My son is in 6th grade, but reads on a 10th grade level. Because of this, I am having a hard time finding books that interest him that are on his reading level, yet age-appropriate.
Some of his favorites are the Harry Potter series, the Lightning Thief series, and the Hunger Games...Does anyone have recommendations that are along those lines?
WOW! Thanks so much for all the suggestions! We are headed to the library after school today! Thanks again!
Mostly classics here:
Lord of the Rings series
His Dark Materials series
Narnia series
Greek myths
Books by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne
How about Christopher Paolini's "Eragon" books?
my son LOVED "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I believe he's also read the 2nd book, too. It is not 10th grade material, but well-worth the read. I know, because he asked me to read it this summer....that's how much he enjoyed it!
My son's also read the books on your own list. He's a H.S. freshman this summer. He is at a college reading level, & we're really struggling with finding appropriate books for him. Since he loved the movie "Sahara" with Matthew McConaghey, he chose to try a Clive Cussler novel. He also picked a Tom Clancy novel which is based on a video game. We'll see what happens! Oh, & I'd have to say his genre is action/adventure...& really loves exotic settings.....& doomsday events.
& to Momma L. who recommended "Ender's Game"....kudos to you! Absolutely heartwrenching coming-of-age novel! I read it years ago & still feel it's impact! Oh, which reminds me: what about Isaac Asimov - the "I Robot" series (well, really any of his works)....or Robert A. Heinlein's sci-fi fiction....classic, classic stuff! Starship Troopers was based on Robt A. Heinlein's book of that name. Enjoy!
James Patterson writes some great books for teens.
Also, talk to your local librarian - my son gets most of his book ideas from ours.
Oh, the Hunger Games was a great series!
The Tapestry series by Henry Neff
The Books of Umber series by P.W. Catanese
Paranormalcy series by Kierstin White
Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Chronicles of Narnia series C.S. Lewis
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
LevenThumps by Obert Skye
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card
Atherton Series (starts with The House of Power)by Patrick Carman
Belgarian Series by David Eddings (may be when he's a tad older)
Eragon series by Palini (thanks Elaine, can't believe I forgot that one!)
I am an avid reader and prefer ya novels b/c they aren't filled with as much smut as some of the adult books I read. These are some really good ones that are a lot like Hunger Games/Lightening Thief/Harry Potter.
Sorry I can't think of any right now, but if you go on Amazon and look up one of the books he already likes, it will show you a list that says something like 'people who bought this also bought...' and then it lists out others like that book.
Does he like non-fiction at all? Maybe something factual might interest him and I'm sure there is a ton of non fiction on his level.
My son is same way, cant keep up with his reading appetite.
Warrior cats, several different related series by Erin hunter. We picked this because there are so many books in series and companion super books.
Children of lamp. Author writes excellent adult mysteries and has branched into kids books.
Unbreakable, true story about ww2 survivor. Good reminder of what our grandparents sacrificed for our freedom and the torture the japanese inflicted on our serviceman. Maybe a little rough but true and something our kids need to hear.
Two series by margaret Peterson haddix: shadow children, the missing
Shadow children similar to hunger series, theme is world out ofnfood and overpopulated, so they outlaw 3rd children.
Has he read the Rick Riordan books yet? I loved those! Also the Artemis Fowl and Redwall books (and for long car trips the Redwall books on audio are AWESOME). Anything by Nancy Farmer or Cornelia Funke are awesome.
And I was his age when I found my dad's Louis L'amour collection! I STILL re-re-re-re-read some of those on occaision!
Be sure to talk to your local library's children/juvenile/youth librarian and the school librarian too! They love questions like this and will have tons to recommend.
Rick Riordan (author of the Percy Jackson books) has TWO new series out right now. One is the "Kane Chronicles" with two books out and the other is "The Lost Heroes" with one book out and a second book, "Son of Neptune," due to hit bookstores in October.
If he liked Harry Potter he may also like the Charlie Bone series though the writing is, I think, a bit simpler and some basics of the plot somewhat derivative of HP (kids with special powers attending a mysterious special school, etc.). But many kids his age like it.
You're wise to think about content. It's tough when we don't want them exposed yet to content that's too "old" for them but want them to be challenged when they read.
Thanks for asking the question. My son is 12 and reads on a 12th grade level. Most of the books suggested by other moms are indeed what my son read and loved. You can also borrow these books on CD, they are very well read.
If you are looking for safe books, then Louie L'amour books are safe. The hero is as apt to kiss his horse as he is to kiss the heroine. Also Zane Grey is a good western themed author.
Jack London, Jules Verne, are both good authors. I also like John Grishams first books like "The Firm" and "The Rainmaker". If he likes historical fiction, the "Prelude to Glory", by Ron Carter, books about the Revolutionary War are very good and family books.
Good luck to you and yours.
Hmmm...those were the 3 series I was going to suggest. My son is entering 7th grade this year & is also on the line between 10th/11th grade reading level. I called him up & he suggested the Nathanial X series as well as The Name of This Book is a Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch. His summer reading book was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin which isn't quite 10th grade, but we've enjoyed it.
My son is just like your's, but he's in 8th now. Here are some that he liked, but I can't remember exactly when he read them.
War of the Worlds
White Fang
The Sight (It's a very long book about a wolf family. I read it, and it's really very good. It's not a children's book, but there is nothing objectionable in it. It's one of my son's favorite books.)
