My nieces are about tween/teen age and love to read. I’ve started gifting them books I remember liking at their ages. I’ve also frequently been able to find these books on Libby or Thiftbooks for really cheap so I often end up re-reading them. Partially for nostalgia but also to make sure they aren’t inappropriate. I was an advanced reader so this was often an issue for me and I don’t want to do the same to my nieces.
With most of my re-reads so far, I am able to say “yes I see why teen me loved this book.” I’ve had a few that haven’t aged well. A few that are just cringy bad.
But the series that I will always love and is just as good every time I read it, is the Abhorson Trilogy by Garth Nix. I just re-read Sabriel to see if I thought my nieces were ready and just, I remembered how much I loved it. I literally read my copies of Sabriel and Lireal so much they fell apart. I cannot wait to get these books for my nieces.
Have you ever re-read the books of your teen years? How have the books compared?
by notenoughbooks
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We’ve been doing similar with our daughter, though she is a bit younger now (8) reading at a 10 to 11 year level but not really there for the themes (i.e. vocabulary is fine but comprehension not so much).
That said, I’ve reread books I remember liking and have generally found they are just as good. I’ve also been amazed by books I have up on as a kid that are actually quite good. And of course some just aren’t good.
At her age, I’m enjoying reading more advanced books to her directly to talk about them. That’s even more fun, in its own way.