Entertainment For Lively Minds
Books for 12yo boys..ideas?
Tunes Jnr is a bright, articulate (most of the time) 12yo boy.
Given the shallow tastes of his pop culture and entertainment obsessed father there are lots of calls on his freetime that are instantaneous and exciting - iPod Touch, X- Box,DVDs,TV, comics etc.
The concern is that reading of books just doesn't have the same appeal and as a result doesn't really happen that much. He has read (the Potters, a browsing of Wodehouse after loving the Jeeves & Wooster box-set, and various fantasy-led works designed for his age group that are 50% cover and graphics with no lasting literary merit) but its seen as a chore and is mainly done to keep Mrs Tunes happy.
I would like to be able to suggest some titles that would hopefully eventually excite and enthrall just as much - they would never give the same buzz as blowing up an alien spacecraft in DD5.1, but would lay the foundations for the vast pleasures there are out there in the written word (where not accompanied by pictures).
When I was his age, in the late 70's, times were simpler but I did enjoy reading - but can't quite remember what. I think i tried the Bonds (skimming over the sex - wasn't quite up to that) and 39 Steps etc. But what I would love to avoid is saying 'Junior! Here is Ivanhoe/Children of the New Forest..enjoy! and I won't take no for an answer' because that could turn him off for life.
Any ideas or well-read ones?
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Spoil his enjoyment of adventure stories for ever
by giving him Treasure Island by R.L.Stevenson. No yarn he reads afterwards will ever come close to its perfection as a boys' tale.
Vulpsy is right
This is one of the most thrilling books I have ever read. I put it on Mrs. T's new Kindle for Christmas and read the first paragraph on Christmas afternoon - 40 mins later I was still there, still terrified of the Captain and the Black Spot....I got the complete RLS free for Kindle!
Another great yarn
is The Hill Of The Red Fox by Allan Campbell McLean; not only a great story, but an excellent introduction to the glottal impossibilities of Scottish place name pronunciation.
You know him best obviously....
but I would have thought he's almost at the perfect age for Catcher in the Rye.
What about ebooks?
The fact there's a bit of tech gadgetry involved might make it more appealing to start with?
Steady..
different books for different folks, but Catcher in the Rye depressed the bejeezus out of me when I read it as a youngster.. 12 seems a little young.
As I said...
he knows him best.
I was a similar age when I read it first, but I don't know the child's level of maturity.
Fair point
..no offence intended. But seriously, it had a big impact on me at 13 and it was entirely negative. I've often thought about re reading it but I'm fairly chipper these days and don't want to rock the boat.
My 12 year old son
who may be slightly allergic to reading has enjoyed Charlie Higson's The Dead and also The Enemy (not sure which is the first of the two).
My 12 yo daughter, who reads voraciously,
really enjoyed the Higson tomes too, so not just a 'boys own' sort of thing (which I imagine his Junior 007 series might be). I was nagged into pre-ordering the second one (Dead) almost before it was written I think.
If he's not really a reader
you could ease him in with collections of shorter pieces. Some good 'uns that come to mind are Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe and Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
He could sample these or others and see what's to his taste.
Holmes...
the stuff of life.
Charlie Higson's
Young Bond books should do the trick too.
If he's not averse to a bit of fantasy
Then you could go with The Hobbit/LOTR (especially if he's familiar with the films).
Of maybe some Philip Pullman - the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy?
The Terry Brooks 'Shannarah' books might also appeal.
Perhaps some CS Lewis?
What about Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams?
I wouldn't get too hung up about literary merit at 12 - just find something that will get him reading and enjoying the 'act' of reading. The quality stuff can come later. It needs to be fun, first.
Terry Pratchett
...is there a good place to start?
Cheers
TBH I'm not the best person to ask
Despite knowing *of* Pratchett for years (and playing the early Ringworld computer game back in the day) I have to admit that personally I've not read an awful lot of him, but the little I do know did suggest his work would be ideal for a 12yo with a nascent liking for fantasy and (I would assume, because he's a 12yo boy) a silly sense of humour.
If it was me though, I'd simply pick the first of the Ringworld books and read them in order...
Do you mean Discworld?
The Discworld books are great. They're really funny, and often quite thoughtful, and when I was 12 or 13, they used to make laugh until I thought I might shit.
Start at the beginning - "The Colour Of Magic" - and work through. They really hit their stride around the time of "Sourcery", which is still my favourite of the Rincewind vehicles (Rincewind being the sort-of-hero of many of the books).
Later on, if he sticks with it, he will discover the wonder of the Granny Weatherwax subset of Discworld novels, starting with the wonderful "Equal Rites" and continuing into the equally brilliant "Wyrd Sisters" and "Witches Abroad". Let him just read through. If he loves them, there are about a billion of them to read. To be honest, once he's read the first couple, he doesn't need to stick to reading them in order - most of them are pretty self-contained.
And yeah, they're terribly dorky, and adult fans of Discworld are probably to be edged slowly away from, but for their target audience - Tunes Jr. being it - they're superb.
Yes I do - Thanks
Where did I get Ringworld from?
Like I said, I'm not the best person to ask!
Larry Niven's Ringworm
presumably ?
I thought Ringworld was a good read allegedly, but have never ever read any Niven, myself.
I must admit I will be really curious to see how any of these (excellent) books look to a 12 year old from the era of Lady Gaga, Wikileaks, and the X factor etc etc.
At that age it was all fantasy and horror for me.
So Stephen King and Clive Barker? Surely Different Seasons by Steven King is perfect for a twelve year old? The Body (better known as Rob Reiner's Stand By Me) is surely child pleasing stuff?
Or perhaps you should pass some China Mieville onto him, if he's bright and likes fantasy type stuff. Perdido Street Station did it for me. 12 year olds will read long books if they like them. Un Lun Don is also ace, as is King Rat.
On my "to read pile" is The Enemy by Charlie Higson. Mrs Ganglesprocket works in childrens and young adult fiction and she raved about it. Set in present day London, adults have become flesh eating zombies, attacking children under the age of 14 who are all engaged in a desperate bid for survival. I haven't read it yet but the premise is ace and he's the right age by the sounds of it.
Definate thumbs up for Treasure Island, it's perfect.
Maybe a touch worthy but as a favour to Mrs G I read "A Beautiful Lie" by Irfan Master. Set just before the partition of India a young boy named Bilal, without a mother, is told by the local doctor that his father is dying. His father is a poor, well respected ma,n known locally for his love of books. His father also loves India as it is and can't believe the country will separate. Bilal resolves to make sure that, as long as his father is alive, he doesn't find out that India will partition. It's heart wrenching, exciting and really rather good, I recommend it highly.
Serious suggestion... Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer?
Twain
I loved HF and TS as a nipper and plan to reread them soon having (again) got free copies for the GLW's Kindle.
Just to add...
... inspired by this thread I just read The Enemy by Charlie Higson.
I reckon any twelve year old world love it. It's a modern day Day Of The Triffids, genuinely scary and exciting. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
Moonfleet (1898) is a mystery and adventure story about smuggling among the cliffs, caves, and downs of Dorset. It's about a young lad called John Trenchard who lives in the village of Moonfleet. One day he accidentally discovers a vault near the local church and finds himself in a smugglers' den. There is also the legend of Blackbeard's diamond and the mysterious locket discovered in a dead man's coffin...
A beautifully crafted adventure that grips the imagination and will leave Dad eagerly waiting for his turn to read the story.
A bit off-topic, but...
... talking of John Meade Falkner, another novel of his, "The Nebuly Coat", was the winner of a poll (Radio 4's Book Programme, I think) to find "The Best Book That's Never Featured On Best Book Lists" a few years back, and it's really excellent.
As my contribution to the topic, I'd suggest that books notionaly intended for an older reader are probably best to make him feel adult and not as if he's being patronised... maybe Spike Milligan's war memoirs?
Percy Jackson
My lad loved/loves these books by Rick Riordan. Some people accuse them of copying the template of Master Potter but he's read both and prefers these. They're based on Greek mythology but set in modern day America - rip roaring reads and educational too. He's currently reading the Cherub books by Robert Muchamore and racing through them - not my cup of tea but he's enjoying them.
My lad loves both these recommendations....
...Cherub and the Percy Jacksons, and he was around 10 when he started them. Tore through the lot before we realised Cherub might have needed a little review and possibly preparation and/or censorship....there's kissing in one of them....
And I'll second the (sort of) educational side too, at least as inspiration, since he went straight from Percy Jackson into a greek mythology text book his aunt gave him that everyone thought was at least 5 years too old for him.
My son's favorites
He's now 16 but here are some of the books he loved at 12, 13:
1. The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Well-written, lots of action, and very funny (what's not to like about a kleptomaniac dwarf famous for his powerful farting).
2. Susan Cooper's classic The Dark is Rising series.
3. The Philip Pullman series His Dark Materials. I loved this series myself. Some mature themes about atheism, etc., but he tells a great story. What's not to love about armored bears?
4. Not as sophisticated as Pullman but an easier read: The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale (more fantasy about a 14 year old boy who has to protect the world from a demon)
5. The Garth Nix series called Keys to the Kingdom (the protagonist is 12 in this one).
And last but not least:
6. The Name of the Wind. By Patrick Rothfuss. This is my son's absolute favorite. The sequel is coming out in March. And he's as excited for this as he was for the new Call of Duty.
By the way, I focused on
By the way, I focused on books series here for a reason. If my son got hooked on the first book, he would want to read the second. It kept him reading.
Also, I agree with whoever said that it's important for the kid to actually enjoy the reading at this age, so it doesn't seem like a drag. For my son, that meant fantasy adventure type books with characters he could follow through a series. For other kids, comic books do the trick.
"What's not to love about armoured bears?"
Well, for a start you could get your lower jaw knocked clean off. Which would definitely sting.
Percy Jackson
My lad loved/loves these books by Rick Riordan. Some people accuse them of copying the template of Master Potter but he's read both and prefers these. They're based on Greek mythology but set in modern day America - rip roaring reads and educational too. He's currently reading the Cherub books by Robert Muchamore and racing through them - not my cup of tea but he's enjoying them.
Percy Jackson again etc.
I agree about the Percy Jackson books. Same reaction from my son who read them all and then started over again. He's raced through the Cherub series too.
Another he recommends is the "Chaos Walking" trilogy by Patrick Ness. First book is "The Knife Of Never Letting Go."
He's now reading through a collection of stories about my childhood hero,the sporting superman "Alf Tupper:The Tough Of The Track".
Details please, and I mean ISBN numbers.
I'm just about to finish off this pile of pie and chips before running down to the gasworks for a fight with some toff called Rupert, then I'm due back at the foundry for a 16 hour shift before the track meeting starts a five mile trot up the valley, where I've entered the shot putt to cover for a mate from the orphanage before my events start on the race track. Bit of a lazy day really, but I'd like to order those stories from Amazon later on when I call in at the hospital a quick hour's cycle up the road onto the moors in order to visit my good pal Pete the miner who's recovering after the pit collapse I rescued him from last week, as he has a laptop computer thing I can use. Then it's off home to bed via Mrs Clough's, where I'll do her laundry, bring in the sheep and paint the shed as a favour for an old friend of my Ma.
Don't forget to stop off at the baths.
Tuppence extra for a bit of soap, though.
Slam by Nick Hornby
my son can not be described as an avid reader but he did this at more or less one sitting. I quite enjoyed it myself.
Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks was also a hit, but he was a bit older than 12.
Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham
or Day of the Triffids - loved those when I was a nipper.
Time Machine - HG Wells
Oooh and Sherlock Holmes (although the Basil Rathbone films made a bigger impression with me than the books)
I forgot to mention similar fantasy types...
David Eddings - The Belgariad books. Loved them when I was young, easy to read, fun, appealing characters, exciting.
Raymond E Fiest - Magician. Probably better written than Eddings.
Not literature by a long shot, but definately fun.
Ooh. Ooh.
Eddings: yes. I never read the Belgariad, but the Elenium (about a very grumpy and rock-hard-nails knight called Sparhawk*) is brilliant. Just the stuff I was reading at that age.
*This character might be the reason I first listened to the band Low. I read about them and Alan Sparhawk's name made me go "Ooh, ello."
My son is nearly 11,
so a little younger, but he is an avid reader. As Lott says above, there is much to be said for series of books. If my lad enjoys one, he'l go on to read others. Ones he's particularly enjoyed recently include:
- the aforementioned Philip Pullman Dark Materials trilogy - he's on the third one at the moment and, to be honest, is finding a fair bit of it is going over his head, which wasn't the case with the first two, but the extra year or two your son will have may help.
- another vote for the Percy Jackson series - he's worked his way through all of these.
- the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz - these are great - like a teen bond (the Higson Young Bond books are next on the hitlist).
- Darren Shan's Vampire series.
- anything by Frank Cottrell Boyce - very funny - Cosmic is a good place to start.
Hope this helps!
Mrs Ganglesprocket has asked me to post this...
He might be interested in the HIVE series by Mark Walden. Mark was originally a creator of computer games but left because he felt the story telling element of games was too narrow/constricting. But he’s taken all his gadget/games/action/adventure and put it into the HIVE series. HIVE = Higher Institute of Villanous Education ie the school where the super bad of the future go to learn their trade. Cracking stuff.
Or Spooks series by Joseph Delany – about a Spook’s apprentice, someone who has to learn to capture witches/demons/boggarts and other nasties. Very dark, very good.
Terry Pratchett
I'm pretty sure I started reading him when I was 11 or 12 (and have never stopped). It sounds like he fits with your son's current reading preferences (the fantasy setting, plus a dose of humour) and I think there are almost 40 now, so if he gets hooked there are plenty more to go.
I also remember loving Stephen King and James Herbert at that age. I'm not certain I was supposed to be reading them, but they gave me a long-lasting love of horror.
James Herbert
I seem to recall excitement among my classmates from looking at dog-eared copies of The Rats with detailed descriptions of people's faces being eaten....
Now that...
....is a massive attack to the memory. I haven't thought of that in years, I have no idea how old I was when I read it (or how I acquired it) but I know it freaked me out, but it'll come back to the kid's personality. My 10 year old, definitely not. My 8 year old neighbour, no problem.
Jesus.
There's a horrible bit in The Rats where the titular disgruntled rodents dismember and eat a live baby, I seem to recall. It was at that point that I went "James Herbert probably isn't for me." Again, I was about 11 when I read it.
Horrible. Gratuitous. Eurgh.
Stephen King, on the other hand, is one of the great living novelists. He's not written anything really special for a long time, and lots of snobby folk who don't know what they're talking about will shun him because he's a genre writer, but he's written some outstanding fiction.
Tim, yer boy might enjoy "Firestarter". It's not a "horror" book: it's a thriller with some "Heroes"-style sci-fi thrown in. There's plenty of choice swearing in it, though, so it'll depend on how you feel about that.
Messrs King and Herbert were
Messrs King and Herbert were also my preferred reading at this age. I reckon no 12 year old boy would be able to resist King's older stuff: The Stand, The Shining, It, etc.
William books
Richmal Crompton - couldn't put them down when I was 11/12. Perfect boy lit.
Seconded,
and don't forget Jennings & Derbyshire too. Spiffing stuff, a proper hoot.
Ye famous jet-propelled right answer!
Damn right.
The lad may just get a kick out of the hugely old-fashioned slang, the prose which is almost up there with Wodehouse and the fact that the plots are timeless, ie schoolboys do daft things that backfire in perfect innocence.
I loved them when I was 12 and they were 25 years our of date then.
Well if we're going down this route...
... I can't believe no-one's yet mentioned the Molesworth books (even though "Molesworth" has posted a reply!) :)
I must've been 12 when I first read them in the mid-70's, and even though they were already 20+ years old, and the boarding school setting was totally alien to me, they were still the funniest thing I'd ever read, and remain so to this day.
And as any fule kno, they're available as a collection, "The Compleet Molesworth".
I think this Philip Hensher piece is from the intro
to that collection, still a great essay:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/1999/oct/30/books.guardianreview1
Buckeridge
I also loved them despite them having no relevance to my non-Public school life..Corwumph!!
I was surprised to see last year that they were virtually out of print, but have since seen a partial return to the shelves.
No experience of public school life either
Comprehensive oik.
I used to trawl book stalls at markets prior to the internet and found very nice copies of 4 of the original hardbacks. Won't part with them.
House of Stratus (I think) recently printed them all in paperback a few years ago but are very hard to find now.
CS Lewis
I have an (almost) 10yr old and although its a little younger, he's currently enthralled with the Chronicles of Narnia series - saw the recent film at the cinema and started reading immediately afterwards.
Words of advice
If you really want to get him reading do not get bogged down with whether something is quality or not. There's a little undercurrent in this thread of science fiction/fantasy not being 'literary', and to be fair that's probably the view in general amongst critics and public alike.
Fantasy science fiction can contain trash, but so can any other genre/grouping. Frankenstein, War Of The Worlds, Dracula, 1984, Gulliver's Travels all sit within this grouping. There's an idea that the grouping itself is sub-standard, but to generalise means completely putting down some great writers.
The only measure of quality you want to work by is whether he enjoys it or not. If his favourite author turns out to be Dan Brown for instance then so what, some people's favourite musician is Sting.
What you want to do is to get him to enjoy reading to the point that he will read anything and everything. I used to read, still read, and I find I read pretty fast so I can get through a book every couple of days if I get some decent reading space. I love reading, and if I come across something that I think is rubbish I'll simply stop reading that and go onto the next book in my pile. (virtual these days) Don't narrow his mind, because to put it simply there's only good books and bad books. Ok, maybe some great books too..
Glad somebody suggested Wyndham
wasinterested in this recent appraisal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/dec/20/john-wyndham-unrea...
Find it hard to imagine the metal landscape of any modern 12 year old though --- I was 12 in 1974 ...
Indeed, I was lucky that my Dad
went through a sci-fi splurge around about the time I was 12, and I helped myself to pretty much the entire oeuvre in those lovely pastel fronted, orange spined Penguin editions.
For a 12 year old, I'd recommend starting with The Chrysalids, as it's very much centred on a young character.
Not sure which one was first I read
but I do remember a school teacher suggesting The Outward Urge (which would probably mystify a modern 12 yr old) and Chocky (which I suspect would be just as good as it was then). Interested to see this was dramatised recently on radio 7, leading to the wonderful, none more Word headline "Radio catchup: Johnny Marr, John Wyndham's Chocky and a troll"
Have never been a 12 year old boy
but as a 12 year old girl, I idly picked up "The Day of the Triffids" from a box of 2nd hand books my Dad brought home.
I can still remember not being able to move from my perch (on top of one of our massive home-made "hi-fi" speakers), pronouncing it the best book I'd ever read. I devoured everything from Asimov & Aldiss to Orwell & Huxley after that.
I think closest momemt to that for me was when I read 2001
I must have been 8 or 9 and read bits of it in breaks at school etc, and finished it in the sunlounge at home-quite unable to put it down. I think it took me an hour or so to "return" afterwards, I was still in some way out there around a double star, with Bowman in his pod, watching a column of gas rising from a red giant ...
meanwhile my sister's 10 year old wanted something from the Vampirates series for Christmas-so I bought it-see
http://www.vampirates.co.uk/the-books/
hope it was a good choice ...
My suggestions...
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
White Fang by Jack London
I enjoyed all those immensely and I think they'd translate well to a kid of today.
Oh yes, yes, yes
to King Solomon's Mines, which is utterly thrilling in an Indiana Jones kind of way. I won't spoil things in case he reads this, but there's a crushing climax to savour.
Also a shout for Geoffrey Household's brilliant Rogue Male, which as a lad I read about the same time as the Haggard book; it's a bit like The 39 Steps but even better in my opinion.
Haggard
Oh I was going to mention him. In this internet age, I thought he was all but forgotten - but Wordsters are a better class of netizens. I remember picking up KSM and thinking "well, I am not going to like this, it's ancient" and then almost reading it all in one sitting. She is also very exciting. In the same style, I really enjoyed The Lost World by Conan Doyle, but not Sherlock Holmes. Most things Ray Bradbury has written are good too. I'd recommend Something Wicked This Way Comes or any of his collected short stories.
Actually, at that age I also read a lot of imported Marvel and DC comics. I think they engender a love of reading just as much as proper books.
Someone agrees with you with regards Marvel comics...
I'm actually making my way through
Spider-man pocket books right now (thanks Santa!). Obviously fab but there is a risk your kid could end up speaking like a cross between a sixties beat hippy and Shaggy from Scooby Doo if he overdoes it...
Comics
Hope it does keep the fire burning for words without pictures. I am a big fan and Tunes Jnr is a Marvel mastermind. My slight worry is that they are a fairly instantaneous hit and don't require the concentration that inevitably a book requires.
Yep. Take your point about the instant hit
But I do think with these comics in particular (once you get past "Groovy, Daddy O") there is a breadth of vocabulary and at least the glimpse of more sophisticated ideas which stimulates deeper investigation.
I know when I was a kid Marvel and 2000AD were like my "gateway drug" leading inevitably to Brave New World, 1984, Wells and Vonnegut.
2000 AD
Remember getting issue 1 with rubbish free gift
Splundig Vur Thrigg!
I lived for 2000AD and Marvel!
In fact I have a couple of my earliest attempts at drawing Marvel characters from when I was around 6...
Bit of work needed on the drawing of hands, I feel...
P.S to stray off topic
Neil Tennant's almost perfect c.v. -
Worked for Marvel Comics U.K.
Wrote for Smash Hits
Pop Star for 25 years.
could only be improved by either
working as a puppeteer for Gerry Anderson (Neil was too young)
or
a job where you were surrounded by naked/ semi-naked woman all the time (wasted on Neil, I fear).
Being surrounded by semi-naked women...
I used to have one of the first issues of Kerrang! magazine which featured a photo story which involved Rob Halford of Judas Priest riding into a hotel room on a motorbike before being pleasured by lots of rough-looking "groupies" in leather underwear and fishnets. Never - and I mean never - have you seen anyone look so uncomfortable. Of course the reason for this became quite clear in the years to come.
The Victor
This book was recommended in another thread - it arrived yesterday and is bloody marvellous! I used to get this as a kid and all my favourites are here. I am one happy bunny! Oh, and it's probably ok for 12-year olds too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Victor-Paper-Sport-Adventure/dp/1853758000...
Looks fab
Alf Tupper etc
It's obvious
but it still always blows my mind to think that the length of time from the end of WW2 to my reading Victor comic (28 years - which seemed epochal as a kid) is only two thirds the length of time from then until today.
new edition came out this week ...
Agree with a lot of the
Agree with a lot of the above - especially Alex Rider books, Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson.
One of the books that really hit an American sporting metaphor with Packet Junior was Stone Heart by Charlie Fletcher. We read it together when he was 10. Some of the themes went over his head but we loved it. It would be perfect at 12yo
-Vince
Another suggestion.
Ursula Le Guin's Wizard Of Earthsea books are splendid fun; I read them in a frantic search for more magical fantasy after finishing TLOTR for the third time. Tolkien they are not, but they are deeply thrilling and have an internal logic and mythic sweep all of their own.
The Hitchhiker series
I was probably about the same age when I read the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. He'll thank you for it.
Diana Wynne Jones (e.g. Howl's Moving Castle) is another potential winner.
An author away from the sci-fi/fantasy area is Louis Sachar (Holes, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes)
Holes!
Great wee book that. Not a word wasted.
Alan Garner...
Start with The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen and The Moon Of Gomrath, then check out The Owl Service. I was 12 when I read these and I couldn't get enough of them.
Bunny rabbits
Well, not bunny rabbits; real rabbits. I speak, of course, of Watership Down. It was my favourite book as a child, and I remember once, when I was off school with some lurgie, reading it in a day. I picked it up again a couple of years ago, and it still holds up very well. Wonderful feat of imagination - and research - and a thriller too.
Again, yes, yes, yes.
And the later book,The Plague Dogs is bloody good too, as long as you don't mind risking your sprog ending up getting arrested for fire-bombing some Frankenstein lab in Oxford.
Avoid The Girl In A Swing however. It has naughty bits.
Adams's decline
The Plague Dogs was good, but not nearly as good as Watership Down. It included a characteristically laboured metaphor from the author, who described one of the dogs dropping down through some kind of pipe, "like a turd from a healthy anus." I read that sentence once, over thirty years ago, and still remember it, so it has something I suppose.
And Shardik was pretty awful, wasn't it?
Shardik
I reckon I can finish almost any book that I start.
But I couldn't finish Shardik.
So, yes, it must've been awful.
I'm reminded of the old Stanley Arnold joke...
...a book about rabbits who eat in motorway service stations, it's called 'Watered Down Sh*t'.
Non-Fiction
Can I suggest The Dangerous Book For Boys
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0007232748/...
Only got 4 girls myself, but 12 year old nephew enjoyed it
Entirely appropriate for Dad too, as most (if not all) Dads are still 12 years old really.
I was an avid reader as a 12
I was an avid reader as a 12 yr old. As I recall, the following authors had a big impact on me at this age:
Robert Westall (The Scarecrow, The Machine Gunners, Futuretrack Five)
Helen Cresswell (The Bagthorpe Saga)
Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers)
Anthony Buckeridge (Jennings - always preferred these over Just William, a tad more contemporary I think)
My Dad also got me into a bit of RD Delderfield at that time.
I was often recommended the classics, many of which are mentioned above, but I was put off by the style and language used. At 12 I just couldn't relate to them, much like a lot of the fantasy genre where you'd have to take a run up just to read some of the names! Too much like hard work!
Robert Westall
My favorite was The Devil on The Road, a book I enjoyed so much as a kid, I have never re-read it for fear of being disappointed.
Mortal Engines series by Philip Reeve - Also try the library
My 10 year old really enjoyed this series of books which is set in the future with cities that move and eat other cities, I read the first in the series to him and can vouch for them!. The first book is only £3.97 on amazon.
He also enjoys the Percy Jackson books, the ever present Harry Potter, and for lighter reading the diary of a Whimpy Kid books.
I have only skimmed read this tread so I don't know if this has been suggested, but why don't you go to the Library together and let him choose a load of books he might like, if he does not like any he does not have to read it and nothing is lost.
(I must confess that my wife wife runs the Library service for young people and families in Kent so I have a interest in in promoting them)
When my son was 12
He was reading the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz (he met Horowitz at a book signing and AH turned out to be a captivating story teller in real life, so my son was sold from that moment).
You can read all about the books and find out which ones to get first, here:
http://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/alexrider/books/
Awesome, guys
Thank you so much
A lot to work through and so much on the button! For sure given the 'love' shown here, will try some of the recommended classics. My fear was that these were a bit dusty but the enthusiastic comments lead me otherwise.
Will comment separately on many of the other recommendations.
Awesome, guys
Thank you so much
A lot to work through and so much on the button! For sure given the 'love' shown here, will try some of the recommended classics. My fear was that these were a bit dusty but the enthusiastic comments lead me otherwise.
Will comment separately on many of the other recommendations.
Treasure Island
is about as dusty as a bowsprit in a force ten gale. Pipe him aboard the good ship RLS and keelhaul any naysayers. Mines a pint of rum in the Admiral Benbow!
Sorry
For the double posting, the site was doing strange things last night...
This might sem a bit odd, but..
Always a voracious reader, I struggled to remember what I was reading when I was twelve. I was too old then for the Jennings / Richmal Crompton / Willard Price books which had served me for a few years. I hadn't started on the Tolkein / Moorcock / Stephen Donaldson / Julian May fantasy splurge of my teens. What was I reading?
Then I remembered. Fareham library was my mecca. Three names stood out. Peter Pook. Frederick Forsyth. Wilbur Smith.
Peter Pook wrote semi-autobiographical funny books. I used to laugh like a drain. Banking On Form is his classic.
Wilbur Smith wrote utter guff. But it was Big Guff. Stuff to excite a twelve year old boy. I loved his stuff. The Sunbird is probably his best.
Frederick Forsyth makes my skin crawl now. But, by buggery, he can spin a yarn.
The first grown up book I attempted to read...
... was The Odessa File by Frederick Forsyth, I'd have been 11 or 12. I made it to the end which felt like an achievement.
However the only thing about that book which made an impression on me was that the girlfriend of the main character was a stripper. Not only that, but when he first saw her performing, she looked so good naked that he "actually looked" at her! Cor blimey Tucker! This was a man who had seen so many naked woman that he was actually blase about them! My feverish 12 year old imagination was impressed...
I think there were bits in the Day of the Jackal
which made a similar impression on me
"he had been good, this English primitive, thought the Countess" etc etc (or should I say ect ect, Peason).
Fareham Library!
Gosport for me.....and was the source of the mass reading of Fleming.
Never heard of Pook I'll have a look. Day of the Jackal was one of those I did actually finish. In my teenage years I tended to start but then get distracted...and that was before I found the NME
I'd agree with most of the above
(though for 'Catcher...' & Slam' I'd wait 'til he's a bit older - depends where he is of course). Plus try Carl Hiassen's kids books, 'Hoot' & 'Flush': Like his adult books but with fewer strippers!
Books for 12 yr old Boys
Late as ever - but with a half share in 4 boys and having watched the gradual hand-downery which has gone on..
Horowitz, Morpurgo,Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants - yes I know -, has no-one mentioned Tin Tin
and how about the SkullDuggery Pleasant books about a detective who operates from beyond the grave - or was that Taggart ?
My own faves for younger kids were Rastamouse and the Crucial Plan - with plenty of opportunity for poor quality Irie impersonations,
and The Day I swapped my Dad for a Goldfish..
Happy reading !
Razzle?
.
Indeed...
I put my thieving hand on something rude
I walked right out with a silhouette of nudes
Late entry - "Ender's Game"
It's not well-known, but I'd recommend Orson Scott-Card's "Ender's Game." Hollywood shorthand would describe it as "Harry Potter Meets Starship Troopers" (though the orginal short story pre-dates Harry Potter by 20 years), with young children being monitored by a future government, and promising prospects being sent to 'Battle School' to learn to fight a threatening alien menace. The novel won all the big SF awards when published in 1985, it's slyly subversive, fairly violent (I believe it was slightly controversial at the time for having violence committed by pre-teens), and if it goes down well, there are another 5 books in the series (though in all honesty I haven't read those.)
Some late entries...
Probably duplicating a few already suggested...
1. Susan Hill - I'm The King of The Castle. Think I was 13 when I read it and it absolutely gripped me.
2. William Golding - Lord of The Flies
3. Geoffrey Household - Rogue Male; proper boy's own wartime romp about a man on the run. Quite short, brilliantly written. And if he likes that...
4. Lawrence Durrell - White Eagles Over Serbia
5. Have you thought about trying him on graphic novels at all? The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore is great and (from what I remember) suitable for younger readers.
Rosemary Sutcliff
You really can't go wrong with "The Eagle Of The Ninth"
True. Brilliant book.
For my 13yo...
George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 have both gone down well recently, after reading ALL all the titles/authors listed above.
Currently trying out Lord of the Flies as its theme is similar to the Charlie Higson books.
Keeps wanting to start on my John Connolly collection, but maybe not just yet!
Gerald Durrell - My family and other animals
Jules Verne - Journey to the middle of the earth
( Plus most of the books already mentioned )
I asked my 13 years old nephew...
...and he particularly recommended any non-fiction by Mitchell Simons - it appears to be science of the "Why do farts smell?" variety
Michael Morpurgo...
I've not read the whole thread so apologies if he's already been mentioned. Morpurgo is one of today's truly great storytellers for children - I'd recommend Billy The Kid (especially if your son likes football) or Kenzuke's Kingdom as good ones to start with. Or just go to a decent bookshop and browse some - there are loads.
I was so taken with this thread,
I felt the need to organise it so I can use it in future. Like tomorrow. Anyway, here's my edit of the above should anyone find it useful.
Treasure Island by R.L.Stevenson
The Hill Of The Red Fox by Allan Campbell McLean
Catcher in the Rye
The Dead and The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Ray Bradbury and Edgar Allen Poe short stories
Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle
The Hobbit/Lord Of The Rings by Tolkein
'His Dark Materials' trilogy by Philip Pullman
'Shannarah' by Terry Brooks
CS Lewis
Jules Verne
George Orwell
Isaac Assimov
Terry Pratchett (Discworld and others)
Douglas Adams
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
Spike Milligan's war memoirs and other books
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale
The Garth Nix series called Keys to the Kingdom
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
Slam by Nick Hornby
Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks
Frank Cottrell Boyce (start with Cosmic)
HIVE (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) series by Mark Walden
Spooks series by Joseph Delany
William books by Richmal Crompton
The Compleet Molesworth
Chronicles of Narnia series CS Lewis
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
White Fang by Jack London
Stone Heart by Charlie Fletcher
Wizard Of Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin
Holes and Dogs Don't Tell Jokes by Louis Sachar
The Scarecrow, The Machine Gunners and Futuretrack Five by Robert Westall
The Bagthorpe Saga by Helen Cresswell
Jennings series Anthony Buckeridge
RD Delderfield
Mortal Engines series by Philip Reeve
My Family And Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Billy The Kid and Kenzuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Without some of my suggestions!!!!!
The Belgariad - David Eddings (pretty much anything by him is good for a 12 year old)
Magician - Raymond E Feist
A Beautiful Lie - Irfan Master
Early Steven King especially Different Seasons (and Carrie)
Spooks series - Joseph Delaney
Un Lun Don - China Mieville.
Apologies, it was incompetence rather than a concious slight....
....should have been prefaced with a warning to that effect. But I did catch the Spooks series.
Bartimaeus Trilogy
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Mine loved each of the books in the series, and I read them too, with great pleasure.
On The Road
by Jack Kerouac. I read it at thirteen, and it changed my life. Not sure if the message would be the same for today's (pre-)teens, but it may still inspire.
(I was also reading Ian Fleming, Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, John Wyndham, Kurt Vonnegut, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Richmal Compton, the Pan Books of Horror, H.P. Lovecraft, and The Compleat Molesworth at the time).