Classic SFF for Age 12
Just a note. I meant to write this as one post for kids age 12 or so and up. But then it got long. Like 20 books long with great descriptions and things. It was over 3 pages single spaced in google docs. So I broke it into three or maybe four, and will post them all separately.
I am SO excited to write this post. 12 is a magical age to me. It’s the beginning of the transition from child into adult, the ending of Elementary school and beginning of Secondary education. Kids at this age are so excited for life and ready to try new things. And of course that also means they’re usually ready for new and exciting categories of books. When I actually wandered my shelves trying to decide what to include here and just picking books off, I came up with 20. In less than 5 minutes. I literally have a pile of books sitting behind me wondering why they are off the shelf (okay, I actually hope they aren’t that aware. But still…). Looking at my pile(s) I’m going to break this into three categories, which will each have their own post: Foundational SFF (oldies that are still relevant and good), Young Adult (though a couple might not have been intended for YA initially), and Dystopian. There is some overlap of these general categories, so if they’re not classified the way you would in your head, that’s totally cool. Most of these stories have “coming of age” themes, whatever category they’re in. Let me know how I could do it better. And because this post is going to be miles long, I’m going to just jump in.
Foundational Science Fiction and Fantasy
1. The Lord of the Rings* trilogy by JRR Tolkien. The Father of modern Fantasy is a great read at this age, though it can be tough to get through with all the poetry that doesn’t make sense and language that is much more formal than what is used for most fiction today. It’s still a classic series and after reading it you’re much better able to see where some inspiration comes from in the genre even to books released today. (and if they don’t like the poems, it’s okay to skip most of them. Shh, don’t tell on me!)
2. Dune* by Frank Herbert. Like LOTR, Dune is foundational to Science Fiction. The story is great, though again it’s older and not how we would write now. The biggest detractor is really the omniscient narrator. I didn’t read this until a few years ago and I really wish I had read it decades ago. The rest of the series I hear mixed reviews about, but the book stands well on its own.
3. The Belgariad by David Eddings, beginning with Pawn of Prophecy. If LOTR is difficult, try this. It’s from the 80’s and not quite as complicated writing as Tolkien. But the major themes of fantasy are easy to pick out, most especially the Chosen One is front and center. This is a 5 book series, with a 5 book sequel series and two stand alone novels tho accompany it.
4. Ender’s Game* by Orson Scott Card. I looked to see when this originally came out, and the initial copyright is from 1977, and then 1985. So it fits nicely into this category, even though it’s still quite relevant today. Which makes sense since Card is still writing in this world now. The book stands well alone, but there are 3 others in the OG series, a Shadows series that follows other characters, and two prequel trilogies (though I’m not sure if the second one is finished yet or not). So a lot to read in this world if you love it.
5. The Giver* by Lois Lowry. This is a great light introduction to the dystopian genre. From the early 90’s it doesn’t have some of the darker elements of the genre (like 1984 or something) but has many of those themes. This won the Newberry award in 1993 and is an overall excellent book. It has 3 books that follow after, but they’re not directly connected and are fine to go without.
*These books have film adaptations. Quality for some is excellent, but remember that the book is ALWAYS better.
