Classic novels for teenage boy

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He's 14, realistic suggestions though - one list I saw had Les Mis - that would never happen!! He's just read, and enjoyed, Of Mice and Men.

My DS just read and enjoyed Animal Farm (not just because it is fairly short he tells me!). In support of his Humanities he is planning to read "Roots" this summer, which I expect will lead to some interesting conversations!

Everyone should have to read To Kill a Mockingbird.

I was a teenage girl once but...

catcher in the rye
fear and loathing in las vegas
kurt vonnegut - slaughterhouse 5

James Ellroy

Graham Greene Brighton Rock
V S Naipaul A House For Mr Biswas
Patrick White Voss

But what is your cut-off point for "classic"?

Yes to Slaughterhouse Five.
Is he mature? A Clockwork Orange is superb, but v shocking and only for the very sensible and very strong readers - otherwise, leave it a few years.
Lord Of The Flies
War of the Worlds
The Outsider
Some John Wyndham
The Pearl and/or East of Eden
All Quiet on the Western Front

Definitely agree about Slaughterhouse 5

Animal Farm - George Orwell
Brave New world - Aldous Huxley
Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Scoop - Evelyn Waugh
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
All Quiet on the Western Front - ?
The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
The Outsider - Albert Camus
The Collector - John Fowles
Tobacco Road - ?
About A Boy - Nick Hornby
This Boy's Life - Tobias Wolff
Diary of a Nobody - ?
Down and Out in Paris and London - Orwell
Generation X - Douglas Coupland

Anything by Ray Bradbury
How about some Raymond Carver short stories

Coupland - I reckon Life After God or Girlfriend in a Coma might be better starting points.

Oh and some Raymond Chandler would be good - Farewell My Lovely or The Long Goodbye for preference.

Kim by Rudyard Kipling. A great adventure story.

DS (just 15) enjoyed Catch-22 recently.

Catch 22
A Clockwork Orange
Catcher in the Rye
1984
Outcast by Rosemary Sutcliffe
Northern Lights trilogy
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for light relief

My two favourite novels - Lord of the Flies, and The Island of Dr Moreau. Would recommend both for teenager of any gender!

DS (14) has just read and enjoyed 1984. He's now on to The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks) which he seems to be enjoying, and I am thinking of introducing him to some Graham Greene and Ernest Hemingway (we're off to Cuba, so relevant - Our Man in Havana etc - but also classics) as well as Catch 22. Day of the Triffids and Lord of the Flies also sound like good ideas.

He has read some Nick Hornby before (High Fidelity etc), but apart from that has mostly read non-fiction (travel etc) or crime/spy fiction recently.

Thanks all, will check these out. Don't really know what I mean by classic, just looking for some quality reading I guess.

For teenage boys I would really recommend:

The Outsiders by SE Hinton - written in the 1960's so the language is quite modern. The story will really appeal to teen boys

Call of the Wild by Jack London - more difficult language but great story

There are plenty of modern books which are effectively classics - well written with good stories and therefore likely to stand the tet of time. I've written reviews on a few here (recommend Bog Child): www.booksteensandmagazines.com/browse/impress-your-teacher

Sherlock Holmes

Agatha Christie

Biographies - my 13 year old loves these

I just sat listening to a conversation between a 40-something yo male friend and my 13yo son... The friend was recommending Moby Dick... It's 'brilliant' and 'about EVERYTHING' and 'one of the best books I've ever read' and 'you should read it'. When my son asked whether they found the whale in the end, my friend refused to tell him, saying "You've got to read it yourself"! :)

I just sat listening to a conversation between a 40-something yo male friend and my 13yo son... The friend was recommending Moby Dick... It's 'brilliant' and 'about EVERYTHING' and 'one of the best books I've ever read' and 'you should read it'. When my son asked whether they found the whale in the end, my friend refused to tell him, saying "You've got to read it yourself"! :)

(Oops, sorry! )

God, don't give him Moby Dick. You'd put him off reading for life.

Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes , Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde, 1984, The Time Machine, Frankenstein, Dickens

Hahaha Remus! Why?

Adrian Mole aged 13 and 3/4 by Sue Townsend

I am David - Anne Holm.

Why? Because it takes hundreds of pages of pointless rambling to catch up with the damn whale and by then nobody really gives a toss anyway. :)

imvho