· By Jessica Paul

Late Teen Boys

It can sometimes feel like there isn't a whole lot out there for your teenaged boy especially if he's not too fussed about reading in the first place. So we've put together a list to get him back into the habit and once again hooked on books...

 

 

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk 

First rule of Fight Club? You gotta read the book if you liked the movie. In a world of white-collar jobs and catalog-bought apartments, a group of men gather in abandoned basements across the country to fight barehanded. They fight for as long as they need to - until the numbing dissatisfaction dissolves in blood and pain - then they leave. They don’t talk about it. And at the centre of it all is Tyler Durden, our charismatic anarchist with a plan to bring down modern civilisation. This is a great one to get your boys back into reading if it’s been a little while. It’s short, fast-paced, and action-packed. But don’t let the hype fool you; Fight Club is more than its title, it’s a critique of consumerist culture with a strong message to think for yourself and never settle for the mundane. In Palahniuk’s own words, it’s ‘just The Great Gatsby updated a little.’


The Raven Boys -  Maggie Stiefvater

This is the adventure of a lifetime. We centre around a group of unlikely friends: Blue - the weird yet sensible daughter of a band of psychics, Gansey - the golden boy of Aglionby Academy, Ronan - a boy made entirely of sharp edges and even sharper words, and Adam - the scholarship kid with an urgency to prove his worth. Gansey is chasing after a legend, on a quest to find the grave of the Welsh medieval king Glendower who, so the tale goes, will grant you a favour if you succeed in waking him. Through insomnia, magical dream-things, tattoos, first kisses, fast cars and fist fights we follow these characters through every good and terrible decision. This is fundamentally a story about the fierce ties of friendship we forge in our teenage years. It’s tender and explosive and an absolute essential for every teen’s bookshelf.


The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton

If your boy is thinking about his own place in the world and where he might belong, The Outsiders could be for him. Ponyboy is one of the youngest members of the gang of ‘greasers’. He’s sensitive, likes to read, does alright in school and generally stays out of trouble. But a rumble with the ‘Socs’ changes everything and Ponyboy finds himself on the run with his good friend Johnny. S. E. Hinton started writing The Outsiders at fifteen years old, inspired by the gang rivalry in her own school. Widely regarded as one of the first ever YA novels, Hinton writes with startling clarity, never allowing the pace to drop. An instant classic, this is a story of brotherhood, community, and the lengths we’ll go to in order to take care of our own.


Gone - Michael Grant

If your boy was a fan of Harry Potter or the Percy Jackson series as a kid, he might enjoy something with an element of fantasy like Gone. We open in a small town in southern California where in an instant every person over the age of fifteen disappears. Only children and teens are left to figure out what has happened, all while attempting to hold together some semblance of order in a lawless, adult-less existence. Sam Temple and his friends are doing all they can to survive. But how long can this last? What does it all mean? And why is the nuclear power plant quite literally in the middle of it all? Gone is the modern day answer to Lord of the Flies, a story of chaos and anarchy but also leadership and humanity. An addictive series with the dark sense of foreboding you get from any good dystopia.


The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy

The recent Jack Ryan series is pretty much a guaranteed crowd pleaser so why not introduce your boy to the book that started it all? Ramius has abandoned his orders aboard Russia’s ultra-secret missile submarine. He’s heading west. With the submarine’s stealth technology nobody will realise until it’s too late. But Ramius doesn’t count on CIA analyst Jack Ryan. With the Americans and the Russians after her, the race is on to capture the Red October. The Hunt for Red October was a runaway bestseller in the ‘80s and continues to hold a well-earned place in the crime section all these years later. Although this title is slightly longer than your boy might be expecting, the payoff is well worth the perseverance so don’t let the page count put him off! 


Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - Stephen King

Andy Dufresne is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and sent to Shawshank State Penitentiary despite his claims of innocence. There, he meets Red, our first-person narrator and the guy who can get you anything on the inside. Andy asks for a rock hammer and a poster of Rita Hayworth to hang up in his cell. The rest is a tangle of unjust imprisonment, deep friendship and an escape to rival all others. With his characteristic straightforward prose and vivid descriptions, it’s no wonder Shawshank has remained a permanent favourite for King’s readers. At an undaunting 144 pages, it’s another great title to get your boy back into reading (and a bit of classic too!)


Bullet Train - Kotaro Isaka

Yes, it’s another Brad Pitt movie! Kimura is on the hunt for the innocent-looking school boy who put his son in a coma. He has tracked him to the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka. But he’s not the only passenger onboard looking for trouble. A deadly duo, Tangerine and Lemon, as well as the self proclaimed ‘unluckiest assassin in the world’ are also pursuing their own missions on the train. There’s a suitcase full of money and a whole load of unanswered questions, who will survive the trip? An original, darkly funny, high octane thriller rolled out at 200mph. If your boy needs a page-turner and plenty of action then this one’s for him.


The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

In a town of men, Todd Hewitt is the only boy. And since being infected with the Noise germ, he can hear everyone’s thoughts and they can hear his. But they’re hiding something from him. Something so big and awful that Todd packs his bag and his leaves with his dog in tow. So it’s only Todd and Manchee. Until suddenly it isn’t. Until suddenly someone else is there and it’s… a girl. The Knife of Never Letting Go is an enduring story of bravery and humility, loss and acceptance. It might look a little bit scary at 496 pages but this is not a dense book at all - it’s extremely readable to the point that you hardly notice yourself flying along. Patrick Ness is an absolutely beautiful storyteller who keeps the reader engaged from the first page.

Fight Club

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The Raven Boys

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve...

Either you're his true love... or you killed him."

Part of a clairvoyant family, Blue has spent sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. So when she meets Gansey's spirit on the corpse road, Blue knows that either he is her true love - or she has killed him.

The boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and he is a student at Aglionby, a wealthy local private school. With three other mysterious and privileged boys, he is on a quest to find the grave of Glendower - a Welsh king buried somewhere on a Virginia ley line.

Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour. Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey really her true love - the one she is destined to kill? Blue never fully believed in the prophecy.

But as she is caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

Outsiders

This novel about American teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks is a story of loyalty and affection among friends, and of their search for personal dignity and a place in the world.

Gone

Welcome to the FAYZ!

The first book in the bestselling cult YA thriller series GONE that Stephen King calls a 'driving, torrential narrative'. In the blink of an eye all the adults disappear in a small town in southern California and no one knows why. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there's no help on the way.

Sam Temple and his friends must do all they can to survive. Chaos rules the streets. Gangs begin to form.

Sides are chosen - strong or weak. Cruel or humane. And then there are those who begin to develop powers ...

The GONE series is Lord of the Flies for the 21st century. In turns breathtaking, harrowing, and utterly terrifying. Its complex characters and moral dilemmas will delight fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner.

This is dystopian fiction at its best.

The Hunt for Red October

The runaway international No.1 bestseller that launched Tom Clancy's spectacular career - became a blockbuster film - and introduced Jack Ryan. THE HUNT IS ON... Silently, beneath the chill Atlantic waters, Russia's ultra-secret missile submarine, the Red October, is heading west.

The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. With all-out war only seconds away, the superpowers race across the ocean on the most desperate mission of a lifetime.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

The No. 1 bestselling author Stephen King's beloved novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award-nominee The Shawshank Redemption - about an unjustly imprisoned convict who seeks a strangely satisfying revenge, is now available as a standalone book. There's a guy like me in every state and federal prison in America, I guess - I'm the guy who can get it for you. And new convict Andy Dufresne wants two things from fellow prisoner Red: a small rock-hammer for carving stones and a giant poster of Rita Hayworth. So begins this mesmerising tale of unjust imprisonment, deep friendship and offbeat escape. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of King's most celebrated stories, and it helped make Castle Rock a place readers would return to over and over again. Suspenseful, heart-wrenching and hopeful, this iconic King novella is populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, especially the fiercely compelling convict named Andy Dufresne who is seeking his ultimate revenge. Originally published in the collection Different Seasons, it was made into the film The Shawshank Redemption. Starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, this modern classic was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, is one of the most beloved films of all time and is IMDb's top-rated movie of all time.

Bullet Train : NOW A MAJOR FILM

* NOW A MAJOR NEW FILM *FIVE KILLERS. ONE JOURNEY. BUT WHO WILL SURVIVE?Discover the original and propulsive thriller from the massive Japanese bestselling author. Satoshi looks like an innocent schoolboy but he is really a viciously cunning psychopath. Kimura's young son is in a coma thanks to him, and Kimura has tracked him onto the bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka to exact his revenge. But Kimura soon discovers that they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Nanao, the self-proclaimed 'unluckiest assassin in the world', and the deadly partnership of Tangerine and Lemon are also travelling to Morioka. A suitcase full of money leads others to show their hands. Why are they all on the same train, and who will get off alive at the last station?(Bullet Train was originally published in Japan with the title Maria Beetle.) 'A locked-room crime drama played out at 200mph' The Times 'A high-octane thriller... Thoroughly enjoyable' Guardian Readers are OBSESSED with Bullet Train: 'Original, quirky and highly entertaining' 'A dark-humoured, twisty thriller that's a lot of fun' 'One of the most addictive thrillers I've ever read... smart and cinematic' 'What an original novel! Exciting from beginning to end' 'A whole lot of darkly comic fun' 'A thrilling ride'

The Knife of Never Letting Go

A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy. Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming Noise.

There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Then Todd Hewitt unexpectedly stumbles on a spot of complete silence.

Which is impossible. And now he's going to have to run... This new edition marks the 10th anniversary of the award-winning modern classic, soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley.