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For Christmas a few years ago I gave my niece what I (and Hatrack) thought were the essential thinking persons books. (Enders Game, Dune, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and one or two others. She already read Tolkien).
Now her brother is at that age--15--and I'd like to set him up as well, but his tastes are out of my area of knowledge.
He is a bit dyslexic which has left him not enjoying much reading. However, I got him a Star Wars hardback book 18 months ago, and he devoured it. His mother thinks I worked a minor miracle. So the secret is to get him books that he is interested in and he will read. The more he reads the better he is able to handly the dyslexia.
Here is what he likes:
Star Wars. Cars. He plays Drum in the band, but is moving into the color gaurd. That's where the cute girls are.
Is there a really good Star Wars book that a fan MUST have?
How about for cars?
Drums?
Just being a fun Teenage boy?
Again, it has to be not too difficult (Dune is right out, as is Tolkien. He has no inclanation to fantasy, and besides Star Wars, not much to Sci Fi).
Perhaps a Graphic novel, though he's shown no love of Super Heros.
His level of nerdom is small.
Let the suggestions commence.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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One of the best teen books I have ever read (agreed on by all my sisters & brother, as well as my parents & many friends) and certainly equal with Ender's Game, is "Tomorrow When the War Began" by John Marsden. It is actually a 7 book series but the first book can stand alone easily (in fact I did not realise it was a series until a couple of years after I read the first book; I had thought it was just a really good stand alone book).
It was written specifically by John Marsden to interest young readers and particularly boys. The books are written in language which is easy to read & understand, without being 'childish' - well, I mean, without seeming like it's a children's book. Also the books are relatively slim so not too off-putting for non-readers. In saying that I have found that adults also enjoy the series, and I still enjoy it and have read it many times.(I still enjoy Ender's Game as well and have read that almost as many times).
You should be able to obtain a copy over there but one of my friends could not find it so I sent him one over. Let me know if you do want a copy & can't find one, they are in every bookstore over here! They retail about $16NZD.
Posts: 1431 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Holes? (Haven't read it, read great reviews, not sure of age-appropriateness.) I Am The Cheese. Catcher in the Rye.
Hmm. I'd try to track down the story with the kids trapped in a huge maze of staircases, being operant-conditioned to perform in front of red/green lights on a machine for food pellets. Ended with some of the kids essentially bowing to traffic lights when they broke out. Unforgettable (except, apparently, for the title or author. *grin)
Edited to add: I second anything by Paul Zindel.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Hey! Callahan's Crosstime Saloon and Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat are also options. Ooooh ... for a great first page hook, Roger Zelazny's Amber series.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Ooh, I second SSR. And the first book has one of the all-time-great first-sentence hooks. (In fact, IIRC, the book got written because HARRISON was so intrigued by the sentence that he had to find out what happened next! )
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Yeah. More like classic detective/adventure stories (the new down&out gumshoe, the "urban rat" of the "stainless steel world," the rebel without a cause) than sci-fi or fantasy in feel, from what I remember. Gritty, sarcastic, funny.
I was turned off by the title for far too long -- didn't realize SSR was a play on words until I read it. I was expecting a story about, well, a robotic rat. Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Yeah, me too! I actually read something else of Harrison's first (don't remember what), and decided to check out the (marvelous, marvelous SSR books).
The blurb and comments on Amazon.com are really interesting. Looks like it stuck with a lot of readers into their adulthoods.
quote:Book Description One by one, five sixteen-year-old orphans are brought to a strange building. It is not a prison, not a hospital; it has no walls, no ceiling, no floor. Nothing but endless flights of stairs leading nowhere —except back to a strange red machine. The five must learn to love the machine and let it rule their lives. But will they let it kill their souls? This chilling, suspenseful indictment of mind control is a classic of science fiction and will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.
quote: I'd forgotten how good this was..., July 14, 2003 Reviewer: Blake Petit "Novelist, Comixtreme.com columnist & reviewer" (Ama, Louisiana United States)
..This is a tight, fast-paced morality play about a group of five teenagers -- orphans, all -- thrown into a twisted experiment in conditioning. I'd forgotten how little of this book is actually spent examining the gargantuan House of Stairs the characters find themselves in. Most of the book takes place on one landing in the labyrinth, near the food machine. It is here that the characters examine themselves and each other, and ultimately are faced with a choice between losing their lives and losing their souls. It's chilling...
quote:I've read it loads of times over the years and still like it. It might not be appropriate for younger kids of high reading ability (or should at least be discussed with them afterward). On the other hand, it is a work to be recommended precisely because it doesn't shy away from tough issues that many adult works grapple with.
quote: Remembering this book, years later, September 1, 2006 Reviewer: Rene Rousseau "ReenieS" (
I first read this book in junior high. I'm 42 year old now, and the themes of this book stand out, even today. It was one of the few books I read in those days that kept me thinking about it, long after it was completed. I believe that this book was what first led me to study psychology. For young readers, it can be quite disturbing, or quite boring...depending upon how much they "think" about it. If you read this book and want to know more about the psychology behind it, check out the entries in Wikipedia about the Milgram study or the Zimbardo Stanford Prison experiements. Another reviewer mentioned Pavlov conditioning, but I think the studies related to obedience and learned helplessness are equally applicable.
posted
I obviously hadn't seen that when I posted. And then I went off and found the book on my own, and was coming back to link to it.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by ElJay: I obviously hadn't seen that when I posted. And then I went off and found the book on my own, and was coming back to link to it.
Sorry. I warned you that I was excessively snarky today . . .
*curious* Did you find it on Hatrack, or somewhere else?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Google. I searched for fiction young adult experiment conditioning. At least, that's the search that was successful. Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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watch that list of Boon's though...Rats Saw God is full of ... well, it's soft core porn in my opinion. Make sure you get the clean recommendation before you buy. A lot of parents still care if their kids are exposed to graphic sex scenes in books/film (I'm not sure about these particular parents.)
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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If he may like graphic novels I can't recommend this one strongly enough. I loved it and I'm a teenager. Easy, fun, and has an incredibly good writer.
Does it also have to be a book? What about CDs?
Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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rivka- I would have gotten that if you hadn't read the thread before me. I actually hated that book, too creepy for me.
I would steer away from anything written more than 20 years ago. I can't think of anything more likely to kill a budding interest in reading than to force the poor kid to read Bradbury or Tolkien.
I'm afraid my reading tastes skew too far nerdish to be much help, but here's the list I came up with.
Harry Potter (might be too young?) Jhereg by Steven Brust (might be too old?) Citizen of the Galaxy by Heinlien (I know this breaks my 20 year rule, but this book has to be one of the most enjoyable I've ever read. It wasn't deep, it didn't impart any great lessons, but boy was it fun) The Thief by Megan Turner
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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All the cute girls in my band were sax and clarinet players. And all the girls liked the drummers and sax players. He should probably stay where he is.
I echo the Thrawn Trilogy, and I, Jedi, which is THE GREATEST stand alone Star Wars novel. I'd add the Rogue and Wraith Squadron books if we're recommending Star Wars books. I also like the Han Solo trilogy.
What about The Hatchet? I think it's by Gary Paulson. I'm trying to remember what I read when I was younger, and all that comes to mind is a heck of a lot of Star Wars books, OSC, Tolkien and some random stuff.
It might be of no interest to him, but what about John Adams and/or 1776 by David McCullough? They're amazing books, and not stuff at all. I read them both in a single sitting, and they are full of excitement and fun, and in the case of 1776, a lot of action and battles, which might interest a fifteen year old boy. Might be a nice introduction to history if he doesn't already like it.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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The X-Wing series are really, really good, too. Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy is great (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command.) Stay away from Kevin J. Anderson's SW books (he did a good job on X-Files novels but the SW, not so much.) Ditto Barbara Hambly (I love her fantasy but what in the name of all that is good was she thinking?) While I enjoy The Courtship of Princess Leia, it is most probably not to a teenaged boy's taste.
The New Jedi Order books... oh, heavens, don't let's even go there.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:What about The Hatchet? I think it's by Gary Paulson.
I think that's Paulsen, although I'm not sure. And I hated it. We had to read it in 5th grade and I HATED it. It seriously disturbed me. I actually threw up at one point.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I second 'The Tommorow Series' those are really really great books. Eragon might be good if he likes fantasy type of stuff, its not very well written though. Paul Zindel is great. Roger Zelazny is awesome! I recently read "Doorways in the Sand" and loved it. "The Amber Chronicles" by Zelazny are awesome also.
Posts: 143 | Registered: Oct 2005
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower- by Stephen Chbosky
I read it, then let my brother read it, who gave it to my other brother, who gave it to my other brother, who gave it to a friend, who passed it around to a few of his friends, who wound up lending it to one of my friends, who took it with her on vacation and gave it to one of her friends, and I think the book is somewhere in Oklahoma right now(I went ahead and bought myself another copy.)
Everyone I know who's read it, from freshmen in high school to juniors in college loved this book.
Posts: 97 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Me just being 20 leads me to read alot of young adult books (never really have grown up) so heres a list of some of my favorite series and individual books.
The Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers (first few chapters are boring, after that you get hooked, bout a boy in Harlem who's brother is in jail and is wanting him to take over his gang. Also The Beast is another good story by him about drugs.)
Shadow Children Series (made for younger kids still impressed me quite a bit. About a society that only allows 2 children (where have I heard that one before!), unlike with Card the kids not legal and due to properganda they want to kill the boy so he has to stay hidden. If he is at all severely dyslexic might be the best story for him just because it was made to be a fairly easy read.)
My newest series called CHERUB (also made for a bit younger of an audience CHERUB is about a large group of teenage spies for MI5, seems cheesy but they do go into quite a bit of important issues: drugs, juvenile justice (which is f***ed up but enough about that), terriorism, etc. Alex Rider isn't bad either there, just a bit more cheesy.)
The classic Star Wars clone Eragon (Fantasy story... I will assume more people know at least a little bit about it by now, if he likes Star Wars books he should enjoy it.)
Seeing as how Harry Potter has already been mentioned won't repeat it but Young Wizards series is also good there (light fantasy series, least up until book 5, bit hard to get into so if he has any problems with ADD might not be the best idea.)
Hmmm thats most of all I can think of right off the top of my head, I am in Korea so no librarys where I can read anything so I can't get more ideas lol. Hope some of those sound like him!
Posts: 5 | Registered: Dec 2006
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It's not exactly high literature, but perhaps the Animorphs series? Not too long or intimidating, lots of action/adventure, evil aliens, etc. I quite enjoyed them as a light read.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I had ALL the Animorph books when I was younger, and my mom sold them, the entire set, for like $15 at a garage sale. I was not happy.
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
quote:What about The Hatchet? I think it's by Gary Paulson.
I think that's Paulsen, although I'm not sure. And I hated it. We had to read it in 5th grade and I HATED it. It seriously disturbed me. I actually threw up at one point.
Yipes! That's a dramatic reaction. I really liked it when I was younger, maybe it's a guy thing?
How much of the NJO series did you read? I thought the first few books were sort of good, but then it got ridiculous, beyond the pale of ridiculous, but it got better eventually. The book where Admiral Ackbar comes out of retirement to trap the Yuuzhan Vong in a huge battle is a sweet book, and there's some little jems mixed in, especially the good stuff about Corran Horn (who I know you're a fan of). But I hated how it ended, and I hate the books that have followed it in the Swarm War and the Legacy of the Force crap where Jaced is some evil Jedi corrupting Ben Skywalker, though Horn is a Jedi Master now, so that's cool.
I could recommend the good books, sadly I wasted my time reading them ALL.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I'm female, and I have loved the Hatchet books since elementary school. I think I own them all by now. I still love them, and re-read them, and suggest them to others. In that vein, I'd also recommend "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George. It's similar to Hatchett, except different environment (Colorado Rockies as opposed to northern Ontario lake country), and the protagonist willingly sets out to live in the wilderness.
I still have all my Animorphs books. My entire family knows that to meddle with my bookshelves is DEATH.
I've also been told that boys are more likely to enjoy non-fiction books than fiction. (*shrug* YMMV) It might be worth getting him a book about famous drummers or a classic car fact book.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:What about The Hatchet? I think it's by Gary Paulson.
I think that's Paulsen, although I'm not sure. And I hated it. We had to read it in 5th grade and I HATED it. It seriously disturbed me. I actually threw up at one point.
Yipes! That's a dramatic reaction. I really liked it when I was younger, maybe it's a guy thing?
How much of the NJO series did you read? I thought the first few books were sort of good, but then it got ridiculous, beyond the pale of ridiculous, but it got better eventually. The book where Admiral Ackbar comes out of retirement to trap the Yuuzhan Vong in a huge battle is a sweet book, and there's some little gems mixed in, especially the good stuff about Corran Horn (who I know you're a fan of). But I hated how it ended, and I hate the books that have followed it in the Swarm War and the Legacy of the Force crap where Jaced is some evil Jedi corrupting Ben Skywalker, though Horn is a Jedi Master now, so that's cool.
I could recommend the good books, sadly I wasted my time reading them ALL.
I read about the first... oh, 9 or 10? I agree there was some real good stuff at the beginning, but I stopped when I started rolling my eyes at it. I heard the end was almost good but I have this thing where I can't make myself read the end and skip the middle... And yes, I have a total fictional character crush on Corran Horn. Drat that Mirax! Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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My 15 year-old son adds to those already mentioned:
Battle Circle by Piers Anthony (a trilogy). In a post-apocalyptic world, governed by combat in the battle circle, a man tries to form a central government.
The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer A 12-year old criminal mastermind tries to steal fairy gold and. Other fun criminal acts, too.
The Giver Gathering Blue both by Lois Lowry. Set in different versions of a dystopic post-apocalyptic world, each is a coming of age story about the triumph of the individual over society.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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As a person who's read way too many Star Wars books for my own good, here is my personal opinion of the best way to read through the expanded universe:
Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn (heir to the empire, Dark Force Rising, Last Command)
X Wing Series by Michael A. Stackpole
I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn
These books will provide a pretty good overview of the Star Wars timeline up through the New Jedi Order books, which I haven't read. This list weeds out most of the really bad books (and trust me, there are a lot of them).
I'd also recommend the Han Solo Trilogy by Ann C. Crispin. It is pretty good, and since it is set before the movies these books can be read independently of those by other authors.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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The Han Solo Trilogy is quite good. But nothing compares to the awesomeness of a whole book about the experiences of Corran Horn, as told by Corran Horn. *swoons*
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I figured as much. I was just sayin' for those of us who HAVE to read the end. And I thought it was as good as the others, so, you know, there. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: My 15 year-old son adds to those already mentioned:
Battle Circle by Piers Anthony (a trilogy). In a post-apocalyptic world, governed by combat in the battle circle, a man tries to form a central government.
The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer A 12-year old criminal mastermind tries to steal fairy gold and. Other fun criminal acts, too.
The Giver Gathering Blue both by Lois Lowry. Set in different versions of a dystopic post-apocalyptic world, each is a coming of age story about the triumph of the individual over society.
I'll second Artemis Fowl and The Giver (theres a third one that ties the two together but I forget what exactally its called.... I still need to read Gathering Blue anyway). And thanks to the people that seconded mine!, of those I would recommand Shadow Children first though.
Posts: 5 | Registered: Dec 2006
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