Book for reading-averse 13 year old

[batmanladybird]

He doesn't mind an audio book and generally has always preferred non fiction over fiction but I really need him to be resting more fiction. We have had an email from school that he hasn't done enough reading.

Terry Pratchett?
Graphic novels?
Short stories?

Come on over to the Children's Books section for more traffic.

If he enjoys non fiction could you try some books based loosely on true stories/real people? Just as a foot in the door.

What type of non fiction does he read?

It depends on his interests really, I liked the following authors at that age (& still do)
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Michael Morpurgo
Michelle Magorian
James Herriot

What kind of book does he read? How about biographies/autobiography? Roahl Dahls book about his own childhood and early adulthood are brilliant. Also available as audio books.

Robert Muchamore's Cherub books are very good for that age group

I've thought of another, although I may have been late primary, so slightly younger than he is but Brian Jacques Redwall series.

My DSS loved the Redwall books and moved on to the Edge Chronicles a bit later. He wasn't a big reader either but liked these

This is all super helpful

He has previous read kind of "bitty" information heavy rather than non fiction
Sort of Cyclopedia stuff

My son enjoyed the history keepers and he hated reading anything other than football reports.

Just seen this in the newsletter for dc1's school. As voted for by the students

@batmanladybird

He doesn't mind an audio book and generally has always preferred non fiction over fiction but I really need him to be resting more fiction. We have had an email from school that he hasn't done enough reading.

How wonderful to have a child who likes non-fiction! I'm always suggesting to parents that they gently provide non-fiction and cross their fingers.

What if you chose his fiction on the basis of his non-fiction interests?

Can you take him to a library and just let him choose? I have never really been involved in choosing books for my kids to read, it is better if they choose I think.

Have school specified non-fiction? I think reading anything is better than nothing.

Let him read non-fiction. If stamina is an issue what about graphic books. I don't know his interests but something like these might work:

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage
Freedom Bound
Susanna Moodie Roughing it in the Bush
Fun Home
Persepolis

Huge thanks to you all for such brilliant suggestions

His problem is stamina - he starts but doesn't finish.
He likes cars

He loves facts and watches lots of videos but hates the act of reading a book

If he hasn't read them yet, start with the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. the first is Stormbreaker and the second is Point Blanc. They are easy to read, absolutely gripping and well-written. I have managed as a tutor to get lots of reading-averse boys hooked on them and then eased them o n to other stuff.

If he reads those, try Young Bond (James Bond) series by Charlie Higson or Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. After that maybe Holes by Louis Sachar and its sequel Small Steps. Hunger Games, and Cherub are also worth trying.

Also, I was surprised to find that a lot of boys that age still love Adrian Mole, even though it was written in a time before phones and internet. It is very funny.

It's OK to listen to audio books. I think the key things with getting them into fiction are to widen their vocab, get them able to grasp a long, slowly unfolding narrative, and to use fiction as a start point to discuss ideas, themes, social behaviour etc to get their independent critical thinking going.

Is he into minecraft? Or you tube. My DS (who can read very well but very rarely!!) has minecraft guides which he didn't put down until they were finished! There are also books by popular mmos. Based on minecraft in comic format.

We always just try to find books based on their current interests.

I wouldn't worry about length or complexity. Just anything that he will enjoy.