Juvenile Literature

[ahem.]

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

I think I read that when I was about thirteen, and I seem to remember being a bit more mature than I was used to. I can't remember now... there may have been a discussion of circumcision that bothered me... or something? But 13-year-old me was pretty prude-y (I even refused to read the third His Dark Materials book), so maybe it was nothing.

[Dead Cat]

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

I think I read that when I was about thirteen, and I seem to remember being a bit more mature than I was used to. I can't remember now... there may have been a discussion of circumcision that bothered me... or something? But 13-year-old me was pretty prude-y (I even refused to read the third His Dark Materials book), so maybe it was nothing.

If I remember correctly, the protagonist mentioned his surprise that the girl could enjoy...intimacy too.

Also, the post today about kids' books reminded me of the Hardy Boys series. Nancy Drew is my personal preference (especially the computer games--I still play those regularly), but it might be easier to get a boy to read about boys.

[Emiliana]

A Series of Unfortunate Events

[ahem.]

Horatio Hornblower?

[Yarjka]

I took a break from Stephen King once to read The Secret Garden. That was such a great book, I began reading it again immediately after finishing it. It's the only book I've ever done that with besides Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon.

Other books I read at some point in my childhood that were fantastic (I know because I've reread them as an adult and they're still great):

The Sword in the Tree - Clyde Robert Bulla
Hatchet - Gary Paulsen
Magic Kingdom For Sale Sold - Terry Brooks
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass) - Lewis Carroll

[Tim the Monkey]

I realize he's a boy and might reel at the title but Princess Academy by Shannon Hale is a fabulous book about the value of education and self-identity. My mom is an elementary school librarian and when she met Shannon Hale at a conference, the author recommended telling boys it's about boys throwing rocks. Sometimes the kids buy it...But every boy my mom has convinced to read it has loved it. She also speaks highly of The Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson, though I can't speak for it myself

I also loved His Dark Materials series, The Dark is Rising series, Diane Duane's So You Want to be a Wizard series, and The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke as a pre-teen. He might also be old enough to start on the Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites (that's at least one his parents should like...). Also, I can't say enough good about Rick Riordan's works! They are geared towards 12 year old boys! Who can't love them!?

[vorpal blade]

My kids loved the Bruno and Boots series by Gordon Korman. As an added bonus the stories are set in Canada. Sorry if someone else has already mentioned it and I missed that.

[Katya]

Second the Gordon Korman recommendation.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George is great if he can get past the title. (It's actually got a male protagonist.)

When I was younger, I loved the book The Man Who Was Magic by Paul Gallico. He was pretty prolific and wrote in the 60s, so there isn't likely to be a lot of edgy material in his books.

[C is for]

Diana Wynne Jones is my favorite author (well, one of them). Have him try "Enchanted Glass," her new one. It's got a rainbow cover but I think it would appeal to boys. Some of hers are not quite for 12-year-olds (I waited until I was 13), but maybe try Chronicles of Chrestomanci too.

My brother has not approved this message. Like I said, he's too busy reading Calvin and Hobbes. I think he did like Goose Girl, though. (Shannon Hale.)

[Dragon Lady]

I keep wanting to respond to almost every other post and say, "I love that book!!!!"

It's a really good thing I love Juvenile literature so much. I told my sister that I'll try to read all the books on the list and give her my opinion on what she'll think about the books. I'm reading Artemis Fowl right now, because I have it. Maybe I'll do Princess Academy next. Again, because I have it. And I'm mailing them my copy of the Tennis Shoes books. They requested those. And they should keep him busy for a little while anyway.

My biggest problem with reading them all is that I'm in the middle of reading Wheel of Time. I'm 3 books down and 11 books to go. (Yellow keeps changing the number of how many books are out. The series keeps growing! It really is The Wheel of Never Ending Time!) Finding time to read those is hard and still keep my house in order and food on the table. Now I'm adding juvenile fiction. [sigh]

I love books.

[Tao]

I keep wanting to respond to almost every other post and say, "I love that book!!!!"

Heh, I was just thinking about posting my surprise at how few of these books I know. So far I think I'm at The Giver, Hatchet, and Hardy Boys.

Pulling books from the LDS staple: the Ender/Shadow saga, I'd think the Mystborn trilogy could fit, if he doesn't mind a female protagonist.

I'd also recommend many of Heinlein's works, notably: Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Starship Troopers and Podkayne of Mars(again with a female protagonist)

For more fantasy based, I'd look into his interest in racing you to the end of the WoT books...

[C is for]

I'd be a little wary of Orson Scott Card if there's a language issue...

Looking at the bookshelf again I'm seeing Hilari Bell's Shield, Sword, and Crown trilogy. It became my favorite series for a short time last year. It starts with Shield of Stars.

[Dragon Lady]

Yeah, C4. I agree. And I might say the same for Mistborn and WoT. I mean, if they don't like one swear word, they're not going to like characters that say "bloody" every other word (when it's very obvious it's a swear) or people being flayed alive. So as much as I love both series, Tao, I'm pretty sure those don't fit the requirements I'm looking for in this case.

[Tao]

Heh, I can't say that I even notice most expletives in literature, especially if they aren't the "big" ones. As such, any recommendation of mine would likely need to be screened. I was just tossing out YA lit that I consider quality that didn't stand out in my mind as objectionable. (King, Ludlum, even many of Crichton's works were therefore summarily discarded.)

[Katya]

Heh, I can't say that I even notice most expletives in literature, especially if they aren't the "big" ones. As such, any recommendation of mine would likely need to be screened. I was just tossing out YA lit that I consider quality that didn't stand out in my mind as objectionable. (King, Ludlum, even many of Crichton's works were therefore summarily discarded.)

I'm having a lot of the same problems, because I don't tend to read books with an eye towards anyone's standards but my own, so I have a hard time remembering if something I read would be found inappropriate by someone else, unless it was a major premise or plot point, or something. That's part of why I recommend looking at books that were published several decades ago, when publishers simply wouldn't have put certain kinds of content in a YA or children's book.

[Wisteria]

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Those books were some of my favorite when I was that age. Depending on what else he likes, possibly The Blue Sword. My brother loved the Guardians of Gahool when he was that age. Get him reading Diana Wynne Jones books- The Lives of Christopher Chant is still one of my favorite books and her other books are pretty good, too. She's got one called Deep Secret (I think) that is probably not appropriate for twelve-year-olds. I do recommend Robin McKinley's Outlaws of Sherwood- I don't think it swears. But I'm not 100% sure on that one. Depending on just how voracious of a reader he is, I read the Work and the Glory series when I was 12 or 13 and it got me hooked on studying church history for fun. Also, he's the right age to enjoy Chris Heimerdinger's books- the Tennis Shoes books are a fun read and his book Daniel and Nephi is really well written and an interesting idea. And that's what I have for now.

[Dead Cat]

I'm going to do a shameless plug here for StarScout Rising: First Trail by Gary Darby. It has zero profanity or other questionable content--it's like a cross between Star Trek and Boy Scouts. And a young boy is almost certain to love it. And, you know, I rather liked it too...but that may or may not be flavored by the fact that I know the author...

And I just remembered the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan is also quite good. But I can't remember if there was mild profanity or not.

[Emiliana]

I'm currently reading "Mission to Cathay" by Madeleine Polland with my sixth graders. I'd never heard of it before, but it's a fun if slightly predictable mystery/historical fiction book about the first Catholic missionaries in China.

[bobtheenchantedone]

I second Wisteria's Enchanted Forest Chronicles and Diana Wynne Jones, and add the my brothers also really liked Guardians of Gahool.