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Children's books

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Original poster

Would love any book ideas for 11/12 year old girl please? - she loves reading if she has good books and trying to keep her off screens!

45 replies

HomeWorking · 30/10/2017 19:13

Hi, can anyone recommend any good books for my nearly 12 yo DD?? She has read and loved all the Harry Potters and Lauren St John and we are looking for some new ideas. If she has a good book, she doesn't attempt to go on devices all the time! I would be extremely grateful for any suggestions with her birthday and Christmas coming up - thank you!!!

OP posts:
twinone · 31/10/2017 22:22

The adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

ItchySeveredFoot · 31/10/2017 22:22

Definitely Tamora Pierce. The Wee Free men is good. Anything but the Jaquiline Wilson books. They're awful.

GingerPCatt · 31/10/2017 22:20

The Skullduggery Pleasant series. Fantasy (magic) lots of action and really funny. The heroine is 12 in the first book.

Biscuitsneeded · 31/10/2017 22:19

DS and I just read Goldfish Boy together. Brilliant book. Had us gripped and made us both cry!

JoyceDivision · 31/10/2017 22:15

Ruby Redfort
Mysterious Benedict Society
Hunger Games trilogy

user1498205994 · 31/10/2017 22:10
  • A series of unfortunate events
  • Noughts & Crosses
  • Lucas
shakeyourcaboose · 31/10/2017 22:08

Have you tried Terry Pratchett Tiffany Aching series? Wee Free Men and so on? Great early feminist stuff!

Ohyesiam · 31/10/2017 22:06

Kate Meryon books. I bought the set of five for my daughter, and she didn't go on her iPad till she has finished them . unheard of for her.

reynoldsnumber · 31/10/2017 22:06

And maybe try some terry pratchett if she likes fantasy type novels.

reynoldsnumber · 31/10/2017 22:05

Ursula le guin earthsea trilogy

C S Lewis if not already read - there's seven in that series

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 31/10/2017 22:03

The Roman Mysteries. Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy is fantastic. DS’s all-time favourite book is Wonder - and the film of that is coming out soon too.

Philip Pullman is a bit marmite with teens, but all the girls I have taught have loved John Green.

GertrudeBelle · 31/10/2017 22:03

I devoured The Belgariad by David Eddings at that age. Really good fantasy page turner, and it's a series so will keep her going for a while.

quirkychick · 31/10/2017 22:02

Yes, lots of these:
His Dark Materials & Sally Lockhart books
Percy Jackson series
Dark is Rising books
Shadowhunters (started reading after watching on tv)
Diana Wynne Jones
Eva Ibbotson
Judy Blume (some are more adult, though)
Warrior Cats series

Kragghooooooullllll · 31/10/2017 22:02

Artemis Fowl series and yy to Agatha Christie, I used to collect them at her age.

Alibobbob · 31/10/2017 22:00

Jaqueline Wilson books

HeyMicky · 31/10/2017 21:56

Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series
Judith Kerr When Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit and sequel

oncewasawarrior · 31/10/2017 21:52

DD (11, nearly 12) has just read

  1. The fault in our stars (“best book EVER”)
  2. Noughts and Crosses (“Even better than The Fault in our stars”)
  3. The Outsiders (SE Hinton)
  4. A Monster Calls
  5. The Harlen Coben YA series about Mickey Bolitar (important to make sure it’s the YA ones!!)
ISaySteadyOn · 31/10/2017 21:48

Anything by Diana Wynne Jones. Also, I devoured Agatha Christie novels at that age.

MoNigheanDonn · 31/10/2017 21:46

Percy Jackson series

ojell · 31/10/2017 21:45

I was about 12 when I first read Tamora Pierce’s ‘Song of the Lioness’ quartet. The first two books have just been reprinted in a single edition. They’re brilliant if she’s into fantasy and magic.

Philip Pullman would be a good next step. His Dark Materials is great, and knocks HP into a cocked (sorting?) hat, but the Sally Lockhart books (Ruby in the Smoke etc.) are also great - Victorian, slightly melodramatic mysteries with a plausible yet kick-ass female protagonist.

I discovered relatively recently Eva Ibbotson’s mittel-European adventure stories - The Dragonfly Pool and The Star of Kazan are both good (I actually ‘read’ these as audiobooks from the local library, which I would also recommend).

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