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Any Stephen king fans who can advise on book for teen son?

57 replies

pollycazalet · 26/03/2013 14:12

In my never ending quest to find books for my son to read Stephen King has been suggested. Son is 13. Can anyone advise on a good one for him to start with? have never read any so feel free to advise that they are completely inapproriate. I had Cujo in mind - only because I remember the film vaguely....

OP posts:
CoteDAzur · 26/03/2013 17:15

Cujo wasn't my favourite as a teen.

I would recommend:

The Dead Zone
Carrie
Firestarter
The Stand
The Shining

marissab · 26/03/2013 16:04

Yes to dean koontz. Very good also

marissab · 26/03/2013 16:04

I would recommend the shining. Great and not too adult themes. I would avoid the stand as it's quite deep and avoid geralds game as there are adult themes. Pet semetary is a great horror story too without being too adult. Don't get him james herbert books. They are 'very' adult!

NoMoreMarbles · 26/03/2013 14:27

My favourite Stephen King book is called 'Through the Eye of the Dragon' and features some of the same characters as th 'Dark Tower' series but is easier to read and might be a good place to start. It is medieval and i LOVE it and have read it about 10 times myself :)

What kind of books does he go for? is he an anything and everything reader?

there are a number of 'softer' books (i find some of the language used in SK books quite hard) that he could read by Dean Koontz too which are brilliant! Phantoms and the Watchers being two that i have loved off the top of my head :)

tillyfernackerpants · 26/03/2013 14:26

I started reading SK when I was 12/13, probably some of them were inappropriate but not overly so. I would definitely say:

Different Seasons
Eye of the Dragon
The Talisman
Nightmares and Dreamscapes (short stories)
The Dark Tower series (starting with The Gunslinger)
The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon

Others which might be ok (just depends on your son really)
Christine
Carrie
The Shining
The Stand (this is v long though!)
Thinner
The Dead Zone

That's just a list to start with - it might be worth looking them up on Amazon so you can get an idea?

OhMyNoReally · 26/03/2013 14:20

I think I started reading them about then. Let your ds have a look online for a one he likes. I think the dark tower series could be a good pace to start or stand by me the film I watched that at around that age. There are also some good books of short stories.
They are quite gory but I can't think of any that are over sexual, there's also a lot of morality in them.
Honestly though let him pick one out, it will be good to develop that relationship under his own terms. I loved choosing a book that felt like it was just for me, still do. :)

Itsjustafleshwound · 26/03/2013 14:17

Different Seasons - 4 short stories - filmed as 'stand by Me' and 'Shawshank Redemption'