Book recommendations for 14 yr old boy

[always quiet]

I want my son to spend time this summer reading and NOT only glued to a game cube or the computer. I know what kinds of books teenage girls like, but I am clueless on what books would interest a teenage boy! Any ideas what would interest him (and no, I do not think Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition counts! )

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

Here are some ideas:

Brian's Song
The Brave
The Hobbitt
Light In the Forest
Shadow of the Dragon

I'm sure there are more . . .those were some on our Summer Reading List

 

[mtemm]

if he likes any kind of fantasy I recommend:

The Once and Future King by TH White

The Sword of Shannara triology by Terry Brooks

there's always the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Harry Potter
Sports Biographies (pick an athelete)

 

[missypie]

My DS 13 is a major reader and these are his favorites:
Harry Potter, of course
Series of Unfortunate Events books
He started getting into Ray Bradbury books at school. We went to a used book store and bought all they had.
Don't know howyou feel about it, by my son just gobbled up Don Brown's books "Angels and Demons" and "DaVinci Code."

 

[Tinks]

I have 2 nephews, ages 16 and 14. They read the Harry Potter series (5 books) and my 16 year old just commented on how good "A Wrinkle in Time" is. Hope that helps a little!

 

[Tinks]

Ooops! The 16 year old also liked the "Chronicles of Narnia."

 

[dennis99ss]

The three investigators series, but, I don't know how old they are for

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Watership Down
Eragon

everybody here will give a big groan but my 13yo boy is REALLY into Michael Moore and Al Franken this summer. :lol

 

[Karel]

OK, without knowing his reading level and interests, here is a few ideas. (Some may be a bit low reading level- wise but I think it's best for summer reading to give them easier things):

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Between a Rock and a Hard place by Alden Carter
Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Holes by Louis Sacher
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Artemis Fowl
Ender's Game
Gary Paulsen books
Among the Hidden (plus others in the series) by somebody Haddix
books by Chris Cutcher
The Westing game by Ellen Raskin
Lois Duncan books


Does he like fantasy, mystery, horror etc? Somebody I know checks out the summer reading lists for various schools. Does he have to read anything for school?

 

[Cindy B]

Lets see my 12 year old students were reading..

Harry Potter
Lemony Snicket
Lord of the Rings
Di Vinci Code
Angels and Demons

 

[missypie]

How could I have forgotten Artemus Fowl!!!

 

[damo]

Yes, the Artemis Fowl trilogy (are they done?) were a hit here as well.

My 15 year old also enjoys the Philip Pullman books a lot (Subtle Knife, Golden Compass, Amber Spyglass).

Another obscure but excellent book he enjoyed is The Eye, the Ear and the Arm by Nancy Farmer.

Lord of the Rings.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I bet your local bookstore or library has a list. Barnes & Noble has a list in our store for all grades' required summer reading.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't know how you feel about the subject matter but my son has always enjoyed the Goosebumps series. I think that R L Stine has another series that might feature older kids too.

 

[elgerber]

My dh read only a few books as a teenager, but he loved The Outsiders, by SE Hinton. As did I, her books are all excellent. That Was Then, This is Now, would be my second favorite.

Erika

 

[Disneylvr]

The other posters in this thread have made some excellent suggestions. I am a youth services manager at a public library and often go to this web site to see what young adults are currently reading and what they rate as a "cool read": Cool Reads

I do warn parents who are concerned about content to preview the books first as many of the recommend titles on this site are written for adults.

 

[jetsetter90]

DS 14 has been assigned 2 very good books about boys and coming of age.

Lord of the Flies
Chocolate War

If only I can get him to read.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My brother, BIL, & nephew who is 13 read the "Dragon Lance" book series. It is fantasy & I have never read it but they LOVE it! It's a guy thing, I think.

 

[Galahad]

We are a bit surprised by our 14 YO DS's summer reading list. He will be a Freshman in August. Here is is summer list:

- Anthem - Ayn Rand
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
- A Thriller about Palestinian/Israeli violence the title of which I can't recall
- Hiroshima

No these are all fine books. DS says they are "just wierd", and beyond our conversations and some research on-line, he really won't get the contexts the teacher is after until school starts. Our question is, what happened to the classics. Seems there are a lot of themes that can be explored without simply choosing the P.C. titles of the moment.

He's also re-reading the Harry Potter series this summer and wants to read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series for a lark. There is another series with "Red" as part of the title (like Redwood or something)....a fantacy series....swashbuckling rodents and such...that he loves too but I can't remember the exact names.