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Recommendations please - I've got one shot at this!

53 replies

SheenMcQueen · 15/03/2021 10:20

I am an avid reader as is DS
DD, not so much
Apart from books assigned by school, she has failed to finish a book in years (and I'm not convinced she even reads her English set books properly).

She is 15, bright but just not a reader. We both know that her English tests and comprehensions suffer due to a general lack of 'language' going into her head and she also accepts that too much time on her phone/social media/youtube etc has not helped with her concentration levels. She been reading a short book I bought her a few Christmas' ago for about four years. She says it's ok and she quite likes it but she can't get lost in it (Eleanor and Park).

I suggested audible to her as a way. to ease herself back into finding a love for stories and she is very skeptical. She listens to music all the time and thinks this is 'stealing' her music time. But she knows she has to do something. So she has agreed to 'try one book'.

One!
The pressure to get it right is high!

It can't be too challenging initially and she needs to be drawn in quite quickly. Nothing 'fantasy' or twee. She is a typical teen (whatever that means). She into music and skating mostly and is quite 'streetwise'.

I wondered about something with a big twist like 'We Were Liars' as I think she'd like the jolt at the end and also the element of 'angst' or 'Girl in Pieces' for the same 'angsty' vibe, but wondered if anyone had any good suggestions. If she hates it, I'm going to have to work hard to make her try again so it would be brilliant to find something that she likes.

Sorry for the essay but I thought background would be useful!

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SheenMcQueen · 15/03/2021 13:08

Bump. Anyone?

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Clockingon · 15/03/2021 13:24

I have 3 dc one is an avid reader of anything and everything (and you can tell this has a direct inpact on grades), one is severely dyslexic and hasn't picked a book up in years and the third is just lazy.
He's 12 so a little younger, he did try audible over the summer and enjoyed it but hasn't kept it up since the going back to school in September. The only thing he'll read is non fiction to do with his hobbies so at the moment the English teacher has told us to encourage this as it's better than not reading at all has she got any hobbies /interests?

CluelessMama · 15/03/2021 13:35

The Hate U Give maybe?

MadeinBelfast · 15/03/2021 13:39

I'd be tempted to go for something very easy reading and not at all 'educational' to start. Marian Keyes, Cecilia Ahern or maybe eg Kathy Reichs (Has she watched the TV series Bones which is based on Kathy's books?). I know they might not massively improve her vocabulary but if she starts enjoying reading maybe she'll move on to more 'serious' novels. I think a 15 year old may prefer something aimed at adults rather than teens.

ElMacchiato · 15/03/2021 14:48

Books that might fit your criteria include ones by Karen McManus , a series the 1st of which is One of us is Lying.
Also John Green, wrote The Fault in Our Stars, and more recently Turtles all the Way Down, plus others.

SheenMcQueen · 15/03/2021 14:56

@ElMacchiato I wondered about John Green. And I'll have a look at One of Us is Lying now. Thank you.

It's so hard. I feel sad for her that she doesn't love reading. And maybe that won't ever be her thing, but she definitely needs to embrace books a bit more, if only to improve her general grades.

But mostly, I want her to love books.

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Topbird29 · 15/03/2021 18:03

How about something like the first of the hunger games trilogy? Nit really fantasy, and does have a strong female character.

QuentinWinters · 15/03/2021 18:09

The only books my daughter has read since becoming a teen are the Chaos Walking trilogy. They've just been made into a film with Tom Holland so lots of teen chat about them too on tik tok etc which might help!
Brilliant books, kinda dystopian

QuentinWinters · 15/03/2021 18:10

Otherwise Hunger Games is a good shout if she hasn't seen the films. Or Echoes by Laura Tisdall

DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 16/03/2021 03:53

Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious is good. Johnson is a very experienced YA author. I also like Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan’s Spoiled. It’s very funny, has a lot about youth culture, but with a proper heart. Their book The Royal We might also be a topical choice.

1vandal2 · 16/03/2021 04:01

Tracy Beaker

SheenMcQueen · 16/03/2021 12:11

I thought about Hunger Games. That is kind of on my shortlist for possible contenders. It might help that she's seen the film.

@1vandal2 I think she believes TB is too young for her. Which - considering that she reads nothing - is a bit rich. But I think she would turn her nose up.

Frankly, I'd be happy to see her get through The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

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thisisnotwhatisignedupfor · 16/03/2021 12:17

My DD and I really enjoyed A swift pure cry by Siobhan Dowd. It is quite a sad story but I felt it more as an adult than DD did as a teen.

Standrewsschool · 16/03/2021 12:17

Diary of Adrien Mole?

book list

Any of these ?

kikidee · 16/03/2021 14:15

My almost 17 year old DS has just read The Handmaid's Tale and really enjoyed it. He started reading before bed again at Christmas and has worked his way through a few since then to my great delight.
I've heard people say that the success of an audible book can vary depending on the reader.

milinhas · 16/03/2021 14:22

I think We Were Liars is a good shout... i life Rivers of London but it kind of is fantasy so might not be a goer (but very enjoyable!). How about Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld?

SheenMcQueen · 16/03/2021 14:32

@kikidee. I love Margaret Atwood and am sure she will enjoy Handmaid's Tale in time (if I can get her reading). But whilst it's not a tricky book to read, it does require a level of something that I can't pinpoint and that I don't think she is ready for yet. It's a shame - it's a good shout and I might be doing DD a dis-service, but I do want her to find it 'quite easy' so she doesn't feel overwhelmed.

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iloveredwine · 16/03/2021 14:33

My daughter has just finished the good girls guide to murder. She really enjoyed it and it not a natural reader. Just ordered her the 2nd book in the series

SheenMcQueen · 16/03/2021 14:33

thanks for that list @Standrewsschool. Holes is DS favourite book and he has 'lent it to her'. It is languishing on a shelf.

Adrian Mole? Maybe.... Has it stood the test of time? I'd quite like to reread it I think.

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SheenMcQueen · 16/03/2021 14:34

This is all really helpful. I am compiling lists...

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StellaAndCrow · 16/03/2021 16:08

And maybe don't put too much pressure on yourself about having "one shot". Maybe just have a few things in mind that she might like when she's open to it. You're doing brilliant!

TroubleUsedToBeMyBusiness · 28/03/2021 13:05

OK - I would maybe approach this differently and ask her what type/kind of book she would like to read? What theme

Horror - How about some Stephen King? I loved Stephen King at age 14 or thereabouts. Gone series by Michael Grant is good too.
The Girl with all the Gifts is great too.
Fantasy - Sarah J Mass - I would go for Throne of Glass
Fantasy - Cassandra Clare City of Bones from the Shadowhunters series
Dystopian - The Hunger Games
Sci-Fi / Dystopian - Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Contemporary - The Hate U Give, Malorie Blackman Noughts and Crosses series
Crime - Agatha Christie

Maybe avoid classic literature for now as it is a bit more inaccessible because of the language. But the Scott Fitzgerald short stories are great and quite light.

And find out what she has read at school - a lot of these suggestions may already have been covered at school

SheenMcQueen · 28/03/2021 13:57

@TroubleUsedToBeMyBusiness

Thanks. That's a great list. I'd thought of Stephen King (also lived him growing up and still now actually) and The Girl with all the Gifts. DS loved that.

DS also lived a lifts amd Crosses abs Hunger Games but the others are nee to me.

I am staying away from classics bi definitely just want to pique her interest!

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SheenMcQueen · 28/03/2021 13:57

God so many typos on my phone. Sorry

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TroubleUsedToBeMyBusiness · 28/03/2021 15:52

@SheenMcQueen
Glad it's helpful. I've been reading loads of ahem 'middle grade' and young adult books so that I am always one step ahead of DS.