-naked man leaning over a buxom lass who's about to spill out of her dress, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Or if the tasteful cover has a blurb touting "the modern [inappropriate] classic," you realize you're in for the same activity as the bodice-ripper, but probably without the HEA.
I found YA books to be a lot harder to select. The titles and covers were often little help; the depictions of reality were grim; the heavy-handed morality tales induced more eye-rolling than the buxom lass's tale.
In addition to the many excellent recommendations, you might see what genres your DD enjoys, and work from there. For example, if she enjoys mysteries, there are literally thousands of "cozy" mysteries that feature the idea of violence but almost never depict it as well as invariably chaste sleuths.
Two of my kids really like espionage books. Although these occasionally have a minor romantic subplot, there are plenty that are clean, and the violence isn't usually too graphic.
A specific suggestion that comes to mind are the "Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books by Alexander McCall Smith. I love these books and hound my kids to read them; aside from one section in the first book depicting the domestic abuse of the protagonist, they are upbeat, life-affirming, and offer a unique view into middle-class Africa.
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spring13
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 1:30 pm
What do you consider appropriate? Are boys and girls allowed to converse? Can a kiss be mentioned? Insinuated? Is magic ok? How much (or what) is too much for you? What kind of books does she like in general - contemporary teen chick lit, historical fiction, fantasy, adult level books that happen to be clean and readable?
Don't force her to read classics or distinctly adult books if she doesn't want to. Little Women is one thing: The Good Earth is another. Try to let her be a teenager if you can.
Not sure if these will be too young or old for her, but look into
The Mother-Daughter Book Club (Heather Vogel Frederick)
Wonder (RJ Palacio)
Time Enough for Drums, The Last Silk Dress, In My Father's House (Ann Rinaldi) - historical fiction with likeable but complex main characters. The max you get is "and then he kissed me" - maybe twice in each book.
The Outlaws of Sherwood (Robin McKinley)
Shadowfell (Juliet Marillier) - fantasy, one kiss without description. One of my favorite authors, but some of her other books get more intense.
Hereville (Barry Deutsch) - graphic novel with a Jewish heroine, in a good way
If she's looking for YA stuff, try googling "clean teen lit." Just keep an eye on whether books that come up are distinctly Christian, as opposed to just not-totally-inappropriate.
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gp2.0
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 1:33 pm
Don't remember anything too inappropriate in these, but you may want to google them to make sure, since I'm not sure what your parameters are:
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
The Book Thief
His Dark Materials Trilogy
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Princess Bride
A Wrinkle in Time series
Uglies series
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mommyofd1
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Fri, Mar 27 2015, 4:34 pm
thanks for all the suggestions! I don't mind books that have some mention of love and kissing but nothing to intense. for example books that she loved was the mother daughter book club and wonder. She likes fantasy, chick-lit, mystery... just about anything that is well written and easy to read! thanks
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mommyofd1
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Sun, Apr 12 2015, 1:34 pm
PinkFridge wrote: | Yes, I've been reading a lot of this type lately, just a bunch of the top of my head (YMMV as far as appropriateness, I think all these are fine)
- Fannie's Last Supper
- The Power of Half
- The Promise of a Pencil
- King Peggy
- Year of No Sugar
I could come up with more but I must get off now.
As far as YA, I love Gordon Korman but unfortunately his Son of the Mob, etc. books aren't exactly great. I let my older h.s. daughter read them when she found them (at that age, possible she would have read anyway) but wouldn't have offered them. However, A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag is fine. (Fine literature on the same level as Sequoia's suggestions. Maybe not exactly ) |
Thank you pinkfridge, she read the power of half and the promise of a pencil over pesach and enjoyed both of them. (actually my whole family discussed them at a meal!) Has anyone tried "kiruving" Adam Braun?
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mommyofd1
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Sun, Apr 12 2015, 1:36 pm
gp2.0 wrote: | Don't remember anything too inappropriate in these, but you may want to google them to make sure, since I'm not sure what your parameters are:
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
The Book Thief
His Dark Materials Trilogy
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Princess Bride
A Wrinkle in Time series
Uglies series |
She also read the Book Thief over yuntiff and loved it!
Thank you! keep the suggestions coming everyone!
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PinkFridge
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Sun, Apr 12 2015, 4:37 pm
mommyofd1 wrote: | Thank you pinkfridge, she read the power of half and the promise of a pencil over pesach and enjoyed both of them. (actually my whole family discussed them at a meal!) Has anyone tried "kiruving" Adam Braun? |
I get some blog posts and his last one very positively references Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. He's definitely Jewishly connected and aware.
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