Suggested books for a 14 year old?

[mytzplyx]

Hey all. I'm an English teacher here in a Japanese middle school, and one of my students, a 14 year old, actually grew up in California. She's Japanese, but her English is better since she spent 12 years of her life in America.

Anyways, we had "interview" tests today, and I found out that her birthday is tomorrow. I thought I'd give her a book to read, just because a) I like books and b) I'd hate for her to lose her English slowly but surely as it seems to happen to everywhere. And of course c) She's a good good kid, putting up with English class with other struggling Japanese kids.

My problem is that I was thinking of books that a 14 year old could possibly enjoy, and not many came to mind. I read a lot of books ahead of my age group when I was 14 and I like all particular genres as well.

I'm looking for something that a 14 year old girl would enjoy reading, regardless of genre. For example, the Harry Potter books since almost every kid that's read those has enjoyed them. She's read those books already though. I'm thinking of picking up a Lion, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, but if I can't find that here, then I'm pretty much at a loss. Help?

[dyevin]

my son is 11 but reads a little ahead of his age. recent books he's read are:

the thief of always - clive barker
fahrenheit 451 - ray bradbury
all quiet on the western front - erich maria remarque
the thief lord - cornelia funke
the adventures of huckleberry finn - mark twain
lord of the flies - william golding
artemis fowl: the eternity code - eoin colfer
the war of the worlds - h.g. wells
the island of dr. moreau - h.g. wells
the sword of shannara - terry brooks

and of course the harry potter and lord of the rings books...

[custom001]

"Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380807343/qid=1078735784/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-8331837-6809430

It's about a girl of a similar age.

[12thmonkey]

I second Coraline :thumbsup:
My 12-yr old daughter and I both read it, and loved it.


Also, if she liked Harry Potter, try the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events books. I believe there are nine books so far, and they need to be read in order.

Excellent, twisted stuff that my daughter can't get enough of ....

[benedict]

In an earlier <A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103697" target="_blank">thread</a> about fondly remembered books from childhood a number of people mentioned Madeline L'Engle's <b>Wrinkle In Time</b> series. I'm not sure whether they are too young for a 14 y/o.... I think I read the first one when I was 9 or 10 but I did tend to read aread of my age e.g. Papillon at 10/11 :D

Also read around that time were <b>The Hobbit</b> and <b>Watership Down</b>.

A while back I bought <a href="http://suberic.net/dwj/bio.html" TARGET="_BLANK">Diana</A> <a href="http://suberic.net/dwj/medusa.html" TARGET="_BLANK">Wynne</A> <a href="http://www.herebedragons.co.uk/gay/dwj.htm" TARGET="_BLANK">Jones'</A> the <A HREF="http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/dalemark.htm" target="_blank">Dalemark Quartet</a> for my bookworm niece. These might fit the "fantasy" niche.

[mdc3000]

Originally posted by dyevin
my son is 11 but reads a little ahead of his age. recent books he's read are:

the thief of always - clive barker

This was the first book that came to my mind. It is an excellent book for this age range... I loved it when I was 13ish. Also, the Snicket books are great for young and old, so I'd recommend those too.

MATT

[wendersfan]

I read a lot of Vonnegut at that age. I also read many, many books by Eric Ambler.

[look4sheep]

hi, you could try some Interview with the Vampire and the Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. Or The House of the spirits by Isabel Allende, it's a little long, but I found it pretty enjoyable.