Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion

I teach high school English and our students get to choose their own books to read! It's quite exciting, actually.

However, I have a hard time coming up with titles for boys...especially boys who are interested in skateboarding, war, and video games. Many of those boys HATE to read...so I need some fast-paced good reads.

Help!!!

They are not boys but my brother and my grown sons both love the Mortal Instruments books and they are YA. Lots of action and great interesting characters.

Anything by John Green and I would also suggest The Hunger Games - there is like 3 men (really boys) in my office reading them right now and they fight over who reads slower and has to wait for the next one to borrow.

The Maze Runner and the next in that series is coming out very soon, The Scorch Trials. You might want to look into the books that are based on some video games. Some games do have good stories behind them. There are books based on the Halo games, and Gears of War, don't really know how YA they may be, but something to look into. Also, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a neutral area.

Thank you!! Keep the recommendations coming, please! I can use them all.

What about the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson? It's like the X-men comic books.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is another that comes to mind. It's about the war with a sci-fi twist.

Ok, so I tried not to but most of the books on the list have guys as the main character. Some are pretty good, some I liked, some I loved, and one I hated. All of them I highly recommend. Seriously. You could also give John Green a try, he's not really my cup of tea but people seem to like him.

Finnikin of the Rock Loved it!

Crazy

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

The Demon King

The Ruins of Gorlan

The Year Of Secret Assignments

Never After Written by a 19 year old

The Book Thief

The Thief

If I Stay

Unwind

Skulduggery Pleasant

The Knife of Never Letting Go

I would say:
I Am the Messenger
Everlost
Ender's Gamefor sure! I agree with The Maze Runner, Hunger Games and Unwind.

I also liked the Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld. I think they're interesting and easy enough to read for high schoolers. Special powers are also involved so that might be an interest for the boys.

I did join this group just to reply to this thread. hahahahaha.

Top on My List:


Still on my TBR file:



Series I'm currently reading (or have read):













Graphic Novel (boys, maybe you should start w/ this):

I totally agree with the Ranger's Apprentice series, Ender's Game, and Everlost. All of those have strong male characters and the kind of action that sucks a kid in.

Another series you may consider is Magyk. My little brother ate this series up.

And who could forget Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?

Gregor the Overlander is another great one with a wonderful male lead. This one was also written by Suzanne Collins, Hunger Game's author.

If their into fantasy Dragon Champion is a great series.

The Warrior Heir is another series with strong male leads.

They may also enjoy the Uglies series even though its a female lead, it just has some great action almost right off the bat and keeps the action going in a scary society.

Also is a high recommendation from me even though it has a female lead. All the men I've recommended it to have raved about it.

I don't see how anyone could not like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, but if you are looking for something non-fantasy try: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie or Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. Both are fast reads and humourous. Be warned both have some strong language and mature themes. (I don't know as a teacher what you can recommend)

I agree with Maze Runner - boys love it and it will appeal to high school boys.

Have you heard of the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore? Boys love it! And it's definitely something that your age group will like.

Also - any of the Darren Shan books - the Cirque series, the Demonata series, and he has a new one (the length might scare some boys) called The Thin Executioner. This author is HUGELY popular with boys. Good luck!

You guys rock! I'm going to pass on these titles to my colleagues, too.

teen boys (and girls) enter a dark comic book world. I loved it

Teen boy hunts "wych-kin" (demons, pretty much) in a Victorian-esque setting

quite a grim future, but cities are great roaming things that eat other townships/cities, definitely an intriguing world

Great AU-WWI steampunk opener to a trilogy

urban fantasy that follows "cursed" people (that are often mobsters, as it's illegal to use their curse gifts/powers)

The Edge Chronicles is three separate (but related) trilogies. I've read the Quint trilogy (the last/ but like Star Wars it's chronologically the first) and liked it

Here are some that both me and my brother love:

This may well be our favourite book of all time! Most other Orson Scott Card books also rock, especially the parallel series.

An awesome action-packed trilogy about assassins - always good :)

Anthony Horowitz's series about a very non-annoying teenage spy

well-written wizardy trilogy - pretty hilarious too

awesome, everyone i know who's read this loved it

Seconded: Definitely Mortal Instruments, we both love those! Also Hunger Games, Maximum Ride (at least the first three in the series; after that it goes downhill), Knife of Never Letting Go.

A male teen who's into music and/or alternative lifestyles might enjoy WILL GRAYSON,WILL GRAYSON by John Green or STRUTS & FRETS by Jon Skovron. Another book with an interesting/unique male character is HOW TO SAY GOOD-BYE IN ROBOT by Natalie Standiford. I'd also add most anything by Neal Shusterman; particularly his new one: BRUISER. One last suggestion: STAYING FAT FOR SARAH BYRNES by Chris Crutcher. This book is almost 20yrs old, but the universal truths and engaging male pov still resonate today.

I agree with a lot of these...

I would add the Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

Raising the Griffin is an interesting one - a fictional European country decides to restore its monarchy, and the main character has to go from being a typical English schoolboy to being the public face of a country.

I'd also recommend the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce. (It does have some sexual content, though, so you might want to preview it if you haven't read it.) Girl disguises herself as a boy to become a knight.

There's also The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, and The Blue Sword.

Elsewhere and Nevernever by Will Shetterly - punk elf fantasy. (I'd suggest previewing it, because there are fairly explicit sexual and drug references. Though not typical real-world drugs.)

River Rats by Caroline Stevermer.

Battle Dress by Amy Efaw - about the first year of a female West Point cadet.

The Edge on the Sword - historical fiction about the daughter of an Anglo-Saxon king.

A Wrinkle in Time - nothing wrong with classics.

Airborn - book about a boy who sails on airships. Has sequels. Kind of formulaic but fun.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - I agree that you can't go wrong with zombies. However, this has plenty of adult and sometimes gruesome topics. Another one to preview first.

Flora Segunda - such a fun book but maybe not the best for HS boys? I don't know.

The Sky So Big and Black - about a girl who lives on Mars and (what else? :) has adventures.

Higher Education - a boy gets kicked out of high school and goes into space.

Starship Troopers - here's your war and excitement, fighting giant bugs. Only people who have served in the military qualify for full citizenship and voting rights.

Old Man's War - more war and excitement, in the tradition of Starship Troopers. A somewhat more thoughtful look at war, without being unfun. Some swearing and not-too-explicit sexual content. And of course violence and gore in places.

John R. Tunis wrote a lot of books about pro baseball teams in the World War II era. More kids' books, but they might be interesting to high school boys also.

Fallen Angels - YA Vietnam War novel.

It's been quite a while since high school for me and I was usually reading about above grade level, so I don't necessarily have the best sense of what's really suitable. But you're the teacher, you can probably figure that out better than I can. :)

I thought of another one - Snow Crash. Lots of thinking, but also lots of action. Another one to preview first, for language, violence, and one fairly explicit sex scene.

(Edited to add: has a girl who rides a skateboard in traffic and a guy who uses samurai swords. Something for everyone! ;)

I keep thinking of more. How about The Prisoner of Zenda? Not really YA but suitable for YA audiences, with plenty of action, intrigue, and swashbuckling.

I suggest The CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore. They're action-packed and fairly short and unintimidating.
The Recruit Class AMaximum Security The Killing Divine Madness Mad Dogs Man vs. Beast The Sleepwalker The General Brigands M.C. Dark Sun

Think there are 13 books in all!

Also Percy Jackson is good fun.

Um... and I second Michael Grant's Gone series recc!
Gone Hunger Lies

I was going to say Michael Grant's Gone series! They are definitely geared for boys, as the main character is a boy.

Percy Jackson is great too, but I would pick the Gone series over that.

I'd like to take back my recommendation of the Song of the Lioness quartet. I just re-read it for the first time in years, and it wasn't as good as I remembered.

For a boy interested in war and video games, DEFINITELY have him read Ender's Game!

Pendragon Series - DJ Machale
XIsle - Steve Augaurde
Seth Baumgartners Love Manifesto - Eric Luper

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Acceleration
Skate
Touching Spirit Bear
Flags of Our Fathers
Airborn


Anything by Chris Crutchter, Mike Lupica, Matt de la Pena, and Gordon Korman

The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Hunger Games
I Am Number Four
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneThe Lightning Thief

I'm agreeing with The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset & The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.



I'm going to add these:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Smack

For mature boys I recommend and .

artemis fowl by eoin Colfer
pendradgon by Dj Machale
septimus heap by angie sage
the heir and seven realms saga's by cinda williams chima
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by rick Riordan
Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Agreed about the Absolutely True Diary and I am the Messenger.

It is a series, but can be read out of order as they are more like companion books than set sequels. Some characters and places will turn up in all
They're quite creepy, so Hallowe'en would be a great time to read them haha

William Sleator's
House of Stairs
Interstellar Pig
Test

Gary Paulsen's
Hatchet
Guts : The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books

John Green's
An Abundance of Katherines

Laurie Halse Anderson's
Twisted

Gary D. Schmidt's
The Wednesday Wars

Lots of teen boys enjoy the Cherub series at my library etc...
Young James Bond by Charlie Higson
HIVE series by MArk Waldon

Is The Outsiders or The Lord of the Flies too classic? I find The Chocolate Wars disturbing; however, it is good for discussion. Ellen Hopkins also has books with male characters--Impulse two of the three main characters are male. Her books are also very relevant to today's issues.

Darren Shan has always been my go-to book to give to teen boys. As a librarian most of the teen boys I've helped have wanted books about supernatural creatures that are actually evil and had to be hunted down.

Failing that, there's always Joseph Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series or the Last Apprentice series by John Delaney.

Also: Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series and Charlie Higson's Young Bond series work well for teens who like spies and lots of action and nifty gadgets.

Becca wrote: "Also is a high recommendation from me even though it has a female lead. All the men I've recommended it to have raved about it."

I'm a secondary school teacher (as well as a world famous author... nearly) and I'd totally agree with Becca's choice of Graceling - excellent, fast paced action but with a fair amount of angst thrown in. The lead is female but I've yet to come across a teenage boy who objects to Angelina Jolie in action.

Also a cleverly developed relationship with a male top-fighter with a twist.

Lots of great recommendations here. I'd add LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow. It's a super-techy and action-packed YA novel. (Teenaged boy and tech-whiz takes on a homeland security team gone bad) I'm a teacher too and recently recommended it to a student who said he never read books he liked until this one.

April wrote: "Failing that, there's always Joseph Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series or the Last Apprentice series by John Delaney. ..."

It's actually Joseph Delaney

I second John Green. I just read, The Enemy by Charlie Higson. I LOVED IT! It's scary, suspenseful, and fast paced. Cannibalism and zombie's.... I think boys will like this one. Also, if you have sports fans, they might like John Feinstein's books and Mike Lupica.

I'd second most of the recommendation here - especially Unwind, one of my top books this year (but be warned it has an abortion theme). For really reluctant readers you might also try to Bone graphic novel series.

My son is a very reluctant reader. So far this year he has read and enjoyed:








I think that he's read some of the Percy Jackson books too.

Acceleration by Graham McNamee
Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury
Leaving Protection by Will Hobbs
Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

Anything by Darren Shan might work. He writes about the Cirque du Freak series vampires and creepy carnies and the Demonata series about alien demons and demon hunters. Definitely a lot that will appeal to boys.

In addition to The Young James Bond series by Charlie Higson which someone else mentioned, there's also the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz which are about a teenage spy and lots of high tech gadgets. The books are also pretty popular and definitely fast reads.

And there's also The Ranger's Apprentice series byJohn Flanagan if they're more into fantasy.

Anything by S.E. Hinton is good. (The Outsiders, Rumblefish, etc.) Her books typically are about teenage boys, they're very compelling and pretty short. And they're classics!

I'm also a big fan of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Very funny and action-packed.

Also the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness is incredible. They're pretty long books, although he tends to write in very short paragraphs and they're really exciting. Basically a sci-fi/war story, but very thought-provoking too!