Books for Teens
Berkeley Parents Network >
Reviews >
The Arts, Books, Entertainment, & Media >
Books for Teens
Nov 2009
My son, at the age of 16, has found the FIRST fiction book that he
actually likes reading: Shogun. He likes the action, the history,
politics, war strategy, and intrigue aspects of the book. Can anyone
offer any other reading suggestions of other books like this?
mom of non-reader
Our 17-year old boy was in same boat as yours, and enjoyed these two
titles -- they are ''guy'' books: Red Badge of Courage by Stephen
Crane; Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.
Mom
I loved that book when I was a kid! After reading it, I went through
a military phase, and enjoyed the rest of Clavell's ''The Asian
Saga:'' King Rat, Tai-Pan, Noble House, Whirlwind, and Gai-Jin. If
you think he's willing to branch out a bit, the Patrick O'Brian Master
& Commander books take place a bit earlier, but are very solid and
popular maritime fiction.
Also, although it may seem like a step ''down,'' the Redwall books are
really fun fantasy/battle books, and there's a lot of them. I know
they're geared towards a younger audience than Shogun, but they're a
fun and exciting read (even now that I'm 22!).
Good luck!
Kari
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara - a terrific Civil War novel with
great insight into what the war was about and what it meant for our
country. A great read for anyone.
anon
My son loved Shogun and also really liked the historical novels by
Edward (?) Rutherford. ''London'' is one of them, and I forget the names
of the others. They're long and involved and cover several periods of
history in what my son thought was a very exciting way.
anon
I haven't read Shogun myself but see that the author, James Clavell,
has many more books. I'd suggest he browse the Clavell holdings at
your public library--read the jacket copy, the first page--and pick
one that pulls him in. It's all about engagement. You're right to try
to build on it.
Also have him browse Amazon's page for Shogun. See the ''readers who
bought this also . . .'' Those are computer-generated recommendations,
but it makes sense to look at them. It's telling you else people who
liked Shogun liked.
Amazon will often provide a few pages to sample, too.
Rosemary
Here are books my 17 year old son has read and enjoyed since 8th grade:
The Lightning Thief by Riordan (it's part of a trilogy)
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by Lubar
King Dork by Frank Portman,
City of Ember by DuPrau - It is part of a series.
Any book by Margaret Peterson Haddix -
http://www.haddixbooks.com/home.html
The Grave Yard Book by Neil Gaimon.
Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Twisted by Laura Halse Anderson
Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs - about a 15 year old boy who comes to
the U.S. from Mexico through the Arizona desert.
Chris Crutcher writes YA books about athletes and sports.website:
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/
American Born Chinese by Gene Yang, and Watchman by Alan Moore.
katrina
Has your son tried Bernard Cornwell's books about Richard Sharpe, a
soldier in the Napoleonic War? Fabulous stuff! (And if he's up for a
bit more fantasy along with his war & action, Naomi Novik's
''Temeraire'' books add dragons to the mix during the same time period
-- and are otherwise pretty historically accurate.)
Kathleen
this page was last updated: Feb 14, 2010
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2012 Berkeley Parents Network