I introduced the kid to Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series; once he polished that one off, he attacked the next one and asked that I read it as well. Wild Magic begins the next quartet of books, this one focused on Daine, a girl who can speak with animals (though not necessarily convince them to do what she wants). Daine has a traumatic origin story, and Pierce does a good job handling her subsequent trust issues without ever making her into a victim.