Books For Boys #1

I've seen a few different posts on this subject before and I thought it would be fun to contribute my two cents on the matter. Obviously, I'm not a boy, so I could be completely off base on this entire list - but I feel like I've complied a diverse collection of books here. I'll be splitting this into a series or possibly evolving it into a feature, it really depends on the kind of response I get from you lovely people.

I'll tell you right now, not all of these books feature male leads - I think that would really limit the selection and I'd like to think today's boys wouldn't mind reading about a girl. I for one read about boys, as long as the story appeals to me. What do you guys think? What are some books that you would recommend to boys? I've got some younger relatives that I've been shoving books at and I'd love to expand my suggestions. Anyways, without further ado, here is my first list!

Book: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan

Description: Percy Jackson just discovered he is the half-mortal son of Poseidon, and he's wanted dead. Fighting to discover his true purpose in life, and to stay alive, Percy meets many obstacles, but also gains some friends. It all ends in a one-on-one match with Hades, god of the Underworld. Will Percy live to tell about it?

Why: Now, yes. This is an obvious choice. But let me tell you what - I read this book at 21 and LOVED it. I inhaled the entire series within a span of about 3 days. I think it's a great jumping off point for boys, it's got action, excitement and great pacing. I'd recommend it to anybody and everybody who will listen.

 

Book: Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) - Kendare Blake
Description: Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story... Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Why: This one is for an older crowd, but holy Moses - it's amazing. It's easily one of my favorite books of all time. And what Boy wouldn't like it? It's got adventure, excitement, a great lead character and a vengeful butt-kicking ghost. 

Book: Ashfall (Ashfall #1) - Mike Mullin

Description: Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.
Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Why: Because it is an AMAZING story. I promise you, it's ridiculously good.

Book: Virals (Virals #1) -  Kathy Reichs

Description: Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends they're a pack. They are Virals.

Why: I love this series. It's a quick, light read that is full of excitement, danger and.. science. I myself am not a huge fan of science, but they characters even made a fan out of me.

Book: Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman

Description: You are indestructible. Three whispered words transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding that changes everything. At first, Jacob is hesitant to use the power, unsure of its implications. But there's something addictive about testing the limits of fear.

Then Ophelia James, the beautiful and daring new girl in town, suggests that they use the power to do good, to save others. But with every heroic act, the power grows into the specter of a curse. How to decide who lives and who dies? In this nail-biting novel of mystery and dark intrigue, Jacob must walk the razor thin line between right and wrong, good and evil, and life and death. And time is running out. Because the Grim Reaper doesn't disappear. . . . He catches up.

Why: Magic, mystery, danger and excitement? Sounds awesome, no? Just a warning again, this one gets pretty heavy. So you may want to keep that in mind.