Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books You'd Hand To Someone Who Says They Don't Like To Read

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I have a hard time figuring out what list this book would not be on!  This book is fabulous!  For the reluctant reader, it has pictures to entice and then once you start reading, it has a wicked sense of humor!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Well, duh, right?  This book series is so action-packed and compelling.  I teach plenty of "not readers" who are reading or have read this series.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Much like The Hunger Games, this book series is full of action, heroes, bad guys, swords, true love, supernatural creatures.  I could gush for days, but this book series has a little something for everyone and I think reluctant readers would easily get lost in the pages of this book.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luan Yang

This book has what every reluctant reader needs--pictures!!  Since this is a graphic novel, I think this is an easy one to get kids to read.  Yet, it's a much more sophisticated read than a comic book. 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Percy Jackson series has several things working in its favor.  Not only is it a great story, but if you are recommending to teen reluctant readers, this one is a much easier level.  Often, reluctant readers are also not very good readers, so this series could be easily read by a high school or middle school student who is still not reading on grade level.

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (girls only)  by Beth Fantaskey

This book is just fun.  Well, it is for girls anyway!  It follows in the footsteps of Twilight, but doesn't take itself seriously.  I think that reluctant readers would enjoy this one, especially if you are looking for a next read after Twilight.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

This is a great book to recommend to boys.  Girls may like it, but I don't think it is a good recommendation for reluctant reader girls.  This book will appeal to boys because the vampires are basically disease infested.  Also, every other chapter is basically a one page description of a type of blood disease.  The gross out factor will be appealing to boys.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is always a good choice, because she writes about things that teens care about.  I would choose this one because I think it would have plenty of boy appeal, but it wouldn't turn girls away.

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

Haters can say what they want, but I've heard many high school students, both boys and girls, say that they don't like to read but they liked these books.  There's just something about them.  Even though they probably have a wider appeal for girls, I've taught many boys who read them too!

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Well, duh!  This book series has revolutionized the children's publishing industry and brought kids back to reading.  Even the reluctant reader that I gave birth to read this series!






There are several authors that I think are good picks for reluctant readers.  Teens seem to like Laurie Halse Anderson, Sharon Draper, Walter Dean Myers and Sarah Dessen.  I would point teens in the direction of those authors as well.  Also, YALSA publishes a list every year of recommended books for reluctant readers.  You can find this year's list and links to previous years on the YALSA website.

What books would you pick?  Any that you would kick off of my list?  Leave me a comment and let me know!!