[Closed] Book for a 16 year old. Help please.

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.

[i]To Kill a Mockingbird[/i], [i]Catcher in the Rye[/i]. 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.

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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.

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

War Horse? (or another Michael Morpurgo?)

Lord of the Rings?

Catherine Webb - [i]Mirror Dreams[/i], and [i]Mirror Wakes[/i], and [i]Waywalkers[/i] and [i]Timekeepers[/i]
Both pairs of books were written as YA books, Catherine herself was fourteen when she wrote [i]Mirror Dreams[/i], 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.
[i]A Night In The Lonesome October[/i] would be a good one, or [i]Lord of Light[/i], 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.

[url= https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noughts_%26_Crosses_(novel_series) ]more information here[/url]

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 [url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snow-Leopard-Peter-Matthiessen/dp/009977111X ]The Snow Leopard[/url] 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?

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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

Pride and Prejudice

Iain Banks' The Crow Road. Though it is a bit over 150 pages. Maybe an English YA book like Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

I'd support the Zoella stuff. My 12 year old laps those books up.

All very well taking the piss isn't it, but....

"Speaks perfect Engliah"

I'd argue that coming into contact with new "big" words would be good for her, if her understanding of English is perfect.

"Speaks perfect Engliah"

I'd argue that coming into contact with new "big" words would be good for her, if her understanding of English is perfect.

"Speaks perfect English" isn't the same as reading it, and personally I'd aim for something she would enjoy (hence my Zoella suggestion) rather than something that would be "educational". My daughter also suggests John Green as a possibility.

Also Gayle Forman and Rainbow Rowell, apparently.

Pratchett +1

Sophie's World -100 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Rather depends what she likes though doesn't it?

+1 for Iain Banks. The Crow Road is great, but quite long. The Wasp Factory is shorter, though maybe more violent/disturbing themes.

"Speaks perfect English" isn't the same as reading it, and personally I'd aim for something she would enjoy (hence my Zoella suggestion) rather than something that would be "educational". My daughter also suggests John Green as a possibility.

Also Gayle Forman and Rainbow Rowell, apparently.

IMO, People should stop encouraging girls to read fluffy shit that fills their heads full of fairies and princes.

John Greens stuff is "feeling porn". Ugh.

IMO, People should stop encouraging girls to read fluffy shit that fills their heads full of fairies and princes.

So basically you've got exactly NFI about the books I suggested, then?

Just clicking on the first three [url= https://www.whsmith.co.uk/dept/zoella-book-club-2016 ]here[/url], one is about a transsexual, another is a horror story, and the third is about a girl getting over the suicide of her best friend. Still, the fourth is a teen romance, so you're nearly there.

Not the Zoella ones, but Green I do. His best selling one - The Faulit in Our Stars is essentially voyeuristic sick-lit.

Amanda Hardy is the new girl at school. Like everyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is holding back. Even from Grant, the guy she's falling in love with. Amanda has a secret. At her old school, she used to be called Andrew. And secrets always have a way of getting out...

ZOMG - like totes earth shattering fiction that causes you to question the world around you...right there.....that.

If I ever have a daughter that reads stuff like that, I'll send her to a Medicines Sans Frontiers camp for the summer.

ZOMG - like totes earth shattering fiction that causes you to question the world around you...right there.....that.

If I ever have a daughter that reads stuff like that, I'll send her to a Medicines Sans Frontiers camp for the summer.

"Ay, ay, ay! But you mustn't fancy," cried the gentleman, quite elated by coming so happily to his point. "That's it! You are never to fancy."

Steinbeck or Syria, girl, make your choice.

The Windsinger or pretty much anything by Garth Nix, Sabriel would be a great start. If Pratchet, I'd start with a Hat full of Sky.

The Windsinger or pretty much anything by Garth Nix, Sabriel would be a great start. If Pratchet, I'd start with a Hat full of Sky. I'd struggle with the 'older' books, (the previous generation of O level English Lit), I know it's very personal but things have moved on.

I really enjoyed the post-apocalyptic page-turner Station Eleven by Emily St. John. I think teen me would have also enjoyed it.
It was popular with book clubs, so there are plenty of discussions to be found.

There are a number of goood recommendations here, but foremost, any book for her to speak about successfully should appeal to her as a reader. Otherwise any response would be a regurgitation of accepted interpretations, and a worthless exercise, whenever for assessment or not.

There are a lot of sci-fi/ dystopian recommendations, which are an excellent basis for a presentation, but historical novels are also really good if that appeals. What is her reading preference like? Is she a reader habitually? Also, how good is her English? Is is perfectly fluent conversationally, in a very colloquial manner or can she deal with varied registers? Without knowing her, I would generally recommend the following, all of which raise good themes and have identifiable female characters which she may relate to?

Weaker language/reader- Northern Lights Trilogy, Phillip Pullman or Bog Child, Siobhan Dowd.

Stronger reader/ varied language- The Knife of Never Letting Go/ Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuro Ishiguro.

Habitual reader, adept with language and new terms- The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood.

Above all, teachers would probably want to see personal insight and enthusiasm in a reader rather than a reeling-off of interpretations from crib sites, so aim for appeal to her over anything else.

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Rather dated but excellent reading means Nevil Shute. So easy to discuss on many levels.

IMO, People should stop encouraging girls to read fluffy shit that fills their heads full of fairies and princes.