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Book recs?
Does anyone have...
Does anyone have any recommendations for fun, light reads for teenagers? There seem to be so few of those nowadays :( I keep running out of new, happy, clean books. Innocent romance is fine too :) Do any of y'all have any suggestions?
"I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith.
Admin
submitted by Amethyst, age books
(May 8, 2023 - 7:55 pm)
(May 8, 2023 - 7:55 pm)
Tysm, admins! I've read other books by Dodie Smith and liked them, so I'll definitely look for this one :)
You're welcome. I got a copy from a little free library in a small town train station. It's an old book, but I loved it!
Admin
(May 9, 2023 - 7:13 pm)
(May 9, 2023 - 7:51 pm)
There's actually a website that my mother discovered and it really helped me because I love teen books but I find they often have content I don't really want to read.
Here's a few books I really enjoyed, specifically from that website, but also from finding them at the library:
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon--really clean romance, one of my favorite realistic fiction novels.
A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass--I loved this book, and the author is really good, it's just that her other series, The Selection, was incredible but also....decidedly not clean. So I was really excited when this book came out.
Blood Numbers by C.F. Kreitzer--mild violence in this one, and a kind of creepy title, but I liked it.
This Dreamer by Sara Watterson--so. good. It's a sci-fi fantasy romance, light though.
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim--this one is by far my favorite more recent fantasy novel, and it's actually a duology, but the first one is the best.
If you want I can write more, but the website I found has so many clean novels I got overwhelmed in a good way. The entire site is geared toward giving clean reads to teens (some books for adults as well that are also clean) and it really really helped me.
Sorry Amarillis, we don't allow links to other websites on the CB. But it's great that the site has been a helpful resource to you! - Admin
(May 10, 2023 - 9:44 am)
"The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia" by Kingfisher Publishing.
(May 11, 2023 - 6:00 pm)
Thanks for your suggestions, all of you!! I'll see if I can find those books :)
(May 12, 2023 - 8:33 pm)
Love and Gelato, by jenna evans welch
that's like, the book that I read when I'm sad and just want something with very little conflict and much much happiness.
(May 13, 2023 - 7:39 am)
*cries* NOOOO I just finished reading it (I was partly influenced by your recommendation) and now I can't read anything new about Lina and Ren and Howard and Hadley anymore and idk what I'm going to doooooo. If it weren't for the fact that there's also Love and Luck, which is about Addie and Ian and might mention Lina, I would be feeling really sad right now... even as it is I feel awfully sad about finishing that book.
Also, a warning: I enjoyed Love and Gelato for the most part, BUT there was one scene in it which I do not consider appropriate for anyone under fifteen (I skipped it myself as soon as I saw it wasn't going anywhere good).
(July 3, 2023 - 8:44 pm)
I agree with the admin! I have a hard time finding YA books that aren't a) full of bad romance b) full of violence and depression or c) just...not good. So I mostly stick to middle grade. Some of my favorite YA books are Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating and The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar; very similar vibes, innocent queer romance set in Ireland.
(May 13, 2023 - 4:56 pm)
Diana Wynne Jones! I've only read two of her books, but she seems to be pretty light and funny but still excellent teenage reading material. fantasy!
the Tiffany Aching series is good too, very funny; but the first couple books are much better. Terry Pratchett. Also fantasy. Terry Pratchett in general seems to be really good; his books (mostly all in the same universe as Tiffany; the series is called Discworld) are, some of them, probably slightly less clean/more "adult", as that's who they were primarily written for, but definitely okay for teenagers, in my opinion.
(May 16, 2023 - 9:31 pm)
Wow! Finally somone who has read Terry Prachett books! I usually listen to them via audiobook. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is a great book, too. The Discworld series is definantly one of my book series.
(May 25, 2023 - 10:06 pm)
Oh, I love Terry Pratchett too! I thought Artemis was the only one on here who liked his books :)
(May 26, 2023 - 4:57 pm)
Thanks, y'all! @Phoenix Tears, I think I've heard of Love & Gelato - I'll definitely look for it :) @Lupine and Artemis, I've never heard of those books, but they sound interesting! Thanks :D
(May 20, 2023 - 7:35 pm)
Thank you so much for starting this thread, Amethyst. I can't wait to get the books I decided to check out! I hope I come across the website you mentioned as it sounds like a really nice resource. If you don't mind, I may come on here asking for more suggestions later on.
(May 21, 2023 - 9:23 pm)
I have a few great recommendations for you. There are also a couple good series, too.
I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Lee Wilson. This book is set in Mongolia about a girl on a mission to keep her horse.
Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. Fantasy series in the future with great characters. It has a few side romances as well as the main one.
Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery. Very good series about Anne Shirley and a clean romance as well. I have only got to the 5th book but hoping to finish the series.
Little House on the Praire series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. If you haven't already read these books, I suggest you do. It starts in Wisconsin and ends in Kansas.
My Side of the Mountain series by Jean Craighead George. Great adventure series set in the Catskill Mountains.
(May 25, 2023 - 10:02 pm)
I've read the last three books on your list (including the rest of the series), Nerissa, and I loved them. I am going to check out the first two on your list.
(May 26, 2023 - 10:33 am)