Need helping picking YA for gift - need something off the beaten path

I want to buy some books for my niece. She's 11, a voracious, advanced reader who likes mysteries and teen angst in particular. Her parents are very conservative and religious so I'm trying to steer away from paranormal/magic titles. Since she reads so much I'm hoping to find something that is not hugely popular and thus less likely to be something she's already read.

Thanks!

How about A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee? I haven't read it myself (yet), but I know it's a new YA historical mystery/detective book.

Feathered by Laura Kasischke has a very slight magical realistic feel to it, but it's largely a "What happened" and teen angsty kind of book. (At least that's how I remember it. Been a while.)

Very possibly Thea Beckman's Crusade in Jeans. It involves time travel. A young teenager gets stranded in the middle ages and joins the children's crusade. ('fraid it's the Beckman I haven't read, so I can't give much more details than a synopsis would. All I can do is promise you that the likelihood your niece has read this is very close to zero.)

I'm sorry that's not terribly useful, but I hope they make a good starting boards for you! Good luck finding your niece a gift! ^-^

The Sisters Grimm Series by, Michael Buckley the first one is The Fairytale Detectives
For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, life has not been a fairy tale. After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, the sisters are sent to live with their grandmother--a woman they believed was dead! Granny Relda reveals that the girls have two famous ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, whose classic book of fairy tales is actually a collection of case files of magical mischief. Now the girls must take on the family responsibility of being fairy tale detectives.

And if she is an advanced reader she may also like the Forensic Mysteries Series by, Alane Ferguson
#1-The Christopher Killer
#2- The Angel of Death
#3-The Circle of Blood
The sleepy Rocky Mountain town of Silverton, Colorado hasn’t seen a murder in years according to Pat Mahoney, the county coroner. So when his teenage daughter, Cameryn, asks if she can be his assistant as preparation for a career in forensic pathology he figures it s a safe bet. But neither of them imagines that their first case will involve someone Cameryn knows . . . the fourth victim of a serial killer.
Attending her first autopsy is more difficult than Cameryn had ever expected, but she’s determined to find her friend‘s murderer. Before long, Cameryn is plunged into a disturbing mystery, matching wits with everyone from the cantankerous medical examiner who doubts her abilities to the famous psychic who is predicting yet another death soon.
Edgar-award winner Alane Ferguson has written a smart and fascinating forensic mystery.

Crusade in Jeans sounds perfect, but I can't find a new copy anywhere. For a book so highly rated by so many people, it's disappointing that it's out of print. I'll keep looking. Thanks!

I really liked Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix. In fact, her whole body of work is interesting and intense without being overwhelming. Most of the books are of average length or less, and the writing is excellent.

Would highly recommend her "Shadow Children" series - beginning with Among the Hidden.

I used to read and love Christopher Pike books. He has one vampire series that you could steer away from but the rest are mystery and teen angst-ish. It's a popualr one but The Book Thief by Mark Zusak is a fantastic book about a foster girl in Nazi Germany. I also recommend the Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore. Slightly reminded me of Lord of the Rings with a YA slant.

I thought of Running Out of Time, too, before I'd read down to MerryMary's message. It's amazingly gripping. It would be perfect for an intense 11-year-old.

Re. finding the out of print book, did you try abebooks.com? Often they have Fine/Fine copies of out of print books. So you might find one in new condition.

Another idea might be the Black Banner series by Geoffrey Trease: No Boats on Bannermere, Under Black Banner, Black Banner Players, Black Banner Abroad, The Gates of Bannerdale. Most (if not all) of the series involves mysteries. They're vintage and English, so it's unlikely she's come across them, and they've recently been reprinted in attractive new paperbacks by Girls Gone By Publishers. (That's a very small publisher but Abebooks and Ebay are good ways to find booksellers that carry them.)

How about The Last Thing I Remember which is the first in a trilogy by Andrew Klavan. Very much action and mystery.

A series I read about the same age was Tomorrow, When the War Began. It's about 15 years old now and an Australian series so I doubt your niece would have come across it (but it is widely in print now due to a movie version being released in Australia recently).

The story is about a group of teenagers who go on a camping trip and come back to find the country has been invaded. So not a mystery, although you did say your niece liked teen angst, of which the book has an excess.

I will note, however, that the third book of the series does contain some sexual content that, depending on how conservative her parents are, may offend. The first book makes a fine read on its own in any case.

Another series I read around the same time was Pagan's Crusade, but given her tastes, that may not appeal to your niece.

Edited for typo

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt. Two friends find the same guy trying to copy Rembrandt paintings at two different museums. A news report announces that this same gentleman has discovered a missing Rembrandt. They are on the case to find out if the new painting is a forgery or not.

It is a quick, fast read that keeps you on your toes. The girls get to travel to a lot of different countries, which might interest you niece.

A sequel came out last year, with a third book arriving next year.

If it's a mystery you're after, Chasing Vermeer and its sequel The Wright 3 are very intelligent young adults mysteries. More down the teen angst line, what about Beastly, which is about to become a movie next year starring Vanessa Hudgeons (of High School Musical fame) and Alex Pettyfer, who stared in the movie version of Stormbreaker?

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was an enjoyable read when I was young. Two children run away from home and live in the Metropolitan museum of art. They become entranced by a statue of an angel and solve a mystery as to who the sculptor was.

Im not sure if it is a commonplace book though, definitely not a new one as I read it 20+ years ago now, not sure about the print status.

One of my favorite reads this year was a YA novel written in simple poetry Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba about a 12 year old boy who escapes the Holocaust by inadvertently emigrating to Cuba. His parents put him on a boat bound for Canada where they were turned away then also turned away from the US. He's helped to acclimate by a young Cuban girl and an older exiled Soviet Jew. It doesn't have descriptions of the Holocaust, but there is discussion of political manipulation.

The Westing Game is a classic YA mystery that has stood the test of time.

You might try Beverly Cleary's teen books: Fifteen, Sister of the Bride, Jean and Johnny and The Luckiest Girl. I read them when I was about eleven and enjoyed them. They were written in the 50s, so they're squeaky clean, though they have plenty of teen angst.

I'd also suggest some of the less well-known L.M. Montgomery books. She's probably read the Anne books, but there's also the Pat books, the Emily books, The Blue Castle, Jane of Lantern Hill and others.

Rubita12: Fifteen is one of my all time favorites!

Yeah, me too! When my mom gave it to me I thought life must have been like that for her when she was 15. And when I told her that she was upset because she was fifteen a good ten years later. Oops.
But the scene where she buys and then carries the "manly" bouquet of flowers to Stanley is classic.
It's been a while since I reread it...I think it's time for another go!

Thank you for all your suggestions! I'm checking out all of them and making a selection tonight.

Try the series of books called The Mysterious Benedict Society if she hasn't already read them. It is a mystery series of 3 books about these gifted children going out on the mysterious assignments/adventures. The readability of the novels may not be as advanced as what she is able to handle, but the content of the story lines are not only age-appropriate, but are interesting and exciting, as well.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. I haven't read it myself yet, but it's on my TBR pile. Judging from its rating on LT, tags and reviews, I think it'd be appropriate for your niece.

These were originally published early in the 1900s but are still in print and still good. Freckles and Girl of the Limberlost. My Mom got me to read them when I was about your niece's age.

*sigh of pure delight*

What a great recommendation, sandyg!