Book recommendations for teenage boys?

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
21
My 15 year old daughter loved the Adrian Mole series. I was thinking of the books that she reads and your right most of the lead roles are girls. I've only read one myself by the Charlie Higson books where James Bond is at school are not too bad. I think Silverfin was the first one.

22
Catcher in the Rye and Animal Farm

23
I'm guilty of dipping into books for teenagers and young adults once in a while.

With boys as protagonists:

Stig of the Dump (perhaps a bit young?)

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book...description-20

Life of Pi

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book...205/Life-of-PI

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book...the-Night-time

One classic that comes to mind:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

And anything related to your son's interests. For example, my teenage nephew appreciates books on developing his mind for golf and business classics.

24

Def my list right there. Add

A Separate Peace

Lord of the Flies

Animal Farm

25
Hustler, Playboy?

26
Loved Willard Price books:

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adv...(Willard_Price )

cheers

SC

27
What they said... plus anything by Ray Bradbury if they are into science fiction. And "Into the wild" by Jon Krakauer. And "Never cry wolf" by Farley Mowat... and depending on their age Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.... there is just too many !!!

28
Have you tried Cornelia Funke's Ink trilogy? rather for a young teen - 13-15 I'd say. VO is in German...

29

lots of good contemp. fiction here...

30
Age 12-16 or so:

The Mysterious Island Jules Verne

The Count of Montecristo Alexandre Dumas

Michael Strogoff Jules Verne

A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin (but more for 12-13 year old)

Dracula Bram Stoker

Frankenstein Mary Shelley

A Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne

The Lost World Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Any of the Sherlock Holmes books Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Lord of the Files William Golding

Bulfinch's Mythology Thomas Bulfinch

Cosmicomics Italo Calvino

Over 17 or so:

Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevski

A Separate Peace John Knowles

All quiet on the Western Front Rainer Maria Remarque

If this is a Man Primo Levi

The Things they Carried Tim O'Brien

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

Metamorphosis Franz Kafka

Metamorphoses Ovid

My rule of thumb is: always have a look at the literature classics. They are classics for a reason, notably because they are way better and more life-changing than whatever is on today's Best Seller list.

31
When I was in my teens some of my reading was very healthy and efficient.

(giving my age away here)

32
Hey,

I was a teenage boy not too long ago - I'd note that 'Harry Potter' is definitively not fantasy - not at all. There can some exciting other worlds out there is you can find an author who suits your tastes. You mightn't like it anyway but still... the definitive fantasy book for teenage boys (and what started me off with the genre) is;

'Magician' by Raymond E. Feist.

Try it; if it doesn't go down well then he probably actually doesn't like fantasy - but please don't give up the genre on thf back on Harry Potter!!!

Good luck,

Simon

P.S I don't mind Harry Potter - it's alright and I've read them... but there are some cooler ideas out there :-).

33
I loved them too, but anything I think is cool, is slowly becoming out of the question.

Now that kind of literature he can (and probably will - or even has ) get from the Internet. I'm not paying for that

Yes, loved the first two of those, the third wasn't very good. My younger son likes them. Cornelia Funke is brilliant: Herr der Diebe (the Thief Lord), Drachenreiter, Gespensterjäger and many more - all done and dusted! Have you read her latest, Reckless? It's supposed to be quite grim, so I'm not sure about that.

Fantasy's great for my other son, so I'll keep that in mind. This young teen is into computers, electronics, science and engineering - I would give him the Stieg Larsson trilogy, but think he's still a little young for that kind of brutality.

Thanks for all your feedback.

34
A few years back the bbc compiled a list of top 100 books (the big read), many already mentioned here and many of them I read as a teenager

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

I also used to read

Nevile Shute (A town like Alice / On the beach - novels about life in Australia),

Aldous Huxley

John Wyndham (Day of the Triffids / The chrysalids),

Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island and Kidnapped),

If your boys like animals,

Gerrald Durrel (My family and other animals - and any of his other books),

James Herriot (All creatures great and small - all the books are great)

They all have great ratings on Amazon

35
Yes, I have that one, too. Reminds me, I have a few of those I still have to work through myself.

36
I don't know if you're still looking but i have some new R. Dahl young adults books for sale if you're interested?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3866858...7622683173759/

37
Thanks, Tala. We're pretty much covered on the classics. I'm looking more for recent authors with up-to-date topics (computers, science adventures etc.).

38
15 year old boy? - violence and sex are what you want. (with additional science and weirdness thrown in)

Contemporary = last 25 years.

Neuromancer - William Gibson

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

Vurt - Jeff Noon

Game of Thrones - G.R.R.Martin

Sharpe's Eagle - Cornwell

Sandman Comics - Neil Gaiman

The Black Dahlia - Elroy (maybe a bit too much violence)

Snow Crash - Stephenson

American Psycho - Ellis (I hated it but you never know)

39

12 years old. Going on 15 from time to time.

No, he's not into violence. Sex? Now, would a mother know that?

Thanks for your suggestions - I'll look into them.

I've found a couple he really likes: Lucy and Stephen Hawkings "George's Secret Key to the Universe" and the follow-up book. They're fantastic. Anything like that - technical, scientific, cyber-crime - not horror, psycho, or anything old-fashioned.

He tried Percy Jackson, but can't get into it. (Lightning Thief - with old ladies knitting socks at a bus stop ). He got the DVD for Christmas too, so perhaps he'll take a liking after watching it.

40
Lots of good books mentioned. Did anyone mention Ender's Game? Good for 12-14? What that red guy said about the classics, and for non-fiction have them read or watch anything involving James Burke.