# Fantasy or paranormal fantasy recommendations?



## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

My 16-year-old daughter has read through everything I can find for her that's appropriate. I'm hoping some of you folks will have some ideas I haven't found yet.

She likes fantasy or paranormal fantasy novels for the most part. She does not like anything too scary, too violent, or too overtly sexual in nature. She's easily scared and easily embarrassed. Her favorites are the Harry Potter series, the Maximum Ride series, Percy Jackson series, Mercy Thompson series, Twilight series.

Anything else along those lines you all can recommend? She's old enough and advanced enough for grown-up books, she just prefers not to have anything too sexual.

Thanks in advance!

Ellen


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

I'd recommend the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Start with the Sword of Shannara

http://www.terrybrooks.net/novels/index.html#


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

Shadowmagic







by John Lenahan was one of my favorites last year.


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## worktolive (Feb 3, 2009)

Most of the adult urban fantasy series have a fair amount of sex and quite a bit of violence, but if she liked Mercy Thompson, she might want to try the Kitty Norville werewolf series by Carrie Vaughn, starting with Kitty and the Midnight Hour. There is some violence, but no more than in Mercy Thompson, and there is hardly any sex until the about the third book and even then it's minimal and not particularly drawn out or descriptive.











Aside from that, there are a huge number of YA paranormals on the market these days and most of them are pretty toned down on the sex and violence. A few that I have my eye on are these:



























Finally, there's Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. I've read this and it is fantastic. The first book is The Golden Compass.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

EllenR said:


> My 16-year-old daughter has read through everything I can find for her that's appropriate. I'm hoping some of you folks will have some ideas I haven't found yet.
> 
> She likes fantasy or paranormal fantasy novels for the most part. She does not like anything too scary, too violent, or too overtly sexual in nature. She's easily scared and easily embarrassed. Her favorites are the Harry Potter series, the Maximum Ride series, Percy Jackson series, Mercy Thompson series, Twilight series.
> 
> ...


Has she read Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. It's very good and age appropriate. It's also a series (and another series follows)
There's also the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix. Excellent series (another one my daughter loves (and Tim Curry reads the audiobooks) 
the Alpha and Omega series by patricia Briggs. It's an offshoot of Mercy Thompson)
The Faire Folk Trilogy by Gillian Summer is fun (it's set in renn faires)

My 15 year old gives her stamp of approval on all of these, and I have read them all myself (and really enjoyed them all)


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

Thinking back to what I was reading back then--as far as pure fantasy rather than paranormal goes, Anne McCaffery's stuff, especially the earlier Pern books (anything published pre-2000 or so), are all quite good. Sex is more alluded to than anything else--they're tame enough that I read them in jr. high. I can't vouch for the books her son has written for the same series as I haven't read them.

Over on Baen's Webscriptions site, I personally LOVE P.C. Hodgell's fantasy work, the God Stalker Chronicles. God Stalk is the first book in that set, and the books are available individually, though the 5 book set is a good deal at $25, and includes everything prior to the current book, Bound in Blood. http://www.webscription.net/s-122-p-c-hodgell.aspx

There's also Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely and its sequels. The first book was free last month or the month before (it isn't now, unfortunately), and it's pretty good. YA, so the sex is pretty minimal.


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## SimonWood (Nov 13, 2009)

Try Kat Richardson's Greywalker series.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

All of Terry Pratchett's books would be age appropriate and there's over thirty of them. They're not paranormal but he's one of the great authors of Fantasy and I bet she'd like them. The series begins with _The Colour of Magic_ and is one of the few books of his that actually has a part 2 which is _The Light Fantastic_. Almost all of his books go together in a series though so I recommend reading them in order of publication.


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## dpinmd (Dec 30, 2009)

This is one of the best books I've ever read:










It's long, but you STILL don't want it to end! (Now anxiously waiting for Book 2, which won't come out until next March!)


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Darkest-Powers-Book-ebook/dp/B0017T0BXO/ref=pd_sim_kinc_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Book 1) was very good. All three in the trilogy were very good actually. They are written by Kelley Armstrong. There is no sex, very little violence but lots of action and a little romance.
http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Darkest-Powers-Book-ebook/dp/B0017T0BXO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Also the Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum is very good, it is set for a trilogy but so far only the first two books are out. Unfortunately the first isn't available for the Kindle but the second, The Golden Spiral is..

Has she tried the Blue Blood series by Melissa De La Cruz yet? It is a vampire series but for YA, it reminds me a lot of Twilight as it has very little violence (not graphic) but lots of action and some romance (non sexual) in it. I think she would really enjoy these as well. 
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Bloods-Book/dp/142310126X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274710561&sr=1-9


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

dpinmd said:


> This is one of the best books I've ever read:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think I'm going to have to move this one up in the queue. I have bought it, and I'm sure at least 3 times I've clicked it to look at it again on Amazon.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

VictoriaP said:


> Shadowmagic
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mine too!!!

She might enjoy Wistril Compleat by Frank Tuttle (very affordable, I think it is 99 cents!). It's several shorts, but all about the same character/wizard and apprentice. Very fun and highly recommended! I don't generally recommend my own stuff on these threads so that I can stay out of trouble--but Tracking Magic is also a set of paranormal shorts about the Max Killian and his paranormal investigations-- she might enjoy it as well. I haven't read the rest of Frank Tuttle's books, but certainly intend to--you might look through the rest of his listings because if they are as good as Wistril, I think they'll be great fun.

Oh! Mercedes Lackey's Diane Tregarde series. You might have to get these direct from Baen subscriptions; I'm not sure if they are on sale at Amazon. A lot of Baen ebooks are only on Baen's site. VERY good.

Ellen Guon has a series with elves that she would like...let me go check for the titles...

Here's an Amazon link to the title BUT, this looks like one you'll have to download from Baen as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Knight-Ghosts-Shadows-Bedlams-Bard/dp/0671698850/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274712516&sr=1-12

Best of luck. These types of books are so much fun to read. I just love them.


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## Kristen Painter (Apr 21, 2010)

Has she tried the PC and Kristin Cast House of Night series? Those are more paranormal, maybe not so much fantasy. It's great that she's so into reading!


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

worktolive said:


> Most of the adult urban fantasy series have a fair amount of sex and quite a bit of violence, but if she liked Mercy Thompson, she might want to try the Kitty Norville werewolf series by Carrie Vaughn, starting with Kitty and the Midnight Hour. There is some violence, but no more than in Mercy Thompson, and there is hardly any sex until the about the third book and even then it's minimal and not particularly drawn out or descriptive.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great suggestions so far, thanks. Most of what you have all suggested she has not read except for a couple, so that's great!

I should have said some violence and some romantic stuff is fine. She is 16. Just not along the lines of Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake, either of which are too graphic in their content for her.

I'm making a list! Keep them coming. Paranormal and urban fantasy are all fine as well.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> All of Terry Pratchett's books would be age appropriate and there's over thirty of them. They're not paranormal but he's one of the great authors of Fantasy and I bet she'd like them. The series begins with _The Colour of Magic_ and is one of the few books of his that actually has a part 2 which is _The Light Fantastic_. Almost all of his books go together in a series though so I recommend reading them in order of publication.


That's odd. These aren't available in the US on Kindle but I'll tell her to look in the library for them. She still reads DTBs as well. Thanks.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

dpinmd said:


> This is one of the best books I've ever read:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Long is good! We love long books in our house.


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## dpinmd (Dec 30, 2009)

EllenR said:


> Long is good! We love long books in our house.


I really just can't say enough good things about _The Name of the Wind_. It's a terrific story with a really engaging main character, and it's just _beautifully_ written. As I wrote in a Goodreads review, I often found myself going back to re-read various passages, just to savor his use of language. It's a truly amazing book!


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

dpinmd said:


> I really just can't say enough good things about _The Name of the Wind_. It's a terrific story with a really engaging main character, and it's just _beautifully_ written. As I wrote in a Goodreads review, I often found myself going back to re-read various passages, just to savor his use of language. It's a truly amazing book!


Well I guess I'll have to add it to my TBR pile too then!

Thanks to everyone's suggestions, we both have a pile of samples to sort through. Still open to more suggestions!


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Any of L.J. Smith's books - she has several series, all paranormal, and a little romance.  The most popular one is The Vampire Diaries, but her others are good, too.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

EllenR said:


> That's odd. These aren't available in the US on Kindle but I'll tell her to look in the library for them. She still reads DTBs as well. Thanks.


Probably because I gave you the British spelling of the title out of habit. It's frustrating though with these price wars. All of his books used to be $6.99. Still worth it I think... I'll be buying them all on Kindle eventually myself.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

No one has mentioned the Elfhunter trilogy by our own C.S. Marks (archer here).

Not paranormal, but fantasy in the Tolkiem and Terry Brooks styles, mixed.











Just sayin.....


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## Koi (Apr 28, 2010)

Perhaps she'd like the Sunrunner books by Melanie Rawn.   The first is Dragon Prince.  

As a teen/early 20's (I forget just when or how far back it was that I read them  ) I loved the Hickman/Weis books in the Dragon Lance series.  Many, many books.  Have to look them up on Fantastic Fiction to get them in the right order.  My best friend still names her email accounts after characters from those books.  

Tad Williams- any of his books, but Tailchaser's Song and the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn books (a trilogy, but book three is in two parts) in particular.  

Robin Hobb's three trilogies starting with Assassin's Apprentice are in line for her age. (edit to add: in line for age as in not inappropriate, not to say YA style of writing) And excellent books too.

Kathryn Kurtz Deryni books (again, refer to Fantastic Fiction for order) stand out still in my mind as stuff I read back when, and loved.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> Probably because I gave you the British spelling of the title out of habit. It's frustrating though with these price wars. All of his books used to be $6.99. Still worth it I think... I'll be buying them all on Kindle eventually myself.


Ah yes, there they are.  Thank you.


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

If you want old school fantasy that's teen friendly, try the Dragonlance Chrionicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. They were put out by TSR, back before Wizards bought them out, and even though they;'re based off of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign world, most people today consider them classics of the genre. Plenty of sword and sorcery action and adventure with strong characters both male and female. Highly recommended.


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## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

I second Wicked Lovely and anything by Weis&Hickman. Great reading!


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

One I'd forgotten about until just now:

The Alchemyst (Michael Scott)









Book four in the series releases 5/25--just a couple of hours away!

YA fantasy--there's a remarkable amount of good stuff in that category. This one is centered around a pair of 16 year old fraternal twins. The first book was another freebie last year, another one where I ended up buying the rest of them one after another, and pre ordering the last two at full price. "Free" has an odd way of turning out to be expensive when it comes to ebooks! LOL


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

From what you've described, I really think she'd like the original set of Dragonlance Novels. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if she fell in love with Raistlin Majere...

David Dalglish


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## Sienna_98 (Jan 26, 2009)

I'd recommend Emma Bull's War of the Oaks -- a classic!

It's been a while since I read them so I'm not sure about the 'adult content'  of the following: 

Charles de Lint's Riddle of the Wren and Moonheart (first in the Newford series) and Orson Scott Card (Alvin the Apprenticemaker series).  Card also does sci fi, but I'm more of a fantasy fan.  
Connie Willis has written some terrific alternate universe books:  Doomsday Book, Passages, and To Say Nothing of the Dog.


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## caracara (May 23, 2010)

To throw out some obvious: Lord of the Rings, and the Eragon series

I also love Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (although it has 5 books...)

Inkheart, InkSpell, Inkdeath (sp)

And the one I just read: Peter and the Starcatchers as well as Peter and the Shadow Thieves, followed by two more I have yet to read

And I give a loud second to House of Night​


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Awesome suggestions everyone. Thank you so much! Keep them coming if you have more. Can't have too many books waiting! She's only 16. She has years to read! LOL


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

Sherwood Smith also a good choice for Y/A ...she started out writing teen oriented fantasy, though in more cent works has veered towards more adult themes. But the Wrens World series was written with a Y/A audience in mind.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Thought of another author I read as a kid, Lois Duncan.  Not all of hers are paranormal, but some are, and there's usually a bit of (high school) romance in them.  And they're all great mysteries.


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## Toronto_LV (Apr 14, 2010)

Hello,

I think your 16 year old daughter would really enjoy the fantasy novel Firefly Island. It's full of adventure and very memorable characters.

I bought a copy for my cousin who is also 16, and she loved it. I always feel comfortable gifting this book to relatives, no matter how old they are, because of the absence of graphic adult content.

I myself really enjoy this book a lot, it's one of my favourites, so I don't think that it fits into any one age catagory.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518ogu63fNL._SL500_AA266_PIkin2,BottomRight,-17,34_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg


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## Kristen Painter (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm not sure how I forgot Shana Abe, but any of her Drakon books - Smoke Thief, Dream Thief, Queen of Dragons...that whole series is amazingly written, beautiful imagery, engaging characters, poetic language. I can't recommend those enough. They're some of the few books I actually buy in hardcover.


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## Labrynth (Dec 31, 2009)

The Prowlers series by Christopher Golden is pretty fun. An interesting take on the origin of the werewolf legends. 4 books in all, tho I don't believe they are in eBook format yet.

http://www.amazon.com/Prowlers-Christopher-Golden/dp/0743440145/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274833607&sr=8-8


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

So many interesting titles that I hadn't considered!

I do want to make it clear that they don't have to be YA. She reads adult novels as long as the sexual content is not graphic and they aren't scary books. Some romance or alluding to sex is fine. She just doesn't want to read who put what where, if you know what I mean.


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

EllenR said:


> So many interesting titles that I hadn't considered!
> 
> I do want to make it clear that they don't have to be YA. She reads adult novels as long as the sexual content is not graphic and they aren't scary books. Some romance or alluding to sex is fine. She just doesn't want to read who put what where, if you know what I mean.


Well in that case...try the belgariad by david Eddings.


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## Tracey (Mar 18, 2010)

I second the Belgariad series, I read them when I was about 15, so I think she would definitely love those.

Another series that no one has mentioned is

Obernewtyn: The Obernewtyn Chronicles 1 by Isobelle Carmody

I love this series and when I read it only the first 3 were released, but since then I think another 3 or more have been released. Definitely recommend these books and I will be going back and reading them again, just so I can read the rest of the series that I didn't know existed .


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## blackbelt (May 4, 2010)

I put a list on amazon of my fave non HP fantasy and sci-fi series... maybe you'd enjoy one of them. ;o)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AXTXS62QWEH73?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_4


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## bookoffers (Mar 2, 2010)

To name a few: 

Earthsea
Chronicles of Narnia
Harry Potter
His Dark Materials
A Song of Ice and Fire
Lord of the Rings
Tigana
The Time Traveler's Wife
Dragons Milk


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

bookoffers said:


> To name a few:
> 
> Earthsea
> Chronicles of Narnia
> ...


Considering her daughter doesn't like explicit sex in the books she reads, I think Song of Ice and Fire is soooo beyond anything she has/should/would want to read.

David Dalglish


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## Jeansaint (May 29, 2009)

jonconnington said:


> If you want old school fantasy that's teen friendly, try the Dragonlance Chrionicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. They were put out by TSR, back before Wizards bought them out, and even though they;'re based off of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign world, most people today consider them classics of the genre. Plenty of sword and sorcery action and adventure with strong characters both male and female. Highly recommended.


I would agree with these as good teen fantasy novels. They are what got me hooked on the fantasy genre when I was about 15. They have some violence as it is a good versus evil setting but from what I remember its minimal and not very graphic. Sex is non-existent and the focus is more on enduring love and relationships. I like the strong female characters and the stories are well written overall. Good recommendation, though I don't think they are out for the kindle yet.


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

bookoffers said:


> To name a few:
> 
> Earthsea
> Chronicles of Narnia
> ...


You might want to strike Tigana from that list...there are some pretty graohic sex scenes in it. And His Dark Materials is kid friendly, but might offend those with religious sensibilities.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I think Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series would be a good fit for her. Unfortunately, it is not available for Kindle, but there is a paperback omnibus edition with all 10 books (two 5-book series, with the first series being the better one). There is some violence, generally in terms of sword fights or military actions, but it is not very graphic at all compared to many newer books. Sexuality is much less prevalent, and is definitely not at all graphic (generally something like a single sentence with some metaphor implying that something happened). And, of course, it includes the marvelous wordsmithing of possibly my favorite author.


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## SarahDF84 (Apr 28, 2010)

I don't think these have been mentioned: I would recommend the Immortals series by Tamora Pierce. She has some other series as well, but this is my favorite. I read the first book when I was about 16, and when I finished the book I literally turned back to the first page and read it over again.
This is about a girl who discovers she can communicate with animals. There isn't really anything paranormal, it's more fantasy.


Also, Lisa Shearin's series is very good.


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## Rob Steiner (Apr 14, 2010)

Just adding my endorsement of the original Dragonlance novels by Weis & Hickman. They were the first fantasy books I ready when I was a kid, and I've been hooked on fantasy ever since. A timeless series.

Dragons of Autumn Twighlight
Dragons of Winter Night
Dragons of Spring Dawning


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## JennSpot (Feb 13, 2009)

Tiger's Curse...Colleen Houck
Tiger's Quest...Colleen Houck 

The Body Finder...Kimberly Derting

Hush, Hush...Becca Fitzpatrick

Sea Change...Aimee Friedman

Beautiful Creatures...Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Fallen...Lauren Kate

Moonstone...Marilee Brothers
Moonrise...Marilee Brothers

Shiver...Maggie Stiefvater

Deadly Little Lies...Laurie Faria Stolarz
Deadly Little Secret...LFS

Sorry I couldn't figure out how to make the nice links


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

bookoffers said:


> To name a few:
> 
> Earthsea [by Ursula K. Le Guin]
> ...


I'll second that, at least the original trilogy (_A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan,_ and _The Farthest Shore_). Truly a beautiful story beautifully written, and suitable for teens and old farts like me.


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

If your willing to look beyond traditional fantasy into paranormal romance, The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Meade might be a good choice. Teen oriented, but with a bit of an edge to keep it interesting...


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

You can't go wrong with the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. My daughter read them all around that age. Not that the movies were lacking, but the books are so much richer than the movies.


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## David Wood (Feb 17, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> Considering her daughter doesn't like explicit sex in the books she reads, I think Song of Ice and Fire is soooo beyond anything she has/should/would want to read.
> 
> David Dalglish


Agreed. SoIaF is one of my favorites, but there's way too much graphic... everything to be suitable for her daughter.

I'll third the Belgariad books.

Has anyone mentioned the Menolly books by Ann McCaffrey (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger...)?

I'm biased because she's my friend and published by my house, but Sherry Thompson's Seabird and Earthbow would be great choices- the writing is appropriate for a sixteen year-old who is an experienced reader, protagonists are teenagers, and there's nothing at all graphic or sexual. Just good, solid fantasy.

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins are amazing books. I don't know if they'd be the right fit for her. They center around forced battles to the death among teenagers, so there's killing, but it's not at all graphic, and the reader experiences the main character's struggles with what they have to do.

Finally, another friend and G'wood author, Jim Bernheimer, just released the first in his YA series Spirals of Destiny. It's about young girls who train to become unicorn-riding battle maidens. Good stuff. You can see a bit of Harry Potter influence, and it's not a "fluffy, girly" unicorn story.


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