Grandma is a fierce reader. She has no genre specific expectations. She will read non-fiction, fantasy, science fiction, westerns, bodice rippers, mysteries and anything else that you put in front of her.
This is not to say that she will like all or any of it, but she will read it.
I remember finding some real literary treasures at Grandma's house when I was young. On the bookshelves of the guest room, I discovered Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Tamora Pierce and many others.
Later in life we have shared a love of YA fiction, especially fantasy.
I asked Grandma to share with me a brief list of the books that most affected her. I then cross referenced this with the list of books that she had told me she would like to read again. The common authors were Elizabeth Moon and Tamora Pierce. Grandma has already devoured everything available by those two authors, so we would be looking for a new author that may provide a similar experience.
Pierce and Moon's defining stories involve young girls who rebel against a patriarchal schema and save the day with heroism and cleverness. Grandma was not attached to the setting, a knights/elves/wizards affair, but more interested in young people growing into heroes.
We looked through Fantastic Fiction and Fiction Connection and came away with Shannon Hale's Princess Academy as a sure-fire winner with magic, an atypical setting, a headstrong young lady main character, an unfair government/patriarchy that needs challenging, and excellent writing.
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