Top Ten Books to Give to Adolescent Boys Who Say They Hate Reading by Oona Marie Abrams

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Posted By cbethm Nov 5, 2016 In Top Ten Lists | 20 comments

Three years ago, I welcomed the daily ten minute ritual of independent reading into my 12th grade class. Of course, I was nervous at first. after reading penny kittle’s book love, i wondered how on earth it was possible for me to read enough titles to make good recommendations to my students, particularly young ones. So I got to work reading books that were out of my comfort zone, and now when the kids who come to my classes say they hate reading, I almost always recommend one of the following. Please note that after each description I put a recommended book to read below. this is because I predict that they will devour the first one and I like to challenge them while they are open to new titles. that challenge could be reading a longer or more complex text. Or it could be to continue reading or further your studies on the topic of the book you just finished. that’s up to the reader.

You are reading: Books for teenage guys who don t like to read

nonfiction recommendations

a long road traveled: memories of a child soldier by ishmael beah

For clarity, you couldn’t ask for a more accessible book. beah keeps the prose economical, and the emotional impact of his story will leave students wanting to study social justice in greater depth. recommended-next reading: the bite of the mango by mariatu kamara.

the job: true stories from the life of a new york city cop by steve osborne

I came across this book recommendation after listening to Osborne’s story “The Test” on the podcast The Moth. is not just a book for students who want to study criminal justice. Osborne is a master storyteller. recommended reading next: blink by malcolm gladwell.

A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back by Kevin Hazzard

For any young person trying to determine their next steps in life, Hazzard’s book will be an interesting read. he left his writing career to become a paramedic, a change that greatly affected his marriage and lifestyle. Vivid and sometimes quite graphic (be warned!), Hazzard stories prove that truth is often stranger than fiction. recommended reading next: into the gap: a year of life and death with ems by j.a. karam.

scar tissue by anthony kiedis

This is the first experience with a “big book” for many of my male students, who often select it in a tight time frame during our memory unit. they are surprised at how quickly they finish, and then they experience that feeling of anguish that they may not have had in a long time, that feeling of “well, now what do I read?” recommended reading next: a list of things that didn’t kill me by jason schmidt.

Unbreakable by Laura Hillenbrand

After a few years of criticizing students who watch the movie and then read the book, I’ve learned to shut up. movies frequently serve as effective scaffolding for understanding books, and if it works for the student, so be it. Readers will notice Hillenbrand’s artistry in the details, so encourage them to use sections of the book as mentor sentences for effective writing strategies. recommended reading next: thank you for your service by david finkel.

fiction recommendations

ready player one by ernest cline

The narrator of this novel tells the audience the ending from the beginning. While I don’t necessarily agree with the author’s choice, taking the suspense out of the plot allows you to focus on the characters, internal conflicts, and world building. recommended reading next: station eleven by emily st. Juan Mandel.

one more thing: stories and other stories of b.j. novak

Not every story in this collection will be appropriate for every student in your class, but the popularity of the author is very important here. When it comes time to write fiction in my class, I like to use “The Revenge” as my orientation text, Novak’s modern satirical sequel to “The Tortoise and the Hare.” recommended reading next: a visit from jennifer egan’s thug squad.

the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian by alexie sherman

Part graphic novel and part narrative, the tone of the narrator in Alexie’s novel is what makes it stick in the teenage mind. Junior’s appeal is universal, and while readers sympathize with her circumstances, they also laugh along with it. recommended reading next: the son of philipp meyer.

the life we buried by allen eskens

This was recommended to me by a student who walked into class on Monday morning and said he had read a book in one day over the weekend. I tried to be nonchalant and not too effusive when writing the title, but as soon as class was over, I grabbed my phone and added it to my next reading on goodreads. recommended reading next: remember me like this by bret anthony johnston.

red ascendant of pierce brown

This book was recommended by an editor friend on facebook. when I read it, I felt like I was in on a special secret, and I still feel it. It is the hunger games and julius caesar. In mars. last spring, the group of guys who read this for their literature circle finished it early and then coordinated a trip to the local bookstore to buy the sequel. that’s how good it is. Recommended Next Reading: Golden Son and Morning Star, the second and third books in Brown’s series. (feel lucky you didn’t have to wait months for them to come out).

The truth is that recommending books that I don’t usually read takes a while. I finally got to the point where I can safely make recommendations to male students. It took me many hours to listen to audiobooks on my commute and take advantage of apps like overdrive, 3m cloud reader, and hoopla. it also required a great deal of crowdsourcing, and my male colleagues are a veritable group of experts. My hope is that if you’re in the boat I was in three years ago, this list provides you with some good starting material. good luck and happy reading to you and your students!

oona marie abrams (@oonziela) teaches English at a high school in northern new jersey. With a team of dedicated New Jersey nerd fans, she is beginning to organize #nerdcampnj, launching in spring 2017. She is the editor of English Leadership Quarterly, the council’s magazine on English leadership.

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Top Ten Books to Give to Adolescent Boys Who Say They Hate Reading by Oona Marie Abrams | Nerdy Book Club

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