“My 17 year old daughter despises reading, and I’m looking for some good book recommendations that will get her interested. Do you have any series you recommend that would appeal to reluctant readers and help them see that reading can be fun? She loves adventure stories and wants to read books that are “exciting.””
Great question! The biggest thing with a reluctant reader is to help them try a huge variety of material from many different genres. I see that many times a child is given one particular theme or genre of reading material and, when it does not appeal to them, takes on the label that they “don’t enjoy reading.” While reading may not be everyone’s favorite thing to do, a different genre may have more appeal.
Understand what makes a book exciting in your child’s mind. It may not be the exact same thing you find exciting (it might even surprise you!), but is crucial you understand what makes your child want to read.
With that in mind, here are a few series that I highly recommend for young adults (and I consider them all exciting, to varying degrees). I have listed the first title in the series and the name of the entire series. Many of these authors have additional series.
~ DragonSpell (Dragon Keeper Chronicles) by Donita K Paul
~ Peter and the Starcatchers (Starcatchers Series) by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
~ The Disappearing Stranger (Adventures of the Northwoods Series) by Lois Walfrid Johnson
~ The Dragon’s Tooth (Ashtown Burials Series) by N.D. Wilson
~ Ambushed in Africa (A Daring Adventure Series) by Peter Reese Doyle