Book Recommendations for an 8th grade girl

amother

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 2:09 pm

Do you have any good book suggesstions for a 13 1/2 year old avid reader? I am very wary of the books in the teen section. I don't want her to read books with inappropriate topics about s-x, drugs, rape, a lot of violence, etc. Don't say Jewish books because she thinks they are all written terribly and won't read them. I am at the point where she is re-reading old books from the junior section. Thank you!

theoneandonly

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 2:27 pm

Ender's Game/Shadow (some violence and language) + sequels
anything by Terry Pratchett
Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud
Artemis Fowl series
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy + sequels
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (she has other books also but I never read them so I can't vouch for them)
Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones

syrima

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 2:51 pm

Tell her she can join my 10th grader who is also rereading classics from the junior section.
The teen fiction section of the library has gone WAAY downhill since my day - it's amazing what they call a "novel" these days.
Hang in there, once she gets to HS she will have more work and less time to read. LOL

Rutabaga

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 3:26 pm

That is a very difficult age for a good reader to find appropriate books. She's outgrown the children's section, but she's too young for the adult section and the teen section focuses on themes that may be inappropriate for a frum girl.

Does she enjoy classics? Some of these she may have read already, but off the top of my head:

Anne of Green Gables and other books by L.M. Montgomery
Little Women and other books by Louisa May Alcott
Pride and Prejudice and other books by Jane Austen
What Katy Did and other books by Susan Coolidge
The Secret Garden and other books by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Around the World in Eighty Days and other books by Jules Verne
The Lost World and other books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and other books by Lewis Carroll
The Wizard of Oz and other books by L. Frank Baum
The Three Musketeers and other books by Alexandre Dumas

Does she enjoy fantasy and/or science fiction? There are a lot of good series out there. Has she read Harry Potter yet?
Try The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien.

Does she like to read mysteries? There are anthologies of Sherlock Holmes stories that can keep her busy for a while. Also, the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith is pretty harmless.

rachel6543

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 3:35 pm

If she likes fantasy or fairy tales I recommend "the enchanted forest chronicles" by Patricia c. Wrede. The series ( 4 books) makes fun of fairy tales, is clean (no relations, drugs) and a light, fun read. I discovered the series when I was about 13 & every few yrs I still re-read it. The first book is about a princess who doesn't want to be a princess: she runs away and volunteers to be a dragon's princess.

PinkFridge

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 5:01 pm

So I won't suggest Shortchanged (E. G. Reich), Meir Uri Gottesman, Dov Haller, or Yael Mermelstein (especially Second Chances). ETA: and Terra Incognita by Libi Astaire.
I assume she's read all the Gordon Korman you'll let her read?
Dave Barry's Science Fair

I'm sure there are more that I'll think of but have to run soon.

Have you checked the secular book lists on Chinuch.org?

Last edited by PinkFridge on Fri, Oct 25 2013, 11:04 am; edited 1 time in total

librarygirl

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 11:19 pm

If you want strictly clean, I don't think Ender's Game or Terry Pratchett is appropriate.
It is a hard age.
I agree with the classics, and would add The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Diana Wynne Jones is also good for that age.
Try Navigating Early by Claire Vanderpool
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt is great with a minor girlfriend thread.
Same with Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Margaret Haddix Peterson has lighter teen reading that is relatively clean, ie. The Missing series.

rosenbal

Thu, Oct 24 2013, 11:28 pm

http://chinuch.org/item_details.php?mid=9411

Do a better search on chinuch.org. I gave you one link, but they have a few lists you can see or print up. One list includes questionable books so you can see what's OK for you and what's not. The reviewers tell you what the potential problems are and not every parent considers all of them to be problems. There's also a list you can print up for your daughter with all 100% approved books. THey also have anohter link which includes books they reviewed since the publishing of this list.

I haven't looked at this list for a while, but is it mostly kids books (younger than 8th grade?)

frumygirl42

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 9:01 pm

theoneandonly wrote:

Ender's Game/Shadow (some violence and language) + sequels
anything by Terry Pratchett
Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud
Artemis Fowl series

I would second these, but I don't think Ender's Game or Terry Prachet is appropriate if you want strictly clean. For Example, there is plenty of language in Ender's Game. However, Ender's Game was a great book-I read it in 7-8 grade or so, and it didn't scar me for life (I think).

I would also add.

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (1st book is Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief)- (deals with Greek gods in a modern setting, written for Teenagers)

The Kane Chronicles, also by Rick Riordan. (1s book is The Red Pyramid) (deals with Egyptian gods in a modern setting, written for Teenagers)

The Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini ( 1st book is "Eragon") Loved the books, about people and Dragons

The Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks (epic fantasy in the style of LotR, but much better=in my opinion)

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (series) by C.S. Lewis is a good read.

Maximum Ride by James Patterson (he mostly writes adult books, this is his teen series) is another one ("Maximum Ride:The Angel Experiment" is the first)

Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (1st book "Stormbreaker) is good one. One selling point is unlike all the others listed above, it isn't in the Fantasy Genera (though it is fiction. It's about a 14 year old boy getting "recruited" into Britain's intelligence agency.

Chayalle

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 9:07 pm

I loved books by Zylpha Keatly Snyder, like The Velvet Room, the Egypt Game, etc...

I second the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Books by Noel Streatfield (?) like Dancing Shoes, Acting Shoes, Thursday's Child.....those may be for a younger teen but I loved them all.

LiLIsraeli

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 9:07 pm

If she likes fantasy, Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic series is great and as far as I remember, relatively clean. I enjoyed it at that age. I second reading anything by Gordon Korman!

ETA: My favorite Korman book was The Twinkie Squad. Totally clean and kept me laughing for a long time!

Kugglegirl

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 9:50 pm

[/quote]

Maximum Ride by James Patterson (he mostly writes adult books, this is his teen series) is another one ("Maximum Ride:The Angel Experiment" is the first)

[/quote]

I would disagree with Maximum Ride. My DD at 12 was starting to read it & I read a few chapters. I found it to be incredibly violent - with the violence not advancing the plot in any appreciable way. I thought it was more disturbing than Holocaust literature (l'havdil). Asked her not to read it & introduced some other books like Ender's Game.

I think Ender's Game is worth reading, and the violence is relatively mild. & integral to the plot in a meaningful way. I don't recall any zexual topics in there of note. The population politics & race politics are very interesting, and worth discussing.

The dystopian classics are worth reading at this age if she is inclined- Farenhight(sp) 451. Lord of the Flies. I suppose she is done with Lemony Snicket?

Short stories & novels by Issac Asimov & other science fiction.

Biographies & Autobiographies maybe? These at least are not usually written like historical fiction bodice rippers.

spring13

Wed, Nov 06 2013, 12:48 am

Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic is a good idea, so is Cynthia Voigt - try Izzy Willy-Nilly, or Jackaroo. for other fantasy, there's the Percy Jackson series, or Peter and the Starcatchers. The Mysterious Benedict Society. Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn. Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley. Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith.

Ann Rinaldi's historical fiction involves a few kisses here and there, but otherwise are really excellent. Time Enough for Drums, The Last Silk Dress, In My Father's House, etc.

Shabanu, Haveli, and The House of Djinn by Suzanne Fisher Staples.

Daughter of Venice, Zel, and others by Donna Jo Napoli. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman.

The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline Cooney. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson.

Overboard by Elizabeth Fama. A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond. A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer. Out of Many Waters and One Foot Ashore by Jacqueline Dembar Greene.

DrMom

Wed, Nov 06 2013, 4:17 am

mrs kugal wrote:

Nancy drew
Laura ingalls wilder
The hardy boys

These will probably be too easy for an 8th grader.
I agree that classics may be the way to go. Little Women is a good choice (maybe too easy...)

Does she like fantasy? Maybe Ususla LeGuinn's EarthSea Trilogy?

The Dark Hour of Noon (is this still in print?) by Christine Szambelan-Strevinsky

chanchy123

Wed, Nov 06 2013, 5:35 am

DrMom wrote:

mrs kugal wrote:

Nancy drew
Laura ingalls wilder
The hardy boys

I agree those books are not for an 8 grader. I was reading adult literature by then. I'd suggest hunting down books our mothers and grandmother read, the entire series of Little Women and other books by Alcott (8 cousins Rose in Bloom) the breadth of L.m. Montgomery's work. I second the What Katy Did series as well. Also the Betsy Tacey and Tib series has good Y/A books in the later books. I loved reading Cherry Ames and other such books tons of British boarding school books. I wonder where you can find them today.