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10 Books for Tween Girls

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Books are a huge part of our lives in our house. Growing up, I loved to read. Going to the library was one of my favorite things. Even to this day, as an adult, I love going to the library. There’s something about being surrounded by books. When she was younger, my daughter would only check out or ask us to buy her non-fiction books because she felt that if she was going to read, she needed to be learning something. Over the course of the summer, she started branching out and has found quite a few fiction books that she really enjoys! Here are her top 10 books for tween girls!

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books for tween girls

 

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10 Books for Tween Girls

Below are 10 books for tween girls that my 10, almost 11 year old daughter, really enjoys reading. There is definitely something for everyone! Pick up a few for Christmas and birthday gifts. I don’t know about you, but I always like to make sure I give the kids books as part of their gifts!

Among the Hidden (Shadow Children 1) 
Harriet the Spy
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
I Survived series
Warriors series
Roller Girl
Awkward
Kristy’s Great Idea Graphic Novel
Wonder
Who Was series
She definitely has an eclectic taste in books so there is surely something here for everyone. I personally am a fan of series books, so I like when I can find a good series for my kids to read. When you find a series they like, it ensures that they will have more to read and we want them to continue reading for pleasure! It makes having to read school issued books much easier!


So there you have it, 10+ books for tween girls. What books would you add to the list? I’d love to help my daughter (and other girls) find books they would love to read!

Serial Killer Book Series by Brenda Novak

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I’ll admit it, I have a very eclectic taste in books. One minute I will be reading the latest vampire series and the next minute I’m reading about a serial killer. Typically, I tend to gravitate towards thrillers and suspense novels. The first authors I really became interested in were Stephen King and Dean Koontz. While I sometimes need to read that happy ending type book, more times than not, I enjoy reading things that are so far from what my reality is. I really enjoyed this serial killer series by Brenda Novak.

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serial killer

From Amazon –

THE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER
Evelyn Talbot knows that a psychopath can look perfectly normal. She was only sixteen when her own boyfriend Jasper imprisoned and tortured her—and left her for dead. Now an eminent psychiatrist who specializes in the criminal mind, Evelyn is the force behind Hanover House, a maximum-security facility located in a small Alaskan town. Her job puts her at odds with Sergeant Amarok, who is convinced that Hanover is a threat to his community…even as his attraction to beautiful Evelyn threatens to tear his world apart. 
BEGINS WITH AN ESCAPE FROM HER PAST
Then, just as the bitter Alaskan winter cuts both town and prison off from the outside world, the mutilated body of a local woman turns up. For Amarok, this is the final proof he needs: Hanover has to go. Evelyn, though, has reason to fear that the crime is a personal message to her—the first sign that the killer who haunts her dreams has found her again. . .and that the life she has so carefully rebuilt will never be the same…

Why a Serial Killer Novel?

Her Darkest Nightmare (Dr. Evelyn Talbot Novels)Her Darkest Nightmare (Dr. Evelyn Talbot Novels)

Why not a serial killer novel? I mean, when we choose movies, we don’t go for the same type all the time. The same holds true when I’m picking a book. I think my love for these types of novels started when I was a kid and read The Silence of the Lambs book and then saw the movie. That book and movie was a favorite of mine for years. I even took a few psychology classes in high school and college because of that book and movie! If you are looking for a really good psychological thriller, then you will want to read Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak.

My Thoughts

I literally could not put this book down. Typically, I will read every night before bed and whenever I have to sit at my kids sports practices. I found myself staying up later and later because I could not put this book down. As I was writing this post, I found out that their is actually a novella before Her Darkest Nightmare called Hanover House. That makes sense. Halfway through the book, I had the impression that I was missing something. At first I thought I just missed it while reading, but now I know it’s because there was a book before this one! I definitely recommend this series! The third book comes out on October 3, 2017!


Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale

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One of my favorite things to read are series books. I get extremely invested in the characters and want to read more with them in it. The more books in the series, the better. A new to me author, Kerry Lonsdale, wrote a book that I read a few months ago called Everything We Keep. I really enjoyed the book. After I finished it, I remember wishing for more. It didn’t feel done to me. Thankfully for me, Kerry Lonsdale didn’t think it was done either and she published the sequel, Everything We Left Behind.

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About Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale

From Amazon –

Two months before his wedding, financial executive James Donato chased his trade-laundering brother Phil to Mexico, only to be lost at sea and presumed dead. Six and a half years later, he emerges from a dissociative fugue state to find he’s been living in Oaxaca as artist Carlos Dominguez, widower and father of two sons, with his sister-in-law Natalya Hayes, a retired professional surfer, helping to keep his life afloat. But his fiancée, Aimee Tierney, the love of his life, has moved on. She’s married and has a child of her own.

Devastated, James and his sons return to California. But Phil is scheduled for release from prison, and he’s determined to find James, who witnessed something in Mexico that could land Phil back in confinement. Under mounting family pressure, James flees with his sons to Kauai, seeking refuge with Natalya. As James begins to unravel the mystery of his fractured identity, danger is never far behind, and Natalya may be the only person he can trust.

Everything We Left Behind: A NovelEverything We Left Behind: A NovelEverything We Keep: A NovelEverything We Keep: A Novel

My Thoughts

I absolutely loved the fact that Everything We Left Behind picks up where Everything We Keep left off. The first book was all about Aimee and her quest to find out the truth about what happened to James. Once she learns the truth, she has to make the difficult decision to return to her life and move on. She gets married and has a daughter. Six years later, Carlos wakes up…only he is no longer Carlos. James is back.

Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale is an utterly gut wrenching story that is written with so much emotion. While reading this novel, I felt like I was right there feeling everything that James was feeling as he uncovered more and more about his life. The ability to make characters come alive like that is a sign of a great author.

Have you read any Kerry Lonsdale books?


Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale

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Every little girl dreams about her wedding day. She dreams about exactly what her dress will look like; what flowers she will carry; whether she will be getting married in a church or outside; and sometimes, even who they will marry. Now imagine, instead of walking down the aisle on your wedding day, what is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, you are attending your fiancés funeral. That is exactly what happens in Everything We Keep a mystery novel by Kerry Lonsdale.

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Everything We Keep is a debut novel for Kerry Lonsdale and it’s a really good one! The twists and turns throughout the novel keep you reading and wanting more. Something I really like in a good mystery novel. When I finished Everything We Keep, I was bummed, I wanted to know more. The last thing I wanted was for the book to be over. Little did I know at the time, Everything We Keep had a sequel! I won’t tell you how long after I read the book that I found out about the sequel…it’s a tad embarrassing!

Everything We Keep: A NovelEverything We Keep: A Novel

Right now, you can purchase this debut novel on sale at Amazon. If you are a Kindle Paperwhite user like I am AND you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can pick up this novel for FREE with your subscription. Better yet, join Kindle Unlimited for free for 30 days. Read this book (like it), read the sequel (like it) and then read this series and you will be a Kindle Unlimited junkie like me! I’m not even joking! Kindle Unlimited is one of my absolute favorite things I’ve ever subscribed to.

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Have you read Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale yet?


A Shade of a Vampire Series

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When it comes to vampire stories, I was all about Twilight. I read the books and saw the movies, and I actually liked them. People would suggest other vampire stories to me and they just never really caught my interest. However, a friend of mine suggested I give this vampire series she’s been reading a try, I figured, “what the heck”. I really do like series books (especially the Alex Cross series by James Patterson) and the Shade of a Vampire series did have a lot of books out, which is another thing I really like about series books, so I did what I do anytime I about to read a new book. I went to Amazon to check out the description.

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vampire series

About A Shade of a Vampire Series

On the evening of Sofia Claremont’s seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to The Shade, an enchanted island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine – an island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is selected out of hundreds of girls to take up residence in the tree-top harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? Or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

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My Thoughts

When I started reading A Shade of a Vampire, I was very skeptical. Like I said, I had already done the whole “sparkly vampire” thing. And, besides the Twilight series, I was not really into reading about vampires. Bella Forrest changed my mind on that very quickly! Almost instantly I was drawn into the character of Sophia and her relationship with Derek Novak. I found myself rooting for them! When the first book ended, I quickly downloaded the second one. And the rest, they say, is history…I’m currently reading book number 48!

A Shade Of VampireA Shade Of VampireA Shade of Vampire 2: A Shade of BloodA Shade of Vampire 2: A Shade of BloodA Shade of Vampire 3: A Castle of SandA Shade of Vampire 3: A Castle of Sand

 Sometimes I find myself drifting off in a book and not paying as close attention as I should be. Not because I’m not interested in the book (though, that is the reason sometimes), but mainly because I have a lot on my mind. When that happens, I often have to go back and reread a passage to see who’s point of view that particular chapter is in. That bugs me. Bella Forrest does it a little differently, and I love what she does. Each chapter starts with a characters  name. That entire chapter is in that characters point of view. I really enjoy that style. Especially if a particular scene is told in multiple characters point of view. It allows for you to really delve deeper into the book.

Books in the Series

Like I said above, right now there are currently 48 books out. These 48 books are broken into their own mini series within the bigger series.

  • Derek and Sophia’s story (series 1, books 1-7)
  • Rose and Caleb’s story (series 2, books 8-16)
  • The Shade Continues with a New Hero (series 3, books 17-24)
  • A Clan of Novaks (series 4, books 25-32)
  • A Dawn of Guardians (series 5, books 33-41)
  • A Gift of Three (series 6, books 42+)

If you were to ask me which series out of the six is my favorite, I would say series six. While I like them all, series six has been my favorite. Each series gets better and better.

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Another great thing about this vampire series is that it’s not just about vampires! You have werewolf’s, witches, goblins, and other paranormal creatures! I would recommend this series for adults that love a quick easy read, but also for teens that are looking for a good young adult novel series to start reading.

Definitely check the series out. If you have Kindle Unlimited, the books are free! Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial. So what are you waiting for? Get the free trial of Kindle Unlimited and read a couple A Shade of a Vampire books to see if you like the series!

What is your favorite genre of books to read?