gripping books for 14 yr ds

[Hullygully]

Please oh please.

Ds has requested books "as gripping as Infernal Engines and Eragon."

He has read the "Gone" "Hunger Games" series, is quite mature and wants a break from his non-fiction physics books...

All ideas appreciated.

Young Sherlock Holmes series - Andrew Lane

Absolutely agree - in fact was wandering around Waterstones today having that v same thought.

I think it's partly habit, I have always placed piles of books in their rooms since they were tiny, and partly a total aversion to shops (unless computer games or in airports). I think as well they are used to asking again since tiny) and being provided with things I know they'll like. Have I made it too easy??

He does sometimes put books in my Amazon basket and request I look at and by them.

buy even

Nope you've done a good job. Hope mine are bookworms at that age. But I would be poonting him in the direction of amazon and waterstones now.

Pointing even.

My DD12 uses the library and I pass anything I read to her unless it's really unsuitable. Some of the teen books she used to read were quite shocking ( she was getting them from the library when she was 10ish). But aside from the terrible sexy bits, the values in them were often horrid, about realationships, shopping and parents. I'd rather she read something well written.

If you really don't mind sex and violence, shogun and the two early wartime Ken Follet's "eye of the needle and key to Rebecca" be warned these are adult books and have both.
Jack Higins "the eagle has landed" also " the day of the Jackal, lots of detail that may appeal to a physics addict

Has he read Rosemary Sutcliff's books - thinking of the Mark of the Horse Lord, Outcast etc.

Funnily enough, have just ordered Shogun as lost my v old copy.

Read I am No 4 - liked it. Will look at Higgins and Follet. He has read a lot of Alistair Maclean which I loved at his age.

Will look again at R Sutcliffe, we've got the Eagle 9th lot, but they aren't v popular.

Unwind - Neal Shusterman

Philip Reeve's Larklight series is light-hearted and fun

Bloodsong and Bloodtide - Melvin Burgess

Books by Robert Cormier

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon

Books by John Wyndham

The Piratica series by Tanith Lee

The Dead & The Enemy - Charlie Higson

Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Little Brother - Cory Doctorow

Perhaps things like the George RR Martin series behind the TV series Game of Thrones?

Ian Fleming novels

Thanks - lots there I haven't heard of!

Abhorsen Trilogy is Garth Nix ( Sabriel, Abhorsen and Lirael).

My older boys read my books when they were that age, mainly fantasy stuff, but the others don't bother even looking at them. I sometimes read their's though. I love Artemis Fowl

Think Rosemary Sutcliffe might be a bit too young for a 14 year old. I mentioned it to DS1's English teacher when he was about that age and the teacher kind of scoffed.

Marcus Sedgewick books are quite good. Cornelia Funke is worth a read as are Kevin Crossley Holland's Arthurian books (The Seeing Stone, The Crossing Place and another one that I can't remember it's name.)
Classics like Lord of the Flies, 1984, Animal Farm, OF mice and Men and the Pearl and old ones like Dracula, The Invisible Man and Dorian Grey are challenging reads for this age group.
Neil Gaiman might be worth a look. Markus Zusak is quite good as well.
Howl's Moving Castle was well received by all my kids
Eion Colfer's books for older kids are fab, The Wish List, the Supernaturalist, ones like that.
Jeanne DUprau - City of Ember
James Daschner's Maze Runner books
Catherine Fischer.

I'll keep thinking about it. Over the years, we have had so many author's and books that it's hard to keep track, to be honest, but I might remember some more.

Thanks, I appreciate it. He has read all the Colfer and he had to read Of Mice and Men at school - so no longer terribly keen. I think they are too young for those, the writing is easy enough to understand, but they don't yet have the emotional maturity/depth to really appreciate the ishoos.

I'll look at the others.

I think that they are a bit young to read things like that at school as well, Hully. We did of Mice and Men, I think, for Higher, so we would have been about 16 and even then some of the issues were challenging. It's a fine line to tread at this age, really, to find things that are challenging enough to read but not to mature or charged for them to understand.

My DS1 started reading my Sword of Truth books when he was about 11, as well as a whole load of other adult books. He has since reread them and finds that he gets far more from them now because he can actually understand what's going on. The same with the Phillip Pullman books, even though they are marketed at kids, the themes are quite deep and can be challenging. He got more from them when he read them at 18 than when he read them at 11.

If he hasn't read them already, Garth Nix is fabulous. I can't recommend them enough. William Nicholson is really, really good as well. Easy to read but explores quite complex themes and emotions.

Are your dc HE? (the name's a clue I'm guessing)

Interesting thoughts about Rosemary Sutcliff, HEmum. Do you think that is the case with all of them - I would have said they varied somewhat in likely age range?

If RS might appeal but is a bit young, might he like 'The King Must Die' by Mary Renault? I remember being utterly gripped by her books as a teen, particularly that one & the sequel.

Yes, my kids are HE. Not DS1, though. He is going into 4th year at St. Andrews uni .

Takver, I don't know, really, about Rosemary Sutcliffe. My kids read the ones that we have when they were between about 10 and 12 (usually in conjunction with stuff about Roman Britain or the Vikings or whatever. DS3 read the Arthurian trilogy in conjunction with a wee project he was doing on knights/chivalry etc.
DS1 was a VERY advanced student who started to revisit childhood favourite books when he was about 14. His teacher asked about what he was reading (he went to school) and, when I told him some of the things, he actually laughed out loud when I mentioned RS. He was quite firm that her books were not nearly challenging enough and that I should gently encourage him to put them away. I don't know if he meant for this age group or just for DS1. I do think that her books can be very multi-layered and that some of them have quite complex themes but only my younger kids still want to read them.

Any on with 14+ DDs may find they like Ken Follett's " man from St. Petersburg"
It was my absolute fab. Heroine is one of the last proper Debutants before WW1 changed everything.
Later K Fs are long sagas not proper thrillers

hemum, I think RS's books definitely vary in their age range (I often see Sword at Sunset listed as an adult novel). I also don't have a 14 y/o myself, so am only judging by what those I know seem to like to read, but at least one is a very voracious reader & would probably happily read almost anything new to him

The Hatchet books by Gary Paulsen?
Alex Ryder books by Anthony Horowitz, you could let him read the real JAmes Bond books.
Isaac Asimov for read SF, and I also like the LE Modsett jr, fantasy ones.

Hatchet looks good - another one ordered..

One Child by Torey Hayden. Very very grown-up book (in a useful sort of way), but at the same time written in clear and simple language suitable for teens / young people.