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Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Teenagers

Books for teenage boys!

27 replies

whatwouldobamado · 06/09/2013 22:01

Okay, so, let me get this out of the way. I'm not a Mum. And I certainly don't plan on being a Mum any time in the near future.
I'm 14, 15 next month.

So what am I doing on Mumsnet, you may ask?

Why, I'm here to ask you this:
What books would you recommend to a fourteen-year-old boy? and also
What books did your teenage boys enjoy?

I am a die-hard book-fan, I can't get enough of reading, I'd say it's probably considered a dangerous addiction concerning my Mother's bank account. However, one of my friends is pretty much the opposite: hates reading, thinks books are crap, has not had a lot of reading experience.

I told him I would convert him, but it's proving tough so far. I promised said conversion at the end of the school year (June-July 2013). So far, no suitable books have been found, thus no progress has been made.

I'd appreciate any offers Smile

(If you'd like to through in a cheeky recommendation for me also, I certainly wouldn't complain Wink)

OP posts:
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ThreeBeeOneGee · 06/09/2013 22:44

Has he tried Robert Muchamore (Cherub etc)?

My 13 year old son enjoyed the Maze Runner books (James Dashner) and likes reading books with titles like The Fear and The Enemy (Charlie Higson).

Zombies feature highly, as do scenarios where everyone over the age of 16 has died. Grin

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booksteensandmagazines · 07/09/2013 09:29

Try Spud by John van de Ruit. - my teens and the friends they lent it to loved it. Funny but moving too and not so well know in the UK (so maybe you would like it too) I run a website that reviews books for teens - no cost or obligation involved on your part so you can have a look there too:

//Www.booksteensandmagazines.com

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louby44 · 07/09/2013 09:35

You write very well for a 14 year old!

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MoreThanWords · 07/09/2013 09:41

Maybe some shorter Bali Rai books to build up his reading stamina first? Then maybe the Michael Grant series - Fear, Lies, Gone, Plague; Bzrk. Anthony Horowitz, Charlie Higson.

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MoreThanWords · 07/09/2013 09:44

When I Was Joe (Keren David)

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EsTutMirLeid · 07/09/2013 13:52

What about:
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Maze Runner - James Dashner

Also what about looking at JesseTheReader on YouTube he does book hauls and reviews, he seems to do quite a wide variety of books but I would definitely say they'd appeal more to 14 year old boys. He also reads and reviews Manga.

Another booktuber worth looking out for is TheReadables.

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SheldonCoopersMom · 07/09/2013 13:56

You don't sound like a 14 year old boy. Even one who reads a lot of books.
My 15 year old son reads as much as I do. We use the library.

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teenagersarentsobad · 07/09/2013 14:25

SheldonCoopersMom

Reason being that I'm not a 14 year old boy, but a 14 year old girl Smile

Anyone else who has doubts about me being a 14 year old girl, don't, there is nothing I could gain about pretending to be a teenage girl on Mumsnet.

Also, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm quite advanced at English. Smile

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teenagersarentsobad · 07/09/2013 14:26

louby44, thank you!

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teenagersarentsobad · 07/09/2013 14:27

And obviously, thank you to everyone who has recommended books - I will check out alllll of them Smile

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thecatfromjapan · 07/09/2013 14:28

"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - Douglas Adams

Books by comedy writers (eg. Stuart Lee).

My 14 year old liked "The Remains of the Day" - Kazuo Ishiguru.

I loved re-reading "The Lord of the Rings" - Tolkien.

Good luck.

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Ilovegeorgeclooney · 07/09/2013 18:09

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

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RubySparks · 08/09/2013 18:26

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - got my son reading and still his favourite book.

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Pizdets · 08/09/2013 19:00

The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. Awesome 'young adult' books which I enjoyed in my 30s!

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MoreThanWords · 08/09/2013 19:00

Looking For Alaska; Rani & Sukh, (un)arranged Marriage; Angel Collector

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TunipTheUnconquerable · 08/09/2013 19:06

Does he like football? If so, Mal Peet is fantastic - they start off being about football but go much further. (The Keeper, Penalty)

The books that kept my nephew sitting in a tree unable to come down till he'd finished them were The Hunger Games and The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking trilogy, already mentioned) but I am not crazy about the ending of that myself.

If he might like scifi, Unwind by Neal Shusterman is seriously creepy. Or that one where the internet is channelled directly into people's brains - Feed by M.T. Anderson.

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Bumply · 08/09/2013 19:17

My 15 year old is currently reading the Game of Thrones after watching the tv series. Wants to see what happens next.
He's more into Manga, though. I wasn't sure manga counted as real reading, but he introduced me to Bakugan which is a story about how two school boys get into making manga as a career and it was very interesting.

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MoreThanWords · 11/09/2013 07:42

IBoy is essentially a good read - except for one scene of a gang rape - which I personally feel is a step too far.

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JCDenton · 14/09/2013 11:12

Seconding Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

If they like sci-fi in other mediums some of Arthur C Clarke's short stories are amazing, starting with short stories might make reading seem less intimidating TheWind from the Sun is great.

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chocoluvva · 14/09/2013 16:00

Perhaps he'd enjoy 'The diary of Adrian Mole' by Sue Townsend.

Or '1984' by George Orwell.

'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Attwood

'Finding Violet Parks'

Have you considered asking for a kindle for Christmas by the way?
Or, investigating 'Read it, Swap it'?

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chocoluvva · 14/09/2013 16:01

Asterix and the Gauls?

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bruffin · 16/09/2013 08:50

These are all series of books my ds enjoyed

Percy Jackson
HIVE
Cherub
Artemis Fowl
Young James Bond
Alex Rider
Spooks Apprentice
Eragon

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notsoold · 20/09/2013 00:19

Books my ds enjoyed
Eragon series
Cherub series
The hunger games
The book thief
Lord of the rings
Gone series and football biographies.

Books I enjoyed when a teenager ( in the dark ages)
Lord of the rings
Burroughs Edgar books
Shakespeare comedies
1984

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WorrySighWorrySigh · 20/09/2013 21:21

My DS (mildly dyslexic) loved the Lord of the Rings books and is now really enjoying the Sharpe stories by Richard Cornwell.

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ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged · 20/09/2013 21:25

The Gone series by Michael Grant are popular at my school, as are the Alex Rider serie.

Malorie Blackman (Noughts & Crossses, Noble Conflict) is great.

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