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Book suggestions for DS 12 who hasn't read anything since HP

26 replies

Chevron383 · 25/01/2021 11:12

He's started secondary school and sadly the wizarding days are over. I miss seeing him with his nose in a book. Any ideas to get him hooked on something again?

OP posts:
LagneyandCasey · 25/01/2021 11:23

My dd enjoyed the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.

PursuingProxemicExactitude · 25/01/2021 11:24

What's he interested in? Some children enjoy fantasy - others hate it. What else has he read and enjoyed in the past couple of years?

Initial suggestions

Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials (the original three books).

John Buchan - all the Richard Hannay books, (including The 39 Steps, etc.)

Agatha Christie - everything. Instant shots of effortless entertainment.

TierFourTears · 25/01/2021 11:39

Yes to Alex Rider by Horowitz.
Also Artemus Fowl by Eion Colfer.

That's about all my 11 yr old reads right now.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

LaPoesieEstDansLaRue · 25/01/2021 11:48

Also came on to suggest Alex Rider books. Or maybe Hunger Games. Also I/DD haven't read them but I often see John Grisham's Theodore Boone books recommended on here for that age group.

lemonandlimes2 · 25/01/2021 11:57

Charlie Higson, the young bond series

Anthony Horowitz, ravens gate.

jojojowo · 25/01/2021 12:18

Cherub and Henderson's boy by Robert Muchamore

TeenPlusTwenties · 25/01/2021 12:22

Divergent series.
Hunger Games.

iklboo · 25/01/2021 12:25

Miss Peregrine series
Charlie Higson Young Bond
Hunger Games
Percy Jackson

trilbydoll · 25/01/2021 12:26

DH buys me a young adult box set every Christmas. I've got:
Maze Runner
Eden
Uglies
Divergent
Psi series
Hunger Games

Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons · 25/01/2021 12:28

Fablehaven Brandon Mull

DWJ’s Chrestomanci series

WellTidy · 25/01/2021 12:29

Him enjoying H suggests that he would like a series. How about:

Alex Rider
Skullduggery Pleasant
Artemis Fowl
Percy Jackson
Phillip Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy

DS 13yo is enjoying all of these

Also enjoys anything by Katherine Rundell, Louis Sachar and Onjali J. Rauf.

SameToo · 25/01/2021 12:29

Patrick Rotthus The name of the wind? It’s chunky but excellent.

TheIncredibleBookEatingManchot · 25/01/2021 12:31

The Samuel Johnson trilogy by John Connolly is very funny, about a boy who saves the world from demons from hell.

The Origami Yoda series is good too, sort of similar in style to the Wimpy Kid books but much better.

Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons · 25/01/2021 12:43

Or could comic books be a good way “back”? Amulet series is amazing

cheeseismydownfall · 25/01/2021 12:49

Another vote for Artemis Fowl.

DS also really really enjoyed the first few Adrian Mole books in Y7, although he lost interest with the later books as they became less relatable I guess.

chipshopElvis · 25/01/2021 13:02

Artemis Fowl
Percy Jackson
The Fog diver

Are what my 11yr old loved after HP.

TheIncredibleBookEatingManchot · 25/01/2021 13:19

My oldest enjoyed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when he was about 12.

Maybe Discworld?

SeasonFinale · 25/01/2021 13:31

Da Vinci Code and other Dan Brown books if he wants an easy read but adult (not in that sense) book.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 25/01/2021 14:41

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins.
Alex Rider series - Anthony Horowitz.
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman.
The Exodus trilogy - Julia Bertagna.
Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman.
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman.

Witchend · 25/01/2021 14:45

Depends really what catches his fancy.

Ds is 13yo.
He's just spent several late reading nights finishing the Henderson Boy series by Robert Muchamore. He'd finished the Cherub books (Henderson Boys are a kind of prequel) first.
But it depends on your 13yo. There's a lot of violence, drugs and a rather poor attitude towards girls by the main character at times.

Alex Rider (there's a Netflix series if you want to whet his appetite with that) is a similar premise but less of the above. I think a good way to put it would be in these books you'd have "Alex swore", but in the Cherub you get the actual words at times.

Alternatively you might find that something close to HP is the Chrestomanci series by Diane Wynne Jones. They're quite fun.
The Narnia series has the same good v evil fantasy, ditto the Dark is Rising series.

Ds has also enjoyed older books, like Biggles, 3 Investigator and that sort of thing.

If he likes fiction written about fact, then Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time is a modern day investigation about the Princes in the Tower. Ds loved it, and I pity any history teacher trying to teach him about it!

Ds has enjoyed all these.

PursuingProxemicExactitude · 25/01/2021 15:08

Witchend I know at least one boy who devoured The Franchise Affair with great enthusiasm some time before they were 13.

So many posters have recommended the same writers - I feel vindicated now in mentioning some more retro options. Josephine Tey is such a fantastic writer, I'd recommend her to anyone of any age.

Or ... How about:

Geoffrey Household - Rogue Male. Brutal, non-fantasy hiding out adventure. Really glorious.

Emily St John Mandel - Station Eleven (extremely topical!).

Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year (ditto).

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 25/01/2021 15:09

Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

sosotired1 · 25/01/2021 15:13

The Kane Chronicles - Anthony Horowitz - are going down well here. My DS started the Earthsea books by Ursula Le Guin, beautifully written, quite HPish

Witchend · 25/01/2021 17:32

@PursuingProxemicExactitude
Ds liked the Franchise affair and Brat Farrar too. She's one of dm's favourite authors so I had her copies. I think the girls enjoyed them too, but they're much quieter about what they read.
However I don't think he'd have read them if he hadn't enjoyed The Daughter of Time. He loves history, and he likes facts, so it was a good way in.