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Reluctant Readers- Boys 12-13

Getting a reluctant reader to enjoy books is difficult.  Here are some books that might help.   We always suggest getting kids hooked on a series so that they want to read the rest of the series.
Listed below are samples from series.  They are not always the first in the series but if you are interested in seeing the entire series, then go to the search and put in the series name to see the all the titles in the series.

Septimus Heap, Book Five: Syren (Hardcover)

By Angie Sage, Mark Zug
$16.19
ISBN-13: 9780060882105
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Katherine Tegen Books, 10/2009
Other Editions of this Title

Interest Level: 6 - 8
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.8

Quirky characters and magykal charms, potions, and spells make for a magical journey.  Hunor and heart abound in this story of lost and rediscovered identities.


 

Eighth Grade Bites #1: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (Paperback)

By Heather Brewer
$8.09
ISBN-13: 9780142411872
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Speak, 3/2008
Other Editions of this Title

Interest Level: grades 6 - 8 
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.7

Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates middle school. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire.  He struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he is being hunted by a vampire killer.  The cover makes the book more edgy than it is.

Easy read- lots of social & school problems

Cirque Du Freak #12: Sons of Destiny: Book 12 in the Saga of Darren Shan (Paperback)

By Darren Shan
$8.09
ISBN-13: 9780316016636
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 10/2007
Other Editions of this Title
Interest Level: grades 6 - 8  
Grade Level Equivalent:  5.5 +

Darren Shan is just an ordinary schoolboy who enjoys hanging out with his three best friends. Then one day they stumble across an invitation to visit the Cirque Du Freak, a mysterious freak show. Only two tickets are available, so they draw straws to see who will go. As if by destiny, Darren wins one, and what follows is his horrifying descent into the dark and bloody world of vampires.  First person account shows that people (kids) make silly mistakes.

Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Novel: An Alex Rider Novel (Hardcover)

By Anthony Horowitz
$16.19
ISBN-13: 9780399250569
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Philomel, 11/2009
Other Editions of this Title
Interest Level: grades 6 – 9 
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.9 +

14 year old Alex Rider works for Britain's top-secret intelligence agency, MI6.  As a spy, he has high adventure in the vein of James Bond.  The suspenseful thrillers have short cliff-hanger chapters and breathless pace that have some violence.   Some girls also love the series.

Artemis Fowl: Time Paradox, The (new cover) (Paperback)

By Eoin Colfer
$7.19
ISBN-13: 9781423108375
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Hyperion, 8/2009
Other Editions of this Title
Interest Level: 6 - 9   
Grade Level Equivalent: 6.2

This rip-roaring, 21st-century romp of the highest order is a combination of folklore, fantasy, and a fistful of high-tech. These two crime caper fantasies feature anti-hero Artemis Fowl, a twelve-year-old boy-genius, and millionaire criminal mastermind, and the last of a clan of international underworld figures and con artists. Rough 'n' tumble storytelling with plenty of attitude.

The Angel Experiment: A Maximum Ride Novel (Paperback)

By James Patterson
$8.09
ISBN-13: 9780316067959
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Little, Brown and Company, 4/2007
Other Editions of this Title

Interest Level: grades 6 - 8   
rade Level Equivalent: 4.2

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the "Flock" — Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel — are just like ordinary kids — only they have wings and can fly. It seems like a dream come true — except that they're being hunted by half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" who can fly, too.

We also suggest Daniel X who is an alien hunter.  It is a bit easier than Maximum Ride.

Erak's Ransom: Book 7 (Hardcover)

By John Flanagan
$16.19
ISBN-13: 9780399252051
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Philomel, 1/2010
Other Editions of this Title
Interest Level: grades 6 - 8 
Grade Level Equivalent: 6.6 

On Choosing Day Will's heart was set on Battleschool, but he is small for his 15 years. Brave and skilled at moving and climbing silent as a shadow, his unwanted apprenticeship tests his talent and spirit in the battle against the Kingdom's ancient foes. Combining the intensity of a young King Arthur with the epic fantasy of The Lord of the Rings, Flanagan brings to America the adventure of the year.