Book recommendations for teenagers

[Faustus]

Thought I'd put this one to the GF to see if I get any decent ideas.

 

Basically, I'm doing some private tutoring at the minute to help kids with their English Lit. One of the lads I've got is 14/15 and quite a bright and perceptive kid who comes out with some really great ideas. It's especially noticeable because I've deliberately picked out extracts from some difficult books with a lot of complex themes for him to have a look at, and each time he's made some fantastic points and always manages to support his argument.

 

The only problem with the lad is his spelling. It's absolutely atrocious and he's asked what I can do to help him out with it and I've said that from personal experience, the one thing that helped me out when I was his age and younger was the fact that I read a lot (and still do). The lad I'm talking about has never really been exposed to literature in his life, so he's never really had any inclination to read anything other than what he's been told to buy his teachers. Even then it sounds like he's not having much reading work set at school because (and this I found incredibly bizarre) he had an exam on Of Mice And Men in Jan, but the teacher had made no attempt to go through the book the class and just set up the DVD player and stuck on the film version. Anyway, I let him borrow my copy and he read it over the Christmas break and after giving it me back, he said he felt he got more out of it than the film.

 

Anyway, I'm trying to spark an interest in reading as a way of improving his spelling. Does anybody have recommendations of stuff that may be of interest to the kids of that age that's fairly contemporary within the last 30 years or so (away from Harry Potter, the Twilight and Hunger games stuff) that he might find fairly relevant to his age? One of the books we've looked at extracts from is Less Than Zero (obviously carefully edited extracts) and he's responded well to it and really liked it, but I'm a bit reluctant to lend it to him because of a lot of the really graphic shit which goes on and in case his parents feel it's unsuitable for somebody of his age. Recommending a kind of watered down version of that would be great.

 

So, anyway, any recommendations for books or graphic novels for kids of this age would be great. A little summary ofthe plot and general themes would also be great in case I haven't heard of it.

 

Cheers in advance, ladies and gents.

[Champ]

I experienced a similar 'problem' with my son. Once I stopped reading to him he never really progressed to reading for himself and struggled when he got to the exam stage. Does 'your lad' do any reading for pleasure at all? I know time isnt on his side but if this is the situation how about just get him started with something related to his interests, sporting autobiographies, for instance, and build up from there

 

And you're right that book market for young people of that age seems saturated with all that sci fi/fantasy stuff and very little else

[Faustus]

Doesn't read for pleasure at all, Champ. He's into his footy (supports that shower across the park) so I've actually been thinking of going down that road to try and spark something. Awaydays by Kevin Sampson is something which crossed my mind to lend him because you've got the young person's angst there set against the backdrop of something he's interested in. Obviously I'd have to a word with his mum if she'd be okay with me lending him a book which has hooliganism featuring prominently, but I think it might be something he'll have an interest in.

[Champ]

Or maybe to get him started, something fairly easy reading like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

[Lee909]

I didn't really start reading much till I was 14/15.

 

I had a interest in history and warfare so started reading books on a bout them.

Duncan Falconer,first into action(SBS autobiography)

 

Conn Iggulden does historical fiction that's good.Pretty easy quick read.

 

David Gemmell fantasy books.

Games workshops black library sci-fi and fantasy books are aimed at adults and teenagers but not much good unless you are interested in that sort of thing.

 

If he has any interest in MMA I have a few autobiographies I'm getting rid of you can have.

[Anny Road]

Razzle used to keep me amused for ages when I was a teen.

[RedinSweden]

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman is fantastic.

Edited January 22, 2013 by RedinSweden
spelling

[chauncey]

Definitely Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton and try out a couple of short stories from Will Self's Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys.

[Sugar Ape]

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman is fantastic.

 

Yep, brilliant. When I was his age I would read stuff like Lord of the rings and Sherlock Holmes.

 

Also something wicked this way comes and All quiet on the western front should keep his attention.

[Paul]

I'd be amazed if an English teacher just showed a DVD. Amazed. My blag detector is screaming here.

 

To get him reading, start with his interests and start small: newspapers and magazines, football reports and film reviews, etc. Build up to books once he's dipped his toe. Start with 15 mins reading a day and build up from there with biographies that tie in to his interests.

 

Throwing novels at a non-reading teenage boy and expecting him to read them is like telling him he can't ever wank again: utterly futile.

 

Also, if his spelling is shite, teach him the basic rules and get him to learn them. Hard work is better than osmosis in the short term.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Paul

[Anubis]

For something contemporary which is actually a good read, try this :

 

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

[TheBitch]

Lord of the flies.

The hobbit.

Animal farm.

1984.

[Pidge]

Terry Pratchett

J.G. Ballard (The Drowned World is pretty good without being too graphic, obviously he can be a bit full on)

Phillip K. Dick

Aldous Huxley

[Pidge]

Best place to start might be at a library.

 

edit: how about Life of Pi?

[GR10 LFC]

My dad used to work nights, I often used to pick up whatever he was reading when I was about 14/15. Got into Stephen King after reading one of my dad's - think it was Cujo. From then on joined a library and used to get my own.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Great suggestions on here already. A couple more i'd suggest are (i) the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and (ii) Anthony Horowitz's stuff. The latter especially will be easy for him to get into.

 

Truth is, though, your best bet is taking him to the bookstore/library and letting him choose whatever he wants. Even if its to do with sport (as long as its not an autobiography). The big thing here is that you want him to get into the habit of reading and doing it for pleasure, in order to break the stigma of it being a chore.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Best place to start might be at a library.

 

edit: how about Life of Pi?

 

Having read it, I could never imagine reading it at 14. Kind of novel that is better appreciated once you have an emotional maturity post-teen.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Oh and one more suggestion is Holes by Louis Sachar. A very good book.

[Champ]

Great suggestions on here already. A couple more i'd suggest are (i) the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and (ii) Anthony Horowitz's stuff. The latter especially will be easy for him to get into.

 

Truth is, though, your best bet is taking him to the bookstore/library and letting him choose whatever he wants. Even if its to do with sport (as long as its not an autobiography). The big thing here is that you want him to get into the habit of reading and doing it for pleasure, in order to break the stigma of it being a chore.

 

What's wrong with autobiographies? Like Paul said, if he's never read for pleasure getting him to read anything is a bonus. Get him interested and then move on from there

[scruffy]

Robert Westall Books are quite good from what I remember....I loved them as a kid, maybe they will be a bit simple for him, but they are generally good stories, quite short and keep the pages turning....any of these would go down well, but Machine Gunners, Devil on the Road, Break of Dark and Futuretrack Five are one's that really stick out...

 

The Machine Gunners

The Wind Eye

The Watch House

The Devil on the Road

Fathom Five

The Scarecrows

Break of Dark

Futuretrack Five

[Faustus]

I'd be amazed if an English teacher just showed a DVD. Amazed. My blag detector is screaming here.

 

To get him reading, start with his interests and start small: newspapers and magazines, football reports and film reviews, etc. Build up to books once he's dipped his toe. Start with 15 mins reading a day and build up from there with biographies that tie in to his interests.

 

Throwing novels at a non-reading teenage boy and expecting him to read them is like telling him he can't ever wank again: utterly futile.

 

Also, if his spelling is shite, teach him the basic rules and get him to learn them. Hard work is better than osmosis in the short term.

 

Paul, I'm only going by what the lad has told me himself. I was pretty surprised myself, considering he had an exam on the book this month, but I'm only going on his word. Obviously he could well be telling porkies, but I can't really see why he'd lie about having read a book or not. He's got his controlled assessments to do on the book in the coming months, so whether his class will start reading it this term in preparation for them I don't know. Either way, he's read it now so at least he's up to speed and there's no harm done if his class pick up the text this term.

 

Anyway, cheers for the great suggestions. A lot of good shouts on here. I can't believe I forgot His Dark Materials because I loved the books when I was his age. I think they may be a bit heavy for him at the moment, so I'll probably print off a couple of things to do with Everton he might be interested in and use them as stepping stones to other things.

Edited January 23, 2013 by Faustus

[RedinSweden]

Great suggestions on here already. A couple more i'd suggest are (i) the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and (ii) Anthony Horowitz's stuff. The latter especially will be easy for him to get into.

 

Good call. My son is 14 and loved those.

 

I can also recommend the H.I.V.E series. They were really exciting, I used to read them to him at night and if he slept i would continue reading for myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.I.V.E._(series)

[Sut]

It's a bit outside the 30 yr limit but Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is a great book for lads about that age. The Hallowe'en Tree is another good'un and is relatively short as well.

 

Graphic Novels: try Self Made Hero's version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Mike Mignola's Hellboy and Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. Jeff Smith's epic Bone is a must as well. (ooer)

 

There was an article in the Guardian last year, I think, about a girl who was teaching a group of lads in a colliery town that were totally disaffected. She got to know their interests and then started to write a story with them as the central characters. It started off small and moved into tackling things that mattered to them (the high unemployment in the town and the problems of drug abuse were tackled by her and the boys through it). As far as I can remember, she got great results from this approach.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Something by John Irving perhaps ? The Ciderhouse Rules and A Prayer For Owen Meany are two of the best books I've ever read.

 

Or you could tell him to have a look at Irvine Welsh's Filth. Ha ha.

 

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut would also be a home run. Wonderful book.

 

Was also gonna suggest The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressel, but perhaps that's a bit too much too soon ?

[VladimirIlyich]