YA recs for an almost 13 year old girl?

[Beth Balmanno]

My daughter has *finally* decided that the world will not end if she chooses to read e-books instead of paperbacks.  Can anyone help us wade through the vast sea of offerings?

She likes realistic fiction set in modern times.  However, by her own admission, she isn't boy crazy and isn't ready for some of the more mature themes that show up in YA fiction.  She loved Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Blue Envelope and she liked Coffeehouse Angel, too. She did enjoy Twilight but hasn't found any other vampire series that appeals.  She read The Hunger Games, too, but although she liked the series, she doesn't have this insatiable desire to read tons of dystopia fiction.

Would love to hear some good Kindle suggestions.  Thanks!

[Darlene Jones]

Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen is a MUST. By Glen Husar, but I don't think it's available as an ebook.

[Darlene Jones]

Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen is a MUST. It's by Glen Husar, but I don't think it's available in ebook format.

[Rebecca Burke]

And you don't think you could convince her to go back in time a  little for an adventure story? Because one of my absolute favorite young YA books is The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, in which the young girl of the title becomes a pirate and has a ripping adventure. It's just a great read, I promise! Actually all of Avi's books are wonderful--they usually make you think but the storytelling is topnotch. Has she read The Westing Game yet? It's also a great story, contemporary, too. I loved having a daughter of this age who still (sort of) took my book recommendations--enjoy these days!

[Beth Balmanno]

And you don't think you could convince her to go back in time a  little for an adventure story?

Sigh.  I wish!!  She is adamant that historical fiction is boring (which, of course, is like driving a stake right through her mother's history-loving heart.). I'll check into The Westing Game -- thanks!

Yes, I know the days of book recs might be coming to an end.  She participates in a Girls Book Club with a few friends and this year they were completely in charge of choosing their own books.  It was a real eye-opener. 

[Darrell Pitt]

How about The Golden Compass by Philip Pulman? I suppose she's read the Harry Potter books. There's also Eragon. That's been really popular.

Hope this helps,

Darrell Pitt

[Lyndl]

The Portal Chronicles by Imogen Rose, all on Kindle and all a good price.

[MariaESchneider]

Rachel Caine has a vamp series (Morganville Vampires) that might fit the bill.

Michelle Scott has a vamp YA book Blood Sisters (kind of a be careful what you wish for). 

Hmm.  My YA reading that is non-fantasy seems to be...lacking.  Hmm. 

[Kristan Hoffman]

I'm twice your daughters age but seem to have similar taste, lol. Except that I do like some romance, but I'll avoid romance-focused books for this. You two might want to check these out:



Cinder by Marissa Meyer (scifi retelling of Cinderella)
Entwined by Heather Dixon (retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses)
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Also: Anne of Green Gables (my FAVE as a young girl) and Harry Potter.

[LadyHawk]

There seems to be so many Vamp/angel type books out now. 


I would also vote on His Dark Materials Phillip Pullman. Oh, and I just read Discovery of Witches. It was my favourite book of 2011.  Hope she reads it.

Then you have the classic such as S.E.Hintons The Outsiders, Rumble Fish and That was then, this is now.

[history_lover]

She likes realistic fiction set in modern times.  However, by her own admission, she isn't boy crazy

Everyone seems to be recommending fantasy but you say she wants something realistic so I'll recommend:



It's not about boys/romance, it's realistic, and it's set in modern day times. I don't normally read YA but I've read other stuff from this author so I picked it up and it was good.

[EStoops]

Ignore the horrible cover -- this is a fantastic book set in about 1988, Spokane Washington: http://www.amazon.com/Staying-Fat-Sarah-Byrnes-ebook/dp/B002OMZTXU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1328723793&sr=8-4

Garth Nix's Sabriel is just about my favorite book ever -- BONUS, it comes with a no-nonsense female protaganist: http://www.amazon.com/Sabriel-The-Abhorsen-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B000FC13MM/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328723875&sr=1-1

I've always loved this book as well, about growing up in the early sixties (so no drugs/hard stuff): http://www.amazon.com/Its-like-this-cat-ebook/dp/B004S8EPPQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328723967&sr=1-1 BONUS: it's free!

[Sean Patrick Fox]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is pretty popular. I read the first two books for research, and I enjoyed them. They're very, very YA, but written well and entertaining. Plus, I didn't catch any instances of "mature themes" or anything you might not want your 13-year-old stumbling upon.

[Betsy the Quilter]

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[Joseph_Evans]

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead was fantastic, and had the right mix of reality and fantasy not to be too alienating.

[lib2b]

Some popular realistic fiction books with the 7th and 8th graders at my library are:
The Mother Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick
Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock
The Clique series by Lisi Harrison
The Heist Society series and The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
Anything by Sarah Dessen
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

A dystopian that is hugely popular with the girls, maybe even more so than the Hunger Games trilogy is Divergent by Veronica Roth.

[MichelleR]

My daughter has *finally* decided that the world will not end if she chooses to read e-books instead of paperbacks.  Can anyone help us wade through the vast sea of offerings?

She likes realistic fiction set in modern times.  However, by her own admission, she isn't boy crazy and isn't ready for some of the more mature themes that show up in YA fiction.  She loved Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Blue Envelope and she liked Coffeehouse Angel, too. She did enjoy Twilight but hasn't found any other vampire series that appeals.  She read The Hunger Games, too, but although she liked the series, she doesn't have this insatiable desire to read tons of dystopia fiction.

Would love to hear some good Kindle suggestions.  Thanks!

You mention Maureen Johnson, I just got the notice from eReaderIQ that just got Kindle-ized. I don't know your comfort level for her, but this is a love story between two girls. I'd heard good things and been looking forward to it. If you ARE okay with the theme, I'd also recommend -- a retelling of Cinderella in which the heroine falls in love with the Royal Huntress.

***

I'd also recommend . A truly unreliable narrator who'll for you/her to guess what is true and what isn't.

is the first book in a series about a dystopian future where everyone is made pretty -- also shallow -- after a certain age, and the girl who broke free and became a hero!

Coincidentally, the author of Liar and the author of the "Uglies" series are married.

[Ben White]

I liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson quite a bit.  Although disappointingly it's still not available on the Kindle. Ho-hum.  Other than that I haven't read much good YA lately.  Would manga count?  Also not available on the Kindle, but Honey & Clover (slice of life, art students, funny and heartbreaking) is very good.

[Eliza Baum]

Oh man, The Westing Game! I'd nearly forgotten all about that one. About time I gave it another read myself. (And I agree whole-heartedly with the recommendation.)

What about Holes by Louis Sachar? Is that too young? I was in college before I read it, so I'm honestly not sure what the target age group on that one is. I LOVED it, though.

Unfortunately, most of my recommendations would be fantasy, and the ones that aren't are usually romantic. (Meg Cabot, mostly...though hers are usually light on the mature themes, so perhaps worth a try. I'd recommend anything of hers except Abandon.)

[KateEllison]

I was trying to think what I liked when I was 13, but I was reading a lot of historical YA (which you said she doesn't like), and also Harry Potter (which I assume she has read). Lemme think what else...

You said she enjoyed 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Has she read all of Maureen Johnson's stuff? She has a bunch of good books... I recently read The Name of the Star by MJ and it was excellent! Light on the romance, heavy on the mystery. It was a little creepy/gory and very scary (it is a ghost story), but nothing I wouldn't give a 13-year-old who's already read The Hunger Games.

[Ben White]

Oh yes, Holes was great.  Decent film adaptation as well, which is rare for that kind of thing.  The sequel's pretty good too.

[defygravity213]

I definitely WOULD NOT recommend Sarah Dessen for a 12 year old! Don't get me wrong, she's actually my favorite author, but I didn't read her books until I was 19 and even then the material is pretty heavy. Drug use, teen pregnancy, abusive relationships, rape, parent abandonment, death of a parent and eating disorders are all topics that have been covered in her books and I would not recommend them for someone so young.

[Eliza Baum]

Oh yes, Holes was great.  Decent film adaptation as well, which is rare for that kind of thing.  The sequel's pretty good too.

There was a sequel??? How did I miss that? What's it called?

[Beth Balmanno]

WOW -- these all look *fantastic!* I've mentioned Uglies and Pretties so we'll check into those again.  Tried her on S.E. Hinton (my significant other told her he would read The Hunger Games if she would read The Outsiders LOL) but she hasn't taken a stab at it yet.

I read a ton of YA but I know what most of you are saying...there seems to be heavy paranormal/fantasy/dystopia and tons of edgy YA on the market and on the bestseller lists but not a lot of realistic, contemporary fiction.  I don't need light fluff and real issues are absolutely OK --  but I also don't need my uber-sensitive preteen coming to me in tears every night because she can't solve all of the world's problems.

Keep the suggestions coming -- and thanks again!!

[Carl Ashmore]

What about Metamorphisis by Nicola Palmer :-)