Book recommendations for teenaged BOYS

[mikaelalind]

Hm.
May I suggest either Holly Black or Alma Alexander? Both are YA Urban Fantasy.

[WillAdams]

The neat thing then, about the Fred Saberhagen books is that the first two books can be viewed as merely back story to the newer ones which are set in a roughly contemporary time of the writing:

The Dracula Tape
The Holmes-Dracula File
An Old Friend of the Family (1979)
Thorn (1980)
Dominion (1982)
A Matter of Taste (1990)
A Question of Time (1992)
Seance for a Vampire (1994)
A Sharpness on the Neck (1996)
A Coldness in the Blood (2002)

Susan Cooper's _Dark is Rising_ Pentalogy is also roughly contemporary in time setting.

Divers Down! is set in the '70s of its writing, so may pass muster --- again I'd strongly suggest getting the MP3s, burning them to a CD and listening to them on a family trip.

Other things to try:

Roger Zelazny's _A Dark Travelling_ (parallel worlds w/ a witch and a werewolf) also possibly _Changeling_ and _Madwand_ (a wizards child is brought to a near-future earth, then goes back to the land of his origin)

Higson's ``Young James Bond'' books --- also available as audio books for your holiday travelling

Urban fantasy, especially things by Charles de Lint or from the Ace Fairy Tales series --- esp. the collections _Borderlands_ and _Bordertown_ as well as Jane Yolen's _Briar Rose

William

[birdbrainbb]

Holly Black's book have romance in them, though, don't they? Tithe did, at least (it's the only one I've read).

He might like the Artemis Fowl series! Less vampires, more faeries (and trolls). Maybe also Peeps? It's a modern take on vampires, though it does have a bit of romance in it.

[nyrath]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Does he like SF? I'd suggest giving the Heinlein "Juveniles" a go. I loved them when I was a teenager. Heck - I still do love them!

Seconded.

I'd recommend
The Rolling Stones
Between Planets
Farmer in the Sky
Have Space Suit - Will Travel

[nyrath]

I'd also recommend The Dangerous Book for Boys, but it does not currently come in eBook format
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dan..._Book_for_Boys

[Bilbo1967]

How about James Patterson's Maximum Ride series?

Or Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series of books?

I haven't read them, but my 13 year old son really enjoyed them all (and he enjoyed Harry Potter as well).

[JoelArnold]

Geekette - I'd be happy to give you a free download of my YA suspense novel aimed at teen boys called SNOW BURN

You can use coupon code WQ63N (it expires 12/30/2010).

(and if anyone else on this thread wants to use that code for the free read, feel free to.)

Joel

[natasha_fawn]

Matthew W. Stover's Heroes Die comes to mind, though it might be a little more mature than you're wanting (in terms of violence, not sex), but I loved it when I was 15 or 16, still do. It's not vampires or ninjas, but it is quite good, and I can definitely see the main character appealing to someone who's a fan of ninjas.

Oh, and Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash, of course, especially if he's at all into computers.

[Strether]

I don't know if these books are available for the Nook, but you might have him look at "Immune" and its sequel, "The Second Ship", by Richard Phillips. Both novels deal with a ship discovered in (where else?) Roswell, NM and have teenaged protagonists who develop special powers because of their contact with the ship(s). At Amazon, one was less than a dollar and the other one very inexpensive.

Jim

[elemenoP]

Haven't read it yet but I've heard good things about "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness. There is a 25-page prequel called "The New World" this is available free at all the major ebookstores right now, so you could give it a shot.

I was also thinking of the Bartimeaus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud but oddly they are not available on ebook?

eP

[JSWolf]

Two series missing here are..

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris

Both are very good and very different. I think a 15yo will enjoy both series.

[birdbrainbb]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Two series missing here are..

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris

Both are very good and very different. I think a 15yo will enjoy both series.

They're good, yeah, but they both have sexual content in them that I'd personally be wary of letting a teenage boy read. Especially if he had my ereader when he was reading them.

(Also Sookie is a paranormal romance series! And totally written for women more than for men. Dresden Files is better in those departments, though.)

He might like the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane! I was thinking that might work-- they're set in contemporary times, I think (the first book in the 1980s?), and it's got good amounts of action and magic and so on in them.

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by JoelArnold

Geekette - I'd be happy to give you a free download of my YA suspense novel aimed at teen boys called SNOW BURN

You can use coupon code WQ63N (it expires 12/30/2010).

(and if anyone else on this thread wants to use that code for the free read, feel free to.)

Joel

I downloaded this for my sons. Like the OP, one of my sons has Asperger's so, although he is 21, he is more like a teenager. I would like to get them both into reading more and playing video games less. They have both shown some interest in my Kindle and may end up with their own eReaders if I think they won't gather dust.

[januaryman]

Neil Gaiman's -Neverwhere- is a sure hit. Gaiman is not just an author, but a graphic novel (comic book) author. He has many books that would be suitable.

Isaac Asimov always was a good spellbinder - his I Robot series, or the Foundation Trilogy are great.

Phillip K. Dick has many decent edgy books available.

Perhaps the best hard boiled detective writer ever, Raymond Chandler's works, while not 21st Century modern, are a great read and a glimpse of the very recently lost past of Americana.

These should be a good start.

[Geekette70]

Originally Posted by JoelArnold

Geekette - I'd be happy to give you a free download of my YA suspense novel aimed at teen boys called SNOW BURN

You can use coupon code WQ63N (it expires 12/30/2010).

(and if anyone else on this thread wants to use that code for the free read, feel free to.)

Joel

Thanks Joel! I just grabbed a copy. I'll let you know what he thinks (if and when I can get him to read it. LOL) And thank you for writing urban fiction aimed at teenaged boys (or at least with them as protagonists.) I was surprised at how little there is compared to the 'girl segment.'

Thanks to everyone, there are some awesome suggestions here! I'm really excited about his reading prospects.