Recommendations for boy just discovering not all YA is equally enthralling.

[merritt]

Julian Mays stuff seems like it would be OK. Jack the Bodiless, etc. Adult themes but no porn.

The Exiles and Milieu series.

2 books that are very enjoyable(no worries here):

The Aluminum Man - Edmondson
and Way Station - Simak

 

[Thadlerian]

Sounds like a good time to start reading The Lord of the Rings.

 

[monkeypooper]

L Ron Hubbard books are ideal, just forget about all that Scientology crap,


mission earth series or battlefield earth is a great read

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Maybe Chris Wooding's YA books:

The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
Poison
Storm Thief

Or Marcus Sedgwick

The Book of Dead Days
The Dark Flight Down

 

[Timba]

Early Heinlein, such as "Have Spacesuit, will travel" or "Mother was a Lovely Beast"
Rick Riordan, The Percy Jackson series
Kathy Reichs better known for her Temperence Brennan (Bones) character recently wrote a YA called Virals which now has a sequel called Seizures. I have not read Seizures yet but Virals was great fun.
Anne McCaffery's Pern series
Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar stuff.

 

[monsterchic]

As a teen myself, I would recommend:
Hunger Games,
Percy Jackson,
Bloody Jack(LM Meyer),
Harry Potter(of course, no brainer...),
The Den of Shadows(Amelia Atwater-Rhodes),
Uglies and Leviathan series(Scott Westerfield),
anything by Tamora Pierce,
Lord of the Rings,
Incarceron,
anything Holly Black,
Watersmeet,
Elphame's Choice and Brighid's Quest(PC Cast),
The Roar(Emma Clayton)

I'll research more, but if you need anymore, PM me.

 

[zigzzagz]

Hard to do better than the hobbit if he hasn't been there yet. Also maybe better yet, a book called I believe 'nine princes in amber' though I may possibly have the amount of princes incorrect, it could be less. Lol regardless it would be very easy to find and is one of a few books from my youth I'd really love to read again. Absolutely brilliant and imaginative. Gripping from page one till the last. Sorry I can't remember the author either but it's quite a famous book, and like I said would not be at all hard to find with the info I've given you. Yes definately get him that one...... then lend it to me when he's done. Lol

 

[Timba]

Hard to do better than the hobbit if he hasn't been there yet. Also maybe better yet, a book called I believe 'nine princes in amber' though I may possibly have the amount of princes incorrect, it could be less. Lol regardless it would be very easy to find and is one of a few books from my youth I'd really love to read again. Absolutely brilliant and imaginative. Gripping from page one till the last. Sorry I can't remember the author either but it's quite a famous book, and like I said would not be at all hard to find with the info I've given you. Yes definately get him that one...... then lend it to me when he's done. Lol

The Author is Roger Zelasny and it is actually a series of books called the Amber Chronicles. I think the 9 princes was the first book.

 

[Extollager]

C. S. Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet

 

[Anne Lyle]

Julian Mays stuff seems like it would be OK. Jack the Bodiless, etc. Adult themes but no porn.

I wouldn't recommend The Saga of the Exiles for one so young - very adult themes, including rape and torture, in the later books. Add in forced impregnation of captive women, and a character who develops a ten-foot long priapic, um, appendage after losing control of his psi powers...

No. Seriously, no. Highly recommended for adult readers, but not for a 12-year-old.

I haven't read the ones set in the future (Jack the Bodiless, and so on), so they may be milder...

 

[Anne Lyle]

Some actual recommendations:

I would second "Nine Princes in Amber" by Roger Zelazny. Also, any of the Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser books by Fritz Leiber, which have been reissued by Gollancz in the Fantasy Masterworks series - fun, sword-and-sorcery adventures with only mild sexual innuendo, IIRC.

For more recent books...

My husband (who likes Pratchett but is not a fantasy fan as such) enjoyed "The Thief-taker's Apprentice" by Stephen Deas, which is YA - I think there's another book in the series out soon.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I agree with Anne, Exiles is for older teens.

 

[BookStop]

He just finished Metamorphosis by Kafka, and reading Shadowmarch by Tad Williams and A Christmas Carol at the same time. I never, ever, ever read two books at once as my brain gets befuddled. He is quite liking them all though.

I believe I he has the first Amber book, but I'm not sure which bookcase it is currently residing on; haven't seen it in a while, but I should recommend it to him as they are supposed to be wonderful.

 

[Abernovo]

He's probably already read it, but as he seems to be eclectic in taste, can I suggest Jules Verne, especially From the Earth to the Moon.

By the way, congratulations on raising a son who is already better read than a lot of adults I know.

 

[Rosemary Fryth]

I would suggest 'The Dark is Rising' books by Susan Cooper. I loved them as a teenager and still read them now as an adult.

 

[Rosemary Fryth]

I would recomend anything by Alan Garner, especialy:

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
The Moon of Gomrath
Elidor
The Owl Service

All written between the mid 60's and early 70's.

Also, The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper published between 65 and 77.

And last but by no means least, The Driftway by Penelope Lively written in 1972.

I know these are all pretty old books but I loved them as a kid and I'm only 36 now. I suppose it depends on whether your son can get passed children that talk the queens english and a distinct lack of technology

I'll second you on all of your suggestions. I love those books, still re-read them now. Also if you want a classic children's adventure story, and not a fantasy, 'Swallows and Amazons' is a great read.

 

[Talhe]

I'll toss out a favorite series of my youth, Animorphs and its subseries like the Chronicles and Megamorphs, by K.A. Applegate. It could be described as a mix between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and a case study of the traumas war inflicts. Despite it's demographic, it tackles strong topic, such as war, death, sacrifice, honor, and the loss of innocence with true seriousness. Not all of the books in the long series is a keeper, but I'd recommend most of it.

I read one book of her other series, Remnants, and thought it was high quality (I never continued reading the series), and I heard good things about a third series she'd written.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[Mark Robson]

Hi Bookstop. I must admit that I'm surprised he didn't like The Hunger Games. I loved that trilogy. However, you might like to try:

The Joshua Files series by MG Harris - Sort of young James Bond meets the Bourne Identity meets Dr Who! First book is called Invisible City - plot revolves around the Mayan prophecies of the end of the world in 2012.

Gone by Michael Grant - great near future SF.

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick - A short thriller set in the early 1900s north of the Arctic Circle. Great read.

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve - my all time favourite book for his age.

The Enemy by Charlie Higson - zombies and a high mortality rate amongst the heroes. High paced horror/thriller/sf.

 

[Wybren]

Has he read any Terry Pratchett? I was about 14 when I started reading the Discworld. Or the Gentlemen ******* series by Scott Lynch ( Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies) I've been reading the Abarat series by Clive Barker, and that is pretty good.

I was going to recommend the Abhorsen trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen) by Garth Nix but I see that he didn't get into Abhorsen. But you say he was younger then, it might go better on a second attempt.

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak is a great one.

Though some people would disagree, I would recommend the David Eddings books (all except the last series) I enjoyed reading them when I was younger.

Or what about the Dragonlance books? I always thought they were a good read as a teen.

 

[BookStop]

He has some Dragonlance, I think he picks them up when he's got nothing else, lol, so not his favorite series, but readable for him.

I would love for him to read the Book Thief, wonderful book that it is, and maybe now that his mom isn't the only person recommending it, he'll give it a try.

He tried Dark is Rising a few years ago, but didn't like it. Maybe he was too young, I don't know, but we still have the series, so maybe he should try it again.

I was surprised he didn't like The Hunger Games too. I plan on reading his copy as soon as I ge the chance!

He may like Terry Prachett's discworld books. I have the first 12 or so, and he loves The Hogfather movie, so maybe....

I just showed him this recommendation page, and he thinks The Enemy by Higson sounds good, so we'll have to look for that in the library.

Right now, he's about 1/4 of the way through It by SK, and he's loving it.