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Original poster

books for 14yo DN - not too childish, nor too grown up

44 replies

hazyshadeofwinter · 15/08/2015 10:35

I am always stumped by what to get DN for her birthday. She is about to turn 14 and loves reading and writing (ie writing her own stories and poems) but I can't remember what I loved to read at that age.

Any suggestions for classics that would be suitable or young-adult style fiction for her? She also does school plays and what not, so might enjoy a play to read, but again I can't remember what I enjoyed then and my favourites now are too dark I think.

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KatharineClifton · 17/09/2015 22:46

My 13yo DD loves Edgar Allan Poe, perhaps a collected edition?

Preminstreltension · 04/09/2015 10:09

This is a great age for Rebecca isn't it? I loved that and read it loads at that age. I also remember reading Agatha Christie and Nevil Shute (A Town Like Alice) which might be a bit old fashioned now but still a ripping yarn.

Other things I remember enjoying:

My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Frost in May - Antonia White

DuchessofMalfi · 02/09/2015 06:40

It would certainly be educational but perhaps not in the way the OP might want :o

I recall enjoying Jean Plaidy and Georgette Heyer as well when I was a teenager. There's nothing risqué in them! And I read Gone With The Wind at around that age too. And To Kill A Mockingbird.

How about some Sherlock Holmes stories or Jeeves and Wooster stuff? J & W is fairly harmless but a bit dated perhaps?

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. That's another one I read and enjoyed then too.

Wearyheadedlady · 01/09/2015 22:59

"her" not "here"

Wearyheadedlady · 01/09/2015 22:59

Oh Duchess I had completely forgotten there was sex. Sorry.
I read it a long time ago and was thinking it wouldn't be as rude as "Where I found here" when the 14 year old boy has sex with the older woman (when they are trapped together). Hey ho.

DuchessofMalfi · 01/09/2015 20:16

Not sure about Restoration for a 14 year old, weary. I loved it, and its sequel, Merivel, but it's quite rude in places and there's a lot of rather naughty sex.

LIZS · 01/09/2015 19:27

Dd has just read some EM Forster. Oscar Wilde might be good for plays and short stories.

Wearyheadedlady · 01/09/2015 19:25

Restoration by Rose Tremain

shoopshoopsong · 30/08/2015 10:02

I loved Ben Elton at that age

Every1KnowsJeffHesUsuallyACunt · 30/08/2015 10:00

I was that age when I read Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. It's a bit risqué so you might not feel happy about her reading it but I loved history and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact I've loved reading it several times.

I also really loved The Queen and I by Sue Townsend at that age.

WankerDeAsalWipe · 30/08/2015 09:57

www.amazon.co.uk/How-Live-Now-Meg-Rosoff/dp/0141346566

YonicScrewdriver · 30/08/2015 09:52

Yy to Dorothy L Sayers

Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence.

Does she have a kindle? Would she like one - could your budget stretch to one if you combined with another family member and made it a joint Xmas and birthday present.

cdtaylornats · 30/08/2015 09:48

Bill Brysons travel books are good.

Poems by Writers Dogs might be worthwhile if she likes quirky poetry

DuchessofMalfi · 30/08/2015 09:38

Has anyone mentioned Agatha Christie, or Dorothy L Sayers? I loved their novels when I was a teenager :) Would be a real nostalgia trip to revisit them now.

NotCitrus · 30/08/2015 09:00

How about a book token and a list of suggestions for her?

Bill Bryson - Short history of nearly everything is a great introduction to science and scientific method
Ursula le Guin is wonderful - not so much Wizard of Earthsea as that's a bit young, but Left hand of Darkness could be good.
Maybe Watching the English by KAte Fox - amusing intro to different people around the country doing things differently.

Some Marion Zimmer Bradley like Mists of Avalon
Margaret Atwood - Cat's Eye
Antonia Forest - school stories for grownups
PD James - say An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

Some feel-good reads:
James Herriot
Lillian Beckwith - the Hills is Lonely
Linda Hoy - Your friend, Rebecca
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

ShadowLine · 30/08/2015 09:00

I was an avid reader at 14 with a long wish list of books, and I would have much preferred to either be asked what book I wanted, or to get a book token.

There's some great books suggestioned above, but the trouble with buying for someone else is the risk of buying a book in a genre she doesn't like, or buying a book she's already read.

FrancesOldhamKelseyRIP · 30/08/2015 08:35

I think it's too much of a gamble to go with something she might have already read or might hate. Even Wreck This Journal has been out so long that there's a good chance she's done it already (I bought it for loads of pre-teens birthdays a couple of years ago).

Ask for specific suggestions or get her a book token and a lovely journal for writing in.

mountaingirl01 · 30/08/2015 08:30

If she likes fantasy, I second Philip pullman, or the wind singer trilogy by William Nicholson

NeedAScarfForMyGiraffe · 26/08/2015 18:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

IndridCold · 25/08/2015 14:30

I also see someone has mentioned I Capture the Castle (an excellent choice) which made me think of Margaret Kennedy's The Constant Nymph, which is in a similar vein.

IndridCold · 25/08/2015 14:27

Whoops, posted too early.

They were a great cross-over between children and adults books.

IndridCold · 25/08/2015 14:27

I absolutely loved the Flambards books at that age.

mrsmortis · 24/08/2015 15:20

How about Rosemary Sutcliff? The Eagle of the 9th perhaps?

If she like fantasy then:
Sabriel by Garth Nix.
The Chrysalids by John Wynham
Any of the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey.
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Any of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, though I'd probably start her off with Wee Free Men

It also wouldn't be too early for Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre (I think I'd read them by that age).

strawberrypenguin · 22/08/2015 17:48

Goodnight Mister Tom is a fab read.