Books for 14 yr old dd - PLEASE

[Hullygully]

She's read everything - I warn you...

Desperate for ideas.

Had some BRILLIANT suggestions for ds, got them all, and he loved them all.

Now it's her turn.

15 yo dd is reading The Advantages of Being A Wallflower at the moment as it's coming out on film, and then got Madame Bovary lined up for same reason (Ezra Miller being the relevant connection here!).

Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, second the Jane Gardam ones (esp A Long Way from Verona, Bilgewater and Crusoe's Daughter). Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye, Cold Comfort Farm, Jeeves and Wooster books. HATED Catcher in the Rye (the idiot), On the Road.

I have the same problem with my two. We have a house full of books (probably at least 10,000 of them), including several whole bookcases of children's books, but I think the DCs see them as part of the furniture rather than a source of reading material.

And it doesn't always help if I try to help them pick: I have been telling DD (nearly 10) that she would love a particular book (Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea) for more than a year. It has been on several holidays with us and returned unread. Finally, this summer, at the start of yet another long train journey (we were interrailing) when she had nothing else to read, she took it out of her suitcase - and hardly put it down for the next 24 hours. As I thought, she loved it.

And yes, I did say 'I told you so' and 'why didn't you believe me?' and 'next time I recommend something, will you listen?' but I don't hold much hope (this isn't the first time). I am starting to think that if I recommend something it is the kiss of death, and they will read anything but that book. DS (14) won't browse the shelves to look for something either, but he is (marginally) more likely to read something if I pick it off the shelf and hand it to him (High Fidelity was a hit last year).

Oh yes, also all the Nick Hornbys and John O'Farrell, for lighter reads!

I do still find her revisiting things like Little House in The Big Woods when she's in the mood for a comfort read though....

there are parental controls with the new software update for just that reason!

Gone series by Michael Grant
Maximum Ride series (much loved by my 13yo DD)
Power of 5 by Anthony Horowitz
Noble Warriors trilogy by William Nicholson
Neil Gaiman
Wind on Fire trilogy also by William Nicholson
Ghost Girl (utter rubbish but recommended by DD)
Hush, Hush books
Tomorrow when the war began by John Marsden
Medusa Project
Blood Ties
Chaos Walking series

Hully - yes, I found the actual description of unwinding possibly one of the most horrific things I have read. I could cope with the idea (Never Let Me Go etc) but the actual writing down of that boy's experience from the First Person was more chilling than anything I've read.

I've tried to recommend less well known books, as I imagine if you've read Unwind (ie which most people haven't), you have a fair knowledge of the more popular stuff out there.

My kids have also enjoyed the Tithe/Valiant/Ironside books by Holly Black (who wrote the Spiderwick Chronicles for younger children).

Also American classics like Lois Lowry books, and Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt) and Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson).

I would also recommend, though both of these are tough reads (confusing to some degree for most adults!) - Red Shift by Alan Garner, and Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones.

Books my 14yr old dd has recently read and enjoyed
The Shadow of the Wind
The Book Thief
Me Before You
The Secret Life of Bees
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

I have also given her all the Nick Hornby books but she hasn't started them yet.

Try Born Free by Joy Adamson and the sequel Living Free. My 12yo dd loved those books.

She's reading Anne Frank at the moment, is relating to a lot of the stuff and as your dd is the same age as Anne Frank was, she might get into it. Bit of a tear-jerker though.

Also, see what she makes of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The stories are all short and my dd loves them. If she likes them she might want to read The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Casson family series by Hilary McKay(on the basis that everyone of whatever age I know who has read them likes them!),Knife (which sounds twee but isn't at all...) The Various here (ditto)though perhaps she would think of them as "hobbitty"??,and has anyone recommended Mapp and Lucia (EF Benson)?

Books I enjoyed about that age were the Jean M Auel books of which the Clan of the Cave Bear is the first. I also enjoyed Stephen King - Carrie would probably be a good one to start with if she fancied those.

Maybe not literary classics, but save that for the school books and later, reading at that age needs to be about enjoyment to keep them reading.

Does she do Vampires? The vampire diaries? Morganville vampires series? Lauren Kate - Fallen, Torment.
I read Piers Anthony Xanth books at that age and Agatha Christie amongst others :)

At that age I was reading Jilly Cooper, Virginia Andrews, James Herbert, Shirley Conran, Judith Krantz and Emmanuelle. Heaven knows how I managed to pass my Eng Lit A level.

You could reasonably give her the slim Jilly Coopers with the eponymous heroines I guess, or Steven King. I loved Ursula Le Guin and Titus Groan, and would second Wodehouse and Heyer.

Has she read Siobhan Dowd? London eye mystery too young but the other two not.

What about some funny books? The Gerald Durrells? Agree Wodehouse.

Horses, too young but I still enjoy them, my friend Flicka, which she would read with a more adult eye, green grass if Wyoming. Animals, the longest journey?

Classics, Sherlock Holmes stories, The Woodlanders, a day in the life if Ivan Denisovic, the checkov short stories, Gorky's childhood and apprenticeships.

Agree Gardam and Dodie Smith.

Garner the owl service? Is the dark is rising sequence too young?

if she likes Anne, try Emily of New moon and also Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Also the more adult of Frances Hodgson Burnett.

A room with a view.

Biographies a great stand by. Also diaries. The sequels to when Hitler stole pink rabbit?

What about poetry? Wendy Cope appeals a lot to that age (and me).

Cold Comfort Farm.

Good but not so well known are 'Chinese Cinderella,' and the Kevin and Sadie series by Joan Lingard. Look out for a new quality dystopian series coming out soon - the Hybrid Chronicles. I've just read the first one 'What's Left of Me,' and it's really good, pre-Hunger Games dystopian writing. Reminded me of the Declaration by Gemma Malley. Also (a bit violent but really well written) is 'Summertime of the Dead' by Gregory Hughes. If you've not tried 'Unhooking the Moon' by him, then that is definitely worth a read. Am also reading 'At Yellow Lake' at the moment - if she likes a bit of menace and suspense, then it might be worth a try. The Spooks series by Joseph Delaney is proving popular with my 13 year old too.

She really liked Chinese Cinderella, there was another one as well, can't remember the name.

Animal books pretty much all read, inc Durrells etc

I have a dd like this! Her favourite is 'a little love song' by Michelle magorian.

How about the Agatha Raisin comic detective novels? I think the first one is still 99p on kindle. Or is it only 'real' b

ooks? I bet there are loads in the charity shops if you don't want to spend much.

I do trawl the charity shops too, it's good to have suggestions from others with dds of same age tho.

Did I see she liked horse books?
Jojo moyes - the horse dancer
Does she like any crime stuff? Lyndon Stacey is horse based crime but not scary crime

P.s my Mum gave up and dumped me in the library with an adult library card

Great thread! I'm looking for suggestions as I have a DSD who is 14. She reads at a younger level than hully's DD though (more due to emotional maturity than reading age I think), she's read most Jacqueline Wilson, is now reading all the Harry Potters, she also enjoyed the Diamond Brothers series and is planning to read the Hunger Games trilogy as she loved the movie.

I was wondering if anyone (or anyone's teenager) has read the Jodi Picoult book (cowritten with somebody else I believe), Between the Lines? It's classed as a teenage book in the library and looks like a fun story.

Do you mean there was another Cinderella book out, Hully? You might be thinking of "Ash" by Malinda Yo, which is a re-telling of the story for YA's but with a same-sex romance.

Coly - just checked on amazon, there are lots of them!

look