What books do you think a child should read by the time they’re 16?

[ILiveInSalemsLot]

I’m compiling a list for my 14 yr old for him to choose from every now and then.
I’ve looked at his gcse syllabus and have added Dracula, 1984 and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Obviously, it’s his choice if he reads them or not but I think those are good books, especially for a lot of popular cultural references.
Any other ideas?

[AdaColeman]

Warhorse
The Hobbit
Lord of the Rings
Animal Farm
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
His Dark Materials
Great Expectations
The Colour Purple (older age group)

[BuckingFrolics]

Dickens. David Copperfield is short.

One Jane Austen (he'll hate it)

Catcher in the Rye

Black Beauty

Five children and It.

To Kill a Mockingbird

[BlueChampagne]

Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights
At least one Terry Pratchett
Anne Frank's Diary
Read/see one Shakespeare play
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

[maddieharrison]

I would definitely say His Dark Materials. They are amongst my favourite books.
Anything by Khaled Hosseini - the Kite Runner is read at schools now. It helped me really appreciate the fact I grew up in England and not a war torn country.
All Quiet at the Western Front - I did WW1 and WW2 Literature for my Eng Lit A level and had to read this and loved it.
I doubt he would read Jane Austen or even the Bronte sisters but definitely some Charles Dickens.
Well done for putting this together. If he has an iPad I'm pretty sure he can get the classics for free on ibooks.

[floraloctopus]

The Lord of the flies
Adrian Mole
Anne Frank's diary
Robert MacFarlane - one of his good nature books
John Stempel Lewis
Adrian Newey formula 1 book
the day of the triffids
Carrie's War

[peachgreen]

Honestly, I wouldn't put together a list of classics. Recommend books you love, for sure, but otherwise let him guide his own reading.

[ILiveInSalemsLot]

Thanks. there are some good ones here, though I’m positive he’ll never read Austen or Bronte willingly!

peachgreen that’s what this thread mainly is - I can’t remember everything I’ve loved so I was hoping I’d get responses to remind me and even get me reading some too, before I recommend them.
I’ve never read Kite Runner so I’m going to get on to that.
He’s quite open to my recommendations and has read some already and I’m happy to let him read what he wants too.

[AdaColeman]

Just some extra ones
The perks of being a wallflower
Hunger Games
As I walked out one midsummer morning.

[WeepingWillowWeepingWino]

nothing - let him discover books for himself, at his own pace. Lots of these books suggested I only discovered, for myself, as an adult.

[FreeFreesia]

Just be aware Kite Runner contains male rape.

The three musketeers
An animal one such as Born Free, Ring of Bright Water or My Family & Other Animals

A lot of the classics for cultural references such as Treasure Island, Frankenstein, King Arthur can seem hard to get into but be appreciated as audio cds / downloads. BBC radio full cast series

[BroomstickOfLove]

I don't think that I can think of a list that would apply to every 16 year old - so much depends on interests and cultural background. To access a wider range of literature later on, I'd probably suggest being familiar with the key stories of religion and mythology from around the world, and greater familiarity with texts and mythology from the child's own culture. Anything after that depends on the individual.

[FreeFreesia]

Absolutely true diary is definitely worth a recommendation.

[BlueChampagne]

My Family and Other Animals

[Karlwho]

I'd chuck in some manga, just for something different. Most series' have storylines and themes that rival typical fiction books. I'd recommend One Piece to start with.