Suitable book for scholarship interview

[Suki2]

DS is going for a 13+ scholarship next academic year, and as part of the interview process, he has to pick a book to discuss. Please can someone help; what would be a good book to choose and more importantly how can I help him analyse it such that he can be fully prepared for the questions!

What sort of thing is he interested in?

Pick something he is genuinely interested in, not something for showing off

Don't discount really good teen fiction. I teach secondary English and would be perhaps more impressed with a student who could discuss, say, Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy with real interest and insight than a literary classic which he'd clearly only read for the interview.

They'll be able to tell if he's been coached on one specific book.

The best think you can do is ensure he is reading widely and talk to him about what he reads.

What sort of school does he attend now? If a prep, the school should be helping.

Maybe one of the books he is studying at school at the moment?

I completely agree with picking something he's interested in, but rather unhelpfully he seems to enjoy most things he reads! He doesn't go to prep school, so no help there. Nor has he read many classics and I don't really want to venture into that territory as I feel it wouldn't really reflect his interests.

He does like action/ adventure; he read all at the Alex Rider books a good couple of years ago now. He loves history,so anything that's set in an interesting era. He's recently read books by Alan Gibbons, Andy McNabb and Louis Sachar. He's just finished The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, but that's so unbearably sad I think he's better steering clear of it. I'll have a look at the Chaos Walking trilogy, thanks for the tip, LeBearPolar.

I'd be grateful for any more suggestions

I'd pick one of the Sachars (not.Holes, too.obvious) or the Gibbons (if not one of the easier football ones) as the interviewer will be able to tell if he's genuinely enjoyed it and read it for his own pleasure. There's lots to say about any decent children's fiction and they are both great children's authors.

Some good but recently published books (I.e. Last 5 or so years) suitable for a 13 year old, with an interesting story line that could lead to discussions are:

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner - an award winner. Dystopian past where the landing on the moon was faked by a controlling government, a slightly aspergers but very witty character,

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd - two slices of history in Ireland - a story from the very distant past runs alongside a boy struggling with the fall out of the IRA hunger strikes. Quite topical given Jerry Adams recent arrest.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon - seeing the world through the eyes of an autistic boy. Some swearing.

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace - about Zimbabwe when Mugabe first took over. Raises some interesting discussion points

The Wall by William Sutcliffe - loads to discuss but maybe not such an enjoyable

But I really agree with the other comments that he must feel strongly about the book - either positively or not - so he can discuss it with feeling. It would help if it's made an impact on him - made him see things differently, made him read something else etc.

If you want to think about a more classic book I would look at The Outsiders by SE Hinton. It's a modern classic and really appeals to teen boys. It makes you think about how society judges us etc.

A book my 13 year old was asked to read before joining a school at 13+ was Spud by John van de Ruit. It's hilarious but also poignant and sad. It's set in a boarding school in South Africa and there are many references to politics at the time, to other books, to music of the time and so a reader can get a lot out of it.

Good luck

HmmAnOxfordComma thanks for contributing. I'm curious to know why you think Holes is too obvious? I sort of agree with you without knowing why! DS loved this book, and it has inspired him to read a couple of others by Louis Sachar, but unfortunately he hasn't enjoyed the others as much, so I don't think he'd want to pick them. Or maybe you know something by the same author which is just as good?

Booksteensmagazines thanks for taking the time to give so many suggestions! DS has read The Curious Incident, and loved it, so it could be a possibility.

The reason I feel a little nervous about the whole thing is that I have no idea what sort of questions could be asked, other than the obvious tell me about the book, characters, why did you like it... it's interesting to think about if a book has made DS think about things differently.

Careful with things like Holes, though - I teach in a prep school where this book is part of the year 4 curriculum, so I think most academic senior schools would view it as too juvenile, particularly if they take most of their intake from preps.

For what it's worth, the bright (scholarship level) 12 year olds I teach are reading:

The Hunger Games
Great Expectations
Lord of the Flies
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of A Window
That recent book about Nigel Farage

My DS1 enjoys reading and at 13 read Fatherland somebody Harris it's certainly within the capabilities of a 13 yr old who likes reading. It's all what would have happened in Hitler won. Anybody who has read it is also left with the unknown question: did she get away? So two things to discuss.

Malorie Blackman - Noughts and Crosses series.
DD and I both found them to be page turners.

Well, as others say, it's on the curriculum of nearly every single secondary school (yr7) or primary (yr6). (As is Boy in the Striped PJs, btw).

Has he read the sequel, Small Steps? And/or seen the film of Holes? If so, he could probably make a good case for talking about the pair of books, how they inspired him to read more and how the film compares.

But I have no experience of academic scholarship interviews, so I'm not sure how good an idea that is.

My favourite Louis Sachar is The Cardturner. It features a bridge playing Uncle and a nephew who becomes his cardturner. I loved it and it's a bit of an unusual book.

Otherwise, I second a previous poster's recommendation of Jason Wallace's Out of Shadows, about Mugabe's rise to power in Zimbabwe. Would enable him to show off knowledge if history and current affairs too.

Ooh, has he read Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko?

Set on Alcatraz, the story of a teenage boy whose father is a prison guard during the time of the notorious gangster, and who spends a lot of time protecting his disabled sister from what life throws at them (all).

It's written with a similar style to Holes et al.

Worth a look?

DS talked about The Curious Incident in his interview. Plenty to say about voice and structure.

Also, Slam by Nick Hornby which is similarly another first person narrative, but with an entirely different voice and structure.

HmmmAnOxford Comma; thanks for that; I didn't know Holes was on the year 7 curriculum! Almapudden, I see what you mean about it being an easy read; I suppose children read it at different levels and take different things from it, but on the face of it my 7 year old could read it and understand the story.

Thanks for the other suggestions; I'll try to have a look at all these book; see what DS thinks of them. Almapudden, I'm intrigued by The 100 year old man who climbed out of a window, and will definitely be reading that one first! Happygardening, your suggestion also sounds fascinating, I'm sure DS will be interested in it.

If he likes History, the 100 Year Old Man is good as the central character meets several historical figures but has his own, very unusual, take on them. Something to say about making comparisons.

Second Mark Haddon. Also, "Shock of the Fall" which is very recent and had lots to discuss. If he is mature, he could try, "Universe versus Alex Woods" which is very popular with bright teens.

Does he enjoy the "Sherlock" TV series? He could compare that with some of the original stories.

We also use books with that age group like, "I'm the King of the Castle" or he could try some non-fiction like, for example, "Touching the Void" or something that links with an interest.

Roseformplease, thank you; he loves history, so the 100 year old man could be the one for him.

I haven't heard of the others, so thanks for the suggestions. I sometimes find it difficult to find quality books for DS, and unfortunately his school library is not much help; we've definitely got his summer reading sorted now as well!

If he likes reading history, then def The Bog Child, I think the The Dolphin Crossing might be too easy, but Ds did compare and contrast with that and Ian Serailler's the silver sword for the housemaster's interview, one about Dunkirk, the other about escaping Poland. Both children's books but dealing with quite adult themes. Ds talked about too much coincidence, over happy endings, but underlying research.

But if he really really enjoys history, then how about Goodbye to All that, or memoirs of foxhunting, man, ot Catch 22, or the forgotten shore, or all quiet on the western front?

The forgotten shore is populist history about Australia, easy to read. The others are war novels.

One that my nephews were reading at that stage was The Bookseller if Kabul. Lots of tricky themes to get into, there.

Has he read Wonder by R.J. Palacio? It's a wonderful and moving book.

Would also second Universe versus Alex Woods which my 12yo DD has just finished reading (i actually bought it for myself).

Ok, I'm ordering them all from Amazon; his summer reading is sorted!