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When I get the chance to buy English books, I would like to get some good ones. A lot of the books you guys have mentioned I have never read before. So, do you have any suggestions on must reads?
submitted by Elizabeth M , age 11, Germany
(February 23, 2011 - 1:40 pm)
(February 23, 2011 - 1:40 pm)
Oooh! I love to recommend books to people. Do you like it in Germany? Were you the girl on here who used to live England? Anyway! Sorry, I get side-tracked easily.
1) Harry Potter-J.K. Rowling (if you haven't read it already. But even if you have, you can always read them again, and again, and again, like I do.)
2) Juniper, Wise Child, and Colman- Monica Furlong. But they are hard to find and buy, and they're expensive now. But I'm sure a library has them.
3) The Penderwicks- Jeanne Birdsall. That would be perfect for your age, and then The Penderwicks on Gardam Street.
4) The Books of Bayern- by Shannon Hale are really good, too. And I actually think Bayern is a place near Germany.
5) Princess Academy. It's by the same lady who wrote Books of Bayern, Shannon Hale.
6) Dreamdark: Blackbringer. It's by Laini Taylor. I finished it for the first time not too long ago. It's about fairies, and I LOVE fairies, but I don't know about you. But it would be good just the same.
I hope this helps! I tried to list more recent books, except the Juniper and stuff.
-Hannah ☺☻
(February 23, 2011 - 8:24 pm)
Yes, I live in Germany but no I'm not the girl who used to live in England... :)
1) I've read them but they're AMAZING rereads!!
2) Will keep an eye out... What genre are they?
3) I read the first one but not the second...
4) Yes, I live in Bayern (eng. Bavaria) Are the books FAntasy??
5) *Puts on list*
6) I have never ever read a book about faries but I like fantasy so why not?!
Thank You so much for the great suggestions!! :) :)
(February 24, 2011 - 9:45 am)
*checks 82-book Good Books list*
Okay. I will try to recommend a variety. Some of the descriptions I wrote a while ago, and copied onto here.
1. ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY, by Mildred Taylor A book set in 1950s Louisiana, while everything was segregated. Cassie Logan and her brothers Stacy, Christopher John, and Little Man learn to stand up for themselves in a white-dominated society. Over the course of a year, they "accidentally" break down the white school bus, live through their mother getting fired, witness a Ku Klux Klan assault, get to know a man with an interesting past who comes to live with them, and try to look out for Stacy's friend TJ, who is headed for trouble. Much better than I just made it sound. (276 p.)
2. ELLA ENCHANTED, by Gail Carson Levine Ella has been under an Obedience Curse since the days she was born, forcing her to obey any direct order given to her. When she is sent to finishing school with her stepsister Hatte, Hattie quickly finds out that Ella will do anything she tells her to. Finally running away from school (and Hattie). Ella must face many dangers, including ogres and a giant's wedding. (232 p.)
3. FAIREST, by Gail Carson Levine When Aza leans to throw her voice, she is forced to help the new queen of Ayortha cover the fact that she cannot sing. Royal authorities find out that Aza is a ventriloquist, are convinced she is part ogre, and send her far from Ayortha. (326 p.)
4. SAFFY'S ANGEL, by Hilary McKay Saffy lives in England in a family of artists, whom their mother named off of a color chart in the kitchen. On this color chart are her siblings Cadmium ("Caddy"), Indigo, and Rose, but there is not a Saffron. When Saffy discovers why this is, she isdetermined to find out more about her past, even going so far as to befriend the wheelchair-ridden girl down the road and stow away on a trip to Italy.
5. THE TWENTY-ONE BALLOONS, by William Pene DuBois A man decides to build his own floating house attatched to a giant hot air balloon, in order to spend a year flying around the world. Unfortunately, his balloon is not as sturdy as he thinks, and he is forced into emergency landing on the island of Krakatoa after only a few weeks. Supposedly the island is uninhabited, but the man ventures ashore in the care of Mr. F, and is amazed by what he finds there.(179 p.)
I don't know how many of these you have already read, but I've run out of time. These are all books which stand up to the test of time, as I don't reread many books more than once, but have read these each several times (with the exception of Fairest, which I have only read twice so far).
I believe Elizabeth H. is the one who used to live in England. I haven't seen her around recently.
(February 24, 2011 - 4:27 pm)
I LOVE The Twenty One Balloons! It's definitely a "must-read"!
(March 3, 2011 - 5:15 pm)
@Elizabeth M: Sorry I never replied back! I've been on vacation in Illinois. The Juniper, Wise Child, and Colman books are young adult fantasy. But we found Colman in the adult section of our library, so check both! The Books of Bayern are fantasy or young adult/teenager.
Peacing out for now,
Hannah ☺☻
(March 3, 2011 - 2:24 pm)
Regarding number three...I've only read the first one, too. How is the second one?
(March 3, 2011 - 5:14 pm)
Oops, I meant number three on Hannah's list. Sorry!
(March 3, 2011 - 5:17 pm)
1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. (THG is a bit violent and gory-ish (it's not that gory though)) (Sci-Fi/Dystopic)
2) Conspiracy 365 (series) by Gabrielle Lord. They're Australian but you can buy them here in Canada. I don't know if you can in Germany though.
3) Maximum Ride: Angel by James Patterson. (MR:A is the first in the series. The rest of the books aren't as good though, if I can remember correctly. Especially Fang)
4) Alex Rider (series) by Anthony Horowitz. (they're good, especially Scorpia)
5) Goodnight, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian.
6) So B. It by Sarah Weeks.
Um, that's all I can come up with. (I would have put Harry Potter first, but it was already suggested) Oh wow. The first four are action-y and the last two are cry-ables. :-P
(February 24, 2011 - 6:27 pm)
Thank You so much!! I haven't read any of these except Fairest( love it) and Stormbreaker( Alex Rider Series).
(February 25, 2011 - 8:15 am)
I consider anything by Ursula K. LeGuin a must-read. She's amazing. In fact, you can read the full text of one of her stories online right now; just Google The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Full Text. She's written lots of books as well. I expect some will be available in German, but I'm sure some won't, so try to finnd out which are and which aren't so that you only get the English books of hers that you need to. The Theodosia Throckmorton series is great as well, but I know for a fact that it's available in German, so you wouldn't need the English version of that.
(February 27, 2011 - 7:30 pm)
I found out that my library has The Hunger Games. I wanted to know if it was appropriate for me or basically fine but you have to like a certain genre...? And is Warrior Cats good??
(February 28, 2011 - 12:49 pm)
As for The Hunger Games, I read it at 11 with no problems whatsoever, but R~D~ is 15 and found it a bit disturbing, so I think it just depends on how much violence you can tolerate. Just... try it, I suppose, and if you don't like it, stop.
Ah. Warrior cats. Well, I think opinions here on that series are rather sharply divided, and you'll get different answers from different people. I used to love it, but I don't care as much for it anymore. It's certainly very addicting; that much I know. I really don't know whether you'd like it or not, but you should certainly read them, because you might be one of those people who LOVES them, and if so, I don't want you to miss out...
Hm. This was rather pointless; I basically said, "I have no idea how you would feel," twice. Oh, well.
(February 28, 2011 - 2:57 pm)
:) Yes, I did find it disturbing! (I'm only 14 though!:D) But I've always had such a weak stomach. Like I said in my thread here on BaB, I think the Shadow Children would be a great read for you, and probably, if you really want to read The Hunger Games, you should read these first. Most of the twelve year olds on here have read The Hunger Games, but, seriously, I don't think they were appropriate at all for anyone under 14... and my mom didn't even think I should read them at 14. Not saying it's a bad thing you guys read them, it's just, like I said, weak stomach, and I'm such a mother :P My family calls me a mother hen because I'm overly protective to my younger siblings. So basically, ask your mom if she'd read them first (or at least look up a good review about them) and then have her decide. :) But do read the Shadow Children!
(February 28, 2011 - 6:33 pm)
13 years old, read THG with no problems whatsoever. Again: How much violence can you tolerate?
(March 1, 2011 - 5:02 pm)
@ZNZ: Have you finish Mockingjay, by the way?
(March 2, 2011 - 1:28 am)