Book recommendations to read aloud to a 12 year old

[ForgivenessIsDivine]

who is a sensitive soul with exacting taste in books. I am probably past reading books aloud but she still loves it so I would like something that I can love as well. Preferably not a series.

We loved The Tale of Morigan Crow, liked The North Child, enjoyed the Beetle Books by MG Leonard and The Dark Wild series but have probably moved beyond these now. We both enjoyed reading 'Where the World Ends' though didn't read it aloud.

She is quite a fan of Katherine Rundell, Abi Elphinstone and Lauren St John but I do think as she has moved up to Secondary school, we can also step up our reading.

His Dark Materials was good, The Book of Dust, not so much.

They have to 'touch our hearts' but not be overly emotional and not too dark.

(By this age, her elder brother was reading a book a day on his own... and her younger brother would happily read himself but she likes the parent interaction. She also reads a fair bit on her own.)

a boy called hope

I, Kensuki

Goodnight Mr Tom

Has she read Wonder? That was DS’s favourite book at that age.

What about The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness? It’s the first in a trilogy, but I read the first one to DS (he loved being read to still at that age as well) and then he read the others himself. One of my favourite YA novels.

Has she read The Dark is Rising? Also part of a series, but a good standalone read as well.

I'm currently reading Black Hearts in Battersea to my 11yo. Or have you tried Diana Wynne Jones? Anne of Green Gables?

Ballet Shoes (etc.)
The Swish of the Curtain
The Star of Kazan
The Dragonfly Pool
My Family and Other Animals - quite touching in parts, hilarious (and a bit sweary) in others...

Thank you all.. I will review them with her this evening.. Some lovely suggestions.

Goodnight Mister Tom... I could not read that out loud. I sobbed through it first time and had to stop. I am made of feeble jelly.

I am going to give Anne of Green Gables my best PR spin. We had The Secret Garden on audio book over the summer which she really enjoyed so maybe this might be a hit.

Our favourite audio book of the summer was Mortal Engines.,.. I can't wait for the Peter Jackson film to come out!!

The silver sword?

Jamaica Inn?
Sherlock Holmes?
Dickens?
Alan Garner?

Ds likes old style books. His favourite ones have usually been part of a series:
Lone Pine Series
Swish of the Curtain Series
Biggles
Chrestomancy Series

But he also loved Cue for Treason and he's also currently enjoying No Boats on Bannermere by the same author.

I'd also suggest for your dd books by Monica Edwards. Ds has enjoyed them. They're often marketed as pony stories, but there's a lot more to them than that. You could start at the beginning (Wish for a Pony) which is quite a bit easier to read. However, I don't think it's the best. My favourite is "The White Riders", ds loved "Storm Ahead" and "Hidden in a Dream", "Dolphin Summer" "No going back" and "Punchbowl Midnight" (different series to the others)

They fit your criteria for being not too emotional, and not too dark.
You can get most of them on ebay in the armada (unfortunately abridged but good enough to get a good enough story) for only a small amount.

I capture the castle

Goodnight Mister Tom
Back Home (same author as above)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Watership Down

Oh, and

The Silver Sword
I Am David