Clean Reads discussion
What have you read that's good and clean lately?
I've recently discovered a series of historical novels by Rosemary Sutcliff that are very, very clean. I'm thoroughly enjoying them! The titles I've read so far are Flame-Colored Taffeta, Knight's Fee, and The Eagle of the Ninth. All are set in England during various time periods-18th Century, Middle Ages, Roman Britain. She has many more titles that I can't wait to explore! As I said, they are all very clean and very beautifully written. If you love historical fiction and are looking for clean ones, check out Rosemary Sutcliff!(Note: A new movie is coming out Feb 11, 2011 based on The Eagle of the Ninth. The movie is just called "The Eagle." I'm so excited to go see it! :-) )
Joyce - thanks so much for the recommendations! I love books that have stood the test of time. Can't wait to look for them in my library!
I have read this adults novels:Echoes by Nancy Campbell Allen.
Twins separated at birth find each other in a alley...the problem is one of them isn't alive.
Murder by Design by Betsy Brannon Green
A detective story with a woman protagonist and a murder in high southern style.
Dangerous Games by Keith Morris
An ex-FBI agent protagonist dealing with biological attack and a murder investigation that point at an known terrorist.
Also see my website for clean YA books
Anna del C. Dye
Author of "The Silent Warrior Trilogy"
http://www.annadelc.com
I like E. Nesbit's stuff (most of which is juvenile fiction—some is fantasy).I find I have an extremely high success rate of finding clean books among the following:
• Books in the juvenile fiction section of my library (not the young adult one)
• Public domain fiction, particularly the sort published before 1923 (you can find lots of free e-books on Gutenberg.org and free audiobooks on LibriVox.org).
Of course, I still want to know about other stuff—so that's why I'm in this group (but maybe this will help someone, though). I intend to post some specific questions later about other things.
Well, I read two recently that were good and clean...Warbreaker and The Princess and the Hound
I really enjoyed them both.
Beth A. wrote: "Well, I read two recently that were good and clean...Warbreaker and The Princess and the Hound
I really enjoyed them both."
I've looked at The Princess and the Hound. I'm glad to know that you liked it. I'll check it out!
I love Gail Carson Levine, and Shannon Hale. It's good to know she's writing for adults now too. Thanks.
I really enjoyed the Singers of Nevya series by Louise Marley. It's listed under science fiction, but it's light fantasy.
It really appealed to me because all the main characters are musicians. It had a great premise, memorable characters, and a fantastic plot. They're really well-written.
I really enjoyed the Singers of Nevya series by Louise Marley. It's listed under science fiction, but it's light fantasy.
It really appealed to me because all the main characters are musicians. It had a great premise, memorable characters, and a fantastic plot. They're really well-written.
another interesting music-based fantasy is the Archangel series by sharon shinn. it's pre-angel fiction craze, so it's quite unusual and a light PG13.
Bodine510 wrote: "I love Gail Carson Levine, and Shannon Hale. It's good to know she's writing for adults now too. Thanks.I really enjoyed the Singers of Nevya series by Louise Marley. It's listed under science..."
Love the Singers of Nevya series!
Matched by Ally Condie was great! Completely clean and I couldn't stop reading.City of Bones and the rest of the Mortal Instruments series is completely clean as well.
Among the Hidden and the Shadow Children series is clean. It's meant for a much younger crowd, but at sixteen, I still really love these books.
Dreaming Anastasia was clean.
Eragon was clean.
I could go on forever. >>
Clean books I loved:Howl's Moving Castleby Diana Wynne Jones. And everything else I have read by her, but that's my favorite
Everything I've read by Lloyd Alexander(which is a lot)
Wildwood Dancingby Juliet Marillier is great, and clean, but beware her adult books
Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series
Anything by Edward Eager (meant for children, but wonderful)
Eva Ibbotson's childrens books (such as Journey to the River Sea)
I could keep going, but I'll stop for now.
Burning Down the House by Russell Wangersky3, 096 Days by Natascha Kampusch
The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
Holes by Louis Sachar
Multiple Blessings by Jon Gosselin
The Prison Angel by Mary Jordan
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
The Woman I was Born to be by Susan Boyle
Mosaic by Amy Grant
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Waterproof Bible By Andrew Kaufman
The Journeys of a Fragile Heart by Majvor Sabine Aksoy
You Remind Me of You by Eireann Corrigan
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O' Dell
For One More Day by Mitch Albom
Our book club just read Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, about a boy whose seventh grade teacher makes him learn Shakespeare every Wednesday afternoon. It's such a beautifully written book, well-crafted, hilarious, and poignant. I cried. I'm currently reading Bridge to Neverland by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson -- the latest book in the Starcatcher series. Such a fun series.
Also good, Maisie Dobbs. The entire series is nice and clean.
Elizabeth wrote: "Our book club just read Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, about a boy whose seventh grade teacher makes him learn Shakespeare every Wednesday afternoon. It's such a beautifully written book, well-cr..."Your comments about the Wednesday Wars made me do a double take. I disliked the Wednesday Wars so much, I actually quit reading about halfway through, and I never quit books.
It's a matter of taste, I guess.
I also read A Stolen life by Jaycee Dugard. It is mostly a clean read, except for one part in the beginning when she uses the f word in a perverse way, that is the one and only time that she uses it. I don't like it when people use this word in this way either but the rest of the book has no swear words in it and I like that she chooses not to live with hatred. She also goes into detail about what her captors did to her, so I skipped a few pages when it came to that. I would advise people to read it with caution.
The book Loyalty's Web and Illuminations of the Heart are good reads that are clean. I am only half way through Illuminations but it is clean so far.
Laura wrote: Your comments about the Wednesday Wars made me do a double take. I disliked the Wednesday Wars so much, I actually quit reading about halfway through, and I never quit books.It's a matter of taste, I guess.
Just out of curiosity, what did you dislike so much about this book?? This is one of my all time favorite books. I feel the same way as Elizabeth about it... so I'm curious about why you quit. Not trying to start an argument or anything, just wondering what it was about that book that you didn't enjoy...
NO ANGEL by Theresa Sneed was a delightful clean book.
Laura - I'm as curious as Melissa - what turned you off?
It was actually a couple years ago, so I don't entirely remember, but I recall it being extremely boring, in my opinion. I think, if I recall correctly, I got about 100 pages in and nothing exciting had happened yet.Interestingly enough, I also read Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by the same author, and enjoyed it immensely.
Maybe I tried to read the Wednesday Wars at too young of an age?
Laura - I remember thinking it was a little slow at the beginning, but you should really try it again. It is a slower-paced novel, but amazingly written. I cried with joy at the end, laughed hysterically (I take it you didn't make it to the reappearance of the rats?), and closed the book feeling so sad that I had finished. Try it again and let me know, okay?
Becoming Me This series is so awesome and so realistic and the main character is so likable and lovable and completely clean except that she love this one boy but it never goes of control. Rated PG. (No swearing). Just Ella I adore this book. It's so good and clean. The main character is so likable. Prince Alarming is so annoying. But whoever said that Prince Charming was always nice to Cinderella. Rated PG for peril but not sex.
I have so many to chose from but for now. That's it.
I read I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitten-Jackson.
I've read a couple of good, clean books lately! My Ántonia
Liesl & Po
Dragon Slippers
I loved all three.
I adored this book. <3
More of a kids' book, but it was also clean.
Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula.Ages 12 and up. A YA book with NO vampires, witches, werewolves or sex. Highly recommended.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
To Terri A.You said that you liked the book by an old favorite of mine.If you liked MY ANTONIA, you will enjoy my blog (third one on the pg.) on: www.authorexpressions.blogspot.com. I talk aboutthe book's author in "A Place That Inspires Genius" I hope you like the blog!
Mary
Terri wrote: "I'd love to hear some recommendations you have for good clean books you've read lately. Here's a few of mine:In YA fiction -
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is hist..."
Terri anything by James Dashner (The Maze Runner) will be clean
Other clean Children authors are Brandon Mull, Rebecca Shelly and Clint Johnson (Middle grade) My books are YA very clean. :)
http://www.annadelc.com
Message #32 above was sent to Terri by mistake. It should have been addressed to Beth who commented a week or more ago about old classics she liked and one of them was MY ANTONIA: So Beth, message 32 is for you!Mary
I don't know if this is the way to reply, but one I just read that I loved was Nation by Terry Pratchett. It is probably listed in young adults, but can be read on many levels. Lots of themes going on in this book. Pratchett is the most widely read English author behind JK Rowling. Our book club loved this read, something for adults and yet perfectly suited for a great family/classroom read aloud.Thanks for your recommendations.
Cherlyn
Terri wrote: "I'd love to hear some recommendations you have for good clean books you've read lately. Here's a few of mine:
In YA fiction -
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is hist..."
Elizabeth wrote: "Our book club just read Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, about a boy whose seventh grade teacher makes him learn Shakespeare every Wednesday afternoon. It's such a beautifully written book, well-cr..."I was very impressed with Wednesday Wards by Gary Schmidt. It was great!
Beth A. wrote: "I've read a couple of good, clean books lately! My Ántonia
Liesl & Po
Dragon Slippers
I loved all three."
I also read and loved Dragon Slippers. I've recently received a copy of Jessica Day' George's new book Tuesdays at the Castle and I'm looking forward to reading it.
I’ve really enjoyed the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. Flavia reminds me a bit of Pippi Longstocking.
MaryKay - have you read "Okay for Now" by Gary Schmidt? It's even better! And I agree with Flavia de Luce. She's becoming a fast favorite.
Joyce wrote: "Beth A. wrote: "Well, I read two recently that were good and clean...Warbreaker and The Princess and the Hound
I really enjoyed them both."
I've looked at [book:Th..."
I read The Princess and the Hound recently, and while it's "technically" clean in that nothing is on screen, there is a scene of implied bestiality. (And if one wants to interpret the scene differently, there is still the fact that the next book is about those same two characters...)
Also, all y'all making recommendations, have you added those books to the group bookshelf? I added some of the ones from earlier in the thread, but there are a lot here, lol.
Okay, for everybody who told me to try the Wednesday Wars again, I did. Finally. And I didn't feel the need to abandon it halfway through. Still, I have to say, it's definitely not one of my favorite books. Not even close. The ending did manage to redeem it somewhat, but I still found that it dragged a bit. There were long stretches where I felt like there was no plot progression.
This may have been due to the fact that I couldn't really engage with Holling as a narrator, for some reason.
Still, that aside, while I didn't love the book, I definitely didn't hate it the way I did the first attempt. It was well written, certainly.
Edenbrooke. It's a period piece that feels like a Jane Austen novel but written in more modern language. Loved it!
I just read In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Opdyke. It is very similar to The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It is very well written and really deserves a read.
I just read Palace Beautiful and Seeking Persephone. Both were good, clean reads. My reviews are here
http://brooke-brookesbooks.blogspot.com/
The Promise fun and interesting medieval romance/historical. Intangible If you like YA paranormal this one was good.
Alaura wrote: "Edenbrooke. It's a period piece that feels like a Jane Austen novel but written in more modern language. Loved it!"Ditto - I read "Edenbrooke" by Julianne Donaldson and it was super clean and a very fun, light story.
All YA:For Darkness Shows The Stars takes inspiration from Jane Austen's Persuasion. There is some discussion of rape and prostitution, but nothing graphic is depicted.
Crown Duel and Court Duel Some violence, but no sex.
The Complex Some teenagers talking about sleeping with each others' girlfriends, but nothing graphic. Series 1 of 4
Birthmarked and PrizedClean. Series 1& 2 of 3.
Partials Some violence, but nothing descriptive that I can remember. Really good book. Series 1 of 3.
Cinder Inspired by Cinderella. There are androids, cyborgs, and a plague. Clean and really good. Series 1 of 3.
"Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin is a clean read that will make you feel great!
Some of my clean reads from this summer:El Rey: A Novel of Renaissance Iberia - Ginger Myrick - not graphic, historical fiction (Portugal/Spain/Inquisition)
Reforming Lord Ragsdale - Carla Kelly - historical fiction/regency (Irish Rebellion)
The Light of the Lover's Moon by Marcia McClure 'queen of kissing'
working on Edenbrooke now
The Kiss of a Stranger Regency, very clean. Loved it.And I agree, Edenbrooke is very good. Also, anything by Georgette Heyer's clean and good.
Just finished Shannon Hale's new book "Palace of Stone". If you liked "The Princess Academy", there's a good chance you'll enjoy this one as well. It was clean :)
Clean Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
Between Burning Worlds (other topics)Sky Without Stars (other topics)
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (other topics)
Flipped (other topics)
The Secret of the India Orchid (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
John Flanagan (other topics)Marion Harvey (other topics)
Christopher Paolini (other topics)
G.A. Henty (other topics)
Jennifer Comeaux (other topics)
More...
In YA fiction -
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is historical fiction set during the Civil War. I loved Homer! He reminded me of Huck Finn.
Everlost is slightly creepy fantasy set in a children's afterworld. Neal Shusterman has created a really clever idea..it's so unique. This is the first in the Skinjacker series.
The Maze Runner is a futuristic sci-fi fantasy novel. It reminded me a bit of Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies. It's all boys living in a maze world. Pretty darn intense, surprisingly clean.
Flipped is a coming of age story told from the point of view of two characters - Julie and Bryce, who live across the street from each other. Julie is fun and crazy and annoying to Bryce, who thinks he's way too cool.
In Adult Fiction -
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is set in modern rural England. Major Pettigrew is old and set in his ways, but slowly changes as he falls in love with the local Pakistani shop keeper, Mrs. Ali. This one is just delightful, and pretty darn clean - there is an intimate relationship that is not described and some discussion of an abortion, but again, you don't have to participate. Lovely novel, beautiful writing.
Moonraker's Bride is an old gothic novel that has gone out of print, but you can still find it in libraries and used online. The story is set in China and England. Orphaned Lucy is left to care for an entire orphanage when the patroness dies. Her desperation to feed the children sets her on an adventure with results that bring her to England and back to China again. Totally clean, fabulous adventure, and romance, what more could you ask for?
A Town Like Alice is historical fiction set during WW2. Jean survives a POW march across Malaya and is saved by her ingenuity, strength of character, and a very brave young soldier. She then returns to England and finally ends up in a tiny town in Australia. Jean is clever and honest. Terrific story!