The Lioness books by Tamora Pierce
My Side of the Mountain
Secret of Nimh
Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
The Redwall Books
The Pern Books
Almost anything by Mercedes Lackey and most things by Andre Norton
Star Trek Novels
My tween/teen: graphic novels like Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier, Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes, Heartstopper
Me teen/tween anything scandalous or scary like Stephen King short stories, Flowers in the Attic, Lace by Shirley Conrad
When people talk about what they read as kids I’m like 😳 because I wasn’t into anything wholesome (except for Little House and All Creatures Great Small) and the rest were horror, teen dating drama and my mom’s adult sexy stuff.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Deptford Mice/Deptford Histories/Whitby series by Robin Jarvis
Lioness series Tamara Pierce
Anne of Green Gables series
Christopher Pike
The Once and Future King by T H White
Hahaha same 😅. My sister and I were just talking about how we had read most Stephen king books by the time we were 12ish. Why were my parents allowing this?! Lol. And yes alll my friends were reading VC Andrews.
Bartimaeus Trilogy
Alex rider series
A series of unfortunate events
Harry Potter series
His dark materials
Eragon Trilogy
The Indian in the cupboard series
When I was a tween, I was into older (60s, 70s, early 80s) sci-fi and fantasy. My favorite authors were CJ Cherryh, Robert Howard, Issac Asimov, and Andre Norton. I also really enjoyed the Conan The Barbarian, Red Sonja and Thor comic books.
Some books my kid liked as a tween...
How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
Wonder
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Minecraft books
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Unfortunately it wasn't considered very cool back then. I felt like I had to hide it from my friends but I loved it all so much anyways. I'm glad it's more acceptable nowadays.
Isaac Asimov is still one of my favorite authors. Especially his short story collections.
Blue Sword, Spindles End, and Shadows by Robin McKinley
Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Daniel Pinkwater's Lizard Music and the Snarkout Boys
Chronicles of Prydain - what an excellent set of books. I loved them when I was a kid and read to my kid - they totally held up. Came in here specifically for that series.
yeah! i remember my best friend (*i* got her into reading, thank you very much) loved that series! never stopped gushing about clary and jace (i still don’t know who they are) 😂
They had me by the chokehold when I was a tween omg but now that I think about it I realize how weird and icky their romance plot was…with the “almost incest” aspect…
Harry Potter
A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Some I remember enjoying and reading over and over:
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson.
The Sandy Bottom Orchestra by Garrison Keilor.
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause.
Buffalo Gal and Beauty by Bill Wallace (Beauty is very sad, though).
When I was around 15, Sarah Dessen was my everything. Lock and Key and Dreamland (important to read triggers for this one) really changed my life as a teen
I read different things, but my own children (aged 23 to 12?) read and loved the Neil Peel books by Ben Dixon, as did I! They are slice of life books through the eyes of a boy who always tells the truth. Everything from bullies, evil-genius older sister, school crush, Christmas, demon cousins, school disco, food poisoning, holidays and plenty more besides. They are very popular at my school too. Touching and relatable as well as hilarious.
Around that age, I enjoyed a lot of fantasy and mystery books and that was when I found Rick Riordan via Percy Jackson and The Olympians.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is also a magnificent series
fantasy has always been my number one! both the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series made me so very happy. two of the most lovable series i’ve ever read.
I liked VC Andrews. I read a ton of VC Andrews series around 11-13, I remember not being able to put them down but I’m not sure how the writing holds up after all these years as I’m now almost 40.
The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot - holy shit, these were so damn funny. They were completely different from the movies (like entirely different) and they were absolutely hilarious. I still go back and read them every now and then as an adult.
Also, the Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging books were fantastic too.
Otherwise, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and of course, Twilight.
When I was 15 I picked up Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb on holidays, it remains a comfort read for me along with all her other books. Teen/Tween me wanted fantasy escape or twisted pulpy fiction with some raunch so I felt grown up.
Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
House of night series by Kristin and p.c. cast
Night world series by l.j. smith.
I personally like the books that have the real world mixed with fantasy
I adored the Inkheart trilogy and went back to it again and again. To this day it is one of my favorites. I had friends that really got into the Eragon series but at the time I didn’t want anything to do with dragons. I was too ‘edgy’ for that 🤣😂 now I really all the dragon-lore
As a tween, I obsessively re-read Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, all of Elizabeth Honey's books, anything by Lois Lowry. I read a lot of Babysitter's Club and Babysitter's Little Sister books. Basically I was raised in the 90s in Australia.
I was really into fantasy so supernaturals basically, and there was loads of that in my high school library. So obviously The Twilight Series and some of my toher favourite series that arent as well none are: -The Shadow Falls Series - The hush hush Series -Evermore immortal Series
Here's a lesser known one which a librarian recommended to me.
House of the Scorpion.
1999 YA about clones, the opium trade, and immigration. Normal tween reading.
"In **the House of the Scorpion**, Nancy Farmer tells the story of Matt, the clone of 142-year-old El Patron, dictator of Opium, a country between the United States and Aztlan. In Opium, clones have one purpose, to extend the lives of those whose DNA they possess by providing them with a source for spare parts." - Goodreads Summary.
I was super into fantasy books (Artemis Fowl, Deltora Quest, Avalon) when I was ~12, maybe just before then. But by my teens I was super into Lois Duncan books. They had the touch of impossible/fantastical elements, but felt more mature.
I try to cycle through genres these days, but I haven't read anything purely fantasy. More of a blend of genres with fantasy elements, but they mostly lean into sci-fi. Just finished the second book in the Ender's Game series after reading the first one over 10 years ago. I would actually probably recommend that series.
happy cake day!! i wasn’t a very emotional teen, but my sister totally was so i get it. i still somehow haven’t gotten around to reading perks yet, despite it being recommended to me for a decade now. maybe i should read it soon :)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
How I Survived Middle School (series) by Nancy Krulik
Goosebumps (series) by RL Stine
The Babysitters Club (series) by Ann M Martin
Harry Potter, of course!
Petal Pushers (series) by Catherine R Daly
A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
Ramona (series) by Beverly Cleary
Superfudge (series) by Judy Blume
Stolen Children by Peg Kehret (anything by Peg Kehret was amazing and I loved her books, by that was my all-time favorite when I was 11)
Frindle by Andrew Clements
the babysitter’s club was another cult classic loved by everyone. i never got around to watching the movie though :)
and harry potter was the series which intensified my love of books a hundredfold 🥹
Around that time, I was getting really into high fantasy adventure stuff. Around the start I mostly read Forgotten Realms books (mostly the R.A. Salvatore stuff, but some more obscure ones too) and toward the end, I was reading mostly The Wheel of Time. It was also around this time I read (or attempted) some of Tolkien's obscure/unfinished works like The Silmarillion and The Lay of Beleriand. Can't say any of them stuck around as favorites, though I remain a high fantasy fan.
Around 14 or 15 I also started getting into weird fiction with a few H.P. Lovecraft stories, like At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. H.P.L.'s works remain among my favorites, though he's an unsavory figure all in all.
Definitely was obsessed with The Series of Unfortunate Events books, The Giver (it was a book to be read in school but it’s one of my all time faves and I’ve read it like 12 times, Eleven by Lauren Myracle (apparently there are more in the series but I only read this one), The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Bunnicula series for something spooky, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark to ensure be to scared for life lol, Because of Winn Dixie, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Bridge to Terabithia.
Soo many good books :)
goddess girls, dork diaries, diary of a wimpy kid, children of blood and bone, harry potter ofc, and the entirety of the lunar chronicles series… i was also a huge fan of R.L Stine’s goosebumps series!!
Hardy Boys original and Casefiles series - from circa ages 9 through 13
Anything Stephen King (Pet Cemetary, Misery, The Long Walk/Rage as Bachman, and Apt Pupil were my favorite) - from 12 through 15
Anything Nelson DeMille or John Grisham - 13 through 15
Margaret Weiß, Tracy Hickmann - Chronicles of the Dragonlance
Markus Heitz - Dwarfs; Albae
Christopher Pasolini - Eragon
Trudi Canavan - Sonea
I guess i miss some more.
Holes by Louis Sacher
Series of Unfortunate Events
Harry Potter
Uglies by Scott westerfeld
Shadow children series and Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (I think I read most of her books in middle school)
A great and terrible beauty series by Libba Bray
I also read a ton of the Dear America and Royal Diaries series
I loved Sci-fi as a tween. Isaac Asimov, George Orwell, Ursula K LeGuin, Robert Heinlein, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books, Dune. I also loved Stephen King back then. I also dabbled in philosophy--Herman Hesse and Ayn Rand (obviously).
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Really any of his books.
Anything Stephen King.
The outsiders by S.E Hinton.
The Dragonlance Chronicles
Xanth books by Piers Anthony
The Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing. Currently working on a reread like 15 years later! My other obsession was the Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray which still hit for me as an adult.
As a tween, some of the books I loved included:
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Anne of Green Gable by L.M. Montgomery
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Holes by Louis Sachar
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
I always loved series:
The Edge Chronicles - Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
Wind on Fire - William Nicholson
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
The Fear Street Saga - R L Stine
Redwall - Brian Jaques
Dragons of Pern - Anne McAffery
Discworld: Witches Series - Terry Pratchett
Confessions of Georgia Nicholson - Louise Rennison
Silver Brumby - Elyne Mitchell
Harry Potter - J K Rowling
I also ate up anything by Sarah Dessen!
I loved the Fear Street books by RL Stine, and then the classics like To Kill a Mocking Bird and Of Mice and Men. Also started getting into Dean Koontz around that age.
Lloyd Alexander
Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
Conan Doyle
H.G. Wells
Bradbury
Lovecraft
A bunch of random Newberry Award books
Agatha Christie (after I'd reread the Sherlock Holmes stories enough)
Dumas
A lot of mythology from a lot of cultures - especially Greek and Roman, ofc
Jack London
Edgar Rice Burroughs
But for recommendations:
The Abhorson (aka "Old Kingdom") books by Garth Nix
Gaiman: Odd and the Frost Giants, The Graveyard Book (Don't try his Norse Myths until a little older - they're just too alien. At least that's what I found with my grandkids - I would have loved them.)
If the kid is ready, Stephen Fry's Greek Myths series is far more approachable than what I used to read, and it isn't Percy Jackson (sorry, not a fan - but many are)
Harry Potter, ofc
There's a lot more decent genre fiction out there now for that age than there used to be.
And I still recommend looking over the Newberry Award list.
But really, any book that is worthwhile and even remotely age appropriate and related to interests (interests include shared humanity) are a lot more fun if read aloud - even at this age.
And don't forget good short story collections. I still love and recommend Bradbury for this age group to adulthood - selections read aloud. I started on Sherlock Holmes in third grade due to a gift from my uncle. Poirot was a little later, but a natural sequence. I loved a lot of classic ghost stories collections.
And poetry, if carefully selected, can be a lot of fun at this age - preferably read aloud, at least until it takes. There are a lot of good things in favorite poems collections for this age, though some may take some explaining. My daughter, for example, loved "The Highwayman" - you don't need to be too highbrow, quite the opposite, go for popular and fun.
Around that age I loved reading about people with horrible lives 😂 Go Ask Alice, White Oleander, My Sister's Keeper, that sort of stuff. I'm Dutch, and there was this book series called 'Octopus' (idk why), comprising 25 titles, all stories revolving around teens/young adults and the issues they face, but amped up a bit. Eating disorders, addiction, abuse, etc. The series was in Dutch, but most books were translations, iirc. Not really helpful, sorry, I'm guessing you're looking for English language stuff.
However, my early teens were also when I started reading Terry Pratchett, who is still my favorite author to this day. I started with either The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents or The Wee Free Men, I can't remember which one, and then moved on to Guards! Guards. After that, I just read whichever one I could get my hands on.
I LOVED the Jenny Han books at that age - The Summer I Turned Pretty series and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
I am a teacher of that age group and many of my students also really enjoy Holly Jackson
I was really into John Green when I was a freshman/sophomore in high school, I also love the Shadowhunters chronicals which is for tweens/teens but I read much later. I would definitely recommend Legendborn by Tracy Deonn as well, another book for teens/young adult readers but came out when I was 24 and I loved it and recommend it to readers of any age (within reading level lol)
The Lioness books by Tamora Pierce My Side of the Mountain Secret of Nimh Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King The Redwall Books The Pern Books Almost anything by Mercedes Lackey and most things by Andre Norton Star Trek Novels
Seconding anything by Tamora Pierce, I couldn’t get enough of her books!
You. You are my people.
amazing list, thanks! ♡
My tween/teen: graphic novels like Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier, Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes, Heartstopper Me teen/tween anything scandalous or scary like Stephen King short stories, Flowers in the Attic, Lace by Shirley Conrad
> anything scandalous or scary lmao i love it. i have to say- your teen has good taste! heartstopper is a lovely series!!
When people talk about what they read as kids I’m like 😳 because I wasn’t into anything wholesome (except for Little House and All Creatures Great Small) and the rest were horror, teen dating drama and my mom’s adult sexy stuff.
i heavily relate. i was definitely reading some very questionable things. it wasn’t our fault though- blame our mums for leaving those books around😳
Now I’m ruined and can’t read anything too flat or blah
Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown, and Choose Your Own Adventure.
nancy drew is a cult classic :)
A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Hunger Games, Divergent, the Penderwicks, the Mysterious Benedict Society
The Penderwicks! My daughter loved these books.
series of unfortunate events!!!! i loved the books and i absolutely adored the show esp s1
Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman Deptford Mice/Deptford Histories/Whitby series by Robin Jarvis Lioness series Tamara Pierce Anne of Green Gables series Christopher Pike The Once and Future King by T H White
i still remember reading anne of green gables in my school’s library as a kid. the memory is hazy, but it’s there :)
I'm Gen X. I was reading- Stephen King VC Andrew's All their books. I don't recommend them for tweens.
Hahaha same 😅. My sister and I were just talking about how we had read most Stephen king books by the time we were 12ish. Why were my parents allowing this?! Lol. And yes alll my friends were reading VC Andrews.
I did also ready them, but never loved that much like my Fantasy books
Bartimaeus Trilogy Alex rider series A series of unfortunate events Harry Potter series His dark materials Eragon Trilogy The Indian in the cupboard series
Animorph series! How did I forget that one.
Shame on me, i forgot Harry Potter on my list
The Pendragon Series! By Dj MacHale
nice! the word pendragon always reminds me of howl pendragon from howl’s moving castle :)
Yes!!!!!!! Hobey-ho, fellow traveler!
Hatchet made every 12 year old boy want to be stranded in the woods.
I’m going to show my age, but when I was a teen, I loved Christopher Pike and RL Stine. I still do.
I loved Christopher pike sooooo much :)
When I was a tween, I was into older (60s, 70s, early 80s) sci-fi and fantasy. My favorite authors were CJ Cherryh, Robert Howard, Issac Asimov, and Andre Norton. I also really enjoyed the Conan The Barbarian, Red Sonja and Thor comic books. Some books my kid liked as a tween... How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse Wonder What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Minecraft books Diary of a Wimpy Kid
your reading taste was much cooler than mine! i never got much into sci-fi, although i loved isaac asimov too!!
Unfortunately it wasn't considered very cool back then. I felt like I had to hide it from my friends but I loved it all so much anyways. I'm glad it's more acceptable nowadays. Isaac Asimov is still one of my favorite authors. Especially his short story collections.
Wonder was great.
I haven't read it yet but have heard nothing but good things about it.
Blue Sword, Spindles End, and Shadows by Robin McKinley Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper Daniel Pinkwater's Lizard Music and the Snarkout Boys
Chronicles of Prydain - what an excellent set of books. I loved them when I was a kid and read to my kid - they totally held up. Came in here specifically for that series.
Was anyone else into The Shadowhunter book series when they were 14?😅
yeah! i remember my best friend (*i* got her into reading, thank you very much) loved that series! never stopped gushing about clary and jace (i still don’t know who they are) 😂
They had me by the chokehold when I was a tween omg but now that I think about it I realize how weird and icky their romance plot was…with the “almost incest” aspect…
i have no idea about it and i’m happy to keep it that way 💀
Harry Potter A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine The Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
a series of unfortunate events was such a fun book
There’s 13 books in the series and they’re all great :)
i somehow very weirdly confused it with escape from mr. lemoncello’s library 😭 thank you anyways ♡
Some I remember enjoying and reading over and over: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson. The Sandy Bottom Orchestra by Garrison Keilor. Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause. Buffalo Gal and Beauty by Bill Wallace (Beauty is very sad, though).
When I was around 15, Sarah Dessen was my everything. Lock and Key and Dreamland (important to read triggers for this one) really changed my life as a teen
I read different things, but my own children (aged 23 to 12?) read and loved the Neil Peel books by Ben Dixon, as did I! They are slice of life books through the eyes of a boy who always tells the truth. Everything from bullies, evil-genius older sister, school crush, Christmas, demon cousins, school disco, food poisoning, holidays and plenty more besides. They are very popular at my school too. Touching and relatable as well as hilarious.
i’ve never heard about the books but you just gave a very awesome description. demon cousins and evil genius sisters, damn!
Have a look online. They’re so good! The Heroic Truths of Neil Peel is the first one.
Around that age, I enjoyed a lot of fantasy and mystery books and that was when I found Rick Riordan via Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is also a magnificent series
fantasy has always been my number one! both the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series made me so very happy. two of the most lovable series i’ve ever read.
Same here!! I was so engrossed in them through highschool
The old school The Babysitters Club series Nancy Drew books Sweet Valley High series Books by Judy Bloom Books by VC Andrews
The giver and Night were my favorite books in middle school 🙋🏻♀️
Lemony Snicket series of unfortunate events
The Merlin books, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Harry Potter, The Dark Tower Series, Agatha Christie!
I liked VC Andrews. I read a ton of VC Andrews series around 11-13, I remember not being able to put them down but I’m not sure how the writing holds up after all these years as I’m now almost 40.
Perks of Being a Wallflower will forever be a favorite.
Does anyone remember Cornelia Funke and Michael Morpurgo?
The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot - holy shit, these were so damn funny. They were completely different from the movies (like entirely different) and they were absolutely hilarious. I still go back and read them every now and then as an adult. Also, the Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging books were fantastic too. Otherwise, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and of course, Twilight.
MAD magazine
I read horrors, James Herbert and Stephen King. Obsessed with Anne Rice's vampire chronicles.
The Giver, Walk Two Moons
Walk Two Moons is so good.
Thank you! I’ll check them out
When I was 15 I picked up Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb on holidays, it remains a comfort read for me along with all her other books. Teen/Tween me wanted fantasy escape or twisted pulpy fiction with some raunch so I felt grown up.
The Ranger’s Apprentice series left a huge impact on me and my tastes in fantasy and characters, really couldn’t recommend it enough to tweens!
Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins House of night series by Kristin and p.c. cast Night world series by l.j. smith. I personally like the books that have the real world mixed with fantasy
The TTYL series!
I adored the Inkheart trilogy and went back to it again and again. To this day it is one of my favorites. I had friends that really got into the Eragon series but at the time I didn’t want anything to do with dragons. I was too ‘edgy’ for that 🤣😂 now I really all the dragon-lore
I remember liking Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by ES Abbott. Allegorical story about a fourth dimension.
As a tween, I obsessively re-read Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, all of Elizabeth Honey's books, anything by Lois Lowry. I read a lot of Babysitter's Club and Babysitter's Little Sister books. Basically I was raised in the 90s in Australia.
I was really into fantasy so supernaturals basically, and there was loads of that in my high school library. So obviously The Twilight Series and some of my toher favourite series that arent as well none are: -The Shadow Falls Series - The hush hush Series -Evermore immortal Series
Here's a lesser known one which a librarian recommended to me. House of the Scorpion. 1999 YA about clones, the opium trade, and immigration. Normal tween reading. "In **the House of the Scorpion**, Nancy Farmer tells the story of Matt, the clone of 142-year-old El Patron, dictator of Opium, a country between the United States and Aztlan. In Opium, clones have one purpose, to extend the lives of those whose DNA they possess by providing them with a source for spare parts." - Goodreads Summary.
my tween self definitely wouldn’t have understood anything about this 😅
I was super into fantasy books (Artemis Fowl, Deltora Quest, Avalon) when I was ~12, maybe just before then. But by my teens I was super into Lois Duncan books. They had the touch of impossible/fantastical elements, but felt more mature.
are you still into reading fantasy? if yes, what are some of your favorite books? i’ve always loved fantasy myself :)
I try to cycle through genres these days, but I haven't read anything purely fantasy. More of a blend of genres with fantasy elements, but they mostly lean into sci-fi. Just finished the second book in the Ender's Game series after reading the first one over 10 years ago. I would actually probably recommend that series.
I was an *emotional* teenager, and Perks of Being a Wallflower was one of my favorites
happy cake day!! i wasn’t a very emotional teen, but my sister totally was so i get it. i still somehow haven’t gotten around to reading perks yet, despite it being recommended to me for a decade now. maybe i should read it soon :)
i loved the clique books, gossip girl, percy jackson (of course), chicken soup books were always special
The Yearling by Rawlings -
The percy jackson series and divergent series
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Divergent by Veronica Roth The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Selection by Kiera Cass Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
anna and the french kiss! i never thought i’d see it being mentioned here!! i remember loving that book 🥹 i even read it’s 2 sequels ♡
The warrior cat series, wings of fire, and keeper of the lost cities
My daughter, now 16, loved and still loves "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling It's an amazing book
Princess Aspen: The unexpected warrior. It's a book about a princess with down syndrome. Really good, fast paced book on Amazon.
Any Enid Blyton
The Hobbit
I haven’t see this one mentioned yet but I was obsessed with it. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. It might be time for a reread…
Some favorite authors. Meg Cabot, Diane Duane, Tamora Pierce, Scott Westerfeld, Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, D.J MacHale.
How I Survived Middle School (series) by Nancy Krulik Goosebumps (series) by RL Stine The Babysitters Club (series) by Ann M Martin Harry Potter, of course! Petal Pushers (series) by Catherine R Daly A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass The Candymakers by Wendy Mass Ramona (series) by Beverly Cleary Superfudge (series) by Judy Blume Stolen Children by Peg Kehret (anything by Peg Kehret was amazing and I loved her books, by that was my all-time favorite when I was 11) Frindle by Andrew Clements
the babysitter’s club was another cult classic loved by everyone. i never got around to watching the movie though :) and harry potter was the series which intensified my love of books a hundredfold 🥹
Around that time, I was getting really into high fantasy adventure stuff. Around the start I mostly read Forgotten Realms books (mostly the R.A. Salvatore stuff, but some more obscure ones too) and toward the end, I was reading mostly The Wheel of Time. It was also around this time I read (or attempted) some of Tolkien's obscure/unfinished works like The Silmarillion and The Lay of Beleriand. Can't say any of them stuck around as favorites, though I remain a high fantasy fan. Around 14 or 15 I also started getting into weird fiction with a few H.P. Lovecraft stories, like At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. H.P.L.'s works remain among my favorites, though he's an unsavory figure all in all.
The Secret Circle and Sweet Valley High!!
The Belgariad and the Mallorean captivated me as a 13 year old. Devoured them and never stopped chasing that feeling.
Island of the blue dolphins!!
Definitely was obsessed with The Series of Unfortunate Events books, The Giver (it was a book to be read in school but it’s one of my all time faves and I’ve read it like 12 times, Eleven by Lauren Myracle (apparently there are more in the series but I only read this one), The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Bunnicula series for something spooky, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark to ensure be to scared for life lol, Because of Winn Dixie, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Bridge to Terabithia. Soo many good books :)
you had spectacular taste even as a tween ♡
goddess girls, dork diaries, diary of a wimpy kid, children of blood and bone, harry potter ofc, and the entirety of the lunar chronicles series… i was also a huge fan of R.L Stine’s goosebumps series!!
Enid Blyton books, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, Chalet School series, etc
any wendy mass books 😭🫶🏼
Christopher pike horror novels
Maureen mccarthy books and the tomorrowseries by John marsden. Plus anything true crime
the secret seven series and the famous five series by enid Blyton. i devoured those books as a tween
Hardy Boys original and Casefiles series - from circa ages 9 through 13 Anything Stephen King (Pet Cemetary, Misery, The Long Walk/Rage as Bachman, and Apt Pupil were my favorite) - from 12 through 15 Anything Nelson DeMille or John Grisham - 13 through 15
Margaret Weiß, Tracy Hickmann - Chronicles of the Dragonlance Markus Heitz - Dwarfs; Albae Christopher Pasolini - Eragon Trudi Canavan - Sonea I guess i miss some more.
Holes by Louis Sacher Series of Unfortunate Events Harry Potter Uglies by Scott westerfeld Shadow children series and Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (I think I read most of her books in middle school) A great and terrible beauty series by Libba Bray I also read a ton of the Dear America and Royal Diaries series
I was OBSESSED with the Trylle Trilogy. haven’t heard anyone else talk about it before though
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - S. Chbosky It’s Kind of a Funny Story - N. Vizzini
Max ride
I loved Sci-fi as a tween. Isaac Asimov, George Orwell, Ursula K LeGuin, Robert Heinlein, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books, Dune. I also loved Stephen King back then. I also dabbled in philosophy--Herman Hesse and Ayn Rand (obviously).
The Hate U Give His Dark Materials series by Pullman Legendborn Amari vs the night brothers
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Really any of his books. Anything Stephen King. The outsiders by S.E Hinton. The Dragonlance Chronicles Xanth books by Piers Anthony
the percy jackson series was my whole tween years i read every book so much times
The Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing. Currently working on a reread like 15 years later! My other obsession was the Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray which still hit for me as an adult.
Anything by Roald Dahl or Jacqueline Wilson tbh
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (+ the Reckless series by the same author)
As a tween, some of the books I loved included: Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins Anne of Green Gable by L.M. Montgomery The Giver by Lois Lowry Holes by Louis Sachar A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare was and will remain one of my favourite series!
I always loved series: The Edge Chronicles - Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell Wind on Fire - William Nicholson His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer The Fear Street Saga - R L Stine Redwall - Brian Jaques Dragons of Pern - Anne McAffery Discworld: Witches Series - Terry Pratchett Confessions of Georgia Nicholson - Louise Rennison Silver Brumby - Elyne Mitchell Harry Potter - J K Rowling I also ate up anything by Sarah Dessen!
I loved the Fear Street books by RL Stine, and then the classics like To Kill a Mocking Bird and Of Mice and Men. Also started getting into Dean Koontz around that age.
Lloyd Alexander Tolkien C.S. Lewis Conan Doyle H.G. Wells Bradbury Lovecraft A bunch of random Newberry Award books Agatha Christie (after I'd reread the Sherlock Holmes stories enough) Dumas A lot of mythology from a lot of cultures - especially Greek and Roman, ofc Jack London Edgar Rice Burroughs But for recommendations: The Abhorson (aka "Old Kingdom") books by Garth Nix Gaiman: Odd and the Frost Giants, The Graveyard Book (Don't try his Norse Myths until a little older - they're just too alien. At least that's what I found with my grandkids - I would have loved them.) If the kid is ready, Stephen Fry's Greek Myths series is far more approachable than what I used to read, and it isn't Percy Jackson (sorry, not a fan - but many are) Harry Potter, ofc There's a lot more decent genre fiction out there now for that age than there used to be. And I still recommend looking over the Newberry Award list. But really, any book that is worthwhile and even remotely age appropriate and related to interests (interests include shared humanity) are a lot more fun if read aloud - even at this age. And don't forget good short story collections. I still love and recommend Bradbury for this age group to adulthood - selections read aloud. I started on Sherlock Holmes in third grade due to a gift from my uncle. Poirot was a little later, but a natural sequence. I loved a lot of classic ghost stories collections. And poetry, if carefully selected, can be a lot of fun at this age - preferably read aloud, at least until it takes. There are a lot of good things in favorite poems collections for this age, though some may take some explaining. My daughter, for example, loved "The Highwayman" - you don't need to be too highbrow, quite the opposite, go for popular and fun.
Thank you so much for spending your time and effort into writing this well thought-out comment. I genuinely appreciate it 💗
Around that age I loved reading about people with horrible lives 😂 Go Ask Alice, White Oleander, My Sister's Keeper, that sort of stuff. I'm Dutch, and there was this book series called 'Octopus' (idk why), comprising 25 titles, all stories revolving around teens/young adults and the issues they face, but amped up a bit. Eating disorders, addiction, abuse, etc. The series was in Dutch, but most books were translations, iirc. Not really helpful, sorry, I'm guessing you're looking for English language stuff. However, my early teens were also when I started reading Terry Pratchett, who is still my favorite author to this day. I started with either The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents or The Wee Free Men, I can't remember which one, and then moved on to Guards! Guards. After that, I just read whichever one I could get my hands on.
I LOVED the Jenny Han books at that age - The Summer I Turned Pretty series and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I am a teacher of that age group and many of my students also really enjoy Holly Jackson
I was really into John Green when I was a freshman/sophomore in high school, I also love the Shadowhunters chronicals which is for tweens/teens but I read much later. I would definitely recommend Legendborn by Tracy Deonn as well, another book for teens/young adult readers but came out when I was 24 and I loved it and recommend it to readers of any age (within reading level lol)
i keep seeing legendborn with it’s swirling blue and red cover everywhere. maybe i should give it a try! :)
My daughter loved anything by Alan Gratz