lanabug Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I'd like to get my niece some books for Christmas, and need some ideas. I'd like them to be fairly clean. I know she likes dystopian books, but she has read a ton of them. I'm open to classics that early teens enjoy too, as long as the language in them is fairly accessible. What would you suggest? Thanks, Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meena Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 City of Ember series A Wrinkle in Time series -- there's also a great graphic novel adaptation of the first book by Hope Larson The Giver series Stung The Eighth Day Not dystopian but my DD and I recently read and liked The Night Gardener. It was creepy but not in a gory way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I'm beginning to think we really do need a separate board for book recommendations. *cracks knuckles* Zahrah the Windseeker Sky Jumpers (sorta dystopian, but the disaster is so far in the past that they're focusing on the rebuilding) The Lost Conspiracy City of Ember The Bartimaeus Trilogy The Other Side of the Island Tankborn (there's a bit more focus on romance than in books for the younger set, but there's no sex and precious little kissing or even touching) Above World The Boy at the End of the World The Search for WondLa Dark Life The Neptune Project Leviathan (steampunk ftw!) The House of the Scorpion Starglass Akata Witch The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm Feed (a classic of the genre) Scavengers The Sky Inside Salvage (the main character may or may not have had sex prior to being kicked off her spaceship. She's not very clear on the subject, and we don't get nearly enough detail to know the answer to that question ourselves. It's definitely a bit on the edge for 12, though, and I only include it because I think it is very well-written. Has a sequel, Sound, that doesn't have even an elided mention of the subject. You don't need to read the first to understand the second.) The Last Book in the Universe Cinder (every main character ends up paired off in a heterosexual relationship by the end of the series. Except the android. Poor Iko!) When We Wake The Lost Girl (super creepy) The Different Girl Kiki Strike How to Lead a Life of Crime Truancy (this series is written by a Stuyvesant alum... or as we usually call it, a "graduate of a prestigious selective public school in Manhattan", like we won't know that that's gotta be either Stuy, Hunter, or LaGuardia. Having attended that school, let me just say I was utterly unsurprised that the author of an educational-themed dystopia went there as well.) Museum of Thieves The Girl with All the Gifts (not really written for kids at all, but could be read by a 12 year old) The Girl Who Owned a City (Originally written to introduce children to Objectivism, aka "that philosophy promulgated by Ayn Rand". I read it, enjoyed it, and came out of my reading even more of a little socialist than I already was. Ayn Rand and I agree on exactly three things - atheism, cats are objectively valuable, and racism is dumb.) Galax-Arena Gregor the Overlander (hoo-boy, lots and lots of death!) Invitation to the Game, now republished as simply The Game House of Stairs (another classic! but short, compared to books nowadays) Anything written by H. M. Hoover, if you can find a copy of any of her books. The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer The Shadow Speaker Ambassador and the sequel, Nomad Shadowshaper Tin Star The Chaos (haven't read this myself, it's on my to-read pile) What's Left Of Me (another to-read) Brown Girl in the Ring Orleans Summer of the Mariposas This list isn't solely dystopian, but it certainly skews that way, and most of the ones that aren't dystopian per se do have several dystopian themes. I've gone ahead and bolded the books that were more explicitly written towards the younger age range. Re: The Giver - frankly, I think that series is super over-rated. For one thing, the math doesn't work out, like, not even a little bit. Not at all. And yeah, it just bugs me. Plus, the whole series gets super Jesus-y by the end, and I really dislike it when books turn out to be big ol' allegories. (Even when they're allegories I agree with, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.) If you want to give your niece a book that covers much the same themes of The Giver, go with the Green-Sky Trilogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 As a Children's Librarian, can I just say.... I HATE The Giver. It is well written and I will have to go back and see what other titles might have have been Newbery contenders. I can see why it is assigned literature for middle school, but honestly as a mom, my now 12 yo might be ready for it in the Spring. We're more ready for Number the Stars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Sister's Grimm Books of Bayern Enders Game 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanabug Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Great suggestions! I haven't heard of most of these. Cinder is at the top of my list right now, I had read up on that one and it sounds right up her alley. I had also thought about Ender's Game, I just couldn't decide if it was too sci-fi-ish. And The Giver - ugh. I liked the first one, but the rest of the series was blech. I'm pretty sure she's read that one though, so I'm crossing it off my list. Thanks y'all! Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I really enjoyed The House of Scorpion and the sequel to it. It raises some serious issues without getting graphic. I love discussing things like cloning with kids - is cloning moral? Is there a time where it could become the moral thing to do? Is a clone a person? Does a clone have a soul? So interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3sapphires Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 You have some great suggestions already, but I thought I would add my classic-y suggestion, one that I suggest for every girl of this age: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Have fun. Picking out books is one of my favorite things! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I had also thought about Ender's Game, I just couldn't decide if it was too sci-fi-ish. I shouldn't think so. Ender's kinda a sociopath, though, and the book suffers hugely from the resulting protagonist-centered morality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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