Preteen and Teen Mystery Series That Are Great For Even Adults

Since I embarked on my author track a couple years ago, I have read a plethora of preteen and teen books to get a good feel for how a book in that age range would sound.  So with my many visits to the library to see what was popular or what looked interesting just from its cover (yes, I am one of those people who judge books by their covers, horrible, I know, but only books, not people :-), I have stumbled upon some great authors.  Two of these authors, which I will mention in a moment, are two of my biggest writing role models.  Interesting enough, Stephenie Meyers is not one of them, though I did love Twilight.  I'm a big fan.  I'm just not obsessed.

I cover this topic of preteen and teen mystery novels at length in my article "Great Mystery Series for Preteens and Teens" on Suite101 where I give a quick over view of mainly the first book in each series.  One of the most fun series, especially for preteen girls, is Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen.  Van Draanen is probably my biggest role model when it comes to writing.  Every book that I have read of hers has been fantastic.  Because I was writing about mystery series, I didn't get to mention several of her great stand-alone books that are just as much fun to read.

How I Survived Being A Girl - this book is about a sixth grade girl who finds that life it
                     unfair as a girl.  She gets ditched by her brothers, pounded on by them, and
                     annoyed when boys don't want to play with her just because she is a girl.  She
                     kept her hair short, wore boys clothes, and loved to spy on the neighbors but she
                     still didn't get treated the same.  But then things start to change when she meets
                     Charlie and she realizes being a girl isn't so bad.

Flipped - this book was turned into a movie in 2010 starring Madeline Carroll and Callan
                    McAuliffe.
                   
                    Bryce, a young second grader, moves to a new town and is ambushed by a girl his
                    age who lives across the street.  From that first meeting all the way up into
                    seventh grade, Bryce has tried everything he could to avoid her.
                    
                    Juli, a second grade girl, finally has a kid her age in the neighborhood, and he
                    lives across the street.  What luck!  But when she first lays eyes on him, she 
                    totally flips.  From that day on she was in love.
                   
                    But then in eighth grade, things changed.

Runaway - An orphaned girl, Holly, runs away from her foster family in hopes of finding a
                    better life for herself that is not full of abuse and neglect.  She keeps track of her
                    thoughts in a journal that was given to her by her teacher Ms. Leon and finds that
                    even though she hated the journal idea in the beginning, it slowly turns into her
                    one companion as she travels across the country to find home. 

Wendelin Van Draanen has written several more books, both stand-alone and series, that I have yet to read but I am anxious to get to them soon.

Another author that needs specific mentioning is Margaret Peterson Haddix.  She also has really inspired me as a writer with how creative she is.  Her Missing Series is so inventive and it is a great way to get teens to learn about history without it being boring.  Just think, 36 crying babies on a plane that just appears out of nowhere.  Where did they come from?  Who is missing them?  Now jump thirteen years into the future.  What do you think might happen?

Another one of Margaret Peterson Haddix's series that was not mentioned in the article is The Shadow Children Series.  Once again, very creative.  Imagine a world where having more than two children would result in the government taking that child and killing it like it was a rabid animal.  How would you keep your child or children safe and away from being detected by the police?  This is the way of all the shadow children.  No school, no playing outside, no going to the store, or even eating at the kitchen table with the rest of the family.  They didn't exist.  Not outside those walls of the home, and sometimes not even inside the walls of the home.  Life was a thing to fear.  Death was inevitable.  But how can they stand up against the government and make it so they didn't have to hide anymore?

The Shadow Children Series

• Among the Hidden (1998)
• Among the Impostors (2001)
• Among the Betrayed (2002)
• Among the Barons (2003)
• Among the Brave (2004)
• Among the Enemy (2005)
• Among the Free (2006)

One series that I did not mention in the article, because I had written a previous article about it, was The 39 Clues written by various authors, one of which was Margaret Peterson Haddix which is how I had learned about the series in the first place.  Another author, Rick Riordan who wrote the Percy Jackson & The Olympians Series, also wrote the first book in The 39 Clues.  If you have not heard of The 39 Clues then you are in for a real treat, especially if you have children who love both mysteries and online gaming.  This series not only gets your children involved in the mysteries in the books but it also gets them involved in the mystery first hand online.  To read more about The 39 Clues and how they are not only fun to read but very educational, then click here.  This article gives you an overview of the first book which will, hopefully, draw you and your kids into the fun, exciting, and dangerous world of the Cahills.

I love reading and it is an important part of being a writer and so when I find something great, I love to share it.  I hope you will all take a look at the article to see the several series that I did not mention on this blog but are also great books for teens and preteens.  You can say that everything has been read and approved by a mother and it is all wholesome, though I must give a warning for one series I did mention in the article, A Forensic Series by Alane Ferguson.  This series is great but it is graphic and not for younger teens.  If you have a teenager who is wanting to go into the forensic field, then this will be great for them.  If they have weak stomachs then I do not recommend this series for them.

Just a reminder, these books are great for kids but they are just as fun for the parents.  I enjoyed these book immensely and I don't plan to stop reading books like these just because I am no longer a teenager.  It is great because it takes you back to when you were a teen and you sit back and ask yourself if you were like that when you were that age.  You may be surprised by your answer :-)

Happy reading to all!