14 yo DS book recommendations pleae

[AvonCallingBarksdale]

Hello. DS is 14. He’s read and enjoyed the Cherub series, Malorie Blackman, Hunger Games, Divergent, young Bond that kind of thing. What can we try next? Not keen on “lovey dovey” but not fantasy either. Thriller-sequence dystopia I suppose but open to suggestions. TIA

I was about that age when I picked up Iain Banks for the first time. While there is some adult content, the books are pretty accessible. The Crow Road, Whit and The Business would all be good ones to start with. Some of his stuff could be described as ‘Dystopian’, particularly Song of Stone and Walking on Glass. I never really got on with his sci-fi (written as Iain M Banks), though his short story collection The State Of The Art would be a good taster if his ‘M’ style.

The Maze Runner series
The Mortal Instruments series
The Last Survivors series by Susan Beth Pfeffer

DS is 14. He has read some “classics”, especially dystopia - Day of the Triffids, Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? We bought him Minority Report for Christmas.

He loved Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy and has read most of Dan Brown.

Oh - have a look at Asimov’s stuff as well, I, Robot and so on.

His dark materials by Phillip Pullman?

@Rainbow I would have said His Darin Materials too (because everyone should read them), but to me it counts as fantasy, though not ‘high’ fantasy of the orc and goblin kind. His other, more real world, stuff might be worth a try. Also Alan Garner (e.g. The Owl Service) or Robert Swindells. Tomorrow When The War Began (John Marsden) and How I Live Now (Meg Roscoff) also spring to mind. If more grown-up books appeal, William Gibson (try Pattern Recognition or The Difference Engine), or Jeff Noon might repay investigation.

Ready player one

Gone
Hunger
Lies etc
By Michael Grant

Ojell yes I did think that, what level of fantasy is too fantasy also agree with how I live now, great book

The Girl with All the Gifts.