Help me reel back my now-reluctant reader DD!
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Anonymous
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DD, now 13 yo almost 14, used to read a ton, until about two years ago, although she’d been gravitating more to graphic novels even before then. Now reading seems to be a chore. I would love recommendations for well-written, compelling books for her age range that are also readable and accessible. Basically books she'd love and not just grind through. Her “reading level” is on or above grade, though she does have ADHD which may contribute to all this...
Sadly, I can’t even think of a book she has read in the last year that she said she really enjoyed, though she does seem to like true crime (which is like 180 degrees from my favorite genres, so I’m no help there!). I was inspired by the DCUM “memoirs for 14 yos” thread, and may pick up Born a Crime, but think she would probably prefer fiction. |
Anonymous
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Did she read the Hunger Games series? I'm a well-read grownup and I liked them. I bought the first one at a small town Walmart with a dismal book selection. Liked it so much I had to drive 40 minutes the next day to pick up volumes 2 and 3.
Time for Pride and Prejudice? When I was a teen I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy. And non-fiction history. |
Anonymous
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PP. I really liked Gone Girl although it's about a bad marriage so maybe wouldn't connect. I don't recall it being too sexy. It talks about infertility/fertility treatment.
Naomi Novik's "Spinning Silver" and "Uprooted" are good. Uprooted has a little more graphic sex scene. I was quite disappointed in A Court of Thorns and Roses. First book okay, some characters good, but pretty trashy. |
Anonymous
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Good girls guide to murder
The naturals False Prince A wrinkle in time Maze runner, hunger games, divergent series Let her see you reading a physical book, or out loud an audiobook. Is her school supportive? Our school is amazing for 6th and 7th grade and it catches them at an important time. Provides a non-graded reading period all year. Best thing. If school is stealing all her free time, off load one honors course. I think it’d be better for less school pressure + reading as a pasttime than to lose a love of reading because there is no time. |
Anonymous
The last thing he told me is a way better fit for her age than Gone Girl. A lot shorter too. Gone girl is way too long for what it is. |
Anonymous
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I agree on the Hunger Games books.
At 14 my DD got into Japanese Horror and bought a lot of those books and read them, but they stopped her sleeping so I wouldn't necessarily recommend. |
Anonymous
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Get the audio of the summer I turned pretty and get in the car for a three hour drive somewhere.
It’s a series and these are good to kickstart a reluctant reader of that age. PS- I do this for a living.. |
Anonymous
| Lots of great series for that age that have adventure/magic: His Dark Materials, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, and The Magicians. |
Anonymous
| What books did your DD love back when she was a reader? |
Anonymous
That sounds amazing... but no, her school does not do this, OP here. And I do think that to some extent, her schoolwork did edge out her reading, since homework consumes way too much time for DD, like many ADHD kids. And I agree that this is not necessarily the balance I would strike were it up to me--though as I am currently posting on an online "Book Club," my biases are probably clear  ...
I have been pleased though that at least school has been assigning a lot of full books (which sadly is not always the case in public middle school). One of those was Hunger Games, and DD was only meh about that--which kind of made me mildly despair since surely that should have been at least a quick read... She did like Good Girls Guide to Murder--perhaps the Last Thing He Told Me would work, since I agree Gone Girl may be a bit much? Hadn't heard of Maze Runner which I may try as well (and if nothing else, my 12 yo DS may like (?), who I've managed to keep on the reading train much better!) |
Anonymous
| Get her off social media. It kills concentration. |
Anonymous
Agreed, this is key. |
Anonymous
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I'm the PP who recommended Hunger Games. Sorry to hear that already got ruled out.
The problem with recs for your daughter is her in-between age. Also that fiction targeted towards adult women (and some YA fiction) is very sexy. It's hard to make recs not knowing your personal mores or what might be "too much". I do think that the female memoirs thread holds some promise for you. Middle school is an okay time for romance novels. I recently read most of the Bridgerton books. They are tamer than the Netflix show. If your kid liked Harry Potter, there are a few alternative fanfictions that aren't R rated. To enjoy these, you have to be willing to accept variants on the original ending. Here is the only good "T" rated one I know of. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6532581/1/What-the-Room-Requires There are good fanfics with revisionist endings for other fandoms as well. The main caution about fanfics is that many are written with R rated themes or more. They are pretty sexy. It's easy to find others once you've found the sites where they publish. So maybe that's a genie you don't want to let out of a bottle. I haven't read these myself but my SIL has - the Sara Paretsky detective novels with a female lead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._I._Warshawski Another series I thought of that I read myself and liked. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I found these funny and the Africa setting is very interesting. These are intended for adults but are very PG. Which is rare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No._1_Ladies'_Detective_Agency#:~:text=The%20No.%201%20Ladies'%20Detective%20Agency%20is,and%20featuring%20the%20character%20Mma%20Precious%20Ramotswe. |
Anonymous
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Has she read We were Liars or a to of John Green books?
I have been a huge reader my whole life (I’m 55) and I feel like there was a lot of great YA in the 80s that was realistic, not romance or fantasy. |
Anonymous
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Laurie Halse Anderson is GREAT for this age. Realistic and historical fiction for younger teens—she takes on mature topics. Also has a fantastic historical fiction books- Chains, Speak, Fever. I loved these as an adult. They remind me of the books I grew up reading - extremely well done.
Speak is about a 9th grader who was sexually assaulted. |