I received this letter from Barbara, who is looking for books to share with her daughter:
Hi! I vividly remember my first romance book experience — I swiped one of my mother's Harlequin romances shortly before I turned 12 and there was no holding me back from the genre after that glorious and eye-opening introduction to Greek millionaires and the shy British virgins they woo, etc! Now my daughter will be turning 12 in a few months (gasp! how did THAT happen?) and I'm trying to figure out what to gently suggest to her to bring her over to the romance-reading side of things…
She reads at a high school level (at least that is what her teachers tell me) but she's not ready for anything too explicit sex-wise as she's still rather mortified by the whole idea. I give her another year until that becomes a compelling factor in reading choices…she loves mysteries, history and mythology. She is not a huge fan of the vampire genre (holy crap is there a lot of vampire-y YA stuff out there!) and is more of a Buffy kind of gal versus Bella. She's also not quite to the age where lots of angst is appealing. We found the Goddess series by Aimee Carter from Harlequin Teen and she's devoured those…
So, I'm just wondering if anyone might have any other suggestions for her?
Thanks so much.
I confess, I'm completely at a loss, here. Not too much angst and more Buffy and asskicking than doormat and Bella. Ok: I had just typed up a whole list of ideas and then realized they were all too old for this reader in terms of age and comfort. DAMMIT. My recommendation-fu deserts me at this time!
Do you have ideas? I'm going to keep hitting my head with my laptop until I can come up with something. Or you'll post the idea that's flying around the outside of my brain that I can't grab and I'll start yelling.
Ooh, I totally second Louis May Alcott’s Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom! They were my favorites of hers and I was probably around 11/12 when I read them the first time.
Ooh, also Mary Higgins Clark is great for mystery, though some of the books may deal with more adult topics if you want to screen them. I also really enjoyed Elizabeth Lowell’s Donovan series for mystery with romance, but I think that had sex in it (though not horribly explicit).
m’kay, all the comments together = tldr
meg cabot’s “mediator” series is great…the protagonist is a girl who can see and touch spirits and sometimes has to help them (rather forcefully) to move to the other side…it’s the ghost whisperer meets buffy the vampire slayer with a very cute boy ghost haunting her bedroom (nothing explicit, just some fun flirting)
i particularly love tamora pierce for amazing girls with a little bit of romance thrown into the mix, again, nothing explicit but sex does happen. (there are many series set in the same world with a lot of recurring characters who age and interact over time…1. the song of the lioness series 2. wild magic series 3.protector of the small series 4. the trickster series 5. beka cooper series.)
also, try out the enchanted forest chronicles by patricia wrede. the main character is a princess who gets fed up with being told that she cannot do things she finds interesting (such as learning swordplay, magic or how to cook) so she runs away and volunteers to be a dragon’s princess…eventually there is romance.
“the blue sword” and “the hero and the crown” by robin mckinley have nice romance and strong girls. and “beauty” by mckinley is an amazing retelling of beauty and the beast.
finally how about something like “howls moving castle” by diana wynne jones.
most of these skew towards the fantasy genre but they all have some elements of romance in the story…
ANN RINALDI! Yes, I remember loving “Finishing Becca” SO MUCH.
Sounds a lot like me as a kid! My mom tended to censor my reading and emphasized strong female characters. To rec the stuff everyone else has been recommending, plus some others:
(1) Robin McKinley – I loved her fairy-tale retellings when I was younger, but “The Blue Sword” was the first kinda-romancey book I ever read and I loved it a lot. So good! “The Hero and the Crown” made me a bit uncomfortable the first time I read it (like 10 or so?) because I thought there was implied sex, so. (I loved it later, but it took me a few years).
(2) I do like Patricia C. Wrede’s Dragons series a lot and would rec those.
(3) Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine. Age appropriate and lovely. My sister still re-reads this sometimes, I think.
(4) TAMORA PIERCE. Cannot rec her enough. Although, heads-up, there is maybe some (implicit?) sexin’. I don’t remember to what extent but I do remember it was implied. At least in my mind.
(5) Ann Rinaldi
(6) Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy, Tacy, and Tib stories. The first ones are maybe too young for a 12 year old, but once Betsy hits high school, there are several sweet romances.
(7) Phillip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart books.
(8) L.M. Montgomery! Esp. the Emily books and “The Blue Castle.” My mother wouldn’t let me start reading these until I hit 12.
(9) Louisa May Alcott – “Eight Cousins” and “Rose in Bloom” (though they can get kinda preachy in parts).
(10) Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles.
(11) Not sure if these are too old for your daughter, but I’ve been reading books by Libba Bray recently, and have really enjoyed them. (Although there is some queer content, which is, um, why I was reading them, but just so you know).
(12) Ursula Leguin’s Earthsea books.
(13) Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series. Arthurian mythology, not really any romance that I remember, but so good! I loved them.
(14) Maybe some Avi?
(15) Katherine Paterson! Maybe a little angst-y in some books, though, but I remember liking The Great Gilly Hopkins as a kid.
(16) Also Lawrence Yep for fantasy.
(17) Megan Whalen Turner’s “The Thief”. Fantasy! Mythology!
(18) Karen Cushman’s “Catherine, Called Birdy” (historical fiction ftw!)
Code Name Verity is good (just read it and loved it), but I might be a little wary about giving it to a 12 yr-old based on the torture (implicit and explicit) and also possible sexual assault.
Yeah, but those sex scenes are pretty tame if I remember correctly, I don’t think it ever shows sex actually happening. However, some of the non-sex scenes get pretty steamy and may be to much.
Also, the first book involves a monster that enjoys rape and does so frequently. That may not be something your daughter is comfortable reading. I know I wouldn’t have been at 12.
I would suggest Sharon Shinn. Especially her Twelve Houses series and her Samaria series. I would recommend either Angelica or Archangel as a starting place if for Samaria.
Super reccos all.
Here’s a couple more:
Daddy-Long-Legs
The Anne of Green Gable series
His Dark Material trilogy by Phillip Pullman
You might want to try readers digest condensed novels. There is usually at least one romance per volume and they cut the sex scenes. It will also introduce her to a good many very good authors (you do want her to read widely right?)
I read a lot of them when I was 11 and found a good many authors through them that I still adore.
Ditto and thensome the Amelia Peabody series, though if she has trouble getting into book one, have her try one more. The book that made me realize that it was the romance part of the story I liked, and I read this when I was 12 20-something years ago, is The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. If you can get your hands on any copies of Signet Regency Romances or Fawcetts and the like from the 80s and 90s, I devoured those when I was younger and looking for romance without explicit sex. I still reread Michelle Martin’s books and really wish those would get released in ebook so I can get my hands on them again and give the print copies I have a break as they’re falling apart.
That’s a valid concern. I guess I was thinking more of the historical aspect of the novel, and the friendship between the girls. It’s a weepfest, no doubt about it, but I also think these days the 12 year olds I know could handle it.
Did we have the same mom?, because those were my gateway drugs as well! Those along with some very early Debbie Macomber harlequins.
I’d also recommend Meg Cabot (her YA or adult titles), Sarah Dessen (YA), Stephanie Perkins (YA) and most Kristan Higgins (sex but not of the “anatomy lesson” variety). oh, and for some specific YA titles try: Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, by Julie Halpern (y’all…this book is adorable), Prom Dates from Hell by Maggie Quinn (mystery with romance), Waiting for You, by Susane Colasanti, and Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert.
No sex in Sarah Dessen, just some kissyness. One of my favourite current YA authors.
Lurlene McDaniels is the WORST.
I recommend Katie Maxwell. It’s Katie MacAlister writing for teens. The Emily Series is currently OOP, but there are copies available on the cheap, and supposedly they’re going to be re-issued this year. She also did two teen Vampire stories that aren’t typical Vampire stories- they were re-issued as Confessions of a Vampire’s Girlfriend.
Oh, wow, Ju, you’re right. How could I have forgotten Daddy Long Legs. Actually, I like its sequel “Dear Enemy” even better, but they should be read in order because “Dear Enemy” involves a major spoiler for Daddy Long Legs
I mostly think she should just be allowed to carry on reading the books she’s loving at the moment. If she’s interested in reading romance, she’ll find it for herself when she’s ready. When I was 12, romance was the least interesting part of any book to me. I read and hated books then which it took me years and years to come back to and fall in love with (Jane Eyre most notably). So I wouldn’t make suggestions yet, especially if she’s still at the stage of finding sex icky.
Late to the party, as usual. Sadly, most of the books I read when I was 12 are OOP, however I would like to add a few authors that I haven’t seen mentioned before.
Andre Norton: she wrote so long, on so many reading levels, in both fantasy and straight science fiction. My favorite has always been Steel magic, but that’s probably a little young for a 12-year-old.
If Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabodys are a little too old, she might try R.L. LaFevers’ Theodosia books. They are set at around the same time period (Edwardian), and feature the precocious child of a pair of Egyptologists. There are currently four books out, starting with Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos.
Ysabeau Wilce’s Flora Segunda series. The style of the books can be conveyed by the full title of the first book: Flora Segunda: being the magickal mishaps of a girl of spirit, her glass-gazing sidekick, two ominous butlers (one blue), a house with eleven thousand rooms, and a red dog.
T.H. White’s The once and future king. Even if she doesn’t make it through the whole thing, she should at least read The sword in the stone.
When I was that age, I really loved the Beverly Cleary romances like “Fifteen” and the “Luckiest Girl”. I remember the idea of “Fifteen” was to be yourself, so definitely a nice message for younger people. What about some S.E. Hinton, like “The Outsiders”?
“Fiddler’s Gun” by A.S. Peterson is set during the American Revolution. It features a tomboyish orphan girl who saves herself from being raped by British soldiers and flees to save herself from hanging and becomes a pirate. Based on a true story and includes a love story in the background. The heroine is really sympathetic and wonderful.
I’m really enjoying the Royal Spyness mystery series by Rhys Bowen, which includes a romance. It’s set among England’s upper-crust between the wars and is light and fun, well apart from all the murders that is. Sex is definitely discussed, but nothing graphic.
“The Moonstone” by Wilkie Collins. Very fun mystery and setting and includes a romance.
“Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula le Guin is wonderful and I think the writing is very accessible for younger readers. The love story is beautiful. I wish I had read this sooner.
For fantasy, I can’t recommend the “Mistborn” series by Brandon Sanderson enough. There is a lot going on there, and some very sweet romance.
“Ice Land” by Betsy Tobin, is a romantic tale set in Iceland when Christianity is taking over, and the mythic creatures of the past are losing ground. I recommend this book all the time – it is wonderful.
I’ll second the suggestions of others:
*Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series
*Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series
*Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series
*Georgette Heyer (look up a glossary of regency slang online, print it off and put it with the book for reference, and she will catch on in no time), especially “Frederica”, “Arabella”, “The Grand Sophy”, and “The Talisman Ring”
I second Georgette Heyer – I started with Friday’s Child, Arabella, and The Corinthian, when I was 12 then gobbled up the rest as fast as I could find them; Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising Sequence; Mary Stewart, Madeleine Brent, Anne MacCaffrey’s Pern, particularly the first ones, Dragon Flight, Dragonquest, Dragonsong and DragonSinger, Lloyd Alexander, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Dianna Wynne Jones, who is a terrific writer. Fire and Hemlock in particular is a modern version of the Tam lin story, a wonderful romantic tale , in the best sense of the word, perfectly suitable for a young teen. Her Chrestomanci novels are great fun.