Stuck for reading ideas for 12-yr-old

Harry Potter

I remember when my son was 12, he was into the Sherlock Holmes books.

Ah, didn't notice this was for a young girl. Not so sure a girl would like Sherlock.

Jacqueline Wilson , Lucy Wordsley history written for 12 year olds ,, Jenny Nimmo, Michael Mortago , just a few suggestions my 12 year old GD loves these authors , hope it helps ,

King Arthur books?

Have a look at The Book People web site. They sell books at major discounts. Even if you don't buy from there they do give a recommended age range which will give you ideas. My grandsons aged 7 and 10 have enjoyed the books I've chosen through B.P.

Lilypops our 10 yr old GS loves Michael Mortago

Not being rude, but do you mean Michael Morpurgo?what did Michael Mortago write? I've never heard of him.

Oh God! I didn't mean the first part of that post to appear! Meant to scrub it.

He might be a bit young for a girl who enjoyed A Town Like Alice, and Three Men in a Boat.

Jane Austen books?
It all depends on what she actually likes, 12 Year olds vary wildly.
Philip Pulman books appeal to many at that sort of age.
Harry Potter ( although she has probably gone through those already?)

You should be able to get suggestions from a local library and from bookshops.

Some schools have reading lists (suggested, not compulsory) for each year group. Perhaps you can get Y7 and Y8 ones from friends. There may be some fresh ideas on the list.

Has your granddaughter tried anything by Sue Townsend (Adrian Mole etc), or Terry Pratchett (the Disc World Series)?

Anyway, good luck, great that you’re making the effort to find the right book for your granddaughter.

Google , books to read before you are 12. or 13 if you prefer. We have done this for our GDs as soon as they were good readers, They love looking at the list and mark each book they have read and give it a score out of 20

Simon Scarrow books. They are so good.

I can't have been much older than 12 when I discovered Alistair MacLean and Hammond Innes, but they're probably a bit old-fashioned now.

I also read a lot of real life adventures like Kon-tiki.

DS moved on to Sherlock Holmes.

If she's interested in whodunnits there are lots of current authors whose books are intriguing without being too gruesome. Some stories are set in real localities, so maybe you can find a series set somewhere she knows.

I just searched for girls’ school reading lists Y8 and got some interesting results.

Harry Potter, Philip Pullman, Ursula Leguin, Meg Rosoff, Hunger Games trilogy.

Whilst plumbing my memory, I trawled Google for a bit of help and came across this article which I thought was pretty useful :

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_fiction

Also schoolreadinglist.co.uk
has lists for every year group from reception

I discovered Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the age of 12 and I’m definitely a girl. I loved them
IMHO Books are non gender

Oh how kind everyone is to go to this trouble! Thank you very much indeed. Lots of suggestions here to follow up. Yes, Michael Morpurgo and Harry Potter already consumed. The Kon tiki expedition might hit the bulls eye. Simon Scarrow, Meg Roscoff and Jean Nimmo are new names to me. Lots to go on

I loved reading the age group books too with my children! If you don't know Ursula Leguin, her Earthsea trilogy is well known young adult fare. Thinking about it, Lord of the Rings can also be young adult fiction but has possibly been wrecked as reading material by the films!

If she liked Michelle Obama, what about To Kill a Mockingbird? It's from the perspective of a tween girl, so is OK for kids.

She sounds like a maturer reader for her age so:

Lord of the Flies.

Of Mice and Men.

The Life of Pi

Anita and Me (Meera Syall)

To name but a few.

Pride and Prejudice - an introduction to Jane Austen - and could open up an author who will give pleasure for a lifetime.

At 12 I also read Jane Eyre, again an introduction to the Brontes

DGS loves the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan
(But don't ask me any more!)