Reading suggestions: 10 year old boy

[bohemiancoast]

Hello chaps: this is a sort of semi-regular 'recommend books for my child' post.

Background. Daughter is voracious, self-directed reader who works with libraries to find the sort of thing she likes to read.

Son isn't pro-active about books, preferring non-book entertainment when it's available. But has moved on from sharecropping series such as BeastQuest and Warrior Cats, and likes Lemony Snicket and Cherub. Quite a lot of what he reads are the books his sister has just finished reading.

He's currently devouring Little Brother with great enthusiasm.

He needs, I think, plenty of plot and strong young characters. Definite bonus points for computers and video games. We have pretty much no luck with classic books for him.

Comments

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

If he can manage Little Brother then I would certainly try him on the Garth Nix Keys to the Kingdom books -- the first is Mister Monday. And though the protagonist is a girl, you might also see if he takes to Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy. Nix and Westerfeld are both strong, fast plotters, Westerfeld especially, and write good, solid young protagonists.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Uglies & it sequels were how we first noticed that J could read anything that wasn't a starter book; he went, quite literally, straight from beginning chapter books like BeastQuest to Uglies. It was as if he hadn't previously realised that a story could be actually absorbing, and I do think that's part of it.

Garth Nix sounds like a good bet. I will consult with my daughter.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

If he liked the Westerfeld, you might also set him loose on the His Dark Materials trilogy by Pullman. The first two, at least, go haring along through the ever-thickening plot bunnies in a very engaging way. I'll second the recommendation for Archer's Goon in particular of Jones', also Eight Days of Luke, Dogsbody, and the Chrestomanci books. Pratchett's Bromeliad series was fun, though it's a younger read than most of the rest of the recommendations you're getting. For that matter, how about Jumper by Steve Gould? Almost anything by Daniel Pinkwater is good, though I'm particularly partial to the two Snarkout Boys books, which can be harder to find these days. Also Lizard Music.