Teen fantasy books?

mymo

I have a 13year old here who is running out of books, she started at about 6 with Harry Potter, went through all the kids ones.

She read the Eragon books as they came out, Cornelia Funke (sp?) and Neil Gaimen books, some Dianna Wynn Jones which she wasn't too enthusiastic about, she has gone through the entire Terry Pratchett series (kids and adult ones), Douglas Adams books (long dark tea time a fav), so many more.

But I struggle to find new authors for her as most teen fiction seems to be dominated by Twilight and similar, which she hates with a passion and refuses to try anything with even the slightest look to Twilight about it.

On the non fantasy side she reads stuff like the chinese cinderella, anything with a bit of history in it, and recently To kill a mocking bird.

I am about to order a couple of Jasper fjorde books.

Can anyone recommend something for christmas?
She reads anything from 3 to 10 books a week (read Snuff in a few hours and the last Eragon book in less than 24hrs), so I am getting desperate!

Any and all suggestions welcome.

DjFlin

When I was a kid I read The Hobbit, and The Lord of The Rings. Both are personal favorites to this day. The Artemis Fowl series is quite popular, read the first couple myself, my younger brother and sister read them all. My little brother is also mad about a series called Skullduggery Pleasant (Not sure if I've spelt it right).

Hope that helps.

mymo

Thanks for reply, she has read Skullduggery series and loves them, LoTR and Hobbit too, tried some Artimis Fowl but didn't like them enough to finish the series.

She reads so much most of the stuff in bookshops has been read, Library too.

Any other ideas?

desertcircus

mymo wrote: »

Thanks for reply, she has read Skullduggery series and loves them, LoTR and Hobbit too, tried some Artimis Fowl but didn't like them enough to finish the series.

She reads so much most of the stuff in bookshops has been read, Library too.

Any other ideas?

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. It sustains multiple rereadings as well...

Andy-Pandy

John Connollys kids books are brilliant for both young and old. Get 'Book of lost things'. Ill second Philip Pullman if she hasnt read it, its incredible. Also Michael Chabon's 'Summerland', dont be put off by the baseball theme. If she is into fantasy try getting her 'Assassins Apprentice' the first book of Robin Hobbs 'Farseer trilogy' its the first book in a trilogy of trilogy's and will keep her busy for a while as they are all massive. She sounds like me at her age.

mymo

Pullman ones she has read a while back, but I'll take a look at the others thanks so much, any more ideas just keep them coming.

desertcircus

mymo wrote: »

Pullman ones she has read a while back, but I'll take a look at the others thanks so much, any more ideas just keep them coming.

Might be worth her trying science fiction - the Robots or Foundation series by Isaac Asimov are classics.

Andy-Pandy

Id like to add Raymond E. Feist 'Magician' to that list. She will love it. And China Mieville 'Un Lun Dun'

And get her a Kindle for christmas.

Lyanna

I'd suggest giving the Wheel of Time a try; I started reading it at about that age and it's long enough to keep her occupied for quite a while. Other fantasy I'd suggest would be Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series and Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books. If she liked Chinese Cinderella, I'd suggest Adeline Yen Mah's autobiography Falling Leaves and a similar trilogy which I liked at that age, Deborah Ellis' The Breadwinner Trilogy, about a girl in Afghanistan under the Taliban.

B.E. Priest

It sounds like your daughter and I have very similar book taste. It makes me giddy, actually, to share my favorites... So how aboooout

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
-one of the greatest Scifis ever written, definitely YA although not advertised as such

Dune by Frank Herbert
-the sci fi equivalent of Lord of the Rings (meaning it's phenomenal)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
-much cooler than it sounds

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
(in case she missed this one)

A Wrinkle in Time (and sequels) by Madeleine L'engle

I can go on and on This may not be kosher here but I legitimately believe you could find more helpful suggestions at www.youngadultfantasy.com.

Hope this helps!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

maybe a few kurt vonneggutt books, slaughterhouse 5 or breakfast of champions

not out and out sci fi/fantasy, but there's elements of sci fi in most of his books. slaughterhouse 5 in particular is reccomended reading for anyone, just in general.

Improbable

I'd definitely second Magician by Feist. The entire Riftwar Saga is amazing. Maybe some Trudi Canavan stuff as well, the Black Magician or the Age of Five trilogies. The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks. The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix. Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud.

Those are just books off the top of my head that I still enjoy even though I'm now 23.

floutingmaxims

Midnight with Charlie Bone - Jenny Nimmo. I used to love that book :rolleyes:

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Lyanna

B.E. Priest wrote: »

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
-one of the greatest Scifis ever written, definitely YA although not advertised as such

Seconded. Amazing book.

Ellian

My 14 year old niece enjoyed the Hunger Games triology - get in now before the rush as I believe there is a movie coming out sometime next year. Jasper Fforde is brilliant and I think Thursday Next is a great heroine/role model for young although you need a good literary knowledge to pick up all the jokes (I'm pretty sure I am only batting at around 75%)

mymo

Thank you everyone, there can never be too many books with this girl.
The kindle isn't a bad idea but she doesn't want one, she loves books. I generally buy secondhand online from various sources, so not that expensive.

Thanks again, will get her to look up these books and see what she likes.

nesf

When I was that age I was reading Gemmel, Feist and Eddings. Wasn't that much teen aimed fantasy back then but I was still as happy as a pig in ****.

Magician was my first proper fantasy book and started a lifelong (so far) interest in the area. (I read The Lord of the Rings at 7 but wasn't old enough to be truly captured and fascinated by it)

cynder

Hunger games trilogy is fab, also the nicolas flamel series, by Michael Scott, got my lady Percy Jackson series 6 books and the first 7 books of cirque de freak. The bargain book store has the cirque de freak for 3 for €10.


Just to add I got the hunger games for my lady for Xmas but last Saturday I was bored I read the whole trilogy over 1200 pages in less than 17 hours, I had them finished by 7am on Sunday morning. They are unputdownable.

hidinginthebush

nesf wrote: »

When I was that age I was reading Gemmel, Feist and Eddings. Wasn't that much teen aimed fantasy back then but I was still as happy as a pig in ****.

Magician was my first proper fantasy book and started a lifelong (so far) interest in the area. (I read The Lord of the Rings at 7 but wasn't old enough to be truly captured and fascinated by it)

I still whip out Druss or Waylander the odd time at 27, brilliant reads that you can nearly do in the one sitting too

nesf

hidinginthebush wrote: »

I still whip out Druss or Waylander the odd time at 27, brilliant reads that you can nearly do in the one sitting too

Yeah I've been considering buying some Gemmel for the Kindle. Just to have around when I can't concentrate well and need some "popcorn fantasy."

hidinginthebush

nesf wrote: »

Yeah I've been considering buying some Gemmel for the Kindle. Just to have around when I can't concentrate well and need some "popcorn fantasy."

Aye laddie.

pinkypinky

Garth Nix's trilogy Lirael, Sariel and Abhorsen would be good for her age group too.

I second the Feist and Eddings recommends, in particular the Daughter/Servant/Mistress of the Empire trilogy by Feist & Wurts.

Has she read the song of fire & ice books by George RR Martin (Game of Thrones on tv) - there are some adult themes, but looking at what she's read, she'll be fine with it.

mariebeth

Another vote for the Hunger Games trilogy, I'm 28 and reading them for the first time & I love them. Definitely think that she would love them.

blatantrereg

I agree with Dune. It's brilliant.
Robin Hobb's first three trilogies were also brilliant and very suitable for a teenage girl. The soldier's son books are bad though.
Steven Donaldson might also be worth checking out.

pljudge321

Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson is very good.

ixoy

blatantrereg wrote: »

Steven Donaldson might also be worth checking out.

Not sure I'd agree with this one, or at least not for the Thomas Covenant series. It is after all about a self-loathing leper who rapes a woman...

blatantrereg

ixoy wrote: »

Not sure I'd agree with this one, or at least not for the Thomas Covenant series. It is after all about a self-loathing leper who rapes a woman...

spoilers
though you have a point

Tenger

I would vote up 'Magician' and the following books.

Dune may be a bit much. Far too much character introspection to my mind. Great books but not 'easy reading'.

Gemmell is popcorn fantasy, there are some sex scenes but they are pretty short and non-descript (if memory serves)

Wheel of Time is also good. Epic scale and with 13 books already published (14 due next year) she has a lot of material to work through.

EDIT: in relation to below I would also add Robin Hobb. Great couple of series from her.

blatantrereg

Tenger wrote: »

I would vote up 'Magician' and the following books.

Dune may be a bit much. Far too much character introspection to my mind. Great books but not 'easy reading'.

Gemmell is popcorn fantasy, there are some sex scenes but they are pretty short and non-descript (if memory serves)

Wheel of Time is also good. Epic scale and with 13 books already published (14 due next year) she has a lot of material to work through.

I read dune at three different stages of my life, including as a teenager. Every time I appreciated a different level to it that I hadn't perceived before. It has great appeal to younger readers I think - even if it might be a somewhat different book to what an older reader might encounter.

I think Gemmell is great. I dont like the popcorn fantasy tag at all, but that's a different conversation. Brilliant for teenagers, but I honestly can't see a girl liking his stuff. It's for the same sort of reasons that got it called popcorn fantasy.

I imagine a spectrum of appeal to girls. At one end you have Robin Hobb with her focus on relationships, strong well developed female characters, and intricate descriptions of clothes. At the other end you have David Gemmell, whose books have none of these things, but macho male heroes, a gritty kinda realistic aspect unusual in fantasy, and a strong evocation of setting, numerous very good action scenes, and inspirational struggles against inner demons.

Wheel of Time is a good suggestion - the first few books anyway. Personally I dropped the series around book 8. Books were verrrry repetitive....five books would have been plenty I think - and even that might have felt a little stretched.

Tym

Yeah The Assasin's Apprentice is a very good book but there are some fairly disturbing aspects in it, or perhaps the later ones. Might not be suitable for a thirteen year old to be honest.

Sarky

Has she tried the Bard's Tale trilogy from Robert Scott? I'm probably a bit biased as it was really my first introduction to fantasy but I started reading them around that age and I thought they were great.

If she's that voracious a reader though, and judging from some of the stuff you say she's read, I'd imagine she's well able to deal with the more complicated stuff like Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen (that'd certainly keep her busy- ten books packed full of clever subtle intertwining plots that almost demand multiple readings to fully appreciate), or maybe some of Joe Abercrombie's stuff.

You should be able to pick up a nice big Conan the Barbarian omnibus for a decent price these days, if she hasn't read any Conan then I'd highly recommend it, really classic stuff that inspired a truckload of modern writers.

flowerchild

I'd recommend Ranger's Apprentice. It is a series of fantasy novels written by Australian author John Flanagan. It takes place in a fictional world based on European medieval times. The series has sold two million copies in 16 countries around the world.

The series was originally 20 short stories Flanagan wrote for his son to get him interested in reading.

mymo

Back again...
Well she got a kindle for Christmas from her granddad, she loves it!

She has been working her way through the recommendations, Hunger games were a big hit, city of angels series (sorry can't remember author but there's 3), Un Lun dun not such a hit, she did finish it but wasn't sure if she wanted more.
Fiest, Eddings and Gemmell seem to be hit and miss (so far), she got a few free books from the kindle store.
Only problem now is getting her to sleep!
Thanks for help, may be back again in a couple of months.

Conall Cernach

At 13 or 14 I was engrossed in David Eddings' The Belgariad. It hasn't really stood the test of time though unfortunately.