Cool present for a groovy girl
December 10, 2015 3:01 AM Subscribe
What gift can I offer my anglophile 13-year-old niece ?
She's very much into the anglosphere, loves the English language, she recently moved from one direction to Beyoncé, has loved all the Twilight stuff . . .
What cool presents can I find that are :
- not too obvious
- really representing some aspect of an English-speaking country culture
- really appealing to a 13 year-old girl, relevant to her interests ?
- ideally retaining some kind of value in the long run (I mean, not completely forgotten in a fortnight) [This last one is important, but I understand that it is optional]
She loves books, movies, music...
I must add : available online from France.
Thanks !
She's very much into the anglosphere, loves the English language, she recently moved from one direction to Beyoncé, has loved all the Twilight stuff . . .
What cool presents can I find that are :
- not too obvious
- really representing some aspect of an English-speaking country culture
- really appealing to a 13 year-old girl, relevant to her interests ?
- ideally retaining some kind of value in the long run (I mean, not completely forgotten in a fortnight) [This last one is important, but I understand that it is optional]
She loves books, movies, music...
I must add : available online from France.
Thanks !
Best answer: Box set of tenth and eleventh Dr. Doctor Who.
posted by Iteki at 3:23 AM on December 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Iteki at 3:23 AM on December 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Dr. Who was a thought I had as well. Also a Hot Topic gift card.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:01 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:01 AM on December 10, 2015
Best answer: How about a "Keep Calm and Carry On" mug or tee shirt?
Its a popular meme with lots of variations.
posted by NoraCharles at 6:13 AM on December 10, 2015
Its a popular meme with lots of variations.
posted by NoraCharles at 6:13 AM on December 10, 2015
Best answer: That's a great age to start reading Phillip Pullman novels.
posted by galvanized unicorn at 6:35 AM on December 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by galvanized unicorn at 6:35 AM on December 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: BBC's Sherlock is fantastic and you should be able to order the DVDs online. It's a very rewatchable show and there's a huge online fandom for it.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:19 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by Jacqueline at 7:19 AM on December 10, 2015
Best answer: "Romeo and Juliet", the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Bonus: the dialog is from the actual Shakespeare play, so it helps to be able to follow along with the dialog if spoken English gets hard to translate.
(When I was a teenager in the 90s, I stayed with a host family in Paris and my host sister was in LOVE with that movie, but needed some help translating some of the dialog. When we discovered that it really does pull from the actual play, that was like turning a light on for her.)
The Adventures of Superhero Girl" by Faith Erin Hicks (an awesome Canadian comics artist whose other work I also highly recommend!) (Although I remember my host sister and her friends were mostly "meh" about the US and Canada and were mostly only in love with England.)
posted by jillithd at 7:41 AM on December 10, 2015
(When I was a teenager in the 90s, I stayed with a host family in Paris and my host sister was in LOVE with that movie, but needed some help translating some of the dialog. When we discovered that it really does pull from the actual play, that was like turning a light on for her.)
The Adventures of Superhero Girl" by Faith Erin Hicks (an awesome Canadian comics artist whose other work I also highly recommend!) (Although I remember my host sister and her friends were mostly "meh" about the US and Canada and were mostly only in love with England.)
posted by jillithd at 7:41 AM on December 10, 2015
Best answer: Jo Walton’s Tooth and Claw. It’s a note-perfect Victorian novel, but everyone in it’s a dragon. So, not a UK souvenir but very much a love letter to English literature. (Bonus: kickass female characters.)
posted by miles per flower at 7:42 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by miles per flower at 7:42 AM on December 10, 2015
Best answer: How about a classic English novel with a young protagonist, such as I Capture the Castle? If she's learning English it would be novel for her to read something that isn't set in the present day. It's set in a crumbling country house and written from the point of view of a seventeen year old girl.
posted by mippy at 9:08 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by mippy at 9:08 AM on December 10, 2015
nicolin, can you clarify a bit? "Anglophile" usually means someone who likes stuff from England or the UK, while "anglophone" just means in the English language, so includes America, Canada, Australia, etc.. You mention Twilight and Beyonce, which are anglophone, but don't have any anglophile appeal. People seem to throwing out mostly stuff from the UK; are you looking for stuff from and English-language speaking country?
posted by benito.strauss at 9:47 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by benito.strauss at 9:47 AM on December 10, 2015
Response by poster: Yes, you're right : stuff from any English-speaking country.
posted by nicolin at 10:15 AM on December 10, 2015
posted by nicolin at 10:15 AM on December 10, 2015
Best answer: A subscription to the US edition of Teen Vogue.
posted by ElectricGoat at 10:31 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ElectricGoat at 10:31 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Rookie Yearbook
"Rookie is…
an independently run online magazine and book series founded in 2011 by Editor-in-Chief Tavi Gevinson. We publish writing, photography, and other forms of artwork by and for teenagers (and their cohorts of any age!)."
posted by ljesse at 4:34 PM on December 10, 2015
"Rookie is…
an independently run online magazine and book series founded in 2011 by Editor-in-Chief Tavi Gevinson. We publish writing, photography, and other forms of artwork by and for teenagers (and their cohorts of any age!)."
posted by ljesse at 4:34 PM on December 10, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks for the ideas. I've checked the contents of the Rookie Yearbooks : very interesting but I think her mother wouldn't be OK with some of the stuff. I've got to explore Dr Who a little bit to make sure she would like it, but for this Christmas, I think that Sherlock & Superhero Girl are just fine. So, thanks again !
posted by nicolin at 9:00 AM on December 13, 2015
posted by nicolin at 9:00 AM on December 13, 2015
In that case; Sherlock includes full nudity and bdsm talk as well as, of course, dead folks.
One of the opening scenes has Sherlock beating a naked corpse with a riding crop.
posted by Iteki at 9:28 AM on December 13, 2015
One of the opening scenes has Sherlock beating a naked corpse with a riding crop.
posted by Iteki at 9:28 AM on December 13, 2015
Response by poster: Really ? I remember watching Sherlock but this I've totally forgotten. I think it's rated as suitable for 12+ so I hope it won't be too graphic.
posted by nicolin at 9:44 AM on December 13, 2015
posted by nicolin at 9:44 AM on December 13, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
They really know their stuff and are experts at picking out stuff to interest young girls (Know this first-hand since I gave it as a present to my English god-daughter) A hand-wrapped and sealed book every month from one of the best independent bookshops in the UK. Definitely long-term value.
posted by vacapinta at 3:16 AM on December 10, 2015 [5 favorites]