Contemporary fiction for 11 year old.

[lydiarobinson]

I'm looking for some recommendations for my 11 year old niece. She's an enthusiastic reader but not too keen on 'old fashioned' books by Noel Streatfeild, Enid Blyton etc. which is a pity as we have tons of those that we kept from our childhood.

She loved the Olivia series, is a big fan of Jacqueline Wilson and, of course, devoured Harry Potter. I'm trying to think of other contemporary children's books she might enjoy and would welcome suggestions.

[ApplesTheHare]

Has she read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness?

[lardyscouse]

James Patterson's teenage books are excellent.

www.jamespatterson.com/

[Linds53]

Rebecca Stead's When you Reach Me is brilliant.
Agree that Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy is great too.

[JillBYeats]

Ruby Redfort
School of fear
anything by David Walliams
The Benedict Society a trilogy like the first two above

[alexpolistigers]

This is a good series for that age group

My children haven't really got on well with Lauren Child's books, like Ruby Redfort and Clarice Bean, which is a bit annoying, as I bought them loads on recommendation! Perhaps they will come back to them later.

[Booksteensmagazines]

Mortal Engines series by Philip reeve - very well written series, dystopian future, original

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - magical story set in Scotland based on the tales of kelpie horses

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by SJ Maas - fairy tale style story based on Beauty and the Beast -

Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke - story about people who bring characters in books to life as they read

Split Second series by Sophie McKenzie - popular contemporary author, dystopian future set in London

She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgewick - adventure story with young girl who is blind, well written

Gods and Warriors series by Michelle Paver - set in Bronze Age Greece, beautifully written and researched

[Linds53]

Cornelia Funke's Thief Lord is good too and Jeanne Du Prau's City of Ember. Both made into very disappointing films.

[RunAwayHome]

Lauren St John - mystery books (bit like Enid Blyton adventures in some ways, but very modern), as well as another series

Eva Ibbotson has also been popular with young teenagers I know

Phillip Pullman? Possibly a little hard for that ages group, though I know several who read them, just not sure how much they get out of it.

[lydiarobinson]

Thanks for all those recommendations. They are really helpful.

[emmaMBC]

The Secret Hen House Theatre is beautifully written, plus, a follow up has just been released this year. Definitely modern, with a great sense of the old fashioned adventure stories.