Great Books for Teen & Tween Boys

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My teenaged son is an avid reader and we’re often looking for different things for him to read. After finishing up several series I posed this question to a parenting Facebook group that I have been with since he was born: what are your kids reading now?

All of our children are the same age (born in December, 1999) and this topic comes up often. Some are avid readers like my son and can’t get enough, while some parents are just trying to find something that will spark their child’s interest. When it comes to finding new books for teens and pre-teens, they are my go-to source. 

Great Book Suggestions for Teens & Pre-Teen Boys (and girls) Ages 8-18
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With the suggestions I received from them plus the books my son loves, I have compiled this list. These books and series are ones that my son has given glowing reviews to over the past couple of years as well as some suggestions from my parenting group.

Since I have sons, these books are geared mostly toward boys, but there are plenty of titles that both boys and girls will love equally. I hope you find some good ideas and please feel free to add some of your own child’s favorites in the comments. I’m sure that Red will be appreciative.

I have added suggested age ranges for these books based on the recommendations of one or more of these sources: Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Common Sense Media. For any series listed below, the age range is based on the first book in the series. *The suggested age range could change later in the series. Example: Harry Potter.

Ages 8 and up

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (8+)

  1. How to Train Your Dragon
  2. How to Be a Pirate
  3. How to Speak Dragonese
  4. How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse
  5. How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale
  6. A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons
  7. How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm
  8. How to Break a Dragon’s Heart
  9. How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword
  10. The Day of the Dreader

Edgar & Ellen by Charles Ogden (8+)

  1. Rare Beasts
  2. Tourist Trap
  3. Under Town
  4. Pet’s Revenge
  5. High Wire
  6. Nod’s Limbs
  7. Graphic Novelty

Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix (8+)

  1. Among the Hidden
  2. Among the Impostors
  3. Among the Betrayed
  4. Among the Barons
  5. Among the Brave
  6. Among the Enemy
  7. Among the Free

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson (8+)

Middle School: Get Me out of Here! by James Patterson (8+)
 
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (8+)
 
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (8+)
 
 

Ages 9 and up

Schooled by Gordon Korman (9+)

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (9+)

  1. Fablehaven
  2. Rise of the Evening Star
  3. Grip of the Shadow Plague
  4. Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary
  5. Keys to the Demon Prison

The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan (9+)

  1. The Red Pyramid
  2. The Throne of Fire
  3. The Serpent’s Shadow
  4. Survival Guide

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (9+)

  1. Gregor the Overlander
  2. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
  3. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
  4. Gregor and the Marks of Secret
  5. Gregor and the Code of Claw

Harry Potter by JK Rowling (9+)

  1. Sorcerer’s Stone
  2. Chamber of Secrets
  3. Prisoner of Azkaban
  4. Goblet of Fire
  5. Order of the Phoenix
  6. Half-Blood Prince
  7. Deathly Hallows

Redwall by Brian Jacques (9+)

  • There are 34 books in this series

Fearless by Elvira Woodruff (9+)

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (9+)

Warriors Series by Erin Hunter (9+)

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (9+)

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary (9+)

 

Ages 10 and up

The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson (10+)

  1. Disney After Dark
  2. Disney at Dawn
  3. Disney in Shadow
  4. Power Play
  5. Shell Game

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (10+)

  1. The Lightning Thief
  2. The Sea of Monsters
  3. The Titan’s Curse
  4. The Battle of the Labyrinth
  5. The Last Olympians

Baseball Card Adventures by Dan Gutman (10-14)

  1. Honus & Me
  2. Jackie & Me
  3. Babe & Me
  4. Shoeless Joe & Me
  5. Mickey & Me
  6. Satch & Me
  7. Abner & Me
  8. Jim & Me
  9. Ray & Me
  10. Roberto & Me
  11. Ted & Me

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (10+)

Fish by L.S. Matthews (10+)

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (10+)

  1. Artemis Fowl
  2. Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident
  3. Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code
  4. Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception
  5. Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony
  6. Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox
  7. Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex

Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan (10+)

  1. The Ruins of Gorlan
  2. The Burning Bridge
  3. The Icebound Land
  4. The Battle for Skandia
  5. The Sorcerer of the North
  6. The Siege of Macindaw
  7. Erak’s Ransom
  8. The Kings of Clonmel

The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan (10+)

  1. The Lost Hero
  2. The Son of Neptune
  3. The Mark of Athena
  4. The Demigod Diaries (August 2012)

Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (10+)

  1. Scorpia Rising
  2. Crocodile Tears
  3. Snakehead
  4. Ark Angel
  5. Scorpia
  6. Eagle Strike
  7. Skeleton Key
  8. Point Blank
  9. Stormbreaker

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (10+)

 

Ages 11 and up

Bone by Jeff Smith (11+)

  1. Out From Boneville
  2. The Great Cow Race
  3. Eyes of the Storm
  4. The Dragonslayer
  5. Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border
  6. Old Man’s Cave
  7. Ghost Circles
  8. Treasure Hunters
  9. Crown of Horns 

Ages 12 and up

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan (12+)

  1. A Living Nightmare
  2. The Vampire’s Assistant
  3. Tunnels of Blood
  4. Vampire Mountain
  5. Trials of Death
  6. The Vampire Prince
  7. Hunters of the Dusk
  8. Sons of Destiny
  9. Allies of the Night
  10. Killers of the Dawn
  11. Lord of the Shadows
  12. The Lake of Souls

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (12+)

  1. The Alchemyst
  2. The Magician
  3. The Sorceress
  4. The Necromancer
  5. The Warlock
  6. The Enchantress

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (12+)

The Inheritance Cycle (aka: The Eragon Series) by Christopher Paolini (12+)

  1. Eragon
  2. Eldest
  3. Brisingr
  4. Inheritance

The Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman (12+)

  1. Everlost
  2. Everwild
  3. Everfound

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer (12+)

  1. Eighth Grade Bites
  2. Ninth Grade Slays
  3. Tenth Grade Bleeds
  4. Eleventh Grade Burns
  5. Twelfth Grade Kills

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (12+)

  1. The Hunger Games
  2. Catching Fire
  3. Mockingjay

The Mortality Doctrine by James Dashner (12+)

  1. The Eye of Minds
  2. The Rule of Thoughts
  3. The Game of Lives
  4. Gunner Skale

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

  1. The Giver
  2. Gathering Blue
  3. Messenger
  4. Son

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

  1. The Hobbit (prequel)
  2. The Fellowship of the Ring
  3. The Two Towers
  4. The Return of the King

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (12+)

Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton (12+)

That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton (12+)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

 

Ages 13 and up

The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney

  1. Revenge of the Witch
  2. Curse of the Bane
  3. Night of the Soul Stealer
  4. Attack of the Fiend
  5. Wrath of the Bloodeye
  6. The Clash of the Demons
  7. Rise of the Huntress
  8. Rage of the Fallen
  9. Grimalkin the Witch Assassin
  10. Lure of the Dead
  11. Slither

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

  1. The Maze Runner
  2. The Scorch Trials
  3. The Death Cure
  4. The Kill Order 
  5. The Fever Code (prequel)

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

  1. The 5th Wave
  2. The Infinite Sea
  3. The Last Star

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

  1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
  2. Hollow City
  3. Library of Souls

Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman

  1. Unwind
  2. UnWholly
  3. UnSouled
  4. UnDivided

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

 

Ages 14 – 18+

The Walking Dead Series by Robert Kirkman (16+)

  1. Rise of the Governor
  2. The Road to Woodbury
  3. Fall of the Governor, Part 1
  4. Fall of the Governor, Part 2

Song of Ice and Fire Series by George RR Martin (17+)

  1. A Game of Thrones
  2. A Clash of Kings
  3. A Storm of Swords
  4. A Feast for Crows
  5. A Dance with Dragons

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (16+)

Looking for Alaska by John Green (16+)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (16+)

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

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11 Comments

  2. Thank you! I can’t keep up with my 7 yr old’s reading habit. Many on this list I have not heard of. I will check these out!

    Reply

  4. Thanks for compiling this list. My son is way too young for these right now, but I have some nieces that would enjoy reading these kind of books!

    Reply

  5. Another great one for this age group is Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins. She wrote these before the Hunger Games and they are appropriate for a younger, pre-teen reading audience.
    Gregor the Overlander
    Gregor and the Prohecy of Bane
    Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
    Gregor and the Marks of Secret
    Gregor and the Code of Claw

    Reply

    1. Thank you for the suggestion; I will add them to the list! They sound familiar so I must have heard of these in my travels at some point even though my son hasn’t read them.

      Reply

  6. Thanks!! I DEFINITELY need to save this list someplace. I think it will come in handy for some reading suggestions for me. I LOVE The Hunger Games!!!

    Reply

    1. I agree, Sarah. At this age there are definitely some books that my son reads that I would read. The Harry Potter series is actually mine that I let him borrow and he has to be VERY careful with them! I am also interested in reading the Percy Jackson series and Hunger Games as well as the Nicholas Flamel series.

      Reply

  7. I’m pinning this. It’s exactly what I was looking for a few days ago. I have a child who is 11. He’s VERY much a book worm. He’s read the Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series. I poll’ed a group of mommies, and they suggested a few of these, but this is MUCH more like what I was looking for!! He’s half way through Salem’s Lot, because it’s all I had. I’d rather he stick to books inside his age range! LOL Thanks for this!!

    Reply

    1. I’ve been trying to get my son to read Salem’s Lot. I love that book! He did read 30 Days of Night which is far more gruesome and not something that I would add to this list 😉 I added a picture to make pinning easier. I didn’t even think of that when I posted! Thanks

      Reply

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