[ArtNJ]

I want to get this for my almost 10 year old, who has read lengthy books, albeit usually with big font. This would be a little more true YA than she has read, so I thought I better ask about appropriateness. I dont really care about a modicum of violence, but sex is a no. Thanks.

[Loerwyn]

Wrong section (It's sci-fi) ;)

Sex is not directly in it, and I don't remember it being hinted at, but I'd certainly not give the books to a 9 year old. Way too gritty, way too violent, way too... Yeah. They're aimed firmly at mid-late teens.

But you could always give her a copy of Among the Ghosts (http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32209), which I wrote about last month ;) That'd go down well, especially with Hallowe'en coming up.

[ArtNJ]

Thanks. She spends a minimum of 1 hour reading a day, and I'm super sick of spending 5.99 for her 20th Warriors book.

[Loerwyn]

Fair enough ;)

I think that even if she's very advanced for her age, there's plenty of books out there that are going to be much more suitable for her. The Hunger Games is aimed at 12+, I believe, but even then I'd be reluctant to give it to any but the most mature of that age because of the adult themes in it and the series, plus it's a fairly grim set of books.

I'm not really in a position where I can recommend much else as I tend to read YA fiction rather than the higher end of teen (Which the Hunger Games sort of is, it's on the border between teen and YA in my opinion). Have you tried looking at what comes up as similar items to Warriors on Amazon? There might be some good books there.

As always, though, if you're not sure I can only recommend you read the book first before you give it to her.

[offog]

(Which the Hunger Games sort of is, it's on the border between teen and YA in my opinion).

How do you distinguish teen from YA?

[Loerwyn]

How do you distinguish teen from YA?
Personally? Writing style and themes, sometimes publisher. The Hunger Games in the UK is on Scholastic which puts it firmly in the teen market, as that's what they publish. I know YA is arguably 14-21 (Which The Hunger Games would come under), but I personally think that's wrong. I would put teen as perhaps 11/12 thru 16, and then YA as 16-21.

It's not easy, hence why I sometimes get things wrong :p

[ArtNJ]

All I know is that books targeted at 9-12 tend to have huge font, and even if they are 250 pages, my daughter reads them in no time. She gets a lot from the library, and the grandparents give gift cards, but I'm still looking to get her to expand into stuff at a slightly higher level if its content-appropriate.

I have scratched Hunger Games off the list for now though -- sounds like it would be pushing too much.

[eygooglizer]

May I suggest the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis? I can't remember at exactly what age I read them, but they're pretty wholesome through and through.

They're not really sci-fi if that's what you were looking for, and they're pretty heavily Christian themed, if that's okay. There are quite a few of them, and would probably give your daughter something to read for a while.

[Pennarin]

Consider an eReader that uses eInk instead of a back-lighted screen to display a book. She can carry it anywhere, it doesn't clutter your house, and ebooks cost less than paper books. Good contenders are Barnes & Noble's Nook Simple Touch, or Amazon's latest 2011 touch version of its Kindle, which both do the same things. It is recommended to ad-unlock Amazon's eReader, which brings its price to the same as Barnes & Noble's.

For books, try these (target reading age 9-16; protagonist starts at 12, finishes the series aged 17):
The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 (http://www.amazon.com/Softwire-Virus-Orbis-1/dp/076363638X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b)
The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2 (http://www.amazon.com/Softwire-Betrayal-Orbis-2/dp/B0044KN284/ref=pd_sim_b_1)
The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3 (The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3)
The Softwire: Awakening on Orbis 4 (http://www.amazon.com/Softwire-Awakening-Orbis-4/dp/0763627127/ref=pd_sim_b_1)

Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Softwire) is the series' Wiki page, which also points to a tie-in free online video game that is meant to be useful and educational, but is not necessary to read the books. A synopsis for the first two novels is presented, which may help you get the pulse on sexual or violent content.

Here (http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/746/746949p1.html) are the first three chapters of The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 as read by Nathan Fillion.