A Middle Grade Literature Gap?

[Hillcottagemom]

Please help! My DS (13) seems to have fallen into a gap between middle grade and young adult literature. (I'm hoping his love of reading will remain intact when he climbs out🤪) The middle grade books often feature 11 or 12 year olds and are feeling too young for him, but the young adult skews to 16 or 17 and the concerns of kids in that age group, which neither he nor I are ready for.  Has anyone else encountered this issue and, if so, do you have any suggestions for newer books that would appeal to an upper middle schooler? 

[Lori D.]

Welcome! I see by your post count you are new!

Is this for:
- pleasure reading/free reading?
- solo school reading, in support of history, science, etc.?
- solo school reading of "good literature"?
- beginning formal literature study?

That will make a difference as to what I might suggest. 😉 

Pleasure/free reading ideas that one or both of DSs enjoyed around that age:
- Artemis Fowl series
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
- Harry Potter series
- Ranger's Apprentice series 
- various mystery series, and, "minute mystery" collections
- some sci-fi and dystopia works
- Popular Science magazine
- Brick Journal magazine
- comic collections: Calvin & Hobbes; Foxtrot; Far Side; Pearls Before Swine

Edited January 14, 2021 by Lori D.

[Hillcottagemom]

Thank you for your kind welcome and your great suggestions! I've been lurking for years and have gotten so much out of following the discussions here that I finally mustered up the courage to join in. I was looking for pleasure reading ideas and he hasn't tried Artemis Fowl or Ranger's Apprentice, so I'll check out both. He's my oldest, and he used to sit on the bench at our kitchen table during mealtimes because he needed somewhere to set whatever he was in the middle of reading. Part of the change may come down to expanding interests as he's getting older too, but a couple of new series would be welcome. Thanks again!

[Junie]

Some books my kids have enjoyed in the rough middle years:

Star Wars fan fiction, especially those by Jude Watson

Star Wars Shakespeare series by Ian Doescher

Artemis Fowl series

Theodore Boone series by John Grisham

Harry Potter series

A Wrinkle in Time series

The Chronicles of Narnia

Holes

 

[Lori D.]

45 minutes ago, Hillcottagemom said:

Thank you for your kind welcome and your great suggestions! I've been lurking for years and have gotten so much out of following the discussions here that I finally mustered up the courage to join in. I was looking for pleasure reading ideas and he hasn't tried Artemis Fowl or Ranger's Apprentice, so I'll check out both. He's my oldest, and he used to sit on the bench at our kitchen table during mealtimes because he needed somewhere to set whatever he was in the middle of reading. Part of the change may come down to expanding interests as he's getting older too, but a couple of new series would be welcome. Thanks again!

Glad you have come out of lurk mode. 😄 

Artemis Fowl and Ranger's Apprentice are very much what I would call "popcorn reads" -- not classics or written with depth; just for fun as snack food reading, lol. A few other "popcorn" fun free read ideas:

- Hatchet, and others by this author (Paulsen) -- survival stories; may be too young for him
- trilogy: Tiger's Apprentice; Tiger's Blood; Tiger Magic (Yep) -- may be too young for him
- The Lost Years of Merlin series (Barron)
- Pendragon series (MacHale)
- Alex Rider series (Horowitz) -- teen boy spy
- trilogy: Leviathan; Behemoth; Goliath (Westerfeld) -- rollicking steampunk alternative WW1 history
- Bromeliad trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, Wings (Pratchett) -- high on humor

Older adventure books in historical settings:
- The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett)
- Midshipman Quinn series (Styles)
- Cleared for Action (Meader) -- collection of 4 different tales
- Captain Blood (Sabatini)
- The Sea Hawk (Sabatini)
-  Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal (Reilly)
- Shadow Hawk (Norton)
- Hittite Warrior (Williamson)
- The Samurai's Tale (Haugaard)
- The Sign of the Chrysanthemum (Paterson)
 

My guys also enjoyed nonfiction, so that might be something to add to the mix, if your DS enjoys more "factual" reading. Also, what about magazines on topics of your DS's interest??

Possible nonfiction:
- Ten True Tales series (Zullo) -- below his reading level, but fast-paced/exciting true short story collections
- Code Talkers (Bruchac)
- Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-The World's Most Dangerous Weapon (Sheinkin) -- and others by this author
- titles by Albert Marrin

Nonfiction by adults, for adults, but can be great for teens:
- Kon Tiki (Heyersdahl)
- The Colditz Story (Reid)
 

 

[Hillcottagemom]

Fantastic. Thank you to both of you. Between Star Wars Shakespeare and a Terry Pratchett series I didnt know existed, he'll have fun with these. I appreciate the nonfiction titles as well.  Great suggestion to look into magazine subscriptions as he's been aging out of our old favorites...he's grown up a lot this year and it's kind of taken me by surprise. Just when I had everything all figured out😉

[Carol in Cal.]

Any particular reason you are looking for newer books?

I ask because I have noticed that for the middle school years, older fiction tends to stay relatively ‘clean’ but with challenging sentence construction and vocabulary so it doesn’t feel childish.  10-15 years back, Literary Lessons From The Lord of The Rings was very popular for that age, partly for that reason.  (I’m old, LOL.). It might still be worth a look.  

Older Newbery award winners are also good choices for this age, including the Chronicles of Prydain, which is a 5 book sequence that culminates in The High King, a Newbery award winner.

The historical fiction by Sutcliff is also in that category.

For nonfiction, biographies “Hitler” and “Stalin”, both by Marrin, are excellent.  “Number the Stars” (fiction) might be a little young, but not much, and IMO it’s a must read.  

Has he read “Treasure Island”, “Tom Sawyer”, and “Huckleberry Finn”?  Those are typical middle school suggestions, again older books though.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Carol in Cal.

[Hillcottagemom]

39 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Any particular reason you are looking for newer books?

I ask because I have noticed that for the middle school years, older fiction tends to stay relatively ‘clean’ but with challenging sentence construction and vocabulary so it doesn’t feel childish.  10-15 years back, Literary Lessons From The Lord of The Rings was very popular for that age, partly for that reason.  (I’m old, LOL.). It might still be worth a look.  

Older Newbery award winners are also good choices for this age, including the Chronicles of Prydail, which is a 5 book sequence that culminates in The High King, a Newbery award winner.

The historical fiction by Sutcliff is also in that category.

For nonfiction, biographies “Hitler” and “Stalin”, both by Marrin, are excellent.  “Number the Stars” (fiction) might be a little young, but not much, and IMO it’s a must read.  

Has he read “Treasure Island”, “Tom Sawyer”, and “Huckleberry Finn”?  Those are typical middle school suggestions, again older books 

It's funny you should mention Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, because a used copy is on its way to my house thanks to a recommendation from another thread on this forum. I never would have found it otherwise and it's a great suggestion. Tolkien is a huge favorite here.

 In terms of older books, I agree with everything you've said (he's read and loved Prydain and Treasure Island but hasn't gotten to the Twain books). I'm not familiar with Sutcliff, but we enjoy historical fiction and will be sure to check it out. 

Im a huge fan of the classics, but I asked about newer books for a couple of reasons. One, because I feel like I generally have a good handle on the older books that are out there. (On second thought though, it's a very good bet that many people on this board-like you😃- could suggest works I'm not familiar with.) Also, I like to mix in own voices books, and newer books tend to give us a more diverse selection of authors. Every now and then I find a modern story with beautiful writing that offers a perspective we haven't heard, and it's magic. Thank you very much for your help!

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

For a modern series my 13 year old loves, try Gregor the Overlander.  

As a previous poster stated, the classics are really a good fit for the in-between age.  You have clean plot lines, but more complex language for the older brain that is ready to handle it.  My son has read a number of classics for pleasure this year that would have required a lot more coaxing and hand-holding even just a year ago.  

I have also found some wins by skipping the so-called YA category entirely and just giving him adult books.  He loved The Martian, which has a clean plot but very foul language.  I am not thinking of another example right now, but there were several books he read this year with adult protagonists.  

[Carol in Cal.]

5 minutes ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

For a modern series my 13 year old loves, try Gregor the Overlander.  

As a previous poster stated, the classics are really a good fit for the in-between age.  You have clean plot lines, but more complex language for the older brain that is ready to handle it.  My son has read a number of classics for pleasure this year that would have required a lot more coaxing and hand-holding even just a year ago.  

I have also found some wins by skipping the so-called YA category entirely and just giving him adult books.  He loved The Martian, which has a clean plot but very foul language.  I am not thinking of another example right now, but there were several books he read this year with adult protagonists.  

Tales From the White Hart by Arthur C Clarke is good like that.

Also Childhood’s End.

Enchantress from the Stars is outstanding, and there is a lot to discuss from it.

What was that Sci FI series with the Tripods?  Those would be good about now, too.

If you were willing to have him read older adult books, there is a series of American political novels by Drury that I have been meaning to reread that I think would fit the bill.  The first one is Advise and Consent.  There are 5 or 6 in total.  

[Hillcottagemom]

48 minutes ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

For a modern series my 13 year old loves, try Gregor the Overlander.  

As a previous poster stated, the classics are really a good fit for the in-between age.  You have clean plot lines, but more complex language for the older brain that is ready to handle it.  My son has read a number of classics for pleasure this year that would have required a lot more coaxing and hand-holding even just a year ago.  

I have also found some wins by skipping the so-called YA category entirely and just giving him adult books.  He loved The Martian, which has a clean plot but very foul language.  I am not thinking of another example right now, but there were several books he read this year with adult protagonists.  

 

39 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Tales From the White Hart by Arthur C Clarke is good like that.

Also Childhood’s End.

Enchantress from the Stars is outstanding, and there is a lot to discuss from it.

What was that Sci FI series with the Tripods?  Those would be good about now, too.

If you were willing to have him read older adult books, there is a series of American political novels by Drury that I have been meaning to reread that I think would fit the bill.  The first one is Advise and Consent.  There are 5 or 6 in total.  

Thank you to both of you! I hadn't thought of finding adult books that might appeal to him. Revisiting classics that had previously been too advanced is a good idea too. 

[Clemsondana]

Sherlock Holmes books and Swiss Family Robinson might be fun.  

[Carol in Cal.]

The tripods books are now called YA but being from the 1960s they are more clean than not.

Written by John Christopher, I think they were pretty engaging when I was a teenager, and I enjoyed returning to them as an adult.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Dracula!  This was another adult book my 13yo loved this year.  

[Hillcottagemom]

2 hours ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

Dracula!  This was another adult book my 13yo loved 

That's a great suggestion too! We just read it as a family read aloud around Halloween.

[Hillcottagemom]

18 hours ago, Hillcottagemom said:

It's funny you should mention Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, because a used copy is on its way to my house thanks to a recommendation from another thread on this forum. I never would have found it otherwise and it's a great suggestion. Tolkien is a huge favorite here.

 In terms of older books, I agree with everything you've said (he's read and loved Prydain and Treasure Island but hasn't gotten to the Twain books). I'm not familiar with Sutcliff, but we enjoy historical fiction and will be sure to check it out. 

Im a huge fan of the classics, but I asked about newer books for a couple of reasons. One, because I feel like I generally have a good handle on the older books that are out there. (On second thought though, it's a very good bet that many people on this board-like you😃- could suggest works I'm not familiar with.) Also, I like to mix in own voices books, and newer books tend to give us a more diverse selection of authors. Every now and then I find a modern story with beautiful writing that offers a perspective we haven't heard, and it's magic. Thank you very much for your help!

I may be overthinking it, but I hope I didnt make it sound like I have an aversion to the classics on a classical homeschooling forum. I fear I may have in the last paragraph. I'm very new to the board and, looking back, my post wasnt as clear as it couldve been.

To clarify, he's still reading older books/those that have stood the test of time (right now it's The Egypt Game, which was a childhood favorite of mine). I find it easy to find those books, either because I've read them or am familiar with them or they're on book lists, or have won awards.

Ive found it challenging to come across middle grade books that have been written more recently that have value, but I have found them. We're currently  reading aloud The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf, a Malyasan author, and it's very well done. It's by a Muslim woman who lives in a country with which we have little familiarity, and I appreciate the story for itself, but also for the different perspective. 

As ds gets older though, I am finding this gap in newer books, which up until now have had an important place in our reading lives. So while we will still lean heavily on the classics, probably even more so as he gets older, I do wish there was more quality modern literature for the 13-15 crowd. And like some of you have suggested, I may have to skip YA altogether. It's sometimes challenging to be marching to the beat of our own drummer over here, but I'm glad to know there are others who can relate. Thanks again for all of your suggestions. 

[Lori D.]

3 hours ago, Hillcottagemom said:

I may be overthinking it, but I hope I didnt make it sound like I have an aversion to the classics on a classical homeschooling forum. I fear I may have in the last paragraph. I'm very new to the board and, looking back, my post wasnt as clear as it couldve been.

To clarify, he's still reading older books/those that have stood the test of time (right now it's The Egypt Game, which was a childhood favorite of mine). I find it easy to find those books, either because I've read them or am familiar with them or they're on book lists, or have won awards.

Ive found it challenging to come across middle grade books that have been written more recently that have value, but I have found them. We're currently  reading aloud The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf, a Malyasan author, and it's very well done. It's by a Muslim woman who lives in a country with which we have little familiarity, and I appreciate the story for itself, but also for the different perspective. 

As ds gets older though, I am finding this gap in newer books, which up until now have had an important place in our reading lives. So while we will still lean heavily on the classics, probably even more so as he gets older, I do wish there was more quality modern literature for the 13-15 crowd. And like some of you have suggested, I may have to skip YA altogether. It's sometimes challenging to be marching to the beat of our own drummer over here, but I'm glad to know there are others who can relate. Thanks again for all of your suggestions. 

Different perspectives and contemporary issues were important to me, too, to include along with older classics as part of our literature studies. 😄 When your DS is a bit older, there are some contemporary YA books out there with a lot of meat for discussion, wrestling with contemporary issues or from different perspectives. I actually preferred to include those as part of our formal lit. studies rather than as pleasure reading, so we really could take time to explore and discuss. It sounds like that's your style, too. 😄 

[alisoncooks]

The Giver and Holes were much-enjoyed middle school books for my oldest. Younger Dd12 will probably read them next year for 8th. 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

On 1/20/2021 at 6:16 PM, Lori D. said:

Different perspectives and contemporary issues were important to me, too, to include along with older classics as part of our literature studies. 😄 When your DS is a bit older, there are some contemporary YA books out there with a lot of meat for discussion, wrestling with contemporary issues or from different perspectives. I actually preferred to include those as part of our formal lit. studies rather than as pleasure reading, so we really could take time to explore and discuss. It sounds like that's your style, too. 😄 

I'd love to see this list... 

 

[HollyDay]

Both my daughters went through this gap phase as well  It was tough finding books they enjoyed.  Oldest was especially hard as she did not like science fiction or fantasy.  She did like Sherlock Holmes mysteries though.  She also found some adventure/biography books at the library about westward expansion.  Sorry, can't remember titles.  She also developed a love of poetry and read quite a few DIY books.  

Youngest discovered old science fiction: H. G. Wells Time Machine, Bradbury Martian Chronicles, McAffrey 's Dragonriders of Pern.  She remains a scifi fan to this day actually.  

[Lori D.]

11 hours ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

I'd love to see this list... 

 

I don't have a saved list 😉 , but here's a quick compilation of possible ideas for your 8th grader -- the ones with ** are good for 6th grade, or could be done together with 6th & 8th grade:

tough topics
** The Pushcart War (Merrill) -- humorous, but a good view of how wars start
Maniac Magee (Spinnelli) -- racism
Stargirl (Spinnelli) -- nonconformity
The Wave (Strasser) -- based on a true event; pressure to conform to the group
The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (Hentoff) -- censorship
Speak (Andersen) -- teen girl is r*ped; the aftermath, and how she eventually fights back; PREVIEW
Story of a Girl (Zarr) -- CHRISTIAN author; teen girl pressured into s*x, and the aftermath; PREVIEW
Go Ask Alice (Annonymous) -- written like a diary of a 1960s teen girl who falls into the drug culture; PREVIEW

sci-fi/speculative fiction with discussable topics
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- temptation to "grow up fast" by magical means
The Giver (Lowry) -- euthanasia
** Echo (Ryan) -- fantastical; 3 powerful historical time periods; disfigured outcast; making your destiny the importance of family
** Tuck Everlasting (Babbit) -- fantastical; the temptation of everlasting life
** Below the Root (Snyder) -- fantasy; utopia -- at the cost of exiling dissenters

voices of others within the U.S.
** El Deafo (Bell) -- graphic novel; disability
** Wonder (Palacio) -- disability
The Outsiders (Hinton) -- youth gangs (grouped from poverty or ethnicity) in the 1950s/60s
The Chosen (Potok) -- set in late 1940s; 2 Jewish teens conflicted: follow their fathers' goals for them, or follow their own callings?
All American Boys (Reynolds and Kiely) -- racism; Black Lives Matter
Dear Martin (Stone) -- racism; Black Lives Matter
The Hate U Give (Thomas) -- racism; Black Lives Matter
The Crossover (Alexander) -- written in verse; black point of view; sports, sibling rivalry, teen struggles
Brown Girl Dreaming (Woodson) -- written in verse; black point of view; memoir of her childhood
American-Born Chinese (Yang) -- graphic novel; Asian/American point of view
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (Alexie) -- PREVIEW; Native American point of view; profanity & slurs; alcohol abuse; violence; 
Esperanza Rising (Ryan) -- Latina young teen girl's point of view; migrant working family in 1930s U.S.
To Be a Slave (Lester) -- actual interview excerpts from former black slaves in the 1800s U.S.

voices from other cultures
(note: many of these present crisis/trauma events, so I would be careful to provide a *balanced* view of the country/culture, so students don't think that other culture = crisis 😉 )
A Long Walk to Water (Park) -- part biography part fiction; clean water crisis and civil war in Sudan
Sold (McCormick) -- young teen Nepalese girl sold into pr*stitution
Inside Out and Back Again (Lai) -- written in verse; author's childhood refuge escape from the fall of Saigon, Vietnam
Bamboo People (Perkins) -- young Burmese teen boy; military government, dissenting father, refugees
Night Diary (Hiranandani) -- 12yo girl; family & cultural losses with the separation of India and Pakistan in 1947
 I Am Malala (Yousafzai) -- autobiography -- Afghani girl shot/survived by Taliban for continuing to go to school
A Long Way Gone (Beah) -- autobiography -- child soldier in Sierra Leone; PREVIEW 
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Kamkwanda) -- get the YA version
Persepolis (Satrapi) -- autobiography; graphic novel; PREVIEW; growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution 
The Book Thief (Zusak) -- WW2 German home front; issues of war, fear, death, foster child

"Which Books Should I Squeeze in Before the End of 8th Grade?"
And this past post of mine in this thread ^^^, while totally not what you were asking for, is one I stumbled over and I remembered that you are in a somewhat similar position of having only another year with your oldest before he moves on to a traditional high school setting. So, perhaps something useful in there.

Edited February 3, 2021 by Lori D.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

7 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

I don't have a saved list 😉 , but here's a quick compilation of possible ideas -- the ones with ** are good for 6th grade, or could be done together with 6th & 8th grade:

tough topics
** The Pushcart War (Merrill) -- humorous, but a good view of how wars start
Maniac Magee (Spinnelli) -- racism
Stargirl (Spinnelli) -- nonconformity
The Wave (Strasser) -- based on a true event; pressure to conform to the group
The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (Hentoff) -- censorship
Speak (Andersen) -- teen girl is r*ped; the aftermath, and how she eventually fights back; PREVIEW
Story of a Girl (Zarr) -- CHRISTIAN author; teen girl pressured into s*x, and the aftermath; PREVIEW
Go Ask Alice (Annonymous) -- written like a diary of a 1960s teen girl who falls into the drug culture; PREVIEW

sci-fi/speculative fiction with discussable topics
Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- temptation to "grow up fast" by magical means
The Giver (Lowry) -- euthanasia
** Echo (Ryan) -- fantastical; 3 powerful historical time periods; disfigured outcast; making your destiny the importance of family
** Tuck Everlasting (Babbit) -- fantastical; the temptation of everlasting life
** Below the Root (Snyder) -- fantasy; utopia -- at the cost of exiling dissenters

voices of others within the U.S.
** El Deafo (Bell) -- graphic novel; disability
** Wonder (Palacio) -- disability
The Outsiders (Hinton) -- youth gangs (grouped from poverty or ethnicity) in the 1950s/60s
The Chosen (Potok) -- set in late 1940s; 2 Jewish teens conflicted: follow their fathers' goals for them, or follow their own callings?
All American Boys (Reynolds and Kiely) -- racism; Black Lives Matter
Dear Martin (Stone) -- racism; Black Lives Matter
The Hate U Give (Thomas) -- racism; Black Lives Matter
The Crossover (Alexander) -- written in verse; black point of view; sports, sibling rivalry, teen struggles
Brown Girl Dreaming (Woodson) -- written in verse; black point of view; memoir of her childhood
American-Born Chinese (Yang) -- graphic novel; Asian/American point of view
Esperanza Rising (Ryan) -- Latina point of view
To Be a Slave (Lester) -- actual interview excerpts from former black slaves in the 1800s U.S.

voices from other cultures
A Long Walk to Water (Park) -- part biography part fiction
 I Am Malala (Yousafzai) -- autobiography
A Long Way Gone (Beah) -- autobiography -- child soldier in Sierra Leone; PREVIEW 
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Kamkwanda) -- get the YA version
Persepolis (Satrapi) -- autobiography; graphic novel; PREVIEW; growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution 
The Book Thief (Zusak) -- WW2 German home front; issues of war, fear, death, foster child

"Which Books Should I Squeeze in Before the End of 8th Grade?"
And this past post of mine in this thread ^^^, while totally not what you were asking for, is one I stumbled over and I remembered that you are in a somewhat similar position of having only another year with your oldest before he moves on to a traditional high school setting. So, perhaps something useful in there.
 

 

Thank you so much!!!  I appreciate your long reply.  I have several of these on my list for this year and next.  I'm glad to see Dear Martin, as I haven't read it yet but have it assigned for Civil Rights because I stumbled across it.  I'm looking forward to discovering several other of these titles.  Great list!  

[Lori D.]

3 hours ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

...  Dear Martin, as I haven't read it yet but have it assigned for Civil Rights because I stumbled across it.  I'm looking forward to discovering several other of these titles.  Great list!  

Just so you know, Dear Martin is NOT Civil Rights setting, but contemporary Black Lives Matter in theme. The main character is a black teen caught up in a violent white cop situation. The title comes from the journal that the main character writes, addressing the entries to the long-since deceased Martin Luther King Jr., because the main character admires the teachings of King, and is trying to make sense of the violence and racism he is experiencing.

For Civil Rights, I'd suggest:
- Selma (2014) -- feature film about MLK leading the Civil Rights march from Selma to Montgomery 
- Freedom Walkers (Freedman) -- gr.5-8;  nonfiction; photos and first-hand accounts of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Marching for Freedom (Partridge) -- gr. 6-9; nonfiction; the 3 months prior to the march from Selma to Montgomery
- Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High (Beals) -- gr. 7-9; nonfiction; autobiography as one of the first black students to integratea Deep South white high school
- Black Like Me (Griffin) -- high school/adult; autobiography; white journalist travels across the Deep South of the late 1950s, disguised as black to experience racism first-hand

More ideas for Civil Rights titles, divided by grade range, and by fiction/nonfiction:
Social Justice Books: Civil Rights


Also -- I added a few more titles to the list in my post above. 😉 

Edited February 3, 2021 by Lori D.

[orthodoxmother]

My current 17 yo found the Rangers Apprentice series around age 12, fell in love with them, and still rereads them. They do have an occasional mild swear word, but are otherwise very appropriate. I recently heard a college professor say that “YA is great bc it is so RELEVANT.” Why? “Bc of all the sex & occult in YA,” he said. What???!!!!  I think this is a major issue to try to avoid. All of the books I recommend avoid this twaddle.

My children also love GA Henty historical fiction. There are dozens of them, if your child likes them. They almost all start with a 12 yo and follow him through to adulthood. Some of our favorites: In Freedoms Cause follows William Wallace and Scottish independence. Also The Dragon & the Raven follows Alfred the Great protecting England from Biking invasion. They are so good! And there’s a book for almost any time period you want. 

 

Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn are good, and they allow you to avoid the YA trap of having the child enter into stories without the whole family community sharing the experience. (I’m assuming most parents have read Tom & Huck).

Good luck!