Children's book recs sought! Queer Narrative Fictional Client Revealed!

[rachelmanija]

I need recommendations for books which are likely to appeal to an 11-year-old who likes sf, fantasy, and the Alex Rider series, AND to a 10-year-old who likes mysteries and Lemony Snicket. To clarify: a single book must appeal to BOTH kids.

On a completely different topic, I double-checked with my Queer Narrative professor, and got an okay to do a fictional therapy session with a queer character from a historical work. He said to just insert myself-as-therapist into their historical context. I am leaning toward one of the heroines in Sarah Waters' Fingersmith. Lots of issues regarding social narratives, personal "stories," "problem-saturated narratives," queerness, and "madness" there! (I could also counsel them as a couple, but we haven't yet gotten into couple's counseling so I don't feel on firm ground with that.)

Comments

[giandujakiss]

and got an okay to do a fictional therapy session with a queer character from a historical work.

You're writing a Mary Sue for school? (I don't mean that in a derogatory way - I think Mary Sues are awesome when they're well-written, and they sometimes are.)

[ursula]

Joan Aiken, maybe, on the book front?

[merrily]

I recommend Adrienne Kress' Alex & The Ironic Gentleman, which is a nice mix of fantasy and mystery, and has a very Matilda-esque main character. The reviews on Amazon are accurate re: the plot, and it feels very much like the Lemony Snicket books. (Lemony Snicket often stops to explain the words he's using; Kress does the same.)

[esther_asphodel]

The likeliest suggestion I can think of is the Theodosia series by R. L. LaFevers, a fantasy mystery series about a girl who senses curses in the museum where her parents work.

Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge or Coraline by Neil Gaiman might work.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw involves spying and political shenanigans in ancient Egypt, though that might appeal more the 11 year old.

[badgerbag]

I suggest The Cryptid Hunters. It was very engaging, has an orphaned brother-sister team who have to suddenly go live with their weird mad scientist/paleontologist/dinosaur-hunter uncle on his awesome private island with a mansion... There is a mystery and it's an exciting story.

The True Meaning of Smekday might also be good. It is somewhat less narratively complicated than Cryptid Hunters, and is about alien invasion and has a sort of Not-Disneyland theme to it. It's good but for someone who likes Stormbreaker I'd say Cryptid Hunters is a better fit (and not too disturbing for a 10 year old)

[badgerbag]

An older book... but a good one. What about The Weathermonger by Peter Dickinson? orphans - check. mystery - check. sf/fantasy elements (both!) And it is the right age.

[badgerbag]

Oh, god, one more. How about Whales on Stilts! It is SF! And it's extremely funny!

[princessofgeeks]

Oops, I replied in the wrong place.

Thought of one more: House In Hiding, by Lyon. Don't know if it's still in print.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

Maybe Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books for the 10 year old.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Fingersmith! Yes, please. I vote for Maud.

[forked.livejournal.com]

Hrm-
Skulduggery Pleasant (http://www.amazon.com/Skulduggery-Pleasant-Scepter-Ancients-ebook/dp/B003VIWNSU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329946200&sr=1-1) (series)
The True Meaning of Smekday (http://www.amazon.com/The-True-Meaning-of-Smekday/dp/B003FOOGCG/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329946325&sr=1-1-spell) (Highly rec'd!)
Midnight for Charlie Bone (http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-for-Charlie-Bone/dp/B0000YSMLU/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329946373&sr=1-2) (Red King series) Not a bad riff on HP
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ear,_the_Eye_and_the_Arm) (Highly rec'd)
I'm betting the Percy Jackson ones you already know.

My oldest nephew is only 7, so most of the stuff I've gotten him is a bit too young. But I'll snag stuff that's too old for him as long as I don't mind reading it now- and all of the above were at the least readable.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

The Name of This Book Is Secret (http://spectralbovine.livejournal.com/175056.html), by Pseudonymous Bosch. I love the Secret Series. It's clever and funny with a metafiction sensibility, a Snicket-y narrator and conceit, secret societies, evil organizations, time travel...and at one point a kid is possessed by the spirit of a samurai. It's great fun.

[derien.livejournal.com]

The Last Dragonslayer - Jasper Fforde
The Big Over Easy - Jasper Fforde
summary at Jasper Fforde's page. I LOVE these books (http://www.jasperfforde.com/dragon/dragon.html)

Only You Can Save Mankind - Terry Pratchett
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

Seconding Only You Can Save Mankind, and maybe also some Discworld? The Guard books come to mind. Also, maybe some Diana Wynne Jones, if they haven't gotten to those already - Archer's Goon might be a good place to start.

Also, omg, couple's therapy for Sue and Maud would be amazing. Where would you even begin?

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

There's a bunch of rec's for 13 year olds for SF over here:
http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/188984.html
Some of them might be of interest, depending on how at-age or over your kids are.

[naomikritzer]

For the kids: "The Mysterious Benedict Society."

[skygiants]

I second the person over at DW who said Joan Aiken! The Dido books are great for adventure, sense of the fantastic, and a totally bizarre sense of humor.

Other recs:

Philip Reeve's Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Outer Space, middle-grade steampunk with a tone exactly like what it sounds from the title (and with bonus adorable illustrations similar to what you get in the Series of Unfortunate Events)

Laurence Yep's City of Fire, a fantasy AU of the 1930's featuring an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to mythology and plotting, including tiny griffins, Kushite Amazons, and a dragon assassin disguised as a Pinkerton agent

[ejmam.livejournal.com]

How about the Sammy Keyes series? Good mystery, and a main character almost as independent as Alex Rider.

[lionpyh.livejournal.com]

The Ear, The Eye and the Arm! YES.

I love the Dido Twite books, but perhaps do not recommend them if you're looking for just 1 book, as they are best appreciated as accumulatively surreal.

The first book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series is fairly complete in itself, and I feel all children should be issued copies of the series before their morals have quite closed up, like fontanelles.

My favorite mystery ever (which I reread so many times in fifth grade that I can recite stray sentences) is Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game. It does not have super-serious spy action, but there is an immense amount of sneaking around and also several times things blow up.

(Gosh, what is going well in Sue and Maud's relationship that they'd like to see more of? As much as I love Fingersmith, I have never been able to believe in the ending.)

[rosefox]

Definitely Joan Aiken. Also maybe Heinlein's Red Planet but best to reread it first to check for, er, old-fashioned thinking.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place has a very Lemony Snicket style of voice-filled narrator, though it's less dark humor and more wry humor, as these things go. There are mild supernatural elements (that is, elements that are clearly supernatural to the reader, even if the protagonist is unaware that they are), entertainingly wacky antics among the children, and a 15-year-old protagonist to make up for it being a bit more MG than YA as these things go.