YA book suggestions

Cactus5 · 2025-07-07T11:41:25+00:00

Hi, my 11 year old (year 7) daughter has been advised that she should be reading Young Adult books, so she's asked for some for her birthday. Could anyone suggest any good YA books that would be suitable for her age? I've had a look in the library and they all seem to be about love/relationships!

Needmorelego · 07/07/2025 12:44

Does she have a particular genre she likes?

Needmorelego · 07/07/2025 12:46

Has she read lots of the classics which are often marketed as "children's" books but really are more for teens (Little Women, Anne of Green Gables etc).

clary · 07/07/2025 13:26

Placematking - my dd works in a library and is all over the YA genre. What are her interests tho?

I’ll quiz DD later and post again.

Original poster

Cactus5 · 07/07/2025 13:34

She likes adventure books and doesn't like anything too upsetting. She really enjoyed A M Howell books The Garden of Lost Secrets and Mystery of the Night Watchers.

OP posts:

JustMarriedBecca · 07/07/2025 14:07

Hunger Games
Divergent series

Needmorelego · 07/07/2025 14:17

@Cactus5 I don't know those books so I googled them - they look really nice.
Does she like the historical settings?
Books I enjoyed (but never read until I was in my late teens or as an adult) are classics like...
The Secret Garden
A Little Princess
Toms Midnight Garden
Anne of Green Gables
Little House on the Prairie.
(Basically if it's in Puffin Classics go for it)
My 17 year old recently dug up my old copy of Moondial and read that.

Neodymium · 07/07/2025 14:17

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WaitedBlankey · 07/07/2025 14:20

Stone Heart trilogy by Charlie Fletcher is a good one.
Tuck Everlasting is good too.

Original poster

Cactus5 · 07/07/2025 17:31

Thank you all for the recommendations! I will choose a few of those !

OP posts:

clary · 07/07/2025 20:28

Hi I got some info from DD but she has now gone out and I wasn't able to write it down so will post again.

Just a few thoughts tho:

DD thinks and I agree that wonderful tho Little Women and Anne of Green Gables are, they are not suitable for an 11yo. Not bc of sex or violence (!) but just the language is quite complex and the themes addressed will proabably seem remote and dull for an 11yo.

Something classic like The Secret Garden would be good tho if she hasn't read that, as that was aimed at children - whereas LW was written for (IMO) young women in their late teens (not called that then haha) and is better read by a 13-4yo who can have a better idea of the historical context and the issues rasied.

DD also said (and I really agree) that The Hunger Games is really not suitable for an 11yo. If it doesn't really disturb her, the themes will go way over her head.

In fact she suggested that rather than YA as such, which is aimed at 13+ really, she might want to look at some of the books in the children's section at a higher level. Here is where I come unstuck as I cannot recall the titles. But one thing she did say was Jacqueline Wilson – no, not all of them, but quite a few are aimed at pre-teens.

One tip was to look at the age of the protagonists – if they are roughly the age of the reader then you are on the money. If an 11yo picks up a book about a 16yo heroine, chances are it will be too old for them. The risk is not just upset over adult themes, but also "this is really boring" and being put off reading.

Will post again with some actual titles from DD (who btw is 24, and an avid reader who grew up on YA).

Needmorelego · 07/07/2025 20:43

@clary but if an 11 year old is wanting to cross from "children's" books to YA classics like Little Women are perfect because they are about older teens but written in a more age appropriate way than modern books.
I will admit that Little Women is a bit of a slow one (and Little Men and Jo's Boys are very boring) but there's no harm in an 11 year old giving it a try.
@Cactus5 I recently discovered E Nesbit books (I knew of them but had never read them) - The Railway Children, 5 Children and It etc.
They are quite easy to read.

clary · 07/07/2025 20:48

Needmorelego · 07/07/2025 20:43

@clary but if an 11 year old is wanting to cross from "children's" books to YA classics like Little Women are perfect because they are about older teens but written in a more age appropriate way than modern books.
I will admit that Little Women is a bit of a slow one (and Little Men and Jo's Boys are very boring) but there's no harm in an 11 year old giving it a try.
@Cactus5 I recently discovered E Nesbit books (I knew of them but had never read them) - The Railway Children, 5 Children and It etc.
They are quite easy to read.

E Nesbit and maybe Noel Streatfeild (tho perhaps a bit young; I know I read Ballet Shoes aged about 10) are good shouts, tho not YA obvs.

I really am not sure that an 11yo would enjoy Little Women. I love it but the context and so many things about it are alien to a young child in 2025. The harm is a fear of putting them off reading it, that's all.

I read Jane Eyre aged about 14 and it blew my mind; but looking back I think I was a bit young for it, even then. I’m not equating LW and JA tho haha.

Tom’s Midnight Garden is another good suggestion and maybe the Narnia books (not The Last Battle tho); again I had read them by secondary school, but CS Lewis died a year before I was born so I was certainly closer to the world he write about (and the language he uses) than an 11yo today.

Btw if you or anyone are finding today's books not age appropriate, that’s because tyou have the wrong books. A YA book aimed at a 16yo is certainly not appropriate for an 11yo, that's just what DD is saying. But there are contemporary books that would suit.

Needmorelego · 07/07/2025 21:03

@Cactus5 the best thing to do is take her to your local library and try different books.
Remind her she doesn't have to finish a book if she isn't enjoying it.
If she's read any of the contemporary set Jacqueline Wilson books and enjoyed them then Cathy Cassidy and Jean Ure books are fairly similar.
I personally like the historical Jacqueline Wilson books - Hetty Feather etc.

clary · 07/07/2025 21:09

OK DD is back and suggests:

Historical mysteries - the Murder Most Ladylike series

More fantasy-orientated - Morgan Crow series by Emily Townsend
Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston

Cornelia Funk - Inkheart triology

Percy Jackson series - by Rick Riordan

Elle McNicol also good, also MG Leonard.

Agree tho go to the library and look at the children's section upper age group, obvs not the picture or infant age books. She says avoid anything in the teen and YA section as it will be romance and just too mature for her. Once she is 13+ they will be great books to read.

ETA: @JustMarriedBecca that's great that your DD was able to read and understand and enjoy the Hunger Games. I suspect an 11yo who wanted to avoid anything upsetting (as the OP has said) might not. I agree P&P obvs has no distressing themes, but might be a challenge for a lot of 11yos. It's one of my absolute fave books tho so brilliant that she liked it :)

JustMarriedBecca · 07/07/2025 21:11

clary · 07/07/2025 20:28

Hi I got some info from DD but she has now gone out and I wasn't able to write it down so will post again.

Just a few thoughts tho:

DD thinks and I agree that wonderful tho Little Women and Anne of Green Gables are, they are not suitable for an 11yo. Not bc of sex or violence (!) but just the language is quite complex and the themes addressed will proabably seem remote and dull for an 11yo.

Something classic like The Secret Garden would be good tho if she hasn't read that, as that was aimed at children - whereas LW was written for (IMO) young women in their late teens (not called that then haha) and is better read by a 13-4yo who can have a better idea of the historical context and the issues rasied.

DD also said (and I really agree) that The Hunger Games is really not suitable for an 11yo. If it doesn't really disturb her, the themes will go way over her head.

In fact she suggested that rather than YA as such, which is aimed at 13+ really, she might want to look at some of the books in the children's section at a higher level. Here is where I come unstuck as I cannot recall the titles. But one thing she did say was Jacqueline Wilson – no, not all of them, but quite a few are aimed at pre-teens.

One tip was to look at the age of the protagonists – if they are roughly the age of the reader then you are on the money. If an 11yo picks up a book about a 16yo heroine, chances are it will be too old for them. The risk is not just upset over adult themes, but also "this is really boring" and being put off reading.

Will post again with some actual titles from DD (who btw is 24, and an avid reader who grew up on YA).

Edited

Cripes.
My DD read Anne of Green Gables in Year 2 (age 7)
Pride and Prejudice in Year 5
And Hunger Games in Year 5 (age 10)

It's perfectly fine. You know what your child is capable of.

The themes have not gone over her head and we've had perfectly adequate discussion over them. She identified Darcy as potentially autistic and I hadn't even THOUGHT about it (I googled it and turns out potentially a thing)

Benvenuto · 07/07/2025 21:19

clary · 07/07/2025 20:28

Hi I got some info from DD but she has now gone out and I wasn't able to write it down so will post again.

Just a few thoughts tho:

DD thinks and I agree that wonderful tho Little Women and Anne of Green Gables are, they are not suitable for an 11yo. Not bc of sex or violence (!) but just the language is quite complex and the themes addressed will proabably seem remote and dull for an 11yo.

Something classic like The Secret Garden would be good tho if she hasn't read that, as that was aimed at children - whereas LW was written for (IMO) young women in their late teens (not called that then haha) and is better read by a 13-4yo who can have a better idea of the historical context and the issues rasied.

DD also said (and I really agree) that The Hunger Games is really not suitable for an 11yo. If it doesn't really disturb her, the themes will go way over her head.

In fact she suggested that rather than YA as such, which is aimed at 13+ really, she might want to look at some of the books in the children's section at a higher level. Here is where I come unstuck as I cannot recall the titles. But one thing she did say was Jacqueline Wilson – no, not all of them, but quite a few are aimed at pre-teens.

One tip was to look at the age of the protagonists – if they are roughly the age of the reader then you are on the money. If an 11yo picks up a book about a 16yo heroine, chances are it will be too old for them. The risk is not just upset over adult themes, but also "this is really boring" and being put off reading.

Will post again with some actual titles from DD (who btw is 24, and an avid reader who grew up on YA).

Edited

Jacqueline Wilson has some interesting historical ones - there’s one about a sweet factory before World War 1 but the ending is very sad.

Reading that, I thought of Eva Ibbotson’s older books (Journey to the River Sea, Star of Kazan & the Dragonfly Pool) come to mind as they are children’s books but quite sophisticated in style. Emma Carroll might be worth a look too as she has some really interesting stories (I like Strange Star which is about Mary Shelley). My DC (& I) enjoyed Hilary McKay’s Saffy’s Angel series (about teenagers) & Kevin Crossley-Holland’s Arthur trilogy when younger & DS1 really enjoyed Diana Wynne Jones at that age (which I appreciated as it allowed me to reread her).

Waterstones does a monthly blog on children’s books which has a YA section & the Guardian also has monthly reviews if you want to find out more about YA authors (my impression too from these it that the genres can seem a bit limited).

LottieMary · 07/07/2025 21:19

Take a look at the Carnegie prize lists - they’re some older as well so check the content reviews but theyve always got great ones on the list

MyUmberOrca · 07/07/2025 21:30

I recommend the Lady most unladylike series. It's kind of Mallory Towers meets Agatha Christie.

I particularly liked the fact that they've been written recently so the casual racism of the 1920's/30's is commented upon in the books as the narrator of the story is from Hong Kong. I felt it made my daughter think about times and attitudes have changed. She was surprised that people lied about being gay to prevent being arrested and how people of other races were treated.

More recently she's enjoyed a good girls guide to murder although I think 11 is probably a bit on the young side for that.

scissy · 07/07/2025 23:36

If she's into fantasy then some of the Terry Pratchett is OK for that age range - DD read "Good Omens" around then (we watched the TV series after to compare).
It'll depend what she likes though - in Y6 DD was all over the Hunger Games.

Stormroses · 07/07/2025 23:44

Has she read any Cornelia Funke? The Thief Lord is fabulous and atmospheric, and DC loved Inkheart.

Although she wrote ages ago, Joan Aitken is timeless - it's steampunk-ish adventure with wonderful characters. DC adored Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Blackhearts in Battersea.

I haven't read them but just Googled out of interest for 11 year old female detective characters. There's a series called Friday Barnes about a boarding school girl who solves mysteries. And another called Flavia de Luce about an aspiring chemist girl detective.