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 — 11,669,403 ratings
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2

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4.02 avg rating — 1,385,865 ratings
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3

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4.12 avg rating — 2,870,074 ratings
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4

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4.20 avg rating — 4,282,607 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 1,304,617 ratings
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6

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4.35 avg rating — 10,153,213 ratings
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7

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4.33 avg rating — 1,141,332 ratings
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8

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4.34 avg rating — 1,136,891 ratings
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9

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4.20 avg rating — 631,927 ratings
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10

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3.88 avg rating — 353,505 ratings
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11

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4.31 avg rating — 3,520,212 ratings
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12

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4.18 avg rating — 2,514,497 ratings
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13

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4.28 avg rating — 27,134 ratings
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14

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4.17 avg rating — 1,324,090 ratings
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15

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4.43 avg rating — 4,612,946 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,636,302 ratings
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17

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4.36 avg rating — 4,273,241 ratings
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18

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4.30 avg rating — 4,567,678 ratings
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19

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4.10 avg rating — 511,779 ratings
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20

by
4.03 avg rating — 161,811 ratings
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21

by
4.94 avg rating — 71 ratings
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22

by
4.19 avg rating — 311,445 ratings
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23

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4.35 avg rating — 1,215,630 ratings
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24

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3.77 avg rating — 338,174 ratings
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25

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4.06 avg rating — 619,035 ratings
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26

by
3.95 avg rating — 259,357 ratings
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27

by
3.80 avg rating — 461,218 ratings
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28

by
3.99 avg rating — 239,396 ratings
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29

by
4.94 avg rating — 65 ratings
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30

by
4.28 avg rating — 718,231 ratings
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31

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4.15 avg rating — 1,662,096 ratings
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32

by
4.08 avg rating — 118,145 ratings
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33

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4.30 avg rating — 5,969 ratings
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34

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4.29 avg rating — 959,491 ratings
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35

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4.24 avg rating — 3,202,400 ratings
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36

by
4.03 avg rating — 579,827 ratings
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37

by
3.93 avg rating — 446,264 ratings
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38

by
3.81 avg rating — 264,007 ratings
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39

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4.06 avg rating — 599,414 ratings
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40

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4.21 avg rating — 2,086,275 ratings
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41

by
4.15 avg rating — 569,798 ratings
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42

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3.97 avg rating — 1,970,769 ratings
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43

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4.13 avg rating — 447,619 ratings
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44

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4.02 avg rating — 426,330 ratings
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45

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 175,204 ratings
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46

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4.14 avg rating — 180,676 ratings
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47

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3.83 avg rating — 1,348,006 ratings
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48

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3.56 avg rating — 67,998 ratings
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49

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4.17 avg rating — 945,082 ratings
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50

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 39 ratings
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51

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4.32 avg rating — 212,247 ratings
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52

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4.11 avg rating — 118,320 ratings
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53

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4.26 avg rating — 7,041,176 ratings
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54

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3.86 avg rating — 163,153 ratings
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55

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4.11 avg rating — 20,029 ratings
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56

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3.76 avg rating — 516,223 ratings
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57

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4.17 avg rating — 34,218 ratings
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58

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4.23 avg rating — 333,864 ratings
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59

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3.99 avg rating — 16,670 ratings
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60

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3.83 avg rating — 6,273 ratings
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61

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3.86 avg rating — 126,528 ratings
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62

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3.98 avg rating — 802,515 ratings
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63

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3.88 avg rating — 434,450 ratings
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64

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4.01 avg rating — 228 ratings
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65

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3.86 avg rating — 88,745 ratings
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66

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4.41 avg rating — 3,210,859 ratings
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67

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4.46 avg rating — 866,975 ratings
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68

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,817 ratings
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69

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3.73 avg rating — 17,159 ratings
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70

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3.93 avg rating — 529,811 ratings
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71

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3.92 avg rating — 1,036,342 ratings
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72

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 128,697 ratings
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73

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3.67 avg rating — 627,065 ratings
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74

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4.39 avg rating — 2,945,555 ratings
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75

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3.99 avg rating — 139,010 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 44,883 ratings
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77

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4.01 avg rating — 66,294 ratings
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78

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3.74 avg rating — 43,432 ratings
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79

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4.14 avg rating — 19,068 ratings
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80

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4.12 avg rating — 5,827,685 ratings
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81

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4.45 avg rating — 1,192,946 ratings
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82

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4.10 avg rating — 431,714 ratings
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83

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3.85 avg rating — 550,405 ratings
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84

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4.16 avg rating — 95,008 ratings
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85

by
4.11 avg rating — 284,027 ratings
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86

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 302,243 ratings
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87

by
4.38 avg rating — 22,614 ratings
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88

by
4.28 avg rating — 463,828 ratings
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89

by
3.85 avg rating — 16,260 ratings
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90

by
4.31 avg rating — 9,766 ratings
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91

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4.25 avg rating — 77,547 ratings
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92

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4.29 avg rating — 10,107 ratings
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93

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3.70 avg rating — 3,276,071 ratings
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94

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3.99 avg rating — 1,263,122 ratings
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95

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4.34 avg rating — 38,203 ratings
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96

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4.08 avg rating — 8,293 ratings
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97

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3.75 avg rating — 35,064 ratings
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98

by
3.96 avg rating — 680 ratings
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99

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,909,734 ratings
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100

by
4.12 avg rating — 12,774 ratings
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1,745 books · 1,236 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Crystel (votes) .
119 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Crystel 261 books
105 friends
Collin 111 books
6 friends
Sarah 227 books
171 friends
Emily 1560 books
21 friends
Stephy 3402 books
13 friends
Seth 18 books
11 friends
Julia 334 books
32 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
850 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 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?????


message 7: by Georgina (new)

Georgina Warren These picture books should be removed because they are for readers much younger than 12.

A Hero Named Nikki

I Can't Believe They're Gone: A kid's grief book that hugs, helps, and gives hope

Moos, Mud, Mayhem!


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