Summer reading recommendations for girl 13

[helena handbasket]

I vote for Judy Blume as well. Perfect for that age, and we LOVED them.

Or how about Ann of Green Gables? It's a fantastic series for young girls and a classic.

Lucy Maud Montgomery is the author.

As a teacher of that age I also found that the girls read and re-read the Lemony Snicket series. For the more advanced readers I tried to get them hooked on Jane Austen, Emma is a good place to start.

Hope it helps!

(Oh and as a teacher speaking, may I suggest you let her set the goals and help you decide the "reward"? They all seem to love to get a new writing journal and it encourages writing, win win situation)

[Ko]

yes i loved anne of green gables too and read all the book in the series. i watched the adpation of the first book on tv, available on dvd :

https://www.lovefilm.com/search/results.html?search_keywords=anne+of+green+gables

then i got the book out and ended up reading the whole series.

[Smiler]

Judy Blume was the in thing when I was 13, lots of great books, "Blubber" was one about bullying and how awful girls are to each other, really well done. Paula Danzinger similarly good.

Perhaps select an author who has written loads of books, then if she likes one she can easily read lots of others by the same person.

"Circle of Friends" by Maeve Binchy - girl from small village going to uni in Dublin, first love and betrayal, tensions of living with parents and wanting more freedom, a comforting read.

The old-fashioned classics, "Anne of Green Gables" (as someone else has said), "Little Women", "Pride and Prejudice" (can't go wrong with romance!)

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" or "Angels" (or something like that) by Tracy Chevalier. The latter is set in South London and the author worked as a guide in West Norwood cemetary as part of her research. The book's about a friendship between teenage girls in Victorian times.

If she's into acting etc. Noel Streatfield's books are great, but v.dated.

Coming from another angle, what about non-fiction? Some people just prefer it. Or even self-help, e.g. "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" by Susan Jeffers. A bit cheesey and American, but quite fun and uplifting.

[Jessie]

i thought i was anne of green gables when i was about 13. Loved those books so much - lifesavers and escape from a terrible time for me. Same for Judy Blume - I once wrote her a letter and addressed it to Judy Blume, America. Never heard back, funnily enough.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is pretty cool - much better than the TV adaptation.

[jollybaby]

Be careful not to push the subject too much as it may have the opposite effect. I can remember being forced to read some awful books at school and it put me off reading for most of my secondary school years and that was after being an avid reader when I was younger.

As for recommendations- not sure I'm the best person - I can remember having a thing for Jilly Cooper and Dannielle Steele around that age!

[Ko]

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Little House on the Prairie series by Laura

> Ingalls Wilder is pretty cool - much better than

> the TV adaptation.

yep i read all these too. this thread is like a blast from the past!

[FatherJack]

To Kill A Mockingbird.....Harper Lee

Aaaaahhhhh those were the days......

[buggie]

Ahhh.... I'd forgotten Paula Danziger - "The Pistachio Prescription" and "Remember me to Harold Square" were favourites of mine - had to get them ordered in one at a time in my village library!

[Pam50]

Hi

Have a look at two good sites:

www.writeaway.org.uk

www.booktrust.org.uk/Home

Both have lots of suggestions, reviews etc. so your daughter can choose what she'd like to read.

Cheap book sites such as Red House Books and The Book People, have very good value books from popular authors, and good old Amazon marketplace has lots for under ?3.00. Good luck! Pam

[sillywoman]

Wow, what a brilliant response. Thanks everyone.

You're right Ko, as I'm reading the thread I'm thinking "ooh yes, I'd forgotten that one". It's a lovely journey back into childhood.

Anne of Green Gables seems to have been a popular one - is it a bit like 'What Katy Did'? And in a similar vein I've already tried her with the Little House on the Prairie books, no joy - aaargh my broken heart. Sometimes I wonder at this alien creature I've raised.

We do have a Malorie Blackman, but when offered it as possibility she turned her nose up at it - teenagers! I don't know Paula Danzingers work, but will clearly have to check it out, not so sure about Jilly Cooper - I do remember loving her bonkbusting books, but I think I was a bit older, maybe 16 or so?

Thanks for the practical advice too, the arrangement we've come to is that she chooses 2 books and I chose 2 books, if she reads all four start to finish then she can have a dvd of her choice. So far she's chosen "blubber" by Judy Blume and "Rumors" by I-don't-know-who (Red House catalogue). I've chosen "the Star of Khazan" by Eva Ibbotsen, and currently "What Katy Did, but I might switch that for 'Anne of Green Gables' because you have all mentioned it so frequently.

I don't want to push her so hard I put her off, but she's a bright girl and is beginning to fall behind a little from her peers in English because she doesn't read enough so he vocabulary and grammar are showing signs of immaturity. She starts books OK, but gets bored quickly and doesn't finish them. I'm hoping that the incentive will help her overcome her impatience and give her some insight into the value of perseverance. Too tall an order? We'll see.

If anyone had more suggestions please keep 'em coming, as I'm going to keep some of these books on a list in my diary for Christmas and Birthdays. They're just too good not to read! It sound like other people are finding the suggestions interesting too.

[Ondine]

Have you tried her with audio books? My daughter is 11 so probably easier to please but stick an audio book on her ipod and she's away

[sillywoman]

Hmm, the kids do listen to audio books on a regular basis, but she's going into yr9 in September & GCSE choices are starting to happen. I want her to be able to read the set texts for be GCSE's all the way through without giving up because 'it's boring', and I have sneaking suspicion that audio books have allowed her to come lazy about her reading skills. Like any learned skill, reading needs regular practice to keep the skill from degenerating - hers has definitely degenerated. Am sure it's individual to my daughter, but I don't think audio's have done her any favours.

[nymom]

Hi. In the Times today two books are recommended for teenage girls 13+. The first is Bright Girls by Claire Chambers and the second is What I saw and How I lied by Judy Blundell. I have not read either but both sound interesting.

[Pickle]

I was also a Judy Blume fan in my teens - although from memory one of them ("Forever"??) was quite risque in terms of sexual content so not sure how you'd feel about a 13 yo reading it - it was the one that was always out from the school library as we all fought to get our hands on it!

The Laura Inglis Wilder books were fab, my Mum had read them as a child so I remember being very sceptical as a rebellious teenager, but loved them. Timeless.

How about the Flowers in the Attic serious by Virginia Andrews? Another favourite of mine which I've re-read quite recently and really enjoyed all over again.

I loved reading when I was a teenager, really hope my kids also enjoy it. Well done for encouraging your daughter - here's hoping she enjoys some of the fab suggestions so far in this thread.

[espelli]

I remember a very well read copy of "Forever" doing the rounds at school, with the pertinent pages turned down! I enjoyed lots of her other books too.

I had forgotten how much I loved the Flowers in the Attic series, thank you Pickle! I also devoured the "Across the Barricades" series by Joan Lingard.

As a teenager I was determined not to read the classics that my mum recommended which means I haven't read Anne of Green Gables or Little Women etc. After them being recommended on here I think I'll give them a go!

[annaj]

Instead of Anne of Green Gables can I suggest Lucy Maud Montgomery's less well know Emily trilogy. They're similar (orphaned heroine living with aunts) but follow Emily Byrd Starr, a marginally less cutesy heroine, from ages 10 to 28. They're mostly about her trying to balance her dream of being a writer with her obligation to be a good murray women and not disgrace the family name. Hardly gritty, but lovely books, and Emily is a more interesting character than sunshine Anne.

[Jessie]

The final part of the Anne books is about to be published by Penguin in Canada - it's meant to be a lot darker than the previous ones http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/10/final-anne-green-gables-book LM Montgomery lived a pretty awful life, so think it begins to seep through. I never thought of Anne as "sunshine" though, Pollyanna was guilty of that for me and I remember just wanting to tear out the pages when I read that due to her bl**dy relentless optimism.

[minder]

My 13 year old daughter enjoyed the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer and has now moved on to Meyers' other novel, The Host.

Minder

[Smiler]

Ooh yes, "forever" was the dirty one! Hee hee. Remember it doing the rounds at school. Along with the rude bits of the bonkbusters.

Thanks for the tip on the LM Montgomery book Jessie, will definitely look into that. I read what was then the last one of the series where they were married and had kids and there was a stillborn baby and one - or more - of the sons got killed in the first world war, so maybe it was the abridged version.

Vocab etc. is important in school, for lots of subjects, and even more at A-level than GCSE, definitely good to encourage reading, but sympathise with Silly Woman in trying to find a good way to do so. I have already been listing books for my (tiny) daughter to read at various ages, but now realise that I have made a huge assumption that she will be an avid reader like me, will be really hard if she isn't!

My brother had a reading-averse stage, never got the whole way through set books at school and relied heavily on the "York notes" (got away with it though, they are really good if all else fails), but then got into sci-fi / fantasy, now reads anything and everything.

[nicolemodesti]

If she enjoys Eva Ibbotson, you could try 'journey to the River Sea' set in Brazil. A magical read. You could also try 'Spindle's End' by Robin McKinley which is a magical retelling of Sleeping Beauty for teenagers!!

[Polmoche]

lemony snicket series? Or is that too young?

[Pam50]

Saw this on a card yesterday and thought of you!;-)

[sillywoman]

Thanks Pam! It's sensibleman to a tee.

[mumra]

My twopenneth-

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Young Samurai by Chris Bradford

Both aimed at 10-14. Both have amazing hooks right at the start and have strong female role models, although not the main character. Both have short chapters so do not appear arduous but with high quality writing. And both have a high pace and are very exciting and hard to put down. The London Eye is particularly good for hooking ch in as has lots of Southwark references.

Have copies of both if you want to borrow ;-)