Celtic Goddess ([info]skeleigh) wrote in [info]yalitlovers,
@ 2007-10-28 11:09:00
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Help, please!
I just joined this community and am hoping that some of you can help me out. I have a 13 y/o daughter who has recently "discovered" YA vampire books. When I say recently, I mean like two months ago. Since then she has read the following:

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse
The Morganville Vampires (books 1 & 2)
The Vampire Diaries (books 1 & 2)
Vampire Kisses (books 1-3)
Secret Circle (books 1 & 2)
Sweep (books 1-4)

She's read all of these, plus a few manga thrown in for fun, since August. She's reading Twilight for the second time now because she doesn't know what she wants to read next.

I need recs of other similar series. For Christmas I'd like to buy her the first book in a few different series. Then she can use her money to buy the next books in whichever series she decides she likes. She really enjoys books about vampires, but other paranormal themes are good too.

Now here are *MY* requirements (sorry, but the mom in me has to rear her ugly head now): no sex. Period. After all, she is only 13. References to sex are ok, but actual detailed sex scenes are out. Preferably no drug use, although drug references are ok since that is real world. I have no issue with cursing. Wicca is fine also. I am reading the book "Tithe" by Holly Black right now as my daughter asked me to read it first to see if it was age appropriate. I'll be honest - I'm not impressed so far. The smoking/drug use/sexual references I think are geared more toward the 16+ age group (example: when one character asks another if she's ever seen an uncircumcised d*@k, I was a little put off).

I think that is all. Hope I'm not annoying everyone with my request!

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[info]ohhjuliet
2007-10-28 03:43 pm UTC (link)
I completely understand your concerns, being the mother of a 14 year old girl myself...and I'll admit, the first few times I read some of the sexual references, etc. in some of today's young adult literature, I was a little... well, it took me a few minutes to remember that this wasn't the same time as when I was a kid, and Judy Blume's Forever wasn't the most scandalous thing I could get my hands on.

Working in a high school and middle school, I also get a completely close-up look at these kids, and these things are part of their reality, even if that's not what we'd wish for them.

I maintain a very open relationship with my daughter, and she's always come to me, confided in me and asked me questions that inside make me cringe, but I'm grateful that she comes to me instead of seeking out the answers elsewhere.

I do get where you're coming from, being put off by some of what you're seeing in books, but truthfully, I'd rather she (my daughter) have the knowledge to make the right decisions and keeping her from reading certain books isn't going to keep those things from being part of her reality. It may, in fact, give her something to think about.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 03:59 pm UTC (link)
Oh, my daughter and I have a completely open relationship also. We've been down the road of peer pressure, sexually active friends, drug-using friends, etc. Trust me - two years of Texas Public Schools was quite the eye-opener for all of us!

I have no issues with most of the books she reads. But, as in the book "Tithe", having a guy touch the lead character's crotch, and then her talking about liking it, is still a little much for a 13-year-old I think. I'd prefer she exercise her imagination in other ways. As I said, references to sex are acceptable. Detailed sex isn't. If I wanted her to read that I'd just hand over all of my Sherrilynn Kenyon and J.R. Ward vampire romances!

I do have the luxury of knowing she talks to me about this stuff when she reads it. Most of the time, as with the Twilight series, I read them before her anyway. But I'd like to find recommendations from other kids her age.

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[info]ilonga
2007-10-28 03:48 pm UTC (link)
You let her read Twilight series? I don't think Bella (the main character) is a good example for young girls, really... She's so man-depending and she choose death instead life and be with her family... I don't know...

There's a book that I highly recommend to your daughter now that she's so in to vampires books, you know: "eternal life, eternal youth, eternal beauty"

The book is: Tuck Everlasting
http://www.planetbookclub.com/kids/tucksrc.html
The book is about a girl who meet and fall in love with an immortal boy and then she have to make a choice between life and immortality.
There's a movie too with Alexis Bledel and Jonathan Jackson as the main couple.

PS- I love vampires book too, don't misunderstood me, and I read them since I was 13 too. It just that Twilight is the first vampire book about teenagers that I read and Bella's choice shocked me.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 04:03 pm UTC (link)
The funny thing is that my daughter thinks Bella is a big wuss! I think Bella is an excellent character in that she shows what NOT to be. My daughter is a very confident, non-dependent girl. Reading about Bella irritates her. But she likes Edward and the fact that he's not willingly letting Bella throw her life away. I don't think that all books my daughter reads need to give her an example of what TO be. Examples of what not to be are good as well.

As for Tuck Everlasting - she's read that, and seen the movie. But thanks for the rec.

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[info]ilonga
2007-10-28 04:33 pm UTC (link)
blah, maybe is just me because I'm SO mad at her for left Jacob behind :p
there's Meg Cabbot book too:
The Mediator series and Jinxs.
In the Mediator a girl fall in love with a ghost and in Jinx the main character is a teen witch.

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[info]ilonga
2007-10-28 04:56 pm UTC (link)
and Avalon High by Meg Cabot (sorry for keep writing replies)
It's not vampire related but is kind of a paranormal romance. It's about a girl who met a boy that is the "re-encarnation" (I don't know if that's the correct word, but in Spanish is "reencarnación") of King Arthur so she find herself involved in a series of weird events related with the arthurian legends. It have a sequel writing in manga style, but I didn't read it yet, so I don't know if it good or not.
this is Meg's official page:
http://www.megcabot.com/
I'm 26 and I love her books, so maybe your daughter will love her to ;)

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 05:45 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! I've added Avalon High and Jinx to my list of books to buy for Christmas.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-11-22 02:12 pm UTC (link)
I had to come back and reply to this again. Since I posted here, my daughter has read Avalon High (loved it), and is now reading the first of The Mediator series and is enjoying that also.

So thanks for the great recs!

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[info]ilonga
2007-11-26 03:56 am UTC (link)
you're welcome!
LOL I knew your daughter would like Avalon High XDD I've read that book about three times since I bought it. I love it!

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[info]be_tru2388
2007-10-28 04:06 pm UTC (link)
Look into books by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. I haven't read them in several years, but I don't recall any sex or drugs at all, aside from the general sensuality that comes along with the vampire genre (licking necks when biting victims, things like that). Atwater-Rhodes actually published her first book when she was thirteen, so they're very good for early teens. Not brilliantly written or anything, but a lot of fun. I enjoyed her stuff a lot when I was in middle school.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 05:47 pm UTC (link)
Are Atwater-Rhodes' books a series, or stand alone stories?

I'll check them out - thanks.

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[info]be_tru2388
2007-10-28 08:19 pm UTC (link)
From what I recall, they all take place in an over-arching universe she created, and there's some characters that show up in multiple novels, but no one book needs to be read to understand the others. In the Forests of the Night, Demon in My View, and Shattered Mirror were my favorites of hers.

She does have a series now, I understand, but to my knowledge it doesn't deal with vampires.

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[info]nikiburnham
2007-10-28 04:22 pm UTC (link)
You might also consider Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR series. They're not vampires, but someone who likes reading vampire books would be likely to enjoy those. The main character can see the dead and realizes there's an 1800s cowboy living in her bedroom. The books have action and a ton of humor.

There's also a book coming up in the spring you might like called SLEEPLESS by Terri Clark. So that's one for your "future" list.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 04:32 pm UTC (link)
Great, thanks - I'll check out Cabot's books!

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[info]robbiewriter
2007-10-28 04:38 pm UTC (link)
Have you tried the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz? It's a good teen vamp series, nothing to scandalous for a thirteen year old...I think, it's been a few years, though.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 05:47 pm UTC (link)
I added Blue Bloods to my list for Christmas for her - thanks!

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[info]e_lockhart
2007-10-28 05:19 pm UTC (link)
Teen vampire books I like:

Thirsty by MT Anderson.
And Peeps by Scott Westerfeld. (I would read this one first if I were you. It's very very well-written, but may be a bit old for your daughter at 13)
Blood & Chocolate (werewolf) and SIlver Kiss (vampire) by Annette Kurtis Klause are very good, too.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 05:46 pm UTC (link)
Silver Kiss - I forgot to add that one to the list of books she's read since August, but she just finished it a couple weeks ago. I'll check out the others though - thanks!

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Peeps
[info]aecurtis
2007-10-29 06:51 pm UTC (link)
I don't know about Peeps. I love Scott Westerfeld but the main character is college aged in Peeps, and he talks about vampirism being an STD. But Midnighters (another series by Scott Westerfeld) would be an excellent series. No sex. No vamps either still supernatural. It's about these kids who fight monsters during an extra hour of the day that only they can see.

Another good book depending on how mature your 13 year old is would be Sweet Blood by Pete Hautman. It's about a vampire obsessed 16 year old diabetic girl whose life gets out of control when she falls in with a crowd of people who claim to know a "real life" vampire. We just did a book discussion on this and the group was 12-15 that read it. But,a few of our 12 year olds bowed out of the discussion because they thought it was a bit advanced for them.

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Re: Peeps
[info]skeleigh
2007-11-22 02:14 pm UTC (link)
Just as a follow up - since I posted here, my daughter has read the first of the Midnighters series and loved it! Thanks for the rec!

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[info]jonstephens
2007-10-28 05:21 pm UTC (link)
Thirsty by M.T. Anderson has vampires.

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[info]jonstephens
2007-10-28 05:22 pm UTC (link)
PEEPS by Scott Westerfeld, and the sequel LAST DAYS, are about vampires.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 05:46 pm UTC (link)
I've seen Peeps in Borders - I may get that one and read it myself first. I'll check out M.T. Anderson while I'm there. Thanks!

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[info]brainysmurf
2007-10-28 08:58 pm UTC (link)
This doesn't have vampires, but maybe the Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing? Lots of supernatural stuff... MAYBE a little bit of relationship stuff (kissing, etc.), but no sex or explicit talk.

Also, maybe Blood and Chocolate? I've heard it's excellent BUT I haven't read it, so I don't know what sort of content it has -- perhaps you might want to read it first to see?

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[info]brainysmurf
2007-10-28 08:59 pm UTC (link)
(Oh, and btw, you definitely weren't "annoying" in your request -- I'm the owner of this community and this is exactly the kind of entries I like to see... plus reader's advisory is one my favorite things to do in my job (I'm a librarian) :))

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[info]skeleigh
2007-10-28 09:12 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! It's always a risk when you join a community and then immediately post a request!

A couple other people mentioned Blood and Chocolate so I think I will get that one and read it. Maxx has actually read the first 9 books of the Daughters of the Moon series and then (oddly) she lost interest in them. I'm not sure why though.

A librarian, eh? My dream job! Either that or owning my own book store!

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[info]brainysmurf
2007-10-28 09:16 pm UTC (link)
Yep :) For the most part I love what I do -- especially when I'm working with kids and teens, which is about half my job. There's definitely downsides to working at a library -- lots of politics to have to wade through, and of course, all customer service jobs have their downsides. But yep, for the most part, I love my job :)

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[info]iremos
2007-10-29 12:43 am UTC (link)
Definitely get Uninvited by Amanda Marrone:

http://www.amazon.com/Uninvited-Amanda-Marrone/dp/1416939784

It's the kind of vampire fiction I think both you and your daughter could live with. It's fab.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-11-22 02:16 pm UTC (link)
I'm adding this one to the list - thank you!

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[info]betheliz
2007-10-29 02:30 pm UTC (link)
I second Peeps by Westerfeld and Silver Kiss. I'll add to it the Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld (first book is The Secret Hour. It isn't vampires, but a group of kids who were all born at exactly midnight and thus have this special power that at midnight they get an extra hour in the day where they have magical powers. However, they also have to battle scary creatures for it.

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[info]skeleigh
2007-11-22 02:18 pm UTC (link)
She has now read the first in The Midnighters series and loved it and already has the second one purchased and added to the stack of "to be read" books in her room!

Thanks!

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[info]cedarlibrarian
2007-10-29 02:59 pm UTC (link)
My favorite YA vampire novel may be Vampire High by Douglas Rees. It's very funny and clean, with lots of wordplay and, if this sort of thing matters, a positive message.

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[info]gina227
2007-10-29 10:52 pm UTC (link)
They're out of print, but if you can find them, LJ Smith's Night World series is awesome. The only downside is that the last book in the series was never published, but it doesn't take away from the rest of the books being excellent. If your daughter liked The Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle, she'll like these as well. As for finding them, try eBay and www.paperbackswap.com.

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[info]wordsrmylife
2007-10-30 12:19 am UTC (link)
Its been a couple years since I read it, but you might want to check out Blood and Chocolate. If it isn't right for your daughter this year, it will be in a year or so.

Also, take a look at Sweet Blood, which is not so much a fantasy, but has to do with a theory that vampires were really undiagnosed diabetics. The girl in it plays with the whole vampire thing. It's contemporary fiction, but with vampire elements. No actual sex that I remember, and I read it just a couple months ago. But again, I was reading it with a high school audience in mind.

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[info]readingfanatic
2008-04-14 07:00 am UTC (link)
Hi, I don't belong to the community that you posted this in, but I was browsing looking for some young adult books and I love vampire books and have gotten into Stephenie Meyer's series and The Vampire Diaries. I was curious, do you happen to know the authors of the Vampire Kisses series, the Secret Circle series, and Sweep series? I'd like to check into them. Thanks!

Amy

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[info]skeleigh
2008-04-14 12:39 pm UTC (link)
The Sweep series is by Cate Tiernan. Vampire Kisses is by Ellen Schreiber. Secret Circle is by L.J. Smith (these are out of print I think, so you may have to look for them used on Amazon or another book swap site like BookCrossing.com or paperbackswap.com).

Enjoy!

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[info]readingfanatic
2008-04-14 03:12 pm UTC (link)
Thank you so much! :)

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