Reluctant reader recommendations #3

Finding it hard to find the right books for a fussy Year 7 or 8 reader? Check out these suggestions.

Here is part three of a series where I make recommendations for specific genres of reluctant reading. This week I’m focussing on that tricky transition from primary school to high school. It can be a time where kids stop voluntarily visiting the library, and start to pull away from their past reading habits. How can we keep them going? With the right books, of course. And the right approach.

There is no right answer, but there are always lots of options to try. Don’t give up hope!

And while you’re here, just a reminder that I’d be so happy to help any of you paid subscribers with personalised suggestions for all kinds of readers (including yourself!), so please feel free to reach out any time.

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Something for: the kid who has read all of the Raina Telgemeier books, and doesn’t want to move on.

The right book:

Chickenpox by Remy Lai

Why it will work:

I think a lot of adults try to get young people to move away from graphic novels, and it can often end up having the opposite effect. The more we push, the harder they may push back. And they’re strong. You may find yourself with a staunch non-reader on your hands.

Instead, I think we should lean into the graphic novel era.

Rather than trying to force kids away from graphic novels at a pivotal time in their reading journey, and especially when they’ve just started high school and their love of books might start to falter, let’s just try and broaden their horizons a bit more. Gently. Carefully. Attempt to get them onto a new author, a new genre, even a new style of art. Anything that’s a little different to the thing they’re stuck on. Even if it’s just one tiny step towards another path.

Something I like to remind these comic-loving kids is that a lot of their reading tends to be pretty American. They should consider trying something closer to home, to support local artists and the small-but-mighty Australian graphic novel industry.

Remy Lai is a great place to start! Her new book, Chickenpox, is perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Terri Libenson, Kaya Miller, Shannon Hale, and other popular US graphic novelists.

I would also suggest Remi Lai’s other brilliant graphic novels, Read At Your Own Risk and the award-winning Ghost Book. And then take a look at some other homegrown artists, such as Campbell Whyte, Sarah Winifred Searle, Aśka, and Brenton E. McKenna.

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Something for: the middle-grader who thinks they’re ready for young adult fiction, but maybe isn’t quite there yet.

The right book:

Thunderhead by Sophie Beer

Why it will work:

This is such a tricky type of reluctant reader! And something that I have come across a lot in my time at school libraries. It’s usually a kid in early high school who, on the surface, is a half-decent reader. They’ve read a lot of contemporary middle grade stuff but now they think they’re ready for something a little more grown-up. They’ve watched a lot of BookTok and read some fan fiction. They’re seeking books that are a bit darker, with more complex themes.

I find they usually want something sad or heartbreaking, something edgy about complicated families or messy friendships, or even some kind of trauma. Mental illness, or dead parents, or online bullying. But—and this is the hard part—you know in your heart that they’re not quite ready for it. And it may do more harm than good for them to dive in the deep end on some heavy topics.

I am not in the habit of censoring books for kids in high school. If a reader like this tried to borrow something more advanced, I would let them. I would make sure they knew the content of the book, and encourage them to put it down if they found it too uncomfortable or confronting. I would urge them to show their parents what they were reading, and discuss it with them. I would scaffold it as best I could without restricting their access to whatever book they thought they wanted.

But I might also gently suggest something that falls neatly in-between middle grade and young adult. Something like Thunderhead.

Drawing on Sophie Beer's own experience of hearing loss, this indelible illustrated middle grade novel about music, disability, friendship and fandom is immediately engaging, utterly authentic and entirely unputdownable.

I’ve written about this book before in my newsletter, but I will continue to recommend it. It’s the perfect read for those Year 7s and 8s who are working out how to survive high school, and need something to lightly guide them along. As well as something that covers some more mature themes in a sensitive way.

Some other things I’d give this type of reader include: