Young Recommendation

[Zas678 Listener]

My little sister, 13, has declared that she hates books. I'm determined to find one that she enjoys. She's a slow reader, which is a part of the reason why she doesn't like the books, plus she's been forced to read a lot of books by her teacher.

Any suggestions?

[Cuaiir Lighteyes]

Broken Sky by Chris Wooding - mimics an anime, and I always thought it would be cool if it were made into one. They're short, and there's seven of them.

Seventh Tower by Garth Nix - This was probably recommended in other topics, as it's a solid series with fairly short books.

[Silus - Shard of Flame Arbiter]

I would also echo Seventh Tower. It's one of my favorites. I'd also recommend The Keys to the Kingdom by the same guy, just a bit longer, but just as good.

[CrazyRioter Returned]

I also echo Seventh Tower for a slow reader. Short books but lots of content.

[leinton Cobalt Guard]

The Pendragon series is nice, light, and fun.

[Thorontir Darkeyes]

What about "His Dark Materials" from Phillip Pullman? I remember it as being one of these books that young people can understand in his own way, and adults can see something different. A little bit like "The Neverending Story". Or maybe yo can start giving her a classic: The Hobbit is a great (and light to read. And it's from Tolkien ) book. Or even one of Terry Pratchett's books, she will probably miss some jokes, but will be fun anyway

(Please forgive me if some of the titles are mispelled, i readed in spanish so i am not sure if those are the correct forms)

[Joe ST Dakhor Monk]

The Hobbit is a great one, Pullman, Nix, Mortal Engines...

[Zayde Pahn Kahl]

The Pendragon series is nice, light, and fun.

Pendragon by D.J. MacHale?

I agree with the Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix. I'd also recommend she check out the Harry Potter series if she hasn't already. Artemis Fowl was another fun read for me though after the fourth book, the series started wear a little thin I feel.

But the question is what kind of stories does she like experiencing? Because ultimately, if she doesn't like fantasy and prefers teen romances, our suggestions don't do you much good.

[SOM1else Cobalt Guard]

Maximum Ride books are really good. actually I take that back the first 3 are amazing but I read 4 and 5 and now I refuse to read anything after the origanal trilogy. at least until Itex and the erasers are brought back as the bad guys. But my 13 and 11 year old sisters love them.

[Syborae Darkeyes]

I'd recommend the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. It's modern day with fantastical and historical elements and the reading is easy and quick and fun.

[leinton Cobalt Guard]

Pendragon by D.J. MacHale?

Yes.

[firstRainbowRose Soulcaster]

I would actually say avoid HDM or The Hobbit, or anything like that if she's slow to read. I would agree with the Seventh Tower, and really most of the books suggested, as well as throwing in Animorphs by K.A. Applegate.

Another thing I would suggest is audiobooks. When I first really got into reading it wasn't by the books themselves, but audiobooks as I worked on my chores. From there I developed a love of good plots, and a love of reading for itself.

I also agree with finding out what she already likes (if it turns out teen romance, I've got a huge list for you). Figure out what movies interest her, or what type of games, and go from there.

(On a side note: I find this thread interesting because there was a panel at Worldcon about how to get young readers interested, and it was similar to this.)

[Sigyn Skaa]

I would also say not to do HDM or The Hobbit right now. Seventh Tower and Rick Riordan are good suggestions. I would also suggest Beauty by Robin McKinley and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

[Joe ST Dakhor Monk]

a nice quick read is Shade's Children, by Nix... I remember reading it back when I was in school, was pretty awesome.

[Zayde Pahn Kahl]

Pendragon by D.J. MacHale?

Yes.

Yea, I really enjoyed that series. Last book was a bit of a disappointment though. Still, it's worth reading.

[Adrienne Spearman]

Is she into fantasy? I would figure out what types of things interest her and go from there. My husband doesn't like fantasy novels, so I try to get a wide range of things for him to read.

[KChan Son of Honor]

I second recommendations of The Hobbit and the Pendragon series. If she's into history, she might like the Dear America books, but I don't know if they'd be too young for her or not. They're pretty short, but really engaging. I couldn't get enough of them when I was younger.

[EHyde Stormwarden]

If she likes fantasy, I'd recommend Diana Wynne Jones, especially the Chrestomanci series or The Ogre Downstairs for that age.

*tries to think what non-fantasy I read at that age, and fails*

Also Pamela Service has a bunch of shorter fantasy and scifi novels for around that age. I don't know if they're still in print though.

[Link Von Kelsier Harvey High Prelan]

*CoughAlcatrazCough*

[Arcanist Lupus Misting]

*CoughAlcatrazCough*

Yes!

Also, has nobody mentioned The Phantom Tollbooth yet? It's a must read.

I was a big fan of T.A. Barron's The Lost Years of Merlin series as well.

Also, Diane Duane's So You Want to Be a Wizard. That one's a little strange, though. (It has a white hole named Fred as one of the main characters).

Edited November 29, 2011 by Sir_Read-a-Lot

[KChan Son of Honor]

You could also check out the Sunshine State Young Readers Award. It's a program in Florida designed to encourage kids to read for pleasure, and I know I really enjoyed all the books I read when I did the program back in 5th grade.

[Tulir King's Wit]

Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. I thought that series and Secrets of Droon were pretty good.

[LightReader Hazekiller]

I suppose this is probably thread necromancy, but I was wandering around on this forum and after a quick glance through this thread I noticed that no one recommended any of the books that my older brother gave to me when I was that age. David Eddings' The Belgariad and The Mallorean are great starter series for young potential fantasy readers. Going back and reading them now, I find them cliche and a little boring, but when I was just getting started they were fantastic. They introduce the most basic fantasy tropes in a way that is easy to understand and enjoy. Other books that I loved when I was thirteen include the Redwall books by Brian Jacques, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and of course the Chronicles of Narnia.