My step daughter has to find an English book to read and do a talk about. We’re in Austria and English is her second language. She speaks perfect English but needs a book that won’t have too many big words in it. She’s 16 so nothing too childish. It has to be a minimum of 150 pages. She’s asked me what to read but I have no idea.
Could anyone recommend her anything? Ta.

Sophie’s world
Catcher in the Rye
Jonathan livingstone seagull
As I walked out one midsummer morning

Catcher in the Rye.

Any Harry Potter book

Lord of the Flies

Hunger Games
Ready Player One
Young James Bond

Northern lights

Ready Player One is excellent.

One of the Discworld books.

Has to be

Eve ibbotson -Star of Kazan

To Kill A Mockingbird

Something by Pratchett – they tend to be accessible in terms of language.

Equal Rites ?

Charlie Higsons books, starting with The Enemy

The strange case of the dog in the night time.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye. They’re standard high-school fare so there will be endless discussions of the themes available online.

Louis Sachar – Holes? Or is that slightly too young?

Catch 22.

Catcher in The Rye.

Catch 22 would be way too complex for that level of reading – the words would make sense but context not so.

Meh, I read it when I was about 13. So did my mates – one of my teachers had us reading the Hitler Myth by Ian Kershaw at about 14.

I think you’re underestimating children.

Lol.

Meh, I read it when I was about 13. So did my mates – one of my teachers had us reading the Hitler Myth by Ian Kershaw at about 14.

Good on you but read the OP requirements- the reader doesn’t have English as a first language so to understand the subtext of Catch 22 might be a challenge.

But you are a clever little readerer aren’t you. Well done.

War Horse? (or another Michael Morpurgo?)

Lord of the Rings?

Catherine Webb – Mirror Dreams, and Mirror Wakes, and Waywalkers and Timekeepers
Both pairs of books were written as YA books, Catherine herself was fourteen when she wrote Mirror Dreams, fifteen when it was published, and it’s a remarkably sophisticated book, reminds me very much of Roger Zelazney, one of my all-time favourite authors, a writer who loves to play with words in a lyrical, almost poetic fashion.
In fact, it wouldn’t hurt to check out some of Zelazney’s books, they were written at a time when a complete novel would comfortably slip into a small jacket pocket, not like the monster tomes that books have become.
A Night In The Lonesome October would be a good one, or Lord of Light, perhaps.

Animal Farm.

Anything she fancies by Hemingway.
European setting, tends to use simple, descriptive language.

Of Mice & Men.
Can’t stand it myself.
I hate long, drawn out tragedies, like the Corbyn thread, but it might do the trick.

The Birds (simpler and very different from the film).
Simply written but pretty scary in places.

Or go for broke with A Clockwork Orange.
🙂

Noughts and crosses – my daughter loved it at that age and it covers many relevant topics to discuss.

more information here

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck. A beautiful, amusing yet simple written book. It’s also a parable so has a deeper meaning that will make it easier to write about.

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

The boy who wanted peace.

Hows her glaswegian

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy +1

Rachel

Northern Lights +1

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Of mice and men

Anything by Roald Dahl. My favourite being Danny Champion of the World. which could be seen as a boys book but there are so many great titles to choose from, such as The Twits, The Borrowers, the BFG and the above mentioned Fantastic Mr Fox. They are enchanting stories that She, her class mates and teacher will all love. The Language used to write them is simple and meant for young people to relate to but is not childish in any way. We had a teacher read us many Roald Dahl stories and the whole class not only enjoyed but really looked forward to hearing them.

If she likes spy stuff, any Ian Fleming Bond – the vocabulary is very straightforward. (My French teacher suggested a French translation to me at that sort of age whilst I was trying to scrape a C at O-level).

when I was 16 and moody and stuff (nothing changes…) I read The Snow Leopard incessantly.

Lovely it is. Really helps you appreciate life/nature/etc

My first thought was Discworld, but there’s quite a lot of subtle humour and word-play that might be hard to work out if English isn’t the first language.

Perhaps one of his books aimed at younger readers?

Charlotte’s web – but might be a bit simple….?

Harry Potter books?

John Steinbeck was a good choice at school .Cannery Row ,The Pearl ,Of Mice and Men

My 16 year old loves the Zoella book club stuff, despite what you might think they’re not that badly written, and are aimed at that age group.

https://www.whsmith.co.uk/dept/zoella-book-club-2016

Surely at 16 you should be able to read any book?.I read Huxley’s Brave New World when I was 12 .
Cider with Rosie would be another good choice