Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Books for 13 yr old

Here are some of my favourites from when I was around that age:

Joseph Conrad's novellas, especially "Heart of Darkness" and "Lord Jim". HoD was an 1899 work but, as one of my favourite literary works, I couldn't exclude it!

Rohinton Mistry writes lovely fiction based on the political climate in India under Indira Ghandi. I'd start with "A Fine Balance".

Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" is an interesting read, if somewhat dark.

Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is one of my favourite tragedies. It's an 1890 work, but the themes in it are very much contemporary.

James Joyce's "The Dubliners" are thoughtful short stories about Joyce's Irish upbringing.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby" is a classic.

Don't underestimate the appeal of the Homerian literature, either: The Illiad and Odyssey! Though they are old as dirt, those are brilliant tales of heroism and daring that every teenage boy should read.

He might like the Lincoln Lawyer series by Connelly and "Hunt for Red October" by Tom Clancy.

Hope that gives you some good ideas!

Dubliners and Gatsy are great suggestions for that age. Good heads up on Alexie. It's been a while since I read him. I believe some of his books may be more tame than others (he has quite a lot). I think some are used in high schools. I'd look at current HS reading lists, too, and just pick and choose for more current stuff, and things that look like they'd appeal. Oh--I really loved O. Henry's short stories at that age, as well as Ray Bradbury.

Thank you all so much for some excellent suggestions. I'll be perusing Amazon shortly. I get so excited over books...I was practically (quite literally) breaking out in a sweat over here.

I already passed on an old copy of Of Mice and Men and he devoured it in a few hours. Now he's acting all mopey because he reads too fast.

Regarding the MA content, this is more for his sake than mine. He is terribly squeamish about male/female stuff. He can handle some pretty intense violence, and is not at all affected by swearing -- he understands its place and purpose. However, two people on the screen, kissing with open mouths, and the pillow goes in front of the face. I'm going to guess this has something to do with early puberty and inhibitions and .... ick. I can't talk about this. I don't know where he gets it from. (insert ironic emoticon here)

Thanks again!

Kitty

Oh, well--watching movies with open mouthed kissing while your parents are in the room is of course traumatizing. I can't handle that NOW!

Jasper Fforde! *swoon* Oh how I love Jasper ...

Also Robert Rankin, Tom Holt, HP Lovecraft, Kinky Friedman, Joseph Heller, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley ...
(looking back through old library records from when DS was 14!). Non-fiction but Ray Kurzweil is awesome, The Singularity is Near. Oscar Wilde is awesome too even though olde worlde

I also second Hitchhiker's Guide and Vonnegut and Gaiman.