This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.
I got asked earlier this week to recommend some good teen books for boys. Which gave me a bit of difficulty. While I know there are a fair number of good books and series for girls in that age range, such as the books by Tamora Pierce, I don't know the same thing for boys. What I ended up coming up with were the Cherub/Henderson Boys series by Robert Muchamore, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.
Given the size of the teen section in both the library and my local bookstore, those can't be the only good teen books for boys out there. On the other hand, I'm comfortable recommending them simply because they get asked for a lot. Surely there are some librarians or parents of teen boys out there who can make some more suggestions. So, What Would You Recommend?
6 comments:
Well...there's always Harry Potter (but chances are they've already read it). Then others I can think of are:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (he also has a few others they may like)
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien
Percy Jackson series (again, assuming they haven't read it)
I've also met a few guys who have enjoyed His Dark Materials by Philup Pullman.
Lots of good suggestions there.
It seems to me that boys right now at least are interested in stories that are set in "our world" more that straight fantasy/science fiction worlds. Or at least an urban fantasy type version of our world, as I understand the Maximum Ride series to be.
Which means, I guess, that I should have added the Cory Doctorow books: For The Win and Little Brother to the list.
I would second the Neil Gaiman suggestion; Neverwhere comes to mind (I don't think there was swearing in that book).
I read LoTR at twenty-five and found it horrifically boring and I should think younger readers would have an issue with it's pace and length.
I know teenagers who have enjoyed A book of Lost things, by John Connolly and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
I'm not really up on urban fantasy.
Chad, I'll definitely keep those ones in mind. The LOTR isn't for everyone, but I'd worn out my first copy by the time I was eleven. Still re-read it and the other books regularly.
I know in the middle school all the boys like the alex rider stories.
boy toy was pretty good too, but i don't know if it would be a boy and a girl story.
That's a popular one too Niki. Sometimes I forget about the books in the kids section when I'm looking in the teen books and vice versa. Thanks.
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