Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

Books/authors for teen boys with lots of speech/dialogue and not lots of description

42 replies

Tumty · 28/08/2023 07:37

Ds has said he gets annoyed with books that go on an on describing the scene and prefers books with lots of dialogue where the story moves a bit quicker. He likes Harry Potter (when younger), hunger games and Jurassic park.

does anyone know authors of a similar writing style?

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 28/08/2023 07:52

Has he read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness? Brilliantly written but an absorbing, unusual plot with lots of action.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 28/08/2023 07:53

You don’t say how old he is - Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series would be suitable for older teens - like a James Bond in book form!

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 28/08/2023 07:53

Alex rider books?

CuriousPorg · 28/08/2023 07:55

What about screenplays rather than novels?

Original poster
Tumty · 28/08/2023 08:03

Thanks I will look at these. None of these he has tried yet. He is nearly 14. He often doesn’t like books which are deliberately aimed at teens. He seems to find them patronising with the way they are written. He is difficult to please. When he finds a book he loves he reads really quickly though. Recently read “all quiet on the western front.” Also absolutely loved the dark is rising series a couple of years ago.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 28/08/2023 08:11

The Hunger Games maybe although it's a bit grim!

BertieBotts · 28/08/2023 08:11

I really really love John Green books too but they might be a bit mature for him.

Try Robert Swindells.

BertieBotts · 28/08/2023 08:12

You can usually read the first few pages on Amazon if you want to get an idea.

Original poster
Tumty · 28/08/2023 08:16

He has read all the hunger games. Will look up John green

OP posts:
PermanentTemporary · 28/08/2023 08:20

Grahame Green
PG Wodehouse
Nevile Shute

Original poster
Tumty · 28/08/2023 08:27

Those look great permanenttemporary never heard of them before. I am not very well read myself !

OP posts:
mylittleprince · 28/08/2023 08:32

Some may turn their noses up but has he tried graphic novels ?

If you go to a shop that sells a wide range, somewhere like forbidden planet if you are near london. I'm sure he'll find something he enjoys. They have a whole floor of graphic novels and comics.

I always think it's better to read something than nothing!

Original poster
Tumty · 28/08/2023 08:35

I don’t think he would like graphic novels. He can read quite long books. It’s just finding a style/subject that is tricky

OP posts:
Catsfrontbum · 28/08/2023 08:36

DS likes
Maze Runner series
Divergent series’s
The boy in the striped pyjamas and it’s follow up all the broken pieces
holes
wonder
The fault in our stars

mylittleprince · 28/08/2023 08:42

@Tumty again you're assuming that they are dumbed down. This is what I mean by people turning their nose up!

It's not about being able to read a long book it's about a different style. Plenty of very famous books have been released as graphic novels. It maybe just makes them appealing to a different set of readers!

Original poster
Tumty · 28/08/2023 08:44

I have had graphic novels from library before he doesn’t read can look at the bookshop maybe and see if they have better ones

OP posts:
Needmorelego · 28/08/2023 10:06

James Patterson books usually have short chapters and "get on with the action" fairly quickly. The ones that are stand alone novels rather than the ones that are part of a series.

PermanentTemporary · 28/08/2023 11:01

Talking about graphic novels I'm just rereading Maus (Art Spiegelman) and being blown away all over again by it. I don't on the whole like graphic novels - I've tried a few which just seemed really slow - but when they work they are extraordinary.

PermanentTemporary · 28/08/2023 11:03

Oh glad you like those ideas. I was thinking I should be more specific.

Grahame greene - Brighton rock

Pg Wodehouse- the code of the Woosters or Carry on Jeeves

Nevil Shute- No Highway or Pied Piper.

SwingingGentlyUnderTheMoon · 28/08/2023 11:05

Get him to go to the library and pick out a few different ones?

At 14 I’d be encouraging him to look more on the adult fiction shelves tbh - he might like various thriller types (Jack Reacher series?)

PermanentTemporary · 28/08/2023 11:06

Just had a look at my shelves and leafed through a few things, and I'm struck that Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy has plenty of dialogue from the start. Might be worth trying.

MrsW9 · 28/08/2023 11:14

Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' is fantastic.

CocoPlum · 28/08/2023 11:17

The Skulduggery Pleasant series. We've been reading them since my son was year 4 BUT they are definitely suitable for a teen (my teen is similar age and loves them), and I am obsessed too!

Meem321 · 28/08/2023 11:21

Alex Rider series is always a hit.

Kevin Brooks is a fab writer. The Bunker Diary is gory but amazing.

Swipe left for the next trending thread