Gift ideas for an avid 13 year old reader

November 19, 2019 5:14 PM

We're trying to think of good books to get for Young DTMFA (13 yo). Criteria inside!

Young DTMFA enjoys fantasy and dystopian novels, as well as character-driven fiction. She does not like horror and can get pretty sad about books where beloved characters or animals die... she is reading Robin Hobb's Assassin's trilogy currently and almost quit over Nosy. She is okay with romance/sex as long as it is not a major focus of the book, and is very uninterested in teen drama-type fiction. Dragons are loved although I'm starting to feel there aren't too many books which feature dragons that she has not read....

She has read a lot of books. Here are some of her current faves:
Name of the Wind & Wise Man's fear- Patrick Rothfuss
The Help-Kathryn Stockett
Rain Wilds Chronicles- Robin Hobb
Becky Chambers' books
Wings of Fire series
Temeraire series - Naomi Novik (and her other books too)
Seraphina & Rachel Hartman's other books
Divergent series- Veronica Roth
Educated- Tara Westover
Legends of the Dragonrealm series

Based on the above criteria and some of the books she has recently enjoyed, do you have any great book recommendations suitable for a teen that would expand her repertoire and introduce her to more diverse characters, worlds, and issues?

posted by DTMFA to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (27 answers total)

The Hero and The Crown and other books by Robin McKinley
Below the Root and its sequels by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
posted by ocherdraco at 5:28 PM on November 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books.
posted by angiep at 5:29 PM on November 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

Maybe Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, too, in a much more serious vein.
posted by angiep at 5:32 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Natural History of Dragons series by Marie Brennan might be good. Especially if she liked Temeraire. It's another kind of Alt-Historical world where dragons exist. The heroine is basically a cross between Darwin and Dr. Livingstone studying dragons around the world. There is a little romance, but it's very tasteful and not teen drama-y, mostly focused on action adventure, science and feminism. There is some discussion of differences in culture/gender/sexuality in 'Voyage of the Basilisk' which takes place in the faux-Pacific Islands. I think it was handled respectfully, but I'm a cissexual white American, so it's a potential YMMV.
posted by Caravantea at 5:39 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Frances Hardinge! All of her books are delightful, but for this question I would especially recommend Fly By Night and Gullstruck Island/The Lost Conspiracy (I can't remember which of those is the American title and which is the British one) and A Face Like Glass. Maaaaaybe A Skinful of Shadows - it has ghosts but I don't recall it being particularly spooky.

The Lie Tree, Vedegris Deep, and Cuckoo Song are definitely spooky which sounds like something she might not enjoy, but if her objection to horror is more about gore and less about shivery stuff, she might give those a try as well. These books are not gory at all.

There is very little romance or teen drama in any of these books - they tend to be about adolescent girls fomenting various sorts of revolution in inventive fantasy or historic (but also with strong fantastic elements) settings. There is a fairly major animal death in A Skinful of Shadows which happens early on, but the ghost of said animal is a major and important character throughout the book.
posted by darchildre at 5:41 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

idk if jonathan stroud's bartimaeus trilogy might even feel too young for her at 13 but i still love the series myself as a 10,000 year old eldritch abomination.

warning if you haven't read the assassin books: there is far greater pet-related heartbreak to come so just. prepare for that. like grown adults sobbing in public levels of heartbreak. me. it was me i cried on the train.
posted by poffin boffin at 5:43 PM on November 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

If Bartimaeus is too young (which it isn't necessarily), the Lockwood & Co. books, also by Jonathan Stroud, would be just right.

Also the Sabriel series by Garth Nix, if she hasn't read them already.
posted by mogget at 6:01 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: These are all superb answers so far, thank you!!

Ocherdraco I totally forgot about Below the Root, I LOVED that book when I was around her age.

Poffin boffin, I will indeed not be providing her with the Fool trilogy (followup to the 1st three Assassin books) in which the event I think you speak of takes place. I also sobbed and am still grieving... even though it was foreshadowed the whole damn book....
posted by DTMFA at 6:02 PM on November 19, 2019

How about the Earthsea books?

Dune has sandworms which are kind of like dragons.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:19 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Skulduggery Pleasant was one of my favorites growing up -- punk teen girl and magical skeleton detective guy solve crimes and kick ass. It's a little spooky and a little edgy, but it makes for good reading, I suppose :)

I also really remember liking Dr. Franklin's Island -- a few teens get stranded on a mysterious island and start turning into animals. It has some romantic moments (they're stuck on an island without parental supervision, how could there not be?), but it's mostly just an interesting story. A little "out there," but still lots of fun.

And, lastly-but-not-leastly, I have to recommend Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl -- this book doesn't contain any dragons or magical elements (quite unfortunately), but it had a tremendous impact on my teen years. I read Stargirl when I was around 13, and it changed the way I saw myself. It's a very empowering book -- so, although it doesn't quite fit the criteria, I think it's still a valuable read.
posted by NewShoo at 6:34 PM on November 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

Speaking as an avid fantasy reader who's always adored character-driven fiction, when I was young DTMFA's age, I loved:
- Brian Jacques' Redwall series (Mossflower was the best)
- Ursula K. Le Guin's Gifts (a dog does die, he wasn't particularly beloved though iirc)
- George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin
- Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle
- China Mieville's Un Lun Dun
- Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door (they kind of go downhill after that)
- Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series
- Chris d'Lacey's The Last Dragon Chronicles series

Books I've read more recently that she might enjoy:
- Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book
- Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci series
- Timothy Zahn's Dragonback series (technically sci fi, but felt like a fantasy to me, plus I think she'll love the conceit)

Partner asked me why I'm not playing Kingdom Hearts and upon hearing what is occupying my time, suggested:
- Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
- Piers Anthony's Xanth series
- Diane Duane's Young Wizards (the new millennium edition, which updated it for a modern audience both in setting and some -ism stuff)
- Not all of Pern is good/appropriate for her age, but partner loved Anne McCaffrey's Dragondrums series (I read the first book and liked it as well) and The White Dragon (also technically sci fi, fantasy feel)
posted by brook horse at 6:39 PM on November 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

Don't give anyone Piers Anthony's Xanth series.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:49 PM on November 19, 2019 [6 favorites]

Lois McMaster Bujold? I would have LOVED Miles Vorkosigan when I was her age, and I think the Sharing Knife series is underrated (though there is some described but not explicit sex if that’s a concern).

Yes Robin McKinley. I especially loved Beauty. T. Kingfisher also has a great Beauty and the Beast retelling called Byrony and Roses. Some of her stuff can get a little dark/creepy though.

Yes Young Wizards, yes Artemis Fowl, yes The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (those feel a little younger but are still delightful).

How about Jasper Fforde? The Eyre Affair is weird fantastic funny British fantasy.

And Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera? Man I love those characters and the world building.
posted by bananacabana at 7:00 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also wanted to add that around that age I was given Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep, which I didn’t read till I was an adult, but which totally blew my mind, especially by making me think much harder and differently about what it means to be a person.

A more recent series that did something similar for me were Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice and sequels.

The Martian and Artemis by Andy Weir were both fantastic and fun.

Some Neal Stephenson would probably be good, including Seveneves (though he has some weird explicit sex scenes in some of his novels).

And Connie Willis? I love her short funny stuff - All Seated on the Ground, Bellwether, Uncharted Territory - though *of course* To Say Nothing of the Dog is amazing, especially if she reads Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome first.
posted by bananacabana at 7:15 PM on November 19, 2019

Be careful with Parable of the Sower if you haven’t read it - it’s prophetic/brilliant/one of my favorite books, but also describes very disturbing sexual and non-sexual violence against both adults and kids in intense detail.

Did she read the Uglies books yet? They’re a bit old but might be up her alley. I’m sure I can think of other and better choices if I stare at my bookshelf for awhile.
posted by centrifugal at 9:07 PM on November 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

You’ll definitely want to review Parable of the Sower for content - lots of violence, death, and a teen girl in a relationship with a much, much older man.
posted by momus_window at 9:09 PM on November 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

Given the listed titles, I'd throw The Goblin Emperor in as a possibility. (I re-read some "cozy" series for comfort, and I usually hit this around when I get to Becky Chambers.) Does start with his estranged family dying, but no pets.

Another series I enjoy is Jumper by Steven Gould. (I usually skip the movie spin off, Griffin's Story, as it isn't in the same setting as the other books.) 7th Sigma would work too. There's some familial grief in book 1, but also no pets.

Codex Alera series is also fun, but the first book drags a bit. Better written women than his Dresden series, but that's not a particularly high bar. (I've still read both series a few times. He gets better.) Some characters die in the last few books.
posted by Anonymous Function at 9:31 PM on November 19, 2019

T. Kingfisher! I love - love love love - all her books but Summer in Orcus holds a special place in my heart. I wish I had found it when I was young.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland books, also completely wonderful.

I am tempted to add Martha Wells Raksura books - they are amazing, but miiight be a little too old. Although if she can handle Robin Hobb she can definitely handle Martha Wells.
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:48 PM on November 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

The Dragondrums series totally holds up and is way less Problematic(tm) than the rest of Pern. Of course if your kid is like I was they won't stop until the rest of Pern is immediately absorbed, but kids vary, so I hear.

One of my absolute favorite fantasy authors is Patricia A McKillip. She doesn't often write about dragons and despite this error in judgement I still rank her up there with the best. She writes a lot about young women engaging in difficult, complicated tasks that require subtlety and confidence, with a poetic, almost musical flare and a great deal of thoughtfulness about families. My two favorite books of hers are probably Alphabet of Thorn and Ombria in Shadow.
posted by Mizu at 10:09 PM on November 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon series is spot on for this.
posted by shadygrove at 5:40 AM on November 20, 2019

I haven't looked at them in ages, and they might perfectly well be appalling in any number of ways that I didn't notice at the time, but at the age when I was reading Pern, etc., I remember also loving the Keltiad books by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison. It's like legends of King Arthur set in space.
posted by bluebird at 8:20 AM on November 20, 2019

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, or alternately, the first three Penric and Desdemona novellas are being released as one volume (Penric's Progress) in January.
posted by fings at 10:34 AM on November 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I just read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. It was great! Reasons I think it is a good fit:

--It's a YA novel, but the stakes are high and are not typical teenage drama
--It's both a fantasy and a dystopia
--There are plot-related deaths, but they're not overly traumatic IMO. The protagonists are motivated by the deaths of loved ones in their past. The villains die in the end
--There's a little romance, but only a little
--The novel is set in an alternate-universe version of Nigeria and all the characters are POC
posted by zeusianfog at 12:36 PM on November 20, 2019

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor is so delightful in every way. I haven't read the sequel yet, but hopefully it's good too?
posted by exceptinsects at 2:02 PM on November 20, 2019

I thought I would have nothing to add as a non-fantasy reader, but then I saw that she had listed Educated, which is quite different from the others. Might your role be helping to expand her groove, esp. if she is running out of books? I had a very specific kind of book I liked as a kid, and it was random people in my life (my uncle's girlfriend, for example) who would gift me books out of the blue that changed my life.

So I would think about including a book that wouldn't fall on her radar. I loved John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany at that age. One of my favorite novels is Not Without Laughter, by Langston Hughes, which I read when I was ten and still love forty years later. She may not be too young for Murakami's short stories or lots of different memoirs.

I would get her something from her preferred genre but also use this as an opportunity to also blow her mind with something new.
posted by caoimhe at 2:03 PM on November 20, 2019

If she liked The Help, she's probably ready for To Kill a Mockingbird.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 3:25 PM on November 20, 2019

Response by poster: These are great answers; some of these books she has already read and enjoyed and I think she will love many of the new suggestions. Caoimhe, I am definitely looking to expand her breadth of reading material so thanks for your recommendations. I'll wait til tomorrow to mark this as closed in case anyone pops with more answers, but this will keep her reading happily for awhile. Thank you mefites!
posted by DTMFA at 7:17 PM on November 20, 2019