Book Recommendations: Teen Boy Edition
October 30, 2024 7:43 AM   Subscribe

My 13-year-old nephew, a reluctant reader, is looking for "books about teenage boys including romance, coming of age, etc. Ideally contemporary and with florid language (swears and sex)." What titles/authors might he like?
posted by picopebbles to Writing & Language (18 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think David Mitchell's Black Swan Green is perfect for this. It's British and set in the 80's because it's semi-autobiographical, but it is just brilliant.
posted by number9dream at 8:12 AM on October 30 [5 favorites]


The Heartstopper series hits all of those things, although they are graphic novels (and the romance is largely male/male if that matters to him). They are so delightful in every way.
posted by anderjen at 8:20 AM on October 30 [7 favorites]


I was coming here for Heartstopper as well which my tween is devouring. He also has grabbed actual novels from Alice Oseman like I Was Born for This.
posted by Wink Ricketts at 9:16 AM on October 30 [3 favorites]


If a (spoiler) queer protagonist work for him then In Other Lands is really good and fits all criteria (except for actual sex scenes maybe). The setting is a fantasy world, so that might not work for your kid; on the other hand the main character gets brought there from our world and has very real-world takes on various aspects of it.
posted by trig at 9:35 AM on October 30 [3 favorites]


My teenage son thoroughly enjoyed John Green’s books around this age.
posted by rebeccabeagle at 10:45 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
posted by Dr. Twist at 10:55 AM on October 30 [3 favorites]


Cannot recommend A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz enough. Hits all those benchmarks, and is extremely funny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fraction_of_the_Whole
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 11:43 AM on October 30 [1 favorite]


I do not think it has been published except on the Web, and the story is set around 2002, and it's more a saga rather than a book, and I do think you should preview random chapters to see if it fits the bill before turning your nephew loose: Foley-Mashburn Saga.
posted by forthright at 12:00 PM on October 30


Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Vivid and gripping account of a boy who has to survive in the wilderness with only a hatchet.

Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein. Science Fiction. A boy has to survive on a distant planet

Darius The Great Is Not OK. by Adib Khorram. An American boy goes to Iran to visit his Persian grandparents.

Ready Player One by Ernest Celine a boy has to use his skill as a gamer to save the world.

Itch:, The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunter
by Simon Mayo about a boy who gets involved in adventures because of his hobby of collecting elements.

Simon vs the Homosapient Agenda a boy gets involved in increasingly complicated schemes to avoid a blackmailer who threatening to out him as gay.
posted by Zumbador at 12:07 PM on October 30


Julian F Thompson.
posted by Rhedyn at 12:28 PM on October 30


I'm gonna push back on Ready Player One, for its extremely flat portrayal of women as nothing more than pawns and objects.

Seconding the Heartstopper graphic novels, and the related novels also written by Alice Oseman. Not only LGBTQ+ themes, but also issues like self harm, depression, etc. are explored with empathy, tact, and dignity.

I have enjoyed everything I've read by John Green.
posted by xedrik at 12:31 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]


Swim the Fly is like a younger, sweeter American Pie.
posted by cider at 12:40 PM on October 30


It's been a long time but I remember loving Youth in Revolt by CD Payne.
posted by pilibeen at 12:49 PM on October 30 [1 favorite]


The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend. The whole series is brilliant. I think I will go read it again right now!
posted by LiverOdor at 1:56 PM on October 30 [3 favorites]


I'm wondering about They Both Die at the End, but it does go on a bit, so it may be too long for a reluctant reader.
posted by paduasoy at 2:31 PM on October 30


Six of Crows! It's a delightful fantasy heist novel about messy teens doing crimes. (They're "for the greater good" type crimes.) I think he'd love Kaz, the main protagonist, a resourceful teenage boy. Definitely unflinching about sex, violence, swearing, etc.
posted by capricorn at 3:43 PM on October 30


Angie thomas' Concrete Rose, the prequel to female POV The Hate U Give
posted by brujita at 9:25 PM on October 31


Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran
posted by andreap at 3:45 AM on November 11


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