Suggested Books List for Reluctant Readers 14-19 ... - Unitas Cymru
Suggested Books List for Reluctant Readers 14-19 ... - Unitas Cymru
Suggested Books List for Reluctant Readers 14-19 ... - Unitas Cymru
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<strong>Suggested</strong> <strong>Books</strong> <strong>List</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Reluctant</strong> <strong>Readers</strong> <strong>14</strong>-<strong>19</strong><br />
This list was devised to offer some basic guidance as to suggested book titles<br />
that young people might find enjoyable. An individual's choice and taste in books<br />
and reading materials is evidently very personal, and in this age range reading<br />
preferences are developed in relation to favourite authors, styles, and genres,<br />
and ideally, books should complement other favourite reading materials such as<br />
magazines, comics and even online content. People become reluctant readers<br />
out of habit, either because they find books daunting or even irrelevant to their<br />
lives. It is there<strong>for</strong>e very challenging to suggest reading lists <strong>for</strong> young people<br />
because their interests and preferences vary so widely. The books I have listed<br />
should only be used as a guide, and they are suggested titles in the sense that I<br />
believe they will be the sort of books which reluctant readers will find easy to pick<br />
up and start reading (be it in the middle or beginning of the story!) and accessible<br />
in the sense that they are books which I hope people will go on reading, and<br />
perhaps lead on to other books of the same type, genre or author. Amazon<br />
(www.amazon.co.uk) is helpful as it recommends other books to read next and<br />
don't <strong>for</strong>get that your library service's children and young people's librarians are<br />
very knowledgeable about books!<br />
However, <strong>for</strong> anyone contemplating providing a collection of books <strong>for</strong> young<br />
people the first consideration should be to ask what their interests are, what they<br />
are currently reading and enjoying and who or what they find interesting (TV,<br />
films, sports, celebrities or other interests).<br />
I have given an indication of age appropriateness, but titles are pretty much<br />
interchangeable between the <strong>14</strong>-16 or 16-18 age bands, with the latter reflecting<br />
mainly adult subject matter. I have also given an idea of the content that will help<br />
in gauging appeal to a male or female readership.<br />
Nia Gruffydd B.A. MCLIP<br />
October 2009<br />
English Book <strong>List</strong><br />
<strong>14</strong> 16<br />
Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers (9780330456456 - £5.99)<br />
Written as a series of notes left on the fridge door between a busy mother and<br />
her 15-year-old daughter during the course of a year, in which everything<br />
suddenly changes. This book is a moving portrayal of the relationship between<br />
people, how precious life is and how we dont realize it at the time. Also try<br />
Be<strong>for</strong>e I Die by Jenny Downham (9781862304871 - £6.99) a heartrending novel<br />
about 16 year old Tessa who is suffering from terminal cancer, but who starts<br />
compiling a list of all the things she wants to do be<strong>for</strong>e she dies.
Are These My Basoomas I See Be<strong>for</strong>e Me? (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson)<br />
by Louise Rennison (9780007277339 - £10.99 - paperback due 4.02.2010)<br />
The tenth and final installment of Georgias hilarious diary. Outrageous and funny<br />
and very readable! Also try Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging<br />
(9780007218677 - £6.99) by the same author and in the same series.<br />
Macbeth - The Graphic Novel (978<strong>19</strong>06332037 - £9.99)<br />
A full and unabridged colour graphic novel of William Shakespeare's dramatic<br />
and gripping tale of murder and witchcraft, Macbeth. Also try Manga<br />
Shakespeare: Macbeth (9780955285660- £7.99) a fusion of classic<br />
Shakespeare with manga visuals where Samurai warriors have reclaimed a<br />
future post-nuclear world of mutants. Other titles available in both series.<br />
Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs (9780224046626 - £9.99) is a funny and<br />
warm portrayal of the authors parents from their first meeting in <strong>19</strong>28 to the end<br />
of their lives in <strong>19</strong>71, told in colour comic strip <strong>for</strong>mat, and which also chronicles<br />
a lot of historical events such as the Second World War and the coming of<br />
television, as seen through their eyes. Also try the Daniel X series by James<br />
Patterson about fifteen-year-old alien hunter Daniel X who is on a mission to<br />
finish the job that killed his parents - to wipe out the world's most bloodthirsty<br />
aliens on The <strong>List</strong>, which is also in colour comic strip <strong>for</strong>mat.<br />
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon<br />
(9780099450252- £7.99). This is a really absorbing novel told through the eyes<br />
of Christopher, who is an intelligent fifteen year old who also happens to have<br />
Aspergers Syndrome. When the dog next door is killed with a garden <strong>for</strong>k,<br />
Christopher decides to track down the killer and write a murder mystery about it.<br />
Lord Loss by Darren Shan (9780007<strong>19</strong>3202- £6.99) of the Demonata Series is<br />
a supernatural horror story guaranteed to scare, or try the creepy vampire thriller<br />
set in the woods of old Eastern Europe My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus<br />
Sedgwick (9781842555583-£6.99). Also try the popular Vampire Diaries series<br />
by L.J. Smith.<br />
Bloodline by Kevin Brooks (9781842992029 - £4.99)<br />
Finbar is spending a long, dreary Saturday afternoon indoors with his dad,<br />
grandfather and great grandfather when suddenly a girl with a gun bursts into the<br />
house and holds them all hostage. A gripping story with an unexpected ending.<br />
Another in the same Barrington Stoke range of short, accessible novels <strong>for</strong> young<br />
people is Prisoner in Alcatraz by Theresa Breslin (9781842994962-£4.99)<br />
about Marty who has ended up in Alcatraz prison a place where escape is<br />
impossible. One day his fellow inmates devise an escape plan, and it seems so<br />
simple. Also try Text Game by Kate Cann (978184299<strong>14</strong>80 - £4.99) about Mel,<br />
whose life seems great until she start receiving a lot of nasty text messages<br />
suggesting her new boyfriend Ben is cheating on her.
Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz (Ravens Gate (9781844286<strong>19</strong>5 -<br />
£6.99), Evil Star (9781844286201 - £6.99), Nightrise (9781844286218 -£6.99)<br />
and Necropolis (978<strong>14</strong>06321081- £6.99) so far) Anthony Horowitz is a<br />
marvellous storyteller and this gripping series combines the supernatural with<br />
adventure and horror. The Old Ones are still a threat to the safety of the world,<br />
and only five young people spread across the world, have the powers to stop<br />
them. Trouble is, they dont realize it<br />
If you have enjoyed these books, other exciting page-turners to try are Anthony<br />
Horowitz's Alex Rider series about a teenage spy, James Patterson's Maximum<br />
Ride series, the Jimmy Coates series by Joe Craig, or the Henderson's Boys<br />
series by Robert Muchamore.<br />
Ramboy by Bethan Gwanas (9780862439934 - £3.95)<br />
A very funny novel about Dewi who starts to suspect that something very odd is<br />
happening to him, and with dawning horror realizes that every night, he changes<br />
<strong>for</strong>m not into a werewolf but into a sheep! Can he keep his terrible secret<br />
from his family, and how on earth does he get back to being a normal teenage<br />
boy?<br />
Dark Tales from the Woods Daniel Morden (9781843235835 - £8.99)<br />
Tales retold by the Welsh storyteller Daniel Morden from originals by the<br />
renowned gypsy storyteller Abram Wood, these tales are dark and sometimes<br />
gruesome, but completely gripping, and will appeal to all ages.<br />
Poems with Attitude : Uncensored Andrew Fusek Peters and Polly Peters<br />
(978-0750252171 - £5.99).<br />
16 18<br />
One Good Turn by Chris Ryan (9780099522348 - £1.99)<br />
A title in the Quick Reads series, a soldier of WWI comes round to realize that<br />
not only is he facing possible execution but that he is a victim of mistaken<br />
identity. He suddenly remembers what happened to him but time is running out<br />
and he has to get help quickly. Also try Blackwater by Conn Iggulden<br />
(9780007221660 - £2.99), a well-paced story about Davey whose life is made<br />
hell by two violent men intent on scaring him off, but with a twist at the end. Also,<br />
The Dare by John Boyne (9780552775298 - £1.99), a story told through the eyes<br />
of twelve year old Danny, whose mother returns home one day having<br />
accidentally run over a small boy with her car, and suddenly, the whole family life<br />
changes.
Team Calzaghe by Michael Pearlman (978<strong>19</strong>07016370 - £1.99 publication<br />
date March 2010)<br />
A <strong>for</strong>thcoming title in the Quick Reads series about boxer Joe Calzaghe, who<br />
stands as one of the greatest sportsman in British history, having been a world<br />
champion <strong>for</strong> over a decade. Team Calzaghe is about the amazing success of<br />
the Calzaghes and their boxing family.<br />
Chart Throb by Ben Elton (9780552773768-£6.99) is a very funny comedy novel<br />
about the truth behind TV reality shows watching the X-Factor will never be the<br />
same again! Also try Blind Faith (9780552773904 - £6.99), another black<br />
comedy novel by the same author about a future world where nothing is private<br />
and everyone is expected to tell the world about everything thats happening to<br />
them, through the Internet.<br />
The Ultimates volume 1: Super-human by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch<br />
(9780785109600 - £8.50) a graphic novel with a gripping plot and stunning<br />
artwork rebooting some of the most well known Marvel characters. Also try the<br />
Ultimate X-Men series by Mark Millar.<br />
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (9780552159715- £7.99)<br />
A murder-mystery thriller that is a real page-turner. It begins with a murder in the<br />
Louvre museum in which the victim manages to leave gruesome clues at the<br />
scene that only his daughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert<br />
Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle.<br />
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (9780330485388 - £7.99)<br />
<strong>14</strong>-year-old Susie Salmon is lured into a cornfield and brutally raped and<br />
murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer. This novel is narrated by Susie<br />
reflecting on events after her death, and what she has lost and we see her family<br />
struggling to come to terms with what has happened. A very moving and<br />
powerful novel. Try also The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne<br />
(9780099487821 - £6.99) although easy to read, is not an easy read. The horrors<br />
of the Second World War seen from the eyes of two small boys from opposite<br />
sides of the fence.<br />
For some light entertainment, dont <strong>for</strong>get books such as Peter Kays biography<br />
Saturday Night Peter (9781846053634 - £20.00), The Big Book of Top Gear<br />
2010 (9781846078248 - £12.99), Dreams That Glitter: Our Story by Girls<br />
Aloud (9780593064108 - £12.99) or even Mock the Week: This year's book!<br />
(9780752226958 - £<strong>14</strong>.99) which are all titles to get young people interested in<br />
books and reading.
Welsh Book <strong>List</strong> - Rhestr Llyfrau Cymraeg<br />
<strong>14</strong>-16<br />
Teulu Twyll gan Kevin Brooks (9781845212445 - £4.99)<br />
Mae Arthur yn treulio prynhawn Sadwrn hir a diflas arall yng nghwmni ei dad, ei<br />
daid a'i hen daid pan mae hogan ifanc gyda gwn yn rhuthro i mewn i'r t a chadw<br />
pawb yn wystlon. Stori afaelgar gyda thro annisgwyl. Teitl arall yng nghyfres<br />
Barrington Stoke o nofelau byr a hawdd eu darllen i bobl ifanc yw Carcharor yn<br />
Alcatraz gan Theresa Breslin (9781845212063 -£4.99) am Marty sydd wedi cael<br />
ei hun yng ngharchar enwog Alcatraz - lle na all neb ddianc ohono. Un diwrnod,<br />
mae rhai o'r carcharorion eraill yn meddwl am gynllun i ddianc, ac mae'n<br />
ymddangos mor hawdd.<br />
Isio Bet? gan Bedwyr Rees (9780862438050 -£2.95) yng nghyfres Pen Dafad.<br />
Nofel fer, realistig, amrwd - doniol ar brydiau - am fod yn aelod o gang, a sefyll i<br />
fyny dros eich hun. Hefyd trïwch Sbinia gan Bedwyr Rees (9780862437152<br />
£2.95) am griw o hogia ifanc yn ceisio difyrru eu hunain mewn tref lan môr yng<br />
ngogledd <strong>Cymru</strong>. Nofel fer llawn iaith lafar a deialog ffraeth a doniol.<br />
Hefyd, mae'n werth edrych ar Iawn Boi?;-) gan Caryl Lewis (9780862436995 -<br />
£2.95) am helbulon bywyd carwriaethol Catrin yn yr un gyfres neu Stori Sara<br />
gan Shoned Wyn Jones (9781847710475 - £3.95) sy'n croniclo diflastod Sara<br />
wrth i'w athrawes Mathemateg a'i thad wneud paratoadau i briodi!<br />
Y Mabinogi gan Mike Collins (9780852843130 - £<strong>14</strong>.95) Nofel Graffig lliw llawn<br />
wedi ei seilio ar Y Mabinogi lle mae Rhiannon, Lleu a Dan yn darganfod byd arall<br />
o dan donnau'r môr, neu triwch nofel graffig Chwedl Arthur Myrddin Wyllt;<br />
Cadlywydd y Brythoniaid gan David Chauvel (9780955136665 - £9.99).<br />
Llinyn Trôns gan Bethan Gwanas (9780862435202 - £4.95)<br />
Mae Llion Jones - neu Llinyn Trôns i'w ffrindiau - yn flin. Yn syth wedi arholiadau<br />
TGAU, mae holl Flwyddyn 11 yn gorfod mynd ar gwrs tri diwrnod i ganolfan Awyr<br />
Agored, ond mae llawer yn gallu digwydd mewn tridiau<br />
Creadyn gan Gwion Hallam (9781843232476- £5.99)<br />
Mae Huw yn cael ei fwlio yn yr ysgol ac yn ei chael hi'n anodd dod ymlaen gyda'i<br />
dad ar ol i'w fam farw. Ond, mae hefyd yn darganfod fod pethau rhyfedd yn<br />
digwydd iddo gael ei frathu gan ddraenog go od yn y Warchodfa Natur, a<br />
sylweddola y gall newid rhwng byd anifeiliaid a byd pobl.<br />
Swshi, Snogs a Sgribls Hogan Flêr gan Gwen Lasarus (9780862439286 -<br />
£4.95)
Nofel ysgafn ddoniol ar ffurf dyddiadur gan Corin. Mae ei bywyd mor gyffrous ag<br />
erioed - mae Dad yn stresd, Gethin yn niwsans a Mam yn iar. Mae'r genod wedi<br />
ffurfio band - y Bebs - sy'n barod i gymryd drosodd y byd!<br />
Poeth! - Cerddi Poeth ac Oer (9780862435707 - £4.95)<br />
16 18<br />
Y Derwyddon: Dirgelwch yr Ogam gan Jean-Luc Istin a Thierry Jigourel<br />
(9780955136634 - £9.99), nofel graffig wedi ei lleoli yn yr Oesoedd Tywyll ac<br />
sy'n adrodd hanes gwaedlyd y Derwyddon olaf.<br />
Igam Ogam gan Ifan Morgan Jones ( 9781847710918 - £7.95)<br />
Stori ysgafn a doniol iawn yn llawn antur a digwyddiadau anhygoel yn adrodd<br />
hanes Tomos Ap yn cael galwad ffôn gan ei dad yn ei alw adref i edrych ar ôl y<br />
fferm. Mewn gwirionedd mae ei dad eisiau ei help i drechu duwiau'r byd arall,<br />
syn golygu trip trwy'r lle tân yn yr hen ffermdy i wlad wallgo a rhyfedd<br />
Omlet gan Nia Medi (9780860742180- £7.95)<br />
Helyntion niferus Angharad sy'n ferch ifanc sengl yn ei thridegau wrth iddi geisio<br />
dod ymlaen gyda'i mam, anghofio ei chyn-gariad a mentro ar ei gwyliau i Wlad<br />
Groeg gyda'i hen fodryb Dodo Megan Pot Jam. Nofel ddoniol iawn, yn trafod<br />
ymysg pethau eraill colonic irrigation, têc-awês a phroblemau caru ond gyda rhai<br />
darnau teimladwy dros ben.<br />
Hi Yw Fy Ffrind gan Bethan Gwanas (9780862437275 - £6.95<br />
Nofel fywiog a hawdd ei darllen yn sôn am brofiadau ingol bod yn ifanc, ac am<br />
gyfeillgarwch Non a Nia wrth iddynt dyfu i fyny yng nghefn gwlad sir Feirionnydd<br />
rhwng yr <strong>19</strong>60au a'r <strong>19</strong>80au. Mae Non yn hollol wahanol i'r Nia ddel, hyderus,<br />
glyfar ac yn y diwedd mae bywyd y ddwy yn dilyn llwybrau reit wahanol ond<br />
byddwch barod am ambell sioc! Trïwch hefyd Ffreshars gan Joanna Davies<br />
(9781843239680- £7.99) am fyfyrwyr sy'n cychwyn yn y coleg yn Aberystwyth.<br />
Ar Ben y Byd gan Shane Williams (9781847711137 - £1.99) yng nghyfres Stori<br />
Sydyn syn cynnig cyfrolau byr, hawdd eu darllen. Mae hon yn atgofion am yrfa a<br />
blwyddyn anhygoel Shane Williams, y seren rygbi rhyngwladol, a hefyd maen<br />
edrych yn ôl ar ei yrfa ddisglair - oi ddyddiau cynnar yn byw ym mhentref<br />
Glanaman, iw gyfnod fel chwaraewr gyda thîm Chastell-nedd, ac yna ymlaen at<br />
ei gyfnod yn disgleirio gydai glwb presennol, y Gweilch, neu trïwch Fyny Gyda'r<br />
Swans gan Owain Tudur Jones ac Alun Gibbard (9781847711151 - £1.99), yn<br />
sôn am gyffro bywyd pêl-droediwr gyda chlwb pêl-droed Abertawe a charfan<br />
<strong>Cymru</strong>. Hefyd yn yr un gyfres, Y Jobyn Gorau yn y Byd gan Gary Slaymaker<br />
(9780862439415 - £1.99) - atgofion cyflwynydd teledu a radio yn cael cyfarfod<br />
rhai o sêr Hollywood yn cynnwys pnawn meddwol yng nghwmni Rhys Ifans.
Ymysg cofiannau enwogion ym myd chwaraeon, triwch Hanner Amser <br />
Hunangofiant Nigel Owens gan Nigel Owens (9781847710871 - £9.95),<br />
atgofion un o ddyfarnwyr rygbi gorau'r byd a hunangofiant y chwaraewr pêl-droed<br />
a'r sylwebydd poblogaidd, Malcolm Allen o Ddeiniolen - Malcolm Allen <br />
Hunangofiant (9781847711861 - £9.95).<br />
Casglwr gan Llion Iwan (9781843233534 - £7.99)<br />
Mae Dafydd Smith, gohebydd papur newydd yn canfod ei hun mewn perygl<br />
mawr wrth geisio dal llofrudd cyfrwys neu triwch Lladdwr (9781843235620 -<br />
£6.99) gan yr un awdur lle dilynwn Dafydd Smith eto yn ceisio canfod y gwir am<br />
lofruddiaeth ryfedd yng nghefn gwlad <strong>Cymru</strong>, ond nawr mae rhywun ar ei ol ef<br />
Y T ar Lôn Glasgoed gan Sonia Edwards (9780862437749 - £3.95)<br />
Nofel ysbryd fer wedi ei sgrifennu'n bennaf ar gyfer dysgwyr am hen hofel o d<br />
sy'n cael ei ddefnyddio fel lloches i bobl ifanc ar gyffuriau.
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