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Light Novel Recommendations for Middle School students




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Mune



Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 376
Location: Minnesota
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:02 pm Reply with quote
I'm a long time anime fan, with countless series, movies, and ovas/specials watched under my belt. I have also read quite a few manga. Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with light novels. I know they exist, but I have little experience with them.

Long story short, I am now a reading teacher, and I want to include light novels and manga to the classroom's library. Light novels seem far and in-between for availability, mainly because they have not really been available here in the United States. So, I'm asking for recommendations that would be age appropriate for 7th and 8th grade students in a middle school setting. On top of that it must be in English, as not too many, if any, students know how to read Japanese.

Please post any recommendations that you have. Please include how many volumes and if it is a completed series in English or not.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2606
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:52 am Reply with quote
I would suggest two of YenOn's early novel series, Kieli (9 volumes) and Book Girl (7 volumes). (I may be remembering the numbers incorrectly...) The former is a dark sci-fi/fantasy hybrid with a dystopian vibe and strong writing, while the latter uses references from classic novels as the basis for its mysteries.
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vanfanel



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 1242
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 1:44 am Reply with quote
Mune wrote:
Long story short, I am now a reading teacher, and I want to include light novels and manga to the classroom's library.


I work in a Japanese junior high/high school. There's a notice posted on the wall of our library soliciting requests from students about what books to purchase. At the end of this notice, it says: "Light novels will not be considered."
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7580
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:16 pm Reply with quote
All Yen Press titles have an age range assigned (on the Yen Press site it says things like "Teen" and "Older Teen" but on the business portal it gives it as "13 & up" and also provides a "grade range". Unfortunately, you can't filter the search by age and it only shows it on the details page, not in the search results. I don't know how accurate their ratings are (and I don't think I've ever seen any variation in rating between volumes of a title so they must be applied somewhat broadly).
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st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 3:14 am Reply with quote
The Devil is a Part Timer would probably be quite good. It's not too raunchy and the story is the sort of thing middle school kids would enjoy. There's currently 7 volumes out in English and it's ongoing. The manga is also available but I've not read that.
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CatSword



Joined: 01 Jul 2014
Posts: 1489
PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 2:30 pm Reply with quote
The School Library Journal has recommended The Devil is a Part-Timer, Durarara!!, Log Horizon, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya all for grades 7 and up.

The Attack on Titan light novels might be a harder sell due to the level of violence, but were recommended for grades 8 and up.
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Merxamers



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 720
PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 1:09 pm Reply with quote
There's only 2 volumes of it out right now, but i think Rokka: Braves of the 6 Flowers would be a good fit (at least, i would have loved reading them in middle school). No raunchy content, very gender-balanced cast, and just a solid series so far.
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Crisha
Moderator


Joined: 21 Apr 2010
Posts: 4290
PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:23 pm Reply with quote
Deleted a necropost that only quoted the first post. Locking thread.
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