Modern fiction for 11 year old girl?
June 11, 2018 11:27 AM
My old favorites are failing. I'm looking for book recommendations that are very current and focus mostly on girls. Early middle school.
We are a reading family, yay. My daughter tends to like books that are about modern, true-to-life situations that she can relate to. I'd like to get her some new books and expand her horizons, but everything I've tried - including books I loved at her age - has just sent her back to rereading her old standards. I like to reread favorites, too, but there's so much more out there. She likes Raina Telgemeier and Rachel Renee Russell. So yes, graphic novels are good. Not necessary, though. What else should I give her that would move ever-so-slightly beyond her comfort zone but still be appealing? Series are especially welcome. Thanks!
We are a reading family, yay. My daughter tends to like books that are about modern, true-to-life situations that she can relate to. I'd like to get her some new books and expand her horizons, but everything I've tried - including books I loved at her age - has just sent her back to rereading her old standards. I like to reread favorites, too, but there's so much more out there. She likes Raina Telgemeier and Rachel Renee Russell. So yes, graphic novels are good. Not necessary, though. What else should I give her that would move ever-so-slightly beyond her comfort zone but still be appealing? Series are especially welcome. Thanks!
For graphic novels, Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova, Real Friends by Shannon Hale, and Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson are my top three read-a-likes for Raina Telgemeier.
Wendy Mass's Willow Falls series is a good real-life with a hint of magical whimsy series.
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead is one of my favorite recent-ish middle school books.
posted by wsquared at 11:58 AM on June 11, 2018
Wendy Mass's Willow Falls series is a good real-life with a hint of magical whimsy series.
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead is one of my favorite recent-ish middle school books.
posted by wsquared at 11:58 AM on June 11, 2018
75 Mighty Girl Books for Tweens' Summer Reading List
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:18 PM on June 11, 2018
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:18 PM on June 11, 2018
My friend Jennifer wrote a YA book called Moxie that's doing very well -- Amy Poehler has it under option, so we're all super proud.
posted by uberchet at 12:25 PM on June 11, 2018
posted by uberchet at 12:25 PM on June 11, 2018
Yes! Thank you and keep going! I'm putting many of these, used, into my Powell's shopping cart. My goal is for her to have a bunch of books to unwind with after day camp this summer, as we can only run to the library so often. Others of them I'm putting on my GoodReads list for when she's ready to branch out a little more. They're all appreciated.
posted by Knowyournuts at 12:34 PM on June 11, 2018
posted by Knowyournuts at 12:34 PM on June 11, 2018
Unidentified Suburban Object by Mike Jung starts out realistic and then takes a very interesting turn.
Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood by Varsha Bajaj is about a girl who discovers that her father is a Bollywood star.
My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula Freedman is about a bicultural girl getting ready for her bat mitzvah.
It Ain't so Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas is about a girl who moves to Southern California from Iran in 1979 and tries to fit in by changing her name.
Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick is a family story/literary mystery. There's one sequel so far.
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Lee starts out realistic, then throws in Chinese mythology while still maintaining realistic situations (saving the world and getting homework done while dealing with some romantic feelings). A bit more YA than middle grade, but it's great fun.
Also, here's a list from Brightly of summer books for tweens.
posted by mogget at 1:07 PM on June 11, 2018
Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood by Varsha Bajaj is about a girl who discovers that her father is a Bollywood star.
My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula Freedman is about a bicultural girl getting ready for her bat mitzvah.
It Ain't so Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas is about a girl who moves to Southern California from Iran in 1979 and tries to fit in by changing her name.
Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick is a family story/literary mystery. There's one sequel so far.
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Lee starts out realistic, then throws in Chinese mythology while still maintaining realistic situations (saving the world and getting homework done while dealing with some romantic feelings). A bit more YA than middle grade, but it's great fun.
Also, here's a list from Brightly of summer books for tweens.
posted by mogget at 1:07 PM on June 11, 2018
As for comics, my 12-year-old daughter recently read Ms. Marvel and liked it a lot, and she also devoured everything related to Lumberjanes. Both of these are available to download/read via Hoopla, which many public libraries subscribe to.
posted by mogget at 1:13 PM on June 11, 2018
posted by mogget at 1:13 PM on June 11, 2018
Dumas has stories about her childhood in her humorous nonfiction too.
posted by brujita at 2:16 PM on June 11, 2018
posted by brujita at 2:16 PM on June 11, 2018
Vindaloo’s wife here. Our daughter is 11, and I volunteer at a children’s library. A lot of great suggestions, I’ll just add my daughter and her friends favourite series, the Mother-Daughter Book Club. My daughter also prefers books about real life, characters her age, and friendship drama. Here’s the blurb for the first book on Goodreads:
The book club is about to get
a makeover....
Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma's already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.
But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can't help but wonder: What would Jo March do?
Acclaimed author Heather Vogel Frederick will delight daughters of all ages in a novel about the fabulousness of fiction, family, and friendship.
posted by Vindaloo at 2:31 PM on June 11, 2018
The book club is about to get
a makeover....
Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma's already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.
But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can't help but wonder: What would Jo March do?
Acclaimed author Heather Vogel Frederick will delight daughters of all ages in a novel about the fabulousness of fiction, family, and friendship.
posted by Vindaloo at 2:31 PM on June 11, 2018
Thought of some more! Jessica Darling's It List series by Megan McCafferty. It's a prequel series to a popular teen series, but she could read these first without needing to read the others.
Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
posted by wsquared at 3:12 PM on June 11, 2018
Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
posted by wsquared at 3:12 PM on June 11, 2018
My daughter is the same age. Based on the books you said your daughter already likes, she'd recommend the Cupcake Diaries series (can be read in any order) and Dear Dumb Diary. Maybe the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?
She and her friends all love Eleven Birthdays and its sequels. They are mostly realistic fiction, with a few magical elements added to normal life. (No fantastical places or creatures.)
Of the realistic fiction that she reads, she mainly enjoyed the "struggle books" and of those she'd recommend Out of My Mind and George.
posted by Margalo Epps at 6:26 PM on June 11, 2018
She and her friends all love Eleven Birthdays and its sequels. They are mostly realistic fiction, with a few magical elements added to normal life. (No fantastical places or creatures.)
Of the realistic fiction that she reads, she mainly enjoyed the "struggle books" and of those she'd recommend Out of My Mind and George.
posted by Margalo Epps at 6:26 PM on June 11, 2018
My students love the series The Complicated Life of Claudia Cristina Cortez, series about a Latinx tween who finds herself in al sorts of angsty situations. Full disclosure, Erin Dionne is a friend, but my students also love her books- especially Moxie and the art of rule breaking: a 14 day mystery, but all of them fit the bill for what you are looking for.
posted by momochan at 5:16 AM on June 12, 2018
posted by momochan at 5:16 AM on June 12, 2018
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall is a good contemporary fiction series about the lives of four sisters.
Vera Brosgol has a new autobiographical graphic novel/memoir called Be Prepared that has a bit of a Raina Telgemeier feel to it, focused on her experience at summer camp.
Also a middle-grade graphic novel about summer camp: All Summer Long by Hope Larson.
posted by carrioncomfort at 6:16 AM on June 12, 2018
Vera Brosgol has a new autobiographical graphic novel/memoir called Be Prepared that has a bit of a Raina Telgemeier feel to it, focused on her experience at summer camp.
Also a middle-grade graphic novel about summer camp: All Summer Long by Hope Larson.
posted by carrioncomfort at 6:16 AM on June 12, 2018
I have a kiddo in my life who is the same age and likes the same type of books, a few suggestions:
-The First Rule of Punk!
-Unstoppable Octabia May
-Sparks!
-Pashmina
-Princess Princess Ever After
-The books in Jason Reynold's Track Series (they focus on both male and female characters, each book has a different main character from the same track team - there are three books out so far.)
-Getting In The Game
-The BabyMouse series (there are at least 20 of these)
Check out the Middle Grades selections from the Amelia Bloomer list from recent years; it's an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers, ages birth through 18 put together by librarians from across the US.
posted by nuclear_soup at 9:11 AM on June 12, 2018
-The First Rule of Punk!
-Unstoppable Octabia May
-Sparks!
-Pashmina
-Princess Princess Ever After
-The books in Jason Reynold's Track Series (they focus on both male and female characters, each book has a different main character from the same track team - there are three books out so far.)
-Getting In The Game
-The BabyMouse series (there are at least 20 of these)
Check out the Middle Grades selections from the Amelia Bloomer list from recent years; it's an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers, ages birth through 18 put together by librarians from across the US.
posted by nuclear_soup at 9:11 AM on June 12, 2018
Wow, ok, I had no idea there was so much out there. And it looks like I've underrated graphic novels as a genre. There are many more good ones than I thought. Thank you all so much. I got something(s) great from every one of these answers! Some of them for this summer, some of them for the next year or two. I won't fret about my kiddo not wanting to read Harry Potter any more, or worry that she's not challenging herself. Thanks, everyone!
posted by Knowyournuts at 9:48 AM on June 12, 2018
posted by Knowyournuts at 9:48 AM on June 12, 2018
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posted by cleverevans at 11:58 AM on June 11, 2018