Science book for teen?

[User562377]

Can anyone recommend a book for my nephew? Hes 11 but mega smart and into science. He's really interested in planes, physics, I don't really know.

So I'm looking for something that's not for kids, he's too smart for that, but not for adults either, that might be a bit boring and hard to read. Not a textbook. Does anyone have any recommendations?

If he likes puzzles, this is great.
If he likes fiction, Andy Weir books might work, I enjoyed but I can't remember how "adult" they were.

This is good for a range of KS3 ages and upwards.

Has he read the Randell Munroe books?

He might like "adult" popular science stuff though, you never know, especially if he has a passionate interest in something. My dd was getting on to some pretty heavy going paleontology and anthropology around that age.

Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. It will probably be too heavy for an 11-year-old to read from cover to cover, but it’s a wonderful book to put into a young person’s hands. He can dip into it, read the odd paragraph here and there, etc. Same goes for Bill Bryson’s Short History of Nearly Everything.

Richard Dawkins: The Magic of Reality. Dawkins wrote this for intelligent young people, and it’s ideal.

I’d also urge you to buy him Douglas Adams’ collected works. Adams reminds me of Roald Dahl - the same joyous, high-energy prose. And Adams was a big science lover.

I haven't read it yet but How to Die in Space: A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena by Paul M Sutter looks like fun. Gets good reviews and it's supposed to be humorous.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I'll visit our local bookshop tomorrow and see I'd they have anything in stock. I'd like to see insise the books first, ideally they would have some drawings or something inside and not just text. I'll let you know what I decide on

The Selfish Gene is a classic by Richard Dawkins. It inspired me to study biology.

I had Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' at age 12 - I think that would work.

Ds is 11 and obsessed with Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell on youtube. There's a book about the immune system by Philipp Dettmer that DS wants. It's pretty wordy though and doesn't have as bany of the graphics from the videos as I'd hoped.