Getting 15 year old reading again

[helpnavigateteens]

My DD is almost 15. She stopped reading for pleasure probably more than a year ago. She seems very opposed to starting again but I think she'd benefit hugely.

I'm looking for suggestions for authors/specific books that might tempt her back. She used to like The School for Good and Evil, Harry Potter, that kind of thing.

Grateful for any ideas 😊

Try the author Lauren Oliver.

I was going to say…. Even if she’s not reading this stuff she’ll be thinking it. Novels are a much safer way to explore sexuality than online!

I think almost the opposite, I know they're all different but I would expect a 15 year old to want something quite grown up, certainly not Northern Lights or Hunger Games.

I loved The Godfather and Stephen King books as a mid teen. I think you want something that will make her feel like an adult at that age, maybe Queenie or A Good Girl's Guide to Murder?

Also the sex in that particular series (fourth wing) sets good, positive expectations. It’s fully consensual and as part of a loving relationship. The female protagonist is definitely in control.

The kid is 14 as op says nearly 15. And that is still a child regardless of how you look at it. Books aimed at 18+ with explicit sexual content is not appropriate

You think underage kids should be reading sexual explicit content?

I read Hollywood Wives when I was 11 and turned out pretty normal. (Albeit better educated!) 🤭

I think that at 15, with access to everything the internet has to offer then it’s beyond naive to believe that she doesn’t already know all of this already. It is also something that is entirely up to each parent to decide. You don’t have to give it to your children.
Out of interest what would you suggest for a 15 year old girl?? What did you read at that she. Jilly Cooper and Virginia Andrew’s were the thing when I was 15. They’re potentially even worse.

Just because kids may already know about stuff doesn’t mean it should actively be encouraged by adults. Kids are exposed to far too much too young nowadays & there is nothing wrong with wanting them to stay innocent adult things a little longer. If she’s not old enough to purchase the book due to age restrictions then she’s not old enough to be reading.

there are plenty of books aimed at YA & plenty of adult books that don’t contain sexually explicit content. For example I was reading Da Vinci code at 14, Jane Austin, Silvia Plath & Tolkien. I read stuff like Animorphs, goosebumps all of which are appropriate for the audience.

You wouldn’t recommend p**n videos to a teenage boy so why recommend “smut” to a teenage girl? It’s no different really just the medium it’s consumed.

I’m a fan of the Romantasy/dark romance genre & have read the likes of forth wing, haunting Adeline, Lights out and as a responsible adult I would not allow a child (14 is still a child) to read these books

The Hurricane Wars
Mistborn Series

DC2 stopped reading at about 13 or 14. Before that they were reading rather 'easy' books. At age 18 (after completing A-Levels), we found out they were dyslexic. Obviously fairly mildly, but it has an impact.

And for your own child that is a valid choice you can make.
Others feel different.
Porn, involving the exploitation of real, vulnerable women and young men, is categorically not the same as romantic fiction for teenagers.
I read Austin at 14 l, Tolkien also but i doubt they’re going to tempt a teenaged, reluctant reader back to books. I was already a voracious reader.
Goosebumps are for younger kids 10-12 ish. Not likely to inspire a 15 year old. Adventure novels such as Da Vinci code might work but they too have some quite dark themes…

I read ‘the eye of the dragon’ Stephen king at that age as a reluctant reader and loved it.

My 15 year old loves the Fourth Wing series and books of this ilk. I know they have sex in them but since pretty much every tv series or film has sex scenes in I see no point in stopping her reading them.