Children's book lists go from Snuggle Puppy to The Stand. That's fine, but as an auntie, it's hard to know where in the spectrum a particular child might fall. So this list is of books you or children you know loved at around age twelve.

As part of this series:
Books for one-year-olds
Books for two-year-olds
Books for three-year-olds
Books for four-year-olds
Books for five-year-olds
Books for six-year-olds
Books for seven-year-olds
Books for eight-year-olds
Books for nine-year-olds
Books for ten-year-olds
Books for eleven-year-olds
Books for twelve-year-olds
Books for thirteen-year-olds
1

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4.47 avg rating — 11,574,882 ratings
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2

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4.01 avg rating — 1,376,906 ratings
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3

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4.12 avg rating — 2,846,349 ratings
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4

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4.20 avg rating — 4,247,671 ratings
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5

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3.97 avg rating — 1,297,959 ratings
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6

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4.35 avg rating — 10,061,762 ratings
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7

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4.33 avg rating — 1,130,923 ratings
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8

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4.34 avg rating — 1,126,839 ratings
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9

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4.20 avg rating — 627,987 ratings
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10

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3.88 avg rating — 352,098 ratings
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11

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4.31 avg rating — 3,490,152 ratings
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12

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4.17 avg rating — 2,495,215 ratings
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13

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4.28 avg rating — 27,068 ratings
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14

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4.17 avg rating — 1,313,326 ratings
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15

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4.43 avg rating — 4,565,555 ratings
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16

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4.03 avg rating — 1,629,417 ratings
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17

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4.36 avg rating — 4,229,060 ratings
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18

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4.30 avg rating — 4,523,451 ratings
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19

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4.09 avg rating — 509,395 ratings
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20

by
4.03 avg rating — 161,219 ratings
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21

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4.36 avg rating — 1,208,230 ratings
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22

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3.77 avg rating — 337,447 ratings
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23

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4.19 avg rating — 309,567 ratings
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24

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4.06 avg rating — 615,491 ratings
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25

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3.95 avg rating — 257,999 ratings
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26

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3.80 avg rating — 457,349 ratings
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27

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3.99 avg rating — 237,688 ratings
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28

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4.28 avg rating — 714,541 ratings
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29

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4.15 avg rating — 1,638,949 ratings
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30

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4.08 avg rating — 117,600 ratings
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31

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4.30 avg rating — 5,968 ratings
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32

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4.29 avg rating — 953,094 ratings
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33

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4.24 avg rating — 3,183,655 ratings
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34

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4.03 avg rating — 576,261 ratings
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35

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3.93 avg rating — 444,991 ratings
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36

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3.81 avg rating — 263,353 ratings
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37

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4.06 avg rating — 595,889 ratings
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38

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3.97 avg rating — 1,959,596 ratings
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39

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4.13 avg rating — 445,072 ratings
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40

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4.21 avg rating — 2,070,844 ratings
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41

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4.02 avg rating — 425,417 ratings
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42

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4.15 avg rating — 568,326 ratings
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43

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 174,405 ratings
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44

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4.14 avg rating — 179,542 ratings
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45

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3.83 avg rating — 1,345,137 ratings
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46

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3.56 avg rating — 67,162 ratings
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47

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4.17 avg rating — 939,810 ratings
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48

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4.32 avg rating — 207,156 ratings
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49

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4.26 avg rating — 6,981,531 ratings
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50

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3.86 avg rating — 160,199 ratings
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51

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4.11 avg rating — 19,897 ratings
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52

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4.11 avg rating — 117,077 ratings
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53

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3.76 avg rating — 511,954 ratings
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54

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4.17 avg rating — 34,092 ratings
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55

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4.23 avg rating — 332,591 ratings
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56

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3.99 avg rating — 16,548 ratings
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57

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3.83 avg rating — 6,236 ratings
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58

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3.85 avg rating — 126,035 ratings
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59

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3.98 avg rating — 794,089 ratings
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60

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3.88 avg rating — 432,008 ratings
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61

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4.01 avg rating — 228 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 88,474 ratings
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63

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4.41 avg rating — 3,191,451 ratings
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64

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4.46 avg rating — 839,083 ratings
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65

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,346 ratings
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66

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3.73 avg rating — 17,121 ratings
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67

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3.93 avg rating — 516,137 ratings
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68

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3.92 avg rating — 1,029,788 ratings
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69

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 127,909 ratings
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70

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3.67 avg rating — 613,501 ratings
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71

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3.99 avg rating — 137,882 ratings
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72

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4.02 avg rating — 44,661 ratings
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73

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4.01 avg rating — 66,143 ratings
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74

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4.39 avg rating — 2,920,640 ratings
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75

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3.74 avg rating — 42,857 ratings
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76

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4.14 avg rating — 18,870 ratings
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77

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4.12 avg rating — 5,788,110 ratings
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78

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4.45 avg rating — 1,177,424 ratings
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79

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4.10 avg rating — 429,705 ratings
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80

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3.85 avg rating — 546,980 ratings
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81

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4.16 avg rating — 94,768 ratings
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82

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4.10 avg rating — 282,177 ratings
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83

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 300,865 ratings
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84

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4.38 avg rating — 22,160 ratings
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85

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3.85 avg rating — 16,219 ratings
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86

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4.31 avg rating — 9,737 ratings
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87

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4.25 avg rating — 76,675 ratings
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88

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4.29 avg rating — 10,068 ratings
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89

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3.70 avg rating — 3,245,219 ratings
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90

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3.99 avg rating — 1,232,260 ratings
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91

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4.28 avg rating — 457,543 ratings
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92

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4.34 avg rating — 37,487 ratings
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93

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4.08 avg rating — 8,291 ratings
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94

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3.75 avg rating — 35,029 ratings
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95

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3.96 avg rating — 675 ratings
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96

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3.90 avg rating — 2,881,447 ratings
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97

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4.12 avg rating — 12,693 ratings
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98

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4.27 avg rating — 954,666 ratings
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99

by
4.15 avg rating — 210,628 ratings
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100

by
4.13 avg rating — 791,253 ratings
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1,732 books · 1,139 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Crystel (votes) .
118 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Crystel 261 books
105 friends
Collin 105 books
6 friends
Sarah 227 books
172 friends
Emily 1533 books
20 friends
Stephy 3402 books
13 friends
Seth 18 books
11 friends
Julia 334 books
32 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Barringer (new)

Barringer Publishing Malia & Teacup: Awesome African Adventure Malia & Teacup Awesome African Adventure by Molly Barrow Exciting adventure book about a 12 year old girl and her little dog traveling to Africa to find her dad.


message 2: by Lukia (new)

Lukia A lot of the books on this list are wonderful but are more breathtaking for younger readers. I think many people underestimate the capability of a 12 year old. Some forget to realize that we are almost teens, and are ready to gain advanced knowledge of the world. Classics and light teen books are the way to go. My personal recommendation for a tween (twelve) is The Book Thief. I think it really opens your mind to a different perspective and I got a lot out of it. (My mom loved it too) Lovely list though!


message 3: by Sam (last edited Feb 17, 2014 06:42AM) (new)

Sam Schenström I think it's really hard to say what is fit for a 12-year-old, because people are so different in that age. While some are still like children, others may already have read huge amounts of books and are way into their puberty, and they would want to start reading adult books and classics. That's how I was. But at the same time, I never lost my appetite for children's books. I read The Witches by Roald Dahl when I was 12, and I loved it!

The one book I would want more grown up 12-year-olds to read is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It deals with very serious issues, but I think people need to learn about these issues much earlier, and the narrator of the book has to deal with them from the age of 13.


message 4: by ~☆~Autumn (last edited Dec 30, 2023 08:03PM) (new)

~☆~Autumn When I was 12 I read Jack London's The Call of the Wild and White Fang which I loved. I also read Gone with the Wind and my sister who was younger read Great Expectations but I don't think these are appropriate for 12 year olds today!


message 5: by ~☆~Autumn (new)

~☆~Autumn Many of these books are NOT appropriate for 12 year olds! No 12 year old should be reading Dracula!!! I am shocked.


message 6: by Rachel (new)

Rachel No one under the age of 18 should be reading Punk 57. What in the absolute hell is this list? Are you all high?????


message 7: by Georgina (new)

Georgina Warren These picture books should be removed because they are for readers much younger than 12.

A Hero Named Nikki

I Can't Believe They're Gone: A kid's grief book that hugs, helps, and gives hope

Moos, Mud, Mayhem!


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