Literary series for tween

[dancingnancy]

DD is 12 and has listened to Harry Potter on Alexa every night at bedtime. She finished last night and watched the final movies today. At bedtime she burst in to tears because she was sad it was over and that she didn’t have something new to listen to. Any series recommendations? Thanks!

[chedifuen]

My kid was really in to Hunger Games in 6th grade, so maybe there. My 5th grader is currently very in to Rick Riordan books, he's on the last book of the last series. Might be a little young for 12 but maybe not!

[dancingnancy]

Feb 27, 2021 21:08:31 GMT -5 chedifuen said:

My kid was really in to Hunger Games in 6th grade, so maybe there. My 5th grader is currently very in to Rick Riordan books, he's on the last book of the last series. Might be a little young for 12 but maybe not!

She has mentioned hunger games and I wondered if 12 was too young. I admittedly have never read them or watched the movie, I just know what I’ve heard about the series.

[chedifuen]

Feb 27, 2021 21:11:57 GMT -5 dancingnancy said:

Feb 27, 2021 21:08:31 GMT -5 chedifuen said:

My kid was really in to Hunger Games in 6th grade, so maybe there. My 5th grader is currently very in to Rick Riordan books, he's on the last book of the last series. Might be a little young for 12 but maybe not!

She has mentioned hunger games and I wondered if 12 was too young. I admittedly have never read them or watched the movie, I just know what I’ve heard about the series.

I was very hesitant but as a rule I don't restrict their access to books. He loved the series so much but he's not a very sensitive kid. 

[charlatti]

Try Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (three books out so far) or Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (8, I think?). Land of Stories is another good series.

[ksun]

My DD is also 12 - she read Hunger Games at 10 and didn't have any issues with it. I haven't read it, so I don't know much about it. Has she read the Fantastic Beasts series yet? If she really liked HP she'd probably like that. DD has done all the HP and Fantastic Beasts book and we also just got HP and the Cursed Child.

[rupertpenny]

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

[dancingnancy]

Feb 27, 2021 21:36:50 GMT -5 ksun said:

My DD is also 12 - she read Hunger Games at 10 and didn't have any issues with it. I haven't read it, so I don't know much about it. Has she read the Fantastic Beasts series yet? If she really liked HP she'd probably like that. DD has done all the HP and Fantastic Beasts book and we also just got HP and the Cursed Child.

No - she hasn’t read any of these. This is the first series she has ever done. I’ll have her look in to all of these - thank you!

[MixedBerryJam]

If she's looking for light bedtime reading, what about All Creatures Great and Small? Masterpiece Theatre has rebooted the series from maybe the 70's and I remember loving all the James Herriot books at that age. Each chapter is a standalone story though the overall story arc progresses from chapter to chapter and though the books.

[dancingnancy]

Feb 27, 2021 21:41:17 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

If she's looking for light bedtime reading, what about All Creatures Great and Small? Masterpiece Theatre has rebooted the series from maybe the 70's and I remember loving all the James Herriot books at that age. Each chapter is a standalone story though the overall story arc progresses from chapter to chapter and though the books.

Ooh this sounds good - I’ll have her look in to this, too. Thank you!

[gretchenindisguise]

We are reading Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief. She's really into musicals and knows the story because of that but I think she'd like it anyways. There are several books in the series. (don't watch the movie, it's terrible)

[notsopicky]

Does she like animal books? Erin Hunter (a pseudonym for a collective of authors--6!) has several series: Warriors (cats), Bravelands (lions, primates, elephants), Seekers (bears), Survivors (dogs). Tai Sutherland (one of the Erin Hunter authors) wrote the Wings of Fire (dragons) series.

Highly recommend Land of Stories (based on fairy tales, written by Chris Colfer, Kirk from Glee!).

She also might like the City of Ember (DuPrau) series, and another vote for Keeper of the Lost Cities series (Messenger).

[laurack]

Feb 27, 2021 21:39:52 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

I loved this series! I do find that for a young adult series it’s quite challenging though. A 12 year old might enjoy it I guess but it is a lot more complex IMO than Harry Potter or the hunger games.

[laurack]

My daughter is younger but also a huge Harry Potter fan. She loves the Percy Jackson books and also got really into Nancy Drew for a while!

[fumbalina]

I always recommend anything by Rick Riordin( Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase, Kane Chronicles).

At that age I loved The Dragonriders of Pern series by Ann McCaffrey. I also liked the Xanth series by Piers Antony...but be aware that some of his writings ( not Xanth) skew towards sexual deviation. The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun is a possibility. It might present a few vocabulary issues.

The 39 Clues is well lighter in reading level but sometimes heavier in topic.

I also second the Survivors series. Honestly I did not fund the other stories as compelling.

This was a quick list lol I could probably find others.

[dancingnancy]

Feb 27, 2021 22:56:07 GMT -5 notsopicky said:

Does she like animal books? Erin Hunter (a pseudonym for a collective of authors--6!) has several series: Warriors (cats), Bravelands (lions, primates, elephants), Seekers (bears), Survivors (dogs). Tai Sutherland (one of the Erin Hunter authors) wrote the Wings of Fire (dragons) series.

Highly recommend Land of Stories (based on fairy tales, written by Chris Colfer, Kirk from Glee!).

She also might like the City of Ember (DuPrau) series, and another vote for Keeper of the Lost Cities series (Messenger).

She loves animals. We will look in to these - thank you!!

[dancingnancy]

Feb 28, 2021 0:38:10 GMT -5 fumbalina said:

I always recommend anything by Rick Riordin( Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase, Kane Chronicles).

At that age I loved The Dragonriders of Pern series by Ann McCaffrey. I also liked the Xanth series by Piers Antony...but be aware that some of his writings ( not Xanth) skew towards sexual deviation. The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun is a possibility. It might present a few vocabulary issues.

The 39 Clues is well lighter in reading level but sometimes heavier in topic.

I also second the Survivors series. Honestly I did not fund the other stories as compelling.

This was a quick list lol I could probably find others.

Thank you!! She listens to these on audible as she’s laying in bed...not sure if that helps with the vocabulary issues? But we will look in to these. Thanks again!

[mcppalmbeach]

Feb 27, 2021 21:41:17 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

If she's looking for light bedtime reading, what about All Creatures Great and Small? Masterpiece Theatre has rebooted the series from maybe the 70's and I remember loving all the James Herriot books at that age. Each chapter is a standalone story though the overall story arc progresses from chapter to chapter and though the books.

Yes!!! I have been recommending these to friends with kids this age. I think I might get some to read to my kids (even though they are 9 and 12). They aren’t big readers unfortunately but I think will love the stories.

[mrsGreeko]

My almost 12 year old is obsessed with the Wings of Fire series. She listens to them every night before bed and has also read all the books multiple times. Her older sister liked The Hunger Games and Twilight series at that age, but she has no interest at all in either of those series.

[purplinsky]

Feb 28, 2021 11:07:23 GMT -5 mrsGreeko said:

My almost 12 year old is obsessed with the Wings of Fire series. She listens to them every night before bed and has also read all the books multiple times. Her older sister liked The Hunger Games and Twilight series at that age, but she has no interest at all in either of those series.

I second this. My daughter is 11 but her and all her friends are obsessed with this series. They’ve all read the entire series multiple times, read the graphic novels, and some of the spin off series.

[mae0111]

My DD1 (11) has read all the Harry Potter books over 30 times (I’m not exaggerating). She also loves Land of Stories, Sisters Grimm, Whatever After, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. I’ve tried to get her into Percy Jackson but since I suggested it she’s resistant.

[AdaraMarie]

My 10 year old has been obsessed with Harry Potter and Wings of Fire since 3rd grade (5th now). I find that the Wings of Fire reading level seems to skew young compared to HP so I don't know if I would recommend that for a 12 year old, but there are about 14 books and a spin off series, so she would have a lot to go through if she does like them.
My dd has recently gotten into the Artemis Fowl series too. I haven't read any of these but there are 8 or so and she really likes them.

[litebright]

Tamora Pierce's Tortall series. The original few books (The Song of the Lioness quartet) read a bit young, but the Immortals quartet (main character is a girl who shape-shifts), the Protector of the Small books (main character is a girl training to be a knight), and the Trickster's duet (daughter of the woman from the first series becomes a spy) are all very good. My 13 and nearly 11 YO just finished the Immortals and really liked them.

She also has a series (Provost's Dog) that's more like mystery novels set in the same magical kingdom, where the main girl is training to become the equivalent of a detective.

[wildfloweragain]

Land of Stories

[turboteal]

I was also coming to recommend Tamora Pierce, especially because of the female/ adolescent protagonist

[shananagins]

Several people already suggested the Land of Stories series. It’s really good, especially on audio, it was written by Chris Colfer the actor and he reads them and is really fantastic.
Peter and the Starcatchers is another series that is really good on audio and it’s read by the same guy who did the Harry Potter series so it would be familiar to her. It’s a prequel for Peter Pan. I also love the Nevermoor series someone mentioned. It’s very good on audio, but not all the books have been released so I don’t know if you want to start her on something she can’t go all the way through.

[erbear]

My kids (10 and 12) are obsessed with the Wings of Fire series. They have both read the Hunger Games - the younger one was a little disturbed by it. 

There's a great series by Jonathan Stroud (I think) called Lockwood and Company. It's a little higher reading level but it's really good.

[jane6672]

The Raven Cycle series

The Inheritance Cycle.

[marie]

Another vote for Rick Riordan. That is what my DD read after Harry Potter.

[abs]

I wish there were some great series for older kids that weren't all sci-fi/fantasy. If anyone has any recs I'd love them! DD loves a good series but other than Harry Potter she is a no on everything mentioned here. Her preferred genre is realistic fiction.