Yeah. Little thing is a foster child with significant behavioral issues stemming from a lifetime of trauma. She is living in a residential treatment facility as she kept getting kicked out of foster homes. She is volatile and violent and impulse. Her education is essentially non-existent.
And I love her.
I feel that she could really love reading but her oppositional and defiant instincts are a huge barrier. She feels “dumb” and struggling with reading triggers that, but so does having to read anything clearly written for little kids.
Any ideas for an ENGAGING book, with teenage appropriate content, for this young woman who is basically still learning to read?
TIA!!!
ETA: also avoiding any book that portrays a “normal happy home” or a prominent parental figure would also be helpful
by Designer-Ability6124
22 Comments
Jaqueline Wilson maybe? Check the blurbs first though as she can deal with some heavy stuff that may be triggering. I loved the Tracy Beaker series growing up and empathised as I was also in care.
Animorphs is an excellent horror book series that I’ve enjoyed re-reading as an adult. Cirque du Freak possibly as well.
I’ve always found the Tamora Pierce books to be great for teens and the first series The Song Of The Lioness books are all pretty short so they wouldn’t be too intimidating possibly.
There’s a series by Kevan Dale that she might like. It starts with The Magic of Unkindness, where a female protagonist has had a very tough background, but prevails. It’s probably YA, but no sex/language, but I’d suggest you start by reading to them to her.
The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery, by Graeme Base.
It’s got a clever mystery wrapped in gorgeous illustrations, suitable for a pretty wide range of young readers. If she likes this one, perhaps it can be an introduction to graphic novels. My high-schooler reads a ton of graphic novels, as well as YA and adult novels.
Demon Copperhead
[removed]
maybe mistborn/mistborn final empire by brandon sanderson
its about a young orphan girl who had a vad mother who was killed very early, and then was abused by her brother for her whole childhood until he too died, and then theres a found family trope and she slowly heals (though is still messed up a lot)
it is a bit long though, so definitely not for the book to get her into reading (600ish pages, probably 4th grade reading level required, im not sure though been a long time since i used reading levels)
Does she have any access to a device, or could you give her a device, that can have audiobooks on it? It might feel like a more joyful and less embarrassing path to becoming a reader if she can switch from paper to audiobook when she feels tired from struggling, or can check that a paper book says what she thinks it says from the audiobook without having to ask someone out loud. It might also give her access to more books more about her life and experiences oriented towards teenagers, even if her reading fluency means she can’t do them on her own yet.
Well I had a whole comment written but it got removed because I posted a link to a list that linked to Amazon, which is against the rules. But if you google “2nd grade reading level books for older kids,” you can find the list!
I also suggested Diary of a Wimpy Kid because they are genuinely hilarious and I would read them as an adult, but they do feature a family prominently.
Has she read the American Girl books? I especially loved Addie and Samantha’s books as a kid, but there are series for all of the historical characters and some of the modern ones, too. The books are technically for ages 8-12, but I think they have a wider appeal! There are lots of different family structures present in the books (Samantha is an orphan, Julie’s parents are divorced etc), and the stories don’t seem too juvenile or dumbed-down.
You’re looking for what are called Hi-Lo books. High interest, low reading skill books for older kids. I can’t recommend anything in particular, but here are a few links to lists of things that are available. Your local library probably has a list of what they have available if you ask.
https://www.sdlback.com/solutions-for-tweens-grades-4-8/hi-lo-books/fiction
https://www.sdlback.com/solutions-for-teens-grades-9-12/hi-lo-books
https://www.leeandlow.com/collections/high-low-books-for-teens-middle-and-high-school
One search term to try is “Hi-Lo books”, which means books with high interest appeal but low reading skill levels. You can refine by age or grade level too.
Usborne books has a good selection but you’ll find lists of all sorts of books available out there.
There’s a whole category of books called Hi-Lo for just this kid, often published by smaller places that do a lot of library market. Some Googling will give you ideas.
Eragon perhaps? It was written by a 16 year old and recommended grade level starts from 3rd.
You could try pairing a book with an audiobook! She can follow along in the print book as the audiobook plays. Perhaps it would help improve her literacy simultaneously.
First off, thanks for caring so much. Truly. Second, my recommendations come from the heart of a defiant young girl who found that magic is the best escape. If your awesome foster kid isn’t into magic, just skip these.
Garth Nix’s “Seventh Tower” series. I found these when I was maybe 8 or so, but I loved them through my teens. I’d say it’s written at around a 3rd-4th grade level. It’s a fantasy series about two kids from very different societies in a magical world that’s been blocked from the Sun. Garth Nix has a very easy style of prose, but still manages to craft these beautifully fantastical worlds full of well developed characters. The girl main character is a very independent, strong willed kid who would probably get an ODD diagnosis in our world. Her society lives on the ice, so she’s very tough and takes a lot of pride in what she doesn’t have. The boy is softer, from a magically warmed society, and isn’t ready for their world saving. They learn a lot from one another and are both better people for it. (But I promise it’s not as after school special as it sounds.)
And then if she enjoys those, she may be able to move onto his more well known “Old Kingdom” series. They’re more middle grade level, but she’ll be familiar with Nix’s style and it may be a good transition to more teenage aimed books. These were and are in my top tier of books.
And I recently read the first two books in Claribel Ortega’s “Witchlings” series. Lots of magic, lots of learning about the sadder facts of life and coping with them, lots of friendship, lots of understanding that other people are really people with feelings and all. And lots of magic. They’re lower middle grade level, but I don’t think she’d struggle with the prose.
ETA: Warning on Witchlings. The main character herself grows up in a pretty wonderful supportive home, but part of her journey is learning that not everyone does, and that just because it seems like someone has a great home life, it isn’t always true. Maybe read these first and see if you think she would be upset by them.
But also, would she like reading and discussing them with you reading along? Not out loud together, but book club style? These are perfectly compelling books for first time adult readers, imo, and showing that you enjoy them and can invest in the characters may help her insecurities.
My recs for graphic novels for this age: The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat, Maria Scrivan’s Nat series, Kayla Miller’s Click series, and Terri Libenson’s Emmie and Friends series, El Deafo by CeCe Bell, and Smile by Raina Telgemeier (all realistic). Misfit Mansion by Kay Davault, Witches of Brooklyn series by Sophie Escabasse, and Witch Boy series by Molly Knox Ostertag (all fantasy books).
Comics.
When I first started to learn English, I couldn’t read what I liked to read (fantasy books like AOIAF, wheel of time, etc.) So I started small. Comics are usually written with casual dialogue with little to no narration.
My whole experience with English up until that point was watching English shows with persian subtitles, but I still found them rather easy to read.
Perhaps something a lot of other kids their age are into right now? might be able to provide a touchstone for social bridges.
Edit: My sister wasn’t much of a reader but rose to the challenge because of the excitement around twilight, and some series age up with the readers skill like Harry Potter, which was a first-grade-ish level for the first book but gets more complicated as it went on.
Harry Potter is a classic – turns so many non-readers into readers. Percy Jackson is another good one. Ella Enchanted. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Graphic novels are really popular right now and might be less intimidating than a regular novel – try books by Raina Telgemeier. I think the Babysitters Club books have been remade into graphic novels, that might be an option.
May be a bit horror but Cirque du Freak really got me reading.
It’s not what you were looking for, but it might get better results given what you are describing. Have you considered reading heavy video games? Ie. Final Fantasy 6. You need to be able to read and understand to move ahead with the plot/know where to go or what to do next. The interactiveness of the media might keep her engaged.