I still have mine after 25 years. They've even updated the look and colors so it's more girlie. I have the classic yellow set.
Any young girl would love these books.
What about the travelling pants series. My niece loved those.
Also: Madelein L'Engle (Wrinkle in Time, Wind Through the Door). Very Christian.
12 yo? I bet she could handle the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Or The Hobbit.
I liked the Narnia series at that age, "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett, "My Side of the Mountain", and "Little House on the Prairie".
What is her reading level? Pride and Prejudice is very good. Also the Redwall Series is perfect for pre-teen girls. They are written by Brian Jacques.
My daughters all loved the Jungle Books, particularly Rikki Tikki Tavi. The Little House series is also great. One of my favorites was Old Yeller, but man, that book is sad at the end. In lighter reading, Peanuts collections, or The Family Circus go over well with kids that age.
Atlas Shrugged.
The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings, if she hasn't read them already. :~D
I still have mine after 25 years. They've even updated the look and colors so it's more girlie. I have the classic yellow set.
Any young girl would love these books.
I am not going to hijack your post but it does remind of the time my son did some obnoxious thing in his middle-school years. As punishment, I went to the library and checked out Emily Post's Book of Etiquette. He was required to read the entire book. Every night at dinner he had to discuss what he had read. It was probably the most constructive punishment I ever did. He even learned how to set a correct table. He still remembers having to do it.
War and Peace
I see a lot of great suggestions have been given already. I particularly agree with L'Engle, the Narnia books and Ingalls Wilder.
I liked ALAS BABYLON and I think Jerry Pournelle did a good one with someone but I've forgotten the name.
But those are not particularly geared to teens, as I recall. And, I don't think the LEFT BEHIND series is quite what I want, either . . . regardless of the theology being right or wrong.
I think a book for the teens that I'm trying to find would be:
1 --attractive to the age group and not talking down to them.
2 --have at least a partial emphasis on core values.
3 --have a well integrated solid basic Christian foundations theology woven in seamlessly and inherently.
4 --reveal the capacity and essential, crucial need for HOPE--HOPING IN GOD in the midst of walking through, even sojourning through the valley of death.
5 --highlight many creative options and creative problem solving that teens and even younger children can pray through in the midst of crises.
6 --would have many examples of an inner, underlying joy in the midst of trauma and sorrow--rooted in God's provision for joy unspeakable via Christ and His Spirit regardless of circumstances.
7 --would outline and illustrate prioritizing a heirarchy of values, choices in forced choice situations that could be a starting place foundation for such but which would also emphasize learning to hear God and obey His still small voice in all situations.
If no one knows of such a book--is there anyone who'd be interested in collaborating toward writing/creating such a book?
And, how many of you reading this thread would consider such a book worth buying for someone you know?
In a way, I'm sort of asking--if you had been Anne Frank's parents and known 1-5 years ahead what was coming, what would you have wanted to teach her? What would you have wanted her to read?
dg62, re your request . . . if the teen or near teen is interested in sci-fi at all, I still like the Edgar Rice Burroughs MARS SERIES. If the teen is advanced sufficiently in their reading . . . C.S. Lewis' SPACE TRILOGY could be worth it. But one of those can be hard slogging for some.
She would probably love a boxed set of all seven Chronicles of Narnia...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060847131/sr=8-7/qid=1149127678/ref=pd_bbs_7/104-2595697-9215920?%5Fencoding=UTF8
...and, if she's reading at grade level or above, she's about right for "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142437174/qid=1149127852/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-2595697-9215920?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
"Where The Red Fern Grows" is a book no child should miss reading. Get it in hardcover because she'll wear it out.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385323301/ref=ed_oe_h/104-2595697-9215920?%5Fencoding=UTF8
A really fun and morally instructional read is "By The Great Horn Spoon".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316286125/qid=1149128103/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-2595697-9215920?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Oh, yes, and absolutely do not pass up "Hans Brinker, or the silver Skates".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0689849095/qid=1149128203/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-2595697-9215920?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
...I'll keep my thinker running and, if I come up with more, Ill post them.
I THINK it's James Dobson's ministry but not 100% sure, but they have a monthly magazine for teens that's wholesome. You might look into that and she could get one every month for about the same price as good books. M
It consists of Mutiny On The Bounty, Men Against The Sea and Pitcairn's Island.
Perhaps not normal fare for a 12 yr old girl. It has elements of good vs evil, overcoming daunting challenges, survival and justice.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" is great for that age.
Also "Cheaper by the Dozen," but unless she only reads two pages a day she'll be done with it quickly.
Whoa up a sec . . . "graduating" from grammar school?
When did this start?
Graduation means you've earned a degree or a diploma. What degree does a grammar-schooler hold?