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Book recommendations needed..


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for a book club with 12-14 year olds, mostly boys.

 

Looking for ideas of books that they wouldn't necessarily seek out on their own. Looking for mostly fiction at this point. A sci-fi recommendation would be nice too.

 

We've thought about doing Pay it Forward and I am Malala. They both have young reader's editions.

 

Thanks!

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Ender's Game is one of my all time favorites. They can even watch the movie once they've read the book (but definitely not before, as the movie deviates from the book quite a bit).

 

I'd also suggest Watership Down. If you haven't read it, you might be thinking, "I don't know if 12 year old boys would like a story about bunny rabbits..." but believe me, it's a great adventure story. Some parents might say that there's actually too much violence. Wonderful themes of friendship. Very interesting discussion of security vs. liberty, as it shows a society that sacrifices some of its members so that all of them can live luxuriously, and another society that is very oppressive as a means of controlling the spread of a deadly disease.

 

Dune is the classic example of the sci-fi coming-of-age story. I'd say that if they like Star Wars, they'll like Dune. It's a little on the longer side, though, if I remember correctly.

 

Those are my top three. I'll come back if I can think of any others that stand out. :)

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Thoughts for SF choices:

 

One of the hanish cycle books by LeGuin - some have some non-explicit sexual content.  You don't need to read them as a series or in order.

 

Space Odyssey, or Childhood's end, by Arthur C Clarke

 

Other thoughts:

 

The Outsiders

 

Farley Mowat has some YA novels that tend to appeal to boys - like Lost In the Barrens.

 

Ysabel by Guy Gabriel Kay might work.

 

Also, some "adult" books crossover well - mysteries like the Cadfael series, or Conan Doyle.

 

 

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