I want to buy DD twelve books for Christmas that she'll enjoy but that will also help her with GCSE

[OccamsLadyshaveToo]

She's in Y9 and a strong reader but for the past year has got stuck in a rut of fanfic, manga, anime etc. She is a bit worried about English and the new GCSE format because it's the subject she struggles most at. They have been advised to read as much as possible and with as much variety as possible so on her Christmas list she's put "12 books that will make me pass GCSE!" She plans to read one each month.

So far I've got:

To Kill a Mockingbird
An Austen - probably Pride and Prejudice
The Color Purple
Catcher in the Rye
The Handmaid's Tale
Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Some poetry - maybe Ted Hughes?

She's quite political - particularly gender politics. Her teacher at parents eve recommended a real mix of genres, eras etc. I haven't got a play in there yet. An Inspector Calls is the obvious one but I think they are doing that this term at school. If not it will go in.

Never Let Me Go is on the GCSE syllabus- much more appropriate than Brave New World.

I would also really reccomend Persuasion, A Portrait of a Lady and maybe something a bit out there and different- like Translations.

Oh, it would be a shame to read A Portrait of a Lady so young surely?

I've got a yr 9 dd too - who also reads a lot - and a lot of fanfic - and is interested in politics/gender politics :)

Books mentioned that she's read and (AFAIK) enjoyed -
Delusions of Gender
Room
Brave New World (which she appeared to survive unscarred - it's an interesting one esp if your dd has read the Uglies trilogy)
Jane Eyre

Michael Rosen's Don't Forget the Children book of poems for adults is in my car at the moment for dipping into. I was going to suggest Animal Farm. How about Do It Like A Woman by Caroline Criado-Perez for non fiction?

For poetry, The Rattlebag has been around for years, but I imagine it would still appeal.

If you're getting her Pride and Prejudice, OP, has she seen the Lizzie Bennet Diaries on Youtube? If not, worth looking them out, dd showed them to me and they're apparantly very funny if you're 13. (Actually, that's a bit harsh, they're still quite amusing if you're 46, though rather loud.)

I bought this a couple of weeks ago and its excellent

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1452110581?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Non fiction book with surprisingly good reviews on GoodReads.