Recommendations for read aloud novels for a 13 yr old boy

[IdaBWells]

My son is a strong all rounder academically but his teachers here in the USA after some testing said that he could do with more reading to improve his language arts. I'm sure this is down to screen time and no reading. So DH and I thought it would be a good idea to have a family read aloud each evening to keep his interest. I am hoping you can all give some good suggestions. He is quite analytical and a sophisticated thinker, he surprises me with the interesting things he has to say. He just recently self-diagnosed a medical condition after consulting with Dr. Google. As an American kid I think Dickens will leave him cold. Good characters and a great plot from any genre is fine. He did live in Germany from 2-8 so has lived in different cultures. As we will be reading, plus possibly his 16 yr old sister (although during the school year she is likely to have too much homework) please suggest a good crowd pleaser.

Thanks in advance and very interested to hear your suggestions. Classic American novels might be a good idea. I thought of The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison but thought that could be too dark for a 13 yr old. I enjoyed Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis. Some books that come to mind have content that is not necessarily appropriate or interesting to a 13 yr old ( he was 13 in June).

We still read aloud to our 11yo sometimes and it's great to discuss story and language.

For a 13yo I would totally recommend American YA classic The Outsiders by S E Hinton (although you might cry at the end and personally I can't read aloud and cry at the same time! ;) )

TheBrockmans I like your idea of a book for silent reading. All my kids have surprised me by saying they find it hard to get through a lot of reading, as I am an avid reader. I think it's the affect of screens. They're just not doing as much reading generally. My eldest just got into a very competitive uni so somehow they are still managing to do OK but I think the culture (and particularly teen culture) is turning away from books, magazines etc and to having every thing on a screen. I was very surprised when my older kids said they couldn't read as quickly as me silently but I put that down to less practice.

Tournesol thanks so much, up thread I mentioned that was the last book the class read before the summer and yes it's a great book! Do you know a teenage girl wrote it while in high school?

Plexie I forgot to thank you for your excellent post. Thanks for so many ideas, I like the high quality short novels.

Disfordarkchocolate I have never read any Le Carre so that's also an excellent idea.

I would strongly suggest not Lord of the Rings for the first book. It would take ages at an hour a night or so, and I think would be off putting as a result. Maybe a few books in when you have built up stamina?

What about collections of short stories? Then you could compare styles of writing etc. If he liked Sherlock what about some of the Conan Doyle short stories, maybe compared to Father Brown or even Agatha Christie?

Factual - what about Bill Bryson? Notes from a Small Island is his impression of Britain as an American. Not sure how complex the language Is, but would break down well into chapters to read aloud and discuss.

I've not read aloud with my kids since they were small, but we do listen to audio books together on long car journeys - we are travel sick so can't read in the car. Perhaps audio books of a complementary author or the next book in the series following the one you have just read while travelling would be enjoyable? Not reading granted, but still exposure to a wider vocabulary.

Have you tried reading plays? Maybe with just a few characters. Would help with reading and characterisation. You could also write your own short stories to read together as a family. Mine love creating stories. That will reduce screen time.

Northern Lights trilogy is absolutely amazing. Marketed for older kids but some really interesting adult themes, philosophy, religion, politics. Absolutely magnificent books.

DH and I love Bill Bryson but the kids so far have found him to be a bore, I think they need to be a bit older as a lot of what he does is reminiscing. His non fiction books are great too. We could try those. Good idea.

I was also going to suggest the Philip Pullman books.

BUT I actually wonder if you should be thinking shorter (possibly short stories/essays) and more advanced. I say this because reading aloud forces you to slow down.

That’s as far as I got though. I don’t have any specific thoughts as my children are younger.

The Brockmans I agree about pronunciation. I've been surprised at certain words my teens were unfamiliar with. Again sometimes the vocabulary is important as the teacher will bring it up in class or mention a location in the book with an unusual place name. They don't want to be the one in the class who get sniggers because they mispronounce something, but how would they know with a word that's new to them?

My dd is texting me to go to bed as I keep staying up too late! It's 11:37pm. I'm on the West Coast.

I do agree shorter stories and novels would be a good idea. I actually have a favorite book if short stories so maybe I could try some of those.

Although the creepiest short story I ever read (or maybe second best to The Yellow Wallpaper), I haven't been able to find since as I can't remember the author or title!

My daughter reads to her children, including the 13yr old, every possible night. They enjoy it and discuss it a lot. There is usually a different book for each but sometimes same for all. They all read on their own too.

I find you see improvement quickly too, it helps with their confidence and enjoyment of books and reading.

Although the creepiest short story I ever read (or maybe second best to The Yellow Wallpaper), I haven't been able to find since as I can't remember the author or title!

When you get up make a new thread 'Help me identify this scary short story' or similar title. Give a description of the storyline you can remember and there will be loads of suggestions. MN is great for that sort of thing. Or do it before you go to bed and it will probably be solved by the morning complete with an Amazon link!

Of Mice and Men is my ultimate read-aloud (you need 9 different voices/accent variations because it's so dialogue-heavy and it doesn't always say who's talking). It's really problematic with sexism and racism, but 13 year olds can manage it readily. It's really moving when read aloud we'll.

I’m forcing encouraging DS (will do literally anything other than read) to read the Skullduggery Pleasant series this summer.

The Brockmans once they are back at school it is full on again and very little time for anything else in terms of asking them to write stories etc.

I forgot though, my son writes really well and his stories are full of imagination and always have been.

Wow OK The Brockmans I'll try!

My other go-to recommendation fro teen boys is The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, but I don't know how you would read some of it aloud (some pages are full of scribbles and multiple voices to represent crowd noise). It's great, though - grab it!

The Yellow Wallpaper is by Charlotte Perkins Gillman

Short stories by Saki are very good. Beautifully written. And if you like menace some MR James.
I think it’s a great idea.

Has he read Wonder? My kids inc 13 year old love it, also the Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. For something light he can read to himself the Anthony Horowitz series of Diamond Brothers books are funny but not babyish. Also the Percy Jackson books if he liked Harry Potter, my 11 and 13 year olds are enjoying them.

By the way I still read aloud to/with my kids even though they are perfectly capable silent readers. It's nice to share a book and some time together.

Yes, thanks Elizabeth I know who wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, I have just started my new thread (with very little to go on) re the unidentified short story.

Ah, sorry - I was skimming! Will look out for your other thread.

Of Mice and Men is so sad .