Book suggestions for a smart "very online" tween

February 17, 2025 8:42 AM

My 6th grader has been struggling to find books to read this year for her nightly reading and we'd love your suggestions on books that might resonate with her.

That reading seems to need be fiction (although it seems to me biographies might work), because the daily writing homework around it is based on a general theme each week (senses, minor characters, conflict, etc.) but other than that there doesn't seem to be have been a lot of direction. (She doesn't like this teacher very much so I don't get a lot of information.) She used to be really into reading, but's its fallen by the wayside this year and ideally we'd respark that as well.

She's newly twelve, very sharp, funny, argumentative at home (but her others go out of their way to say how much they love her in class). She's into playing music and singing (rock and musicals), and following her favorite musicians, photography, current politics, political debate. Although this wasn't true in the past right now she's really not into fantasy or magic, and definitely nothing of a romantic nature, together those two restrictions things eliminate a lot of what comes up when you search for young adult. I'm going to go through some battle of the books lists today and see what we might find that she hasn't ready, but would love any other ideas, thanks! Physical and ebooks are ok (although I'm trying to mostly use her kindle for library loans vs. buying from Amz.)

posted by snowymorninblues to Society & Culture (26 answers total)

Does she like animals? The James Herriott books were great when I was that age.
posted by terridrawsstuff at 8:51 AM on February 17

Sounds like they could be a little young for her, but I always throw out a recommendation for two series that I absolutely loved around that age.

First, the Vesper Holly series by Lloyd Alexander. Adventure, smart female heroine who has, according to the author, "the digestive talents of a goat and the mind of a chess master. She is familiar with half a dozen languages and can swear in all of them."

Second, the All-of-a-Kind-Family series. I know nothing about your cultural or religious background, but for me growing up in the 1980s as a white Irish Catholic girl, these books were my first introduction to Jewish culture and traditions. The author, Sydney Taylor, inspired a book award given by the Association of Jewish Libraries.
posted by fennario at 8:58 AM on February 17 [1 favorite]

I think every plucky kid should read The Westing Game.
posted by phunniemee at 9:00 AM on February 17 [10 favorites]

The two that were handed to me at that age were The Westing Game, already recommended, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by e. l. konigsburg. No magic, female heroine (with a younger brother). Being handed this book by my teacher changed my life -- this was the first book where "the magic happened," as my daughter's first grade teacher said to me when I brought it up.
posted by AbelMelveny at 9:16 AM on February 17 [6 favorites]

I should add I think I was younger than 6th grade when reading that, so she may have aged out of my recommendation. I'll think more on this.
posted by AbelMelveny at 9:20 AM on February 17

A good time to read the original Sherlock Holmes stories, which of course is a nice tie in with the new Enola Holmes books and TV shows. Or just start with Enola.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:27 AM on February 17 [1 favorite]

If I remember correctly, 6th grade was when I was super into Tamora Pierce, the Jacky Faber books, and the Sammy Keyes books. I second E. L. Konigsburg. I think I also really liked Judy Blume around that time.

While Tamora Pierce's books are in the realm of fantasy, they are much less focused on the fantasy setting and much more focused on the female protagonists and their everyday lives/struggles. I just listened to the Protector of the Small audiobooks and they resonated with me just as much as they did back then. This quartet of books also has a main character without magic so it feels less fantasy and more medieval than Pierce's other books.

The Jacky Faber/Bloody Jack books by L.A. Meyer are about a young orphan girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can join the British Navy in the early 19th century. Lots of adventure, mild romance (it takes a backseat to the main plot), definitely some allusions to more adult things that went over my head at the time. Meyer served in the U.S. Navy and so there's a lot of interesting info about ships and naval procedures that I found fascinating.

The Sammy Keyes books by Wendelin van Draanen are about a young detective named Sammy who illegally lives with her grandma in California and solves mysteries. She starts as a 7th grader and by the end of the 18th book she's in 8th grade. I think each book takes place during a month of her life?

I remember reading some of the Dear America/Royal Diaries/etc series too, which are much more rooted in history.

If she decides she likes fantasy again, I also loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede – while firmly fantasy, I thought these books were witty and charming and read them several times. The first book is about an "improper" princess who runs away from home and convinces a dragon to hold her hostage so she can avoid an arranged marriage. Diana Wynne Jones is also a classic (Chrestomanci series for the win!), and not much romance that I can remember, but again, very much fantasy.
posted by =^.^= at 9:36 AM on February 17 [1 favorite]

Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows does have romance and a fantasy-related element but "extremely online" made me think of it. Honestly, some of the books under "Customers also bought or read..." on the Amazon page for the novel also look pretty good (e.g. Olivetti by Allie Millington). For older books, maybe Laurence Yep's non-fantasy historical fiction.

Books I've heard about but have not read: Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf (about a Scrabble player!); Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne; Make a Move, Sunny Park by Jessica Kim (heroine is a k-pop fan); Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

I also read a bunch of biographies and historical fiction around that age, so I think you might be on the right track there. I have to imagine what's out there now is better than what was available in the 90s, though, so no specific recs.
posted by wintersweet at 10:04 AM on February 17 [1 favorite]

DiscWorld!
posted by bluefrog at 10:04 AM on February 17

I suggest asking a public or school librarian for some choices that will resonate with her and hopefully will be more likely to include more contemporary and more diverse choices by non-white authors and stories about kids that aren't just straight and cisgender.

I would suggest:
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson - for something serious and realistic. All of Tiffany Jackson's books are great. If she is heading into YA territory, also try Ellen Hopkins.
The Track series by Jason Reynolds - there are four of these, and they are short and especially relatable if you participate in any sports. Not all of them have male main characters.

Celia Perez has written some books appealing to 5th-8th grade level, including The First Rule of Punk about a girl starting a band and embracing not fitting in. (Her other books are also very good!)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
posted by lizard music at 10:14 AM on February 17 [3 favorites]

Former school librarian here.

My general reaction to these questions is that most suggestions are TOO OLD. We tend to recommend the books we loved at that time in our lives, and the sad truth is that most books are (IMHO) generally tied to the zeitgeist within which they were offered- IOW, many tend not to age well, or to resonate with younger generations in the way they did with older ones. I KNOW this is sad- I loved A Wrinkle in Time too! After years and years of trying to get kids to read (and enjoy) the classic texts of my youth I finally came to terms with this truth.

Additionally, we are living in another GOLDEN AGE OF KIDS LITERATURE. There is simply SO MUCH great stuff being produced for middle grade and young adult readers it’s a crime not to dig into it. Rather than recommend my favorites- which skew a little younger and are a couple years out of date since my retirement- my advice is to shop for a good kids/YA librarian. If your kid doesn’t jibe with their school librarian, try a couple local public libraries. If you ask, I find librarians will often recommend their friend in the system who ‘really knows kidlit.’ Alternately, sometimes your best fit might be at an indie bookseller. Good luck!
posted by carterk at 10:25 AM on February 17 [22 favorites]

For something recent, your description of your kid made me think of Catfishing on Catnet. It worked for my kid at 12 or 13 though it's aimed a little older. Note there is a romantic connection, if that's a hard no, but it's not central.

(There is no "catfishing" in the creepy sense at all, despite the title.)
posted by away for regrooving at 10:30 AM on February 17 [3 favorites]

My top suggetion is The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. It's funny (but not just funny) and it's not romantic.

At that age, my daughter really liked the Maximum Ride books by James Patterson. They're not great literature but they might be entertaining enough to keep her attention. A romance eventually develops between two of the characters but there's a lot of other non-romantic stuff going on. There are graphic novels of the books too, if she likes that format.

Based on the opinions of my own kids, I have to sadly agree with carterk that older books are just not going to seem interesting to a lot of today's kids. I feel like my suggestions are recent enough, though.
posted by Redstart at 10:41 AM on February 17 [1 favorite]

Does she like mysteries? Currently popular among my daughter's social group is A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. If she tends to read older stuff aimed for adults, a bunch of established YA authors are trying their hands at adult fiction this year.
posted by toastyk at 10:53 AM on February 17

Some recent recommendations from our household that I think may be on point for your kid's interests:

A Kind of Spark

Elatsoe, the protagonist is aro (not that that's central to it either)

You might want to run this one by your own swearing and violence filters, but Murderbot. (Readers will argue that a romantic connection can be seen, but it's missable if you're not seeking it.)
posted by away for regrooving at 10:58 AM on February 17

I completely agree with carterk.

I also completely disagree with carterk.

I loved reading the Red Badge of Courage when I was about in 6th grade. When I read it, it was 90 years old. To this day I've never eaten hard tack or been conscripted or been shot, but it spoke to me then because it's a good book.

Of the books recommended above that fall into what I think carterk would consider "the nostalgia zone," some of them were 30 years old when I was reading them. You might argue the world changed more between 1990 and 2025 than it did between 1960 and 1990, and I won't disagree (or agree), but isn't the whole point of art to combine and convey the universal and the specific?

And if I can read books to learn about other places, people, cultures, genders, politics, and so forth, why can't I read about other times, both as depicted and when written?

Maybe your kid will like these things from the past, and maybe not? Maybe if the characters aren't messaging each other over social media she just can't cope? But a good book is a good book.

And so I won't be dinged for a derail -- True Grit is amazing, even though it's (gasp!) from 1968. One of the best protagonists in all of literature, and she's not far off in age from the reader at issue.
posted by AbelMelveny at 11:26 AM on February 17 [5 favorites]

+1 to carterk. There are so many great tween and YA books now. The answers I often see around reading suggestions for kids and teens from this site are not as relevant as reading suggestions available from public or school librarians who are trained and specialize in this. The first 10-ish suggestions in this thread are all from white authors, for instance. Librarians offer this readiers advisory service for free in most places in the US, since libraries as a public institution continue to exist.

One of the ideas in readers advisory services for children and teens is to primarily consider the needs/interests and enthusiasms of the reader, and that is a check on the tendency to suggest things one remembers fondly from their own growing up. And yes, books should also be windows into other times and cultures and places which foster empathy and universal human understanding, and older books can do that. So can newer books. Helping kids and teens find the books they want to read, though, is also about finding mirrors as well as windows, and things that are fun and relevant and realistic.
posted by lizard music at 11:56 AM on February 17 [4 favorites]

Don't forget Manga and Graphic novels! Though check to see if they allowed for the homework assignment. I recommend just going to the library for a afternoon and having her browse. No time limit, not in a hurry, just remember that feeling of looking around and pulling out a book that looks interesting.
posted by Art_Pot at 12:14 PM on February 17 [2 favorites]

Books my students have enjoyed lately:

The Good Girls' Guide to Murder series.

Goodbye Stranger and Liar and Spy and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

Look Both Ways and Ghost by Jason Reynolds.

Clockwork by Phillip Pullman.
posted by mai at 12:24 PM on February 17 [1 favorite]

I strongly suspect that I (a 71 year old guy) will not have the same taste as her, but hey, it's only bytes on the Internet:

Project Hail May by Andy Weir
Maybe Cory Doctorow stuff (if you approve)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarrox
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
posted by forthright at 1:45 PM on February 17

My daughter is a fifth grader but an advanced reader. I second carterk’s suggestion to find someone who knows modern YA and middle grade fiction rather than going by the old favorites of current adults.

I’ll recommend some of my daughter’s favorites, though, in case some of them are books your daughter hasn’t run across. She loves anything by Kate DiCamillo. The Greenglass House books by Kate Milford are wonderful. If historic fiction is an option, “The War that Saved My Life” by Kimberly Bradley is a favorite. The Vanderbeeker series by Karina Yan Glaser is excellent. And, for what it’s worth, “Little Women” and “Anne of Green Gables” have really resonated with her.
posted by Kriesa at 4:12 PM on February 17 [3 favorites]

My sixth grader's favorite book is The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. I agree with previous comments that many of these recs are "what I, a middle-aged person, liked when I was twelve".

I read aloud with my almost-twelve year old almost every night. We are mostly reading older literature; I think the newest books I've read to her were the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We read all eight Anne books. She liked Pride and Prejudice but hated Emma. I would say the biggest recent hit was A Christmas Carol. But it's critical that these are books we read and discuss together. I don't think she'd get through them on her own.

But the cool thing is that after we read a few of these novels she found intimidating, she did actually pick up Jane Eyre on her own and got through it. We've talked a lot about storytelling as a technology and how it evolves and changes with the preferences of readers and I think it's made her much more willing to stick with a book that doesn't "grab" her like modern books do. But my point is that this has been hours of work on my part. It's been a joy, too, but it's definitely not trivial to get a modern tween reading older books. They just really aren't written for children who have modern expectations.
posted by potrzebie at 4:30 PM on February 17 [1 favorite]

Quagmire Tiarello Couldn't Be Better (2024), Mylisa Larsen

“A fiercely independent nonconformist, Quagmire must recalibrate his formidable survival skills when his mother’s unstable mental health forces him to build a new life and forge ties with found family.”
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:34 PM on February 17

forthright suggested "maybe" Cory Doctorow stuff. I would really recommend "Little Brother" and "Homeland" since you say they are into current politics and political debate.

I would also recommend, although they are 'dated', Heinlein's "Podkayne of Mars" and the short story "The Menace From Earth".
posted by TimHare at 7:40 PM on February 17

Rebecca Stead - When You Reach Me, though it does have a fantastic element as part of the plot twist, it is mostly just grounded in a big city reality for a group of middle school kids.
posted by soelo at 9:04 AM on February 18

although they are 'dated', Heinlein's "Podkayne of Mars"

You don't have to agree with James Nicoll's read of "Podkayne" but I do think it absolutely points toward the ways that many people under fifty are going to respond to the book, if those happen not to be ways one responds oneself.
posted by away for regrooving at 11:47 PM on February 24