Yr7 DS - interesting/exciting fiction books?

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Following on from earlier thread about motivating year 7s - I really need to find some reading books that interest my DS. He's never really found "proper" books that he's bothered about - has enjoyed reading Alex Rider (cartoon format) and Captain Underpants - he's taking this to school as his reading book at the moment - not sure teacher is that impressed.
I'm going to get the first Harry Potter book - see if that's any good.

Some ideas please - I'm sure there's something out there for him, and that MNers will be able to help... short chapters, traditional boy stuff, etc etc.

What about Hardy Boys? They're fairly formularic, but there's lots of them and they're a bit simpler than Alex Rider.
Or if you go to ebay and get some books like Arthur Catherall who wrote some great traditional boys books that are quite fun. Or Lane Mitchell "The Black Bog mystery" made me laugh when I was reading it to dd. John Pudney (Putney?) wrote a series called Fred and I stories (mostly called "Sunday Adventure" through to "Saturday Adventure" and "Winter Adventure" through to "Autumn Adventure") and again quite similar to Alex Rider... another uncle in the secret service and Fred and help him with lots of funny side effects.

Would suggest Eoin Colfer "Artemis Fowl" , Robert Muchamore "Cherub" series or "Henderson Boys " series (set in WW2). If he likes humour try Michael Lawrence or Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). If he might like fantasy try Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy as an alternative to Harry Potter (Skullduggery Pleasant is a sort of magician come detective fighting the bad guys). If he enjoys graphic novels then there are loads of these now available and they are often more complex than you would think. I have found graphic novels a good way to introduce kids to classics such as War of the Worlds or Dracula. Hope this helps

Another vote for robert muchmore's cherub series. My non reading ds was absolutely hooked on them. Dd1 enjoyed them as well

Neither of my DS likes Harry Potter which is very badly written. Mine read Skullduggery Pleasant, Robert Muchmore, Michelle Paver, Darren Shan (his stories about vampires and not too long) mine also loved Just William DS1 a Dr Who addict loves Dr Who books again badly written but who cares if their reading. Graphic novels; Asterix cant be beaten. If he likes animals My Family and other animals is funny beautifully written and ticks the animal box as well. Have you tried audible books which can be down loaded onto a ipod its a good way of getting them into books they might not otherwise read. DS1 listened to Fatherland by Robert Harris and then went onto read his others. There a website called audible you pay £12 a month and can download two books of your choice its very addictive we all fight over which two books its going to be! The Just William books read by Martin Jarvis are priceless.

My DS2, also year 7, won't read anything except Diary of a Wimpy kid, not really proper books but a bit less embarrassing than Captain Underpants.

Otherwise DS2 (year 8) is an addictive reader and loves all the Anthony Horowitz, Chrerub, Hive, Young Bond etc books which he finds in the teenage section at the library. DS2, although happy to listen to audio books of these on journeys etc will absolutely not try any of it. He does find reading hard work though so that's probably why.

I found Harry Potter pretty hard to wade through myself, would be too big a jump at this stage I think.

Sorry that should say DS1 in year 8!!

My DSs love the revenge files of Alistair Fury books by Jamie Rix. It was on TV and the books are written in diary format, so easier chunks. I have read some of it to them, it's hilarious.
My tip to get them to read a book by a new author is to read the first chapter or so to them, so they get into the story.
My boys both love the horrible history books as well. They have learnt loads from them as well.

Yay, I'm writing all these ideas down and will take a trip to the library tomorrow - thank you MN!!! Any more?

The Spook's Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney and the Time Riders series are both very popular with the boys of that age at my school.

The other ones that have been a big hit are the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. They're very easy but funny with drawings - not as young as they look at first glance.

I don't have children that age, but my year 7 tutor group are currently all obsessed with 'private peaceful' ( 4 reading it fir tutor reading) and keep reading bits out to me!

Percy Jackson books also very popular!

Ds2 currently in Year 7, rapidly working his way through the Cherub series. He loves them and takes to school to read on the bus and at break time. Before that it was anything Michael Morpurgo, The Eagle of the Ninth, Silver Sword, etc.. He loves reading and has heaving bookshelves. Ds1, now 21, detested reading, struggled through the first few Harry Potters, under duress I might add and now will only read Top Gear Magazine.

Another vote for Robert Muchamore and his Henderson Boys.

The most popular books for the Yr 7 boys at my school;
Robert Muchamore (His 1st Cherubs book is coming out as a graphic novel in 2012)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (can't keep them on the shelves!)
Percy Jackson
Hive
Skulduggery Pleasant (huge though!)
Jamie Johnson series by Dan Freedman (football)

Don't worry if the teacher isn't impressed - at least he is reading!
My DS was a very reluctant reader and I got him reading The Simpsons comic books - cost me a fortune though!!

My non-stop but essentially quite lazy reader in Year 7 is Another fan of Skulduggery,
enjoyed Hugo Pepper by Riddell and Stewart, although intially rejected it.
Big Nate
Also there's a whole series by Barrington Stokes Publishers for reluctant readers, with specially clear text, suitable for year 7 in content, although quite short - there are ghost stories, family stories, adventures all sorts...

mine hates Morpurgo, Eoin Colfer and C S Lewis. Struggled with Terry Pratchett too. Hated Lion Boy, Couldn't be bothered wth Boy Thief. Northern Lights etc...Holes...(so you have to take recommendations with a pinch of salt)
But loves anything zany with a few cartoons in it and widely spaced text, and lots of jokes. I think it's all in the paragraphing and layout.
He adores Wimpy Kid, but then my 8 year olds did too...Funnily enough the occasional Jacqueline Wilson doesn't phase him either.

He never stops reading, just not what I'd call "quality" fiction. It's a bit of an effort to make him read anything he decides is too much hard work. Rosemary Sutcliffe for example would bore him senseless although I love her.

Has he tried Louis Sachar? I think Holes is brilliant. So's Small Steps. Some of them are a bit sweet and schmaltzy but Holes isn't. It's great.
What about Young Bond series by Charlie Higson if he liked Alex Rider?
Has he already read the Diamond Brothers?
Wat about some of Horowitz's other work - there's some pretty dark stuff - not Alex Rider- more spooky/horror based. I think he's a good writer - no harm in reading him for a while.
What about The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke? Or even some classics like Lord of The Flies or Animal Farm - that are easy to read but have stuff happening in them on every page.

My dd (yr 7) has just read The 39 Steps and loved it - more of a boy's book really.V exciting.

you can get free podcasts from iTunes of lots of classic books by searching Lit2go. Ballantyne has some good ones like Lost in the Ice, and there's Treasure Island. Also there are lots of fables and myths from different countries that are quite short but can get an interest going, and factual things - browse around. My girls like fact and adventure, and even though they like reading they still like these too, they listen at bedtime.

Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan is the author) well worth a go.
Asterix? Tin tin? Horrible Science?

Another vote for Skullduggery Pleasant here. I know you should never judge a book by its cover but the SP ones are eye-catching.

My ds could sniff out a worthy book at 60 paces and still detests any book trying to shove "ishoos" down the reader's throat.

Some recommendations on here are good - but not good for a reluctant reader. Just William, for example, is brilliant - but for the less enthusiastic reader the stories are better heard on tape or read aloud by an adult.