I am a middle school teacher and love finding good book recommendations. I even jotted a couple down from this list …but then I got to The Nest, which caused me hesitation and made me consider the credibility of the entire list. I have read The Nest. It was simply okay, didn’t love it, lent it to my friend to read but most certainly wouldn’t recommend for children. It contains a high level of sexuality (drugs, alcohol, car accident, fraud) and really doesn’t have a single sympathetic character. It’s pretty much a book about being discontent, desperate, and self-serving. The majority of the characters are adults who make bad choices. I strongly do not recommend for children 9-12. I do, however, highly recommend removing it from this list at least to maintain the credibility of the rest of the list (because many are truly good books) but especially so that no one purchases it thinking it would make a great read aloud or lit circle option! Yikes.

I would recommend you get past page 2 of The Nest… really quite a good book!

I love reading them aloud with my oldest boy… he’s not reading them on his own but we get to have time at night to just be together. It’s the perfect excuse!