Boys Recommend Books to Other Boys

This month our Student Voices are expressed in the form of book lists―written by young men for young men.

High School

A senior from Delaware County gives his countdown of top 10 books for young men

10. M. T. Anderson, Feed (Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA, 2002). Feed gives us a look into the future and how different it will be.

9. Michael Crichton, The Jurassic Park series. The first in the series is Jurassic Park (Knopf, New York, 1990). We have all seen the movies, which are very good―but the books give you information on people you might have missed or events that were not shown in the movies.

8. Clive Cussler, Sahara (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992), and the other Dirk Pitt books. Dirk Pitt is like the American James Bond, and everybody knows about James Bond. The difference is he works for N.U.M.A. (National Underwater Marine Agency). He also raises ships like the Titanic and rewrites history. I recommend these books to anybody of every age.

7. Ian Fleming, James Bond 007 series. Diamonds Are Forever (MJF Books, New York, 1984) is the fourth Bond book. James Bond is suave, secretive, and not even the most brilliant man can outsmart 007 of the British Secret Service.

6. Gary Paulsen, The Hatchet series. Hatchet (Atheneum, New York, 1987), a Newbery Honor Book, is the first in the series. Hatchet is a great book about surviving in the wilderness and bettering oneself.

5. Theodore Taylor, The Cay series. The first in the series is The Cay (Delacorte Press, New York, 1969). The Cay is about making friends in the most unlikely of situations and making the best of things.

4. Michael Crichton, Congo (Ballantine Books, New York, 1980). Congo is about discovery and things that can go wrong when one goes looking for things that should never be found.

3. Stephen King, Salem's Lot (Doubleday, New York, 1975). Salem's Lot is a great horror suspense novel―readers do not know what's next or what will the vampires do to Salem's Lot.

2. Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game (Starscape, Tom Doherty Associates, New York, 1991). Ender's Game gives readers a look into the future and shows us the military are training child geniuses to fight an alien race known as the Buggers.

1. Walter Dean Myers, Fallen Angels (Scholastic, New York, 1988). Fallen Angels, my number one pick, gives us a soldier's view of the Vietnam War and the horrors and friendships it made.

A senior from Ross County recommends:

	1. William Golding, Lord of the Flies (Perigee Book, New York, 1954)―one of the books for which Golding received the Nobel Prize for literature. Golding tells the story of a group of boys who become stranded on a deserted island and form a makeshift society.
	2. Elie Wiesel, Night (Bantam Books, New York, 1982), and Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (HarperCollins, New York, 2000). Both these books tell the story of a child's relationship with a father through times of war and oppression.
	3. Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. The Two Towers (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1994) is the second in the trilogy. This trilogy is a must-read for anyone who has seen the films.
	4. George Orwell, 1984 (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, San Diego, CA, 1977) and Animal Farm (Signet Classic, New York, 1946). 1984, my personal favorite, and Animal Farm, both by George Orwell, show the consequences, through much symbolism, of totalitarian regimes in society.
	5. Will Hobbs, Downriver (Atheneum, New York, 1991) and River Thunder (Delacorte Press, New York, 1997). Downriver and its sequel, River Thunder, tell the story of a ragtag group of teenagers with lofty ambitions of white-water rafting through the Grand Canyon.

Middle School

In case you want to describe any of the books below to your middle schoolers, we have added annotations (almost all of them) taken from the book covers and publishers' websites.

An even dozen from a Franklin County eighth grader

	1. Darby Conley, The Get Fuzzy Experience: Are You Bucksperienced (Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 2003). From the back cover: This collection of cartoons showcases the relationship between Bucky, a temperamental cat with an attitude, the sweet and sensitive dog Satchel, and their mild-mannered human companion, Rob Wilco.
	2. Bill Amend, My Hot Dog Went Out, Can I Have Another? A FoxTrot Collection (Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 2005). From the Andrews McMeel website: Creator Bill Amend serves up his 18th collection of the witty and wacky Foxtrot comic strip. My Hot Dog Went Out, Can I Have Another?: A FoxTrot Collection presents the amusing antics of adolescent siblings Jason, Peter, and Paige, who try the patience of their parents Roger and Andy while they delight readers with the chaos that often ensues.
	3. Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, Random Zits: A Zits Treasury (Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, MO, 2004). From the Andrews McMeel website: Zits follows the life of 15-year-old Jeremy Duncan, a sarcastic, cynical, sensitive, intelligent, typical kid. As Jeremy navigates life with his parents, girlfriend Sara, and buddies Pierce and Hector, he embodies all the characteristics unique to the weirdest, toughest, and most intense time most guys ever face: the teen years.
	4. Patricia Reilly Giff, Pictures of Hollis Woods (Wendy Lamb Books, New York, 2002). Newbery Honor Book. From the Random House website: Hollis Woods has been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. She even runs away from the Regans, the one family who offers her a home. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they'll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won't let anyone separate them. She's escaped the system before; this time, she plans to take Josie with her. Yet behind all her plans, Hollis longs for her life with the Regans, fixing each moment of her time with them in pictures she'll never forget.
	5. Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods (Berkley Boulevard Books, New York, 1997). From the Penguin website: The era of Led Zeppelin personified sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Based on interviews with the band's musicians, friends, employees, and lovers, Hammer of the Gods tells the shocking story of Led Zeppelin's successes and excesses in the 70s―when Zeppelin reigned as the industry's biggest act.
	6. Corrie ten Boom, with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, The Hiding Place (Chosen Books, Washington Depot, CT, 1971). Corrie ten Boom and her family, devout Christians, hid Jewish people and other Nazi targets during the Nazi occupation of Holland in World War II. After the family was arrested by the Nazis, it was Corrie's religious faith that helped her survive the horrors of concentration camp life and shaped her future.
	7. Brian Jacques, Redwall, Book 1 (Philomel Books, New York, 1986), and all the others in the series plus almost anything by Brian Jacques. From the inside cover: A sinister shadow has fallen across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall, even as the gentle mice of Mossflower Weed gather there to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. For it is rumored that Cluny is coming―Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his battle-seasoned horde―Cluny, whose vow is to conquer Redwall Abbey!
	8. Jack London, Call of the Wild (Macmillan, New York, 1991). From the inside cover: Buck is taken from his home and master, and forced to learn the ropes as a sled dog in the tough, frozen world of the Klondike gold rush. Unaccustomed to the savage, unruly ways of the North, Buck learns by trial and error. But his spirit is unbreakable, and he grows strong in the wilderness.
	9. J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1994) is the first book in the trilogy. From the inside cover: In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
	10. Frank Herbert, Dune (25th anniv. ed., Ace Books, New York, 1990). Dune is the first book in the Dune Chronicles. From the official Dune website: Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family―and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
	11. Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning, Book 1 (HarperCollins, New York, 1999), and all the other Lemony Snicket books. From the HarperCollins website: It is good fortune that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are as sturdy and resilient as they are, for ahead of these three children lies a seemingly infinite series of unfortunate events.
	12. Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, Book 1 (Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 2001), and all the other Artemis Fowl books. From the inside cover: A genius. A criminal mastermind. A millionaire. And he's only twelve years old. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed and they're dangerous.

A group of fifth-grade boys in Franklin County recommends this list of 14 (not in any particular order):

	1. Andy Spearman, Barry, Boyhound (Knopf, New York, 2005). From the Random House website: This is the story of a boy named Barry. Some stuff happens, and overnight like magic Barry turns into a boyhound. Not a hound, but a boyhound―which means while he may still look like a boy, he is, in fact, a dog. And even in his boyhound brain, Barry knows there are lots of advantages to being a dog. You don't have to clean your room or use dental floss, for example. But things get crazy. He eats something too disgusting to mention. He's attacked by telepathic squirrels. An innocent squashed frog becomes involved. Plus, his mother's getting pretty mad. And that's all before the really bad thing happens....
	2. Jeff Smith, Bone series. Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border (Cartoon Books, Columbus, OH, 1998) is volume 5 in the series. From the back cover: Fone Bone and Smiley Bone strike out into the wilderness to return a lost rat creature cub to the mountains. They meet new allies as well as a mysterious new foe: the formidable Rock Jaw, a giant mountain lion who fancies himself the Master of the Eastern Border. Together they uncover the riddles of Nature and before it is over, two great titans of the realm meet in an earth-shattering clash to determine the fate of the land.
	3. Dav Pilkey, The Collector's Edition of The Adventures of Captain Underpants (Blue Sky Press, New York, 1997), and the other Captain Underpants books. From the Scholastic website: George and Harold's principal, mean old Mr. Krupp, doesn't like the pair's pranks or their comic books. And he's cooked up a plan to catch George and Harold and stop their shenanigans―once and for all! Here's the story of what happened when that plan back-fired, and Captain Underpants leaped off the page to save the day!
	4. Zizou Corder, Lion Boy (Dial Books, New York, 2003). From the inside cover: What do you do when you come home one day and discover that your parents have been kidnapped? Well, if you're a brave young guy named Charlie Ashanti, you go off in search of them. And since you happen to know how to speak Cat, your feline friends―the stray cats of the city and the caged lions on a magnificent, astounding floating circus―rally around you, bringing help, advice, and occasional special deliveries. Little do you know that in this search of yours, the fate of the world is at stake.
	5. Kate McMullan, Dragon Slayers' Academy series. The sixth book in the series is Sir Lancelot, Where Are You? (Grosset & Dunlop, New York, 1999). From the Penguin Group (USA) website: The evil witch Morgana le Fay has put a terrible curse on Sir Lancelot, and it's up to Wiglaf and his DSA buddies to find and save him. But they're just dragon-slayers-in-training. Can they really outsmart the trolls, witches, and other villains that stand in their way?
	6. Cornelia Funke, Inkheart (Chicken House, Scholastic, New York, 2003). From the Scholastic website: One night Meggie's father, Mo, reads aloud from a book called Inkheart, and an evil ruler named Capricorn escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books.
	7. Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, Spiderwick Chronicles series. Lucinda's Secret (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2003) is the third book in the series. From the Simon Says (Simon & Schuster Canada) website: In the Spiderwick Chronicles, three siblings, Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace, battle dwarves, goblins, elves, and a diabolical ogre in their efforts to hold on to their uncle Spiderwick's life work.
	8. Jack Gantos, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, 1998). From the inside cover: Joey Pigza is wired. Really wired. His prescription "meds" are no match for his mood swings. One minute he's sitting at his desk like any other kid; the next he's out of control and taking a time-out in the hallway. When Joey gets worked up, all the rules set by his mother and his teachers go right out the window. Joey knows he's a disappointment to people he cares about. His mom's been warned that if he keeps messing up he could be transferred to the downtown special-ed center for problem kids. This could be the end of the line. As Joey himself would say: "Can I get back to you on that?"
	9. Anthony Horowitz, Eagle Strike (Philomel Books, New York, 2003). Eagle Strike is the fourth in a series about a character named Alex Rider. From the inside cover: The world's only teen spy, Alex Rider, must survive a bullfight, a high-speed chase through Amsterdam on a bicycle, and even being the target in a human video game ... only to face his most disturbing challenge yet: When the best of intentions are driven by insanity, how do you reason with a madman?
	10. Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl series. The fourth book in the series is Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception (Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 2005). From the Artemis Fowl website: Artemis has no memory of the fairy people and has returned to his unlawful ways. He is preparing to steal a famous Impressionist painting from a German bank, having no idea that his old rival, Opal, has escaped from prison by cloning herself. She's left her double behind in jail and, now free, is exacting her revenge on all those who put her there, including Artemis.
	11. John H. Ritter, The Boy Who Saved Baseball (Philomel Books, New York, 2003). From the inside cover: Tom Gallagher finds himself in a tight spot. The fate of Dillontown rests on the outcome of one baseball game, winner take all. And it's all because Tom had to open his big mouth.
	12. Christopher Paolini, Eragon (Knopf, New York, 2003). This first book in the Inheritance trilogy was written by a young man when he was 15. From the Random House website: Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy―until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save―or destroy―the Empire
	13. Christopher Paolini, Eldest (Knopf, New York, 2005). This is the second book of the Inheritance trilogy―see book 12 above. The third is yet to be published. From the Random House website: Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime.
	14. Eoin Colfer, The Wish List (Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 2000). From the inside cover: Cast out of her own home by her stepfather after her mom's death, Meg is a wanderer, a troublemaker. But after her latest stunt, finding a place to sleep is the least of her worries. Belch, Meg's partner in crime, has gotten her involved in an attempt to rob an old man's apartment, and things have gone horribly wrong. After an accidental explosion, both Meg and Belch's spirits are flung into limbo, and a race begins between the demonic and the divine to win Meg's soul.

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