This whole thing actually started with a conversation I wasn’t quite prepared for. My daughter came home from school one day and casually asked if she could read Twisted Love, because apparently all the girls at school were reading it.

Now, if you’re familiar with that title, you’ll already see where this is going. But, if you’re not… well, let’s just say it took about 30 seconds of Googling for me to realise that it was very much not kid friendly!!

I think a lot of kids are discovering a lot of books through BookTok these days, which is fantastic in many ways because it’s getting them excited about reading again. But it also means books go viral with younger readers that are totally not kid friendly!

Then there are the covers…

Some of these books look like they belong in the childrens section with their cute illustrations, pastel colours, whimsical titles!!

So I started gathering recommendations so I could find her some books much more suitable and decided to put them together in a spreadsheet for those who asked me to share…

Some are books my girls have loved, others were suggested by other parents, and a few are titles that consistently come up as good age-appropriate YA reads on Goodreads!!

I also sorted them based on age they marked appropriate for, as well as listed themes they include and any additional notes plus Goodreads ratings, to make it easier to use!!

I have also included a “spice level” from reviews of the books, as well as genres you can sort via at the bottom, all which have a legend to explain each.

Hopefully it helps other parents who have also found themselves in the same situation, which from my post, many of you have 📚 HOPE THIS HELPS!!

Browse the full parent-recommended book guide below