Help--mother of fast reader

[A.]

My daughter is approaching the teen years and reads faster than I can keep up with. She loves adventure and fantasy, and is past all the betweener books.

I'm looking for clean books or series that she can read--nothing racy, just action packed and fun. Any suggestions?

[L.C.]

What do you mean by clean just to clarify? Meaning no profanity or violence too or something different entirely? I know that the Percy Jackson series is an extremely popular series for both middle schoolers and older as well as the Harry Potter series if you haven't tried those yet.

[Chiyo]

Definitely try the Harry Potter series

[Heidi]

I have the same problem with now 13 and 16 year old boys. Trying to keep them in books is a nightmare!

The Hampton Summit is the first in a 5 or 6 book adventure that my boys still like to re-read.

Fire's Love is the first in a 5 book series (The last book isn't out yet and it is making my youngest crazy. He's re-read the first two books three times this summer alone!)

Anything by Rick Roirdan is pretty safe. (Percy Jackson, The Lost Heroes, and the Kane Chronicles. My boys own them all and I have had to replace several from re-reading too many times.)

My 13 year old absolutely loved Fablehaven, a five book series.

And if your daughter is anything like my boys, that should last her about a month, lol! Hope it helps!

[Jasmine]

Harry Potter is where my mind went. The Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Pretty much any of her books.

[Sophie]

Heidi wrote: "Anything by Rick Roirdan is pretty safe. (Percy Jackson, The Lost Heroes, and the Kane Chronicles"

you mean the Heroes of Olympus? :P

I also recomend the Chaos Walking Trilogy although i don't know if it's "clean". Check it out though.

[A.]

L.C. wrote: "What do you mean by clean just to clarify? Meaning no profanity or violence too or something different entirely? I know that the Percy Jackson series is an extremely popular series for both middle ..."

Clean--stuff without all the cussing and graphic violence and sex. Just books about people overcoming challenges and living a way I hope my daughter will choose to live.

[A.]

Thank you--I will check those out.

[Heidi]

Sophie wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Anything by Rick Roirdan is pretty safe. (Percy Jackson, The Lost Heroes, and the Kane Chronicles"

you mean the Heroes of Olympus? :P

Yeah, sorry, the first book in the series is The Lost Hero, lol. My kids are definitely the bigger fans, lol. They would string me up if they knew I got that wrong!

[Thelma]

The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan is a good bet. And if she likes it they should keep her occupied, it's a 12 book series with a 6 book spin off and 2 prequel books haha. I remember it being pretty clean and age appropriate. And it is an adventure fantasy series

[Kelsey]

As other suggested I would stick with Rick Riordan and JK Rowling because they are some of the most popular in between series.

I might be young and naive but when I was 10-14 my mom let me read any young adult I wanted and I turned out well-rounded and all right. Most YA books don't have graphic sex scenes or graphic violence. It might be mentioned but it's never overly detailed. I definitely wouldn't recommend books by Sarah J Maas because for YA they have the most sexual content I have ever seen.

[A.]

I used to be the same way, until my daughter came to me with a book from the junior section about a fourteen year old girl who started doing drugs and having sex with her cousin.

Then another book started out with a zombie sister devouring her mother's eye.

Ya. After that, I stopped taking things for granted. We now ask others for the best of the best that they've enjoyed.

As for my daughter, she still chooses her own books, but she's tired of picking up books and putting them back down. Books have changed since I was a girl. And since she's not interested in premarital sex or drugs, she's pretty frustrated.

My point is--I haven't read a tenth of what's out there. She's already read all of my recommendations

[Kelsey]

Angela wrote: "I used to be the same way, until my daughter came to me with a book from the junior section about a fourteen year old girl who started doing drugs and having sex with her cousin.

Then another book..."

Yea YA has changed a lot even in the 10 years since I was that age. Perhaps check out Cassandra Clare. She has a bunch of series that are fantasy and while they are demon hunters the fight scenes aren't that graphic. If she's looking for a mellow zombie book Warm Bodies is amazing and has a good plot line.

Back then I was reading stuff like Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Vampire Diaries, and The Secret Circle. None of those had extreme content but they are a bit dated now.

[Samantha]

Ally Carter is another really good author for this age. I really liked her Gallagher Girl series (6 books about a high school for girl spies) and her Heist Society series. Both are very clean and geared toward the early teen years, and they include strong moral characters. Another author who comes to mind is Cornelia Funke, especially her 3-book Inkheart series. Kelly Oram's 3-book Jamie Baker series (girl with super powers).

[Erika, Dream Thief]

When I was around that age I really enjoyed the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I also really enjoyed Cassandra Clare books (the newer series The Dark Artifices has more sex than The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices). Graceling by Kristin Cashore is another good option although I believe it does have one sex scene, but it's not graphic

[R]

While I'm not sure how well these would fit with themes and genres and such, a few books that would match this would be:
Harry Potter
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Any Rick Riorden
The Selection Series by Kiera Cass
Lois Lowry Books
James Dashner

I really recommend Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, which are pretty tame in that area but really exciting and interesting. Marie Lu is borderline depending on how clear you want to stay away; the Young Elites (at least the first two) are fairly clean I believe. "Divergent" is pretty good too.

I can, however, suggest a good number of authors and/or series your child should probably steer away from:

Cassandra Clare (her books tend to escalate as the series progress)
The Shatter Me Trilogy
Sarah J. Maas (her books are really more New Adult, don't be fooled by the labels)
Most Lauren Oliver (this would have to do with content more than actions)
Most John Green
Rainbow Rowell
Gena Showalter
Becky Albertalli
Anna and the French Kiss, but the companion books especially

Sadly, it's a lot of the "best" or most popular books/authors that carry this content, so it can be pretty frustrating

Additionally, I would recommend steering from most supernatural contemporary books altogether (especially the ones with cover models, as odd as it sounds). Sadly, a lot of this genre has become something less than ideal, with unhealthy relationships and actions. Regular contemporary tends to be a toss up, so tread very lightly!

[Greg]

Anything Terry Pratchett, preferably the Discworld Series. Very Funny!

[faiith]

I'm not sure how well this list will work, but when I was middle school I and most of the other students mostly read Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Eragon, Fablehaven and John Green books (but I'm not completely sure of that would be okay, since there is some allusion towards sex, by nothing graphic; I'd say hold off on those book until around thirteen.) Authors like Cassandra Clare and Julie Kagawa I read somewhere between 13 to 14.
I think the best thing to do is to just set some guidelines of what they can and can't read. My parents did that when I was in middle school, and I'd have to ask my librarian if the book would have been appropriate for me. In high school my parents don't really care as much.

[Jasmine]

If your daughter likes historical fiction at all I would suggest Carolyn Meyer. I devoured her books in middle school.

[Dominique]

I really enjoy the frog princess series by e.d. Baker
The sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley and the young wizards series by Dian Duane. I still love these books and reread the young wizards series every now and then.

[Daya]

A. wrote: "My daughter is approaching the teen years and reads faster than I can keep up with. She loves adventure and fantasy, and is past all the betweener books.

I'm looking for clean books or series tha..."

The Lunar Chronicles would also be a really good choice, not only are the books bigger but they are clean and extremely interesting especially for a fast reader. Hope this helps xx

[Daya]

Samantha wrote: "Ally Carter is another really good author for this age. I really liked her Gallagher Girl series (6 books about a high school for girl spies) and her Heist Society series. Both are very clean and g..."

I really loved Ally Carter when I was about that age as well, she also has a newer trilogy that I believe is called Embassy Row, really clean and super intriguing

[Samantha]

Izzie wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Ally Carter is another really good author for this age. I really liked her Gallagher Girl series (6 books about a high school for girl spies) and her Heist Society series. Both are..."

Yes! I read that series too. Have you heard of her new book coming out next March? Not If I Save You First. I guess it's a standalone, but it sounds awesome!

[ren]

Has your daughter read any Lois Lowry books?

[Max]

I am 15 and I love all of Cassandra Clares books, but they do have some scenes that are not recommended for younger readers. Harry Potter is always an amazing choice along with Percy Jackson. A series of unfortunate events is a timeless series. I enjoyed The Caster Chronicles, yet many disliked them and the world can be confusing to understand. Patrick Ness is also a good choice, yet his books are really in depth and can be confusing if youre not used to his writing.

[Tacey Raye]

The lost books series is great and totally clean. The heir series is also good. An the Iron Trial. Also the water fire saga. Hope this helps. I was in her situation a few years ago.

[Mark]

I don't know if I am allowed to recommend my own book, but I hope you don't mind!

It fits your decription and would be helping a new author out :)

Other than that, what about getting into fantasy, they are perfect for fast readers because they are long and are often series. Raymond E. Feist David Gemell etc!

[ｄａｎｉｅｌａ]

How gory is too gory?
If she wants action, gore is usually included. Depending on her level of maturity when it comes to death, The Shades of Magic series and The Illuminae files series are action filled wihout sex and too much gore (or at least, so far. I have not finished the series.). Both have violence, so you might want to skim to see if its not too strong. But I recommend them because they have strong female protagonists.

The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman is amazing! Completely clean, and so much fun to read.

The Uglies Series I loved as a teenager and again, is quite clean.
When Dimple met Rishi is a clean contemporary romance that also deals with Indian culture, and therefore a great way to broaden her view of the world.

THEN there's the old school stuff, which is honestly still great. A wrinkle in time, Bloomability, Walk Two Moons, Holes, A Princess Diaries (anything by Meg Cabot honestly) were some of my favorite books growing up. They might be a bit dated, but they are still great "coming-of-age" type books.

[A.]

Bri wrote: "Has your daughter read any Lois Lowry books?"
Not that I know of. We'll check them out

Thanks to everyone for your recommendations!

[Meaghan]

I would suggest anything by Shannon Hale, especially her Books of Bayern series, Princess Academy series, and Book of a Thousand Days.

[Molly]

Your daughter sounds exactly like me about 14 years ago!

These are the PG rated books that I loved (and still love)

If she's a super fast reader, I would go with anything in a series, the longer the series the better!

The Harry Potter Series, of course. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone Unit Study

The Lunar Chronicals by Marissa Meyer Cinder

The Artemis Fowl Series Artemis Fowl

Books by Madeleine L'engle, There are many more than just a Wrinke in Time although that's a great place to start A Wrinkle in Time

Robin McKinley has a nice collection of Fairytale Retellings Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

[Daphne]

Try the Red Queen series.
Warcross by Marie Lu.
Three Dark Crowns (a little romance and more than that at some parts in the second books so beware)
The Chaos of Standing Still (light teen romance but it deals a lot with mental health and grief)
I Am Number Four series (very long series but it’s wonderful. Don’t get too attached to some characters though)