Children's book lists go from Snuggle Puppy to The Stand. That's fine, but as an auntie, it's hard to know where in the spectrum a particular child might fall. So this list is of books you or children you know loved at around age twelve.

As part of this series:
Books for one-year-olds
Books for two-year-olds
Books for three-year-olds
Books for four-year-olds
Books for five-year-olds
Books for six-year-olds
Books for seven-year-olds
Books for eight-year-olds
Books for nine-year-olds
Books for ten-year-olds
Books for eleven-year-olds
Books for twelve-year-olds
Books for thirteen-year-olds
1

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4.47 avg rating — 11,529,141 ratings
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2

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4.01 avg rating — 1,372,824 ratings
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3

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4.12 avg rating — 2,835,526 ratings
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4

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4.20 avg rating — 4,231,719 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 1,294,421 ratings
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6

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4.35 avg rating — 10,019,371 ratings
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7

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4.33 avg rating — 1,125,565 ratings
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8

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4.34 avg rating — 1,121,830 ratings
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9

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4.20 avg rating — 625,977 ratings
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10

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3.88 avg rating — 351,387 ratings
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11

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4.31 avg rating — 3,475,669 ratings
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12

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4.17 avg rating — 2,485,812 ratings
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13

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4.28 avg rating — 27,039 ratings
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14

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4.17 avg rating — 1,308,079 ratings
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15

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4.43 avg rating — 4,545,570 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,626,039 ratings
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17

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4.36 avg rating — 4,208,092 ratings
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18

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4.30 avg rating — 4,501,635 ratings
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19

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4.09 avg rating — 508,243 ratings
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20

by
4.03 avg rating — 160,953 ratings
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21

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4.36 avg rating — 1,204,591 ratings
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22

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3.77 avg rating — 337,103 ratings
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23

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4.20 avg rating — 308,709 ratings
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24

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4.06 avg rating — 613,643 ratings
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25

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3.95 avg rating — 257,319 ratings
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26

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3.80 avg rating — 455,426 ratings
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27

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3.99 avg rating — 237,049 ratings
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28

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4.28 avg rating — 712,661 ratings
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29

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4.15 avg rating — 1,628,541 ratings
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30

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4.08 avg rating — 117,306 ratings
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31

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4.30 avg rating — 5,968 ratings
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32

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4.24 avg rating — 3,174,767 ratings
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33

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4.03 avg rating — 574,613 ratings
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34

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4.29 avg rating — 949,721 ratings
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35

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3.81 avg rating — 263,072 ratings
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36

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3.93 avg rating — 444,335 ratings
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37

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3.97 avg rating — 1,954,234 ratings
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38

by
4.13 avg rating — 443,741 ratings
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39

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4.06 avg rating — 594,161 ratings
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40

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4.21 avg rating — 2,063,641 ratings
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41

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4.02 avg rating — 424,965 ratings
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42

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4.15 avg rating — 567,629 ratings
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43

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 174,104 ratings
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44

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4.14 avg rating — 179,006 ratings
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45

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3.83 avg rating — 1,343,016 ratings
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46

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3.56 avg rating — 66,712 ratings
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47

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4.17 avg rating — 937,185 ratings
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48

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4.32 avg rating — 204,726 ratings
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49

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4.26 avg rating — 6,954,773 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 158,473 ratings
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51

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4.11 avg rating — 19,826 ratings
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52

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4.11 avg rating — 116,477 ratings
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53

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3.76 avg rating — 509,785 ratings
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54

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4.17 avg rating — 34,008 ratings
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55

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4.23 avg rating — 331,923 ratings
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56

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3.99 avg rating — 16,478 ratings
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57

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3.83 avg rating — 6,225 ratings
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58

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3.85 avg rating — 125,803 ratings
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59

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3.98 avg rating — 789,719 ratings
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60

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3.88 avg rating — 430,934 ratings
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61

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4.01 avg rating — 228 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 88,375 ratings
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63

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4.41 avg rating — 3,181,904 ratings
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64

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4.46 avg rating — 825,981 ratings
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65

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,106 ratings
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66

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3.73 avg rating — 17,106 ratings
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67

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3.93 avg rating — 509,747 ratings
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68

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3.92 avg rating — 1,026,728 ratings
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69

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 127,430 ratings
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70

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3.67 avg rating — 606,340 ratings
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71

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3.98 avg rating — 136,945 ratings
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72

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4.02 avg rating — 44,546 ratings
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73

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4.01 avg rating — 66,062 ratings
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74

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4.39 avg rating — 2,908,783 ratings
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75

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3.74 avg rating — 42,559 ratings
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76

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4.14 avg rating — 18,757 ratings
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77

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4.12 avg rating — 5,770,333 ratings
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78

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4.46 avg rating — 1,170,324 ratings
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79

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4.10 avg rating — 428,664 ratings
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80

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3.85 avg rating — 545,205 ratings
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81

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4.16 avg rating — 94,645 ratings
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82

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4.10 avg rating — 281,317 ratings
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83

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 300,099 ratings
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84

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4.38 avg rating — 21,903 ratings
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85

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3.85 avg rating — 16,198 ratings
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86

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4.31 avg rating — 9,718 ratings
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87

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4.25 avg rating — 76,315 ratings
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88

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4.29 avg rating — 10,057 ratings
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89

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3.70 avg rating — 3,232,100 ratings
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90

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3.99 avg rating — 1,217,667 ratings
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91

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4.28 avg rating — 454,584 ratings
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92

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4.34 avg rating — 37,097 ratings
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93

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4.08 avg rating — 8,287 ratings
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94

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3.75 avg rating — 35,016 ratings
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95

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3.96 avg rating — 669 ratings
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96

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3.90 avg rating — 2,868,491 ratings
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97

by
4.27 avg rating — 952,611 ratings
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98

by
4.15 avg rating — 210,231 ratings
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99

by
4.12 avg rating — 12,643 ratings
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100

by
4.13 avg rating — 788,712 ratings
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1,720 books · 1,124 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Crystel (votes) .
118 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Crystel 261 books
105 friends
Collin 100 books
6 friends
Sarah 227 books
173 friends
Emily 1524 books
20 friends
Stephy 3402 books
13 friends
Seth 18 books
11 friends
Julia 334 books
32 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Barringer (new)

Barringer Publishing Malia & Teacup: Awesome African Adventure Malia & Teacup Awesome African Adventure by Molly Barrow Exciting adventure book about a 12 year old girl and her little dog traveling to Africa to find her dad.


message 2: by Lukia (new)

Lukia A lot of the books on this list are wonderful but are more breathtaking for younger readers. I think many people underestimate the capability of a 12 year old. Some forget to realize that we are almost teens, and are ready to gain advanced knowledge of the world. Classics and light teen books are the way to go. My personal recommendation for a tween (twelve) is The Book Thief. I think it really opens your mind to a different perspective and I got a lot out of it. (My mom loved it too) Lovely list though!


message 3: by Sam (last edited Feb 17, 2014 06:42AM) (new)

Sam Schenström I think it's really hard to say what is fit for a 12-year-old, because people are so different in that age. While some are still like children, others may already have read huge amounts of books and are way into their puberty, and they would want to start reading adult books and classics. That's how I was. But at the same time, I never lost my appetite for children's books. I read The Witches by Roald Dahl when I was 12, and I loved it!

The one book I would want more grown up 12-year-olds to read is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It deals with very serious issues, but I think people need to learn about these issues much earlier, and the narrator of the book has to deal with them from the age of 13.


message 4: by ~☆~Autumn (last edited Dec 30, 2023 08:03PM) (new)

~☆~Autumn When I was 12 I read Jack London's The Call of the Wild and White Fang which I loved. I also read Gone with the Wind and my sister who was younger read Great Expectations but I don't think these are appropriate for 12 year olds today!


message 5: by ~☆~Autumn (new)

~☆~Autumn Many of these books are NOT appropriate for 12 year olds! No 12 year old should be reading Dracula!!! I am shocked.


message 6: by Rachel (new)

Rachel No one under the age of 18 should be reading Punk 57. What in the absolute hell is this list? Are you all high?????


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