12 yo Boy Gifts

[MrsK]

My nephew is turning 12. What do I get him? $50 price range.

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[Michele]

What is he into? D would love a drone or an Xbox game or just the cash. (He's a money hoarder.)

The other cool gift I've heard about (from here maybe) is private lessons. So for D that would be soccer goalie training or euphonium lessons.

[MrsK]

My brother says books, the kind with pages. He's an advanced reader. Any series you recommend that are a bit with teen boys? Something he hasn't read.

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[spotty_dog]

My kiddo is turning 11 and is well above grade level with reading. I'd say Rick Riordan (the series he's currently enthralled with is Heroes of Olympus) but I'd expect most kids with any kind of interest in that area will have read most of them. Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians engrossed him, we got the newest editions that are lightly illustrated which makes them super fun. I tried to get him to read the Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper, but he hasn't bitten yet. A surprise hit recently was Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. He's still a huge fan of the Septimus Heap series (first book is Magyk). Brian Jacques books (Redwall) often are a good hook at this age, I know I loved them in sixth grade and my brother LOVED THEM when he was around that age too.

For his birthday my son has asked for the Pokemon Adventures manga. He adores those and hates having to wait for library holds to come in!

[Michele]

I'll look into those series! My boys like reading but hate branching out. We gift a lot of B&N gift cards. I know their stuff is overpriced, but the kids around here love picking out their own stuff.

[spotty_dog]

I like the gift card idea, because yeah, picking books can be so personal. "Hates branching out" is my guy in a nutshell. I keep taking a risk and getting him well-reviewed books just to have on the bookshelf, but he won't give them an honest try. ("The Thief Lord" was one such that I got a few months ago.) Oh, but he did also enjoy the Blackthorn Key recently, which we stumbled on as a recommendation in the children's area of a wonderful independent bookstore! Booksellers and librarians can be a great resource, I think.

[Cam]

My kids love the Diary of Wimpy Kid series.

[MrsK]

Yeah, he's well beyond diary of a wimpy kid. He skipped all the YA lit and went right to the adult reading. I feel badly that he doesn't know all the wonderful childhood books. Even if they are easy to read, there are some wonderful stories. I really wanted to get a kindle and load it up with some great reads. But he insisted he wanted to shop himself. I have no idea what he's reading and i really want to talk books with him.

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[peggyfromwastate]

What about Lemony Snicket? They have a high Lexile rating bc they use good vocabulary (series of unfortunate events.)

There is so much great YA lit. YA isn’t “simple” and so much adult fiction is trash!

[MrsK]

What about Lemony Snicket? They have a high Lexile rating bc they use good vocabulary (series of unfortunate events.)

There is so much great YA lit. YA isn’t “simple” and so much adult fiction is trash!

He's already read it. He was reading the hunger games at 9yo.

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[peggyfromwastate]

Susan Cooper? (The Dark is Rising series)
LOTR? The Hobbit?
There are some good YA books by Mike Lupica (sports related)
A Dog's Purpose

I feel like maybe some of the dystopian fiction is just a little bit much. My son really liked Maze Runner and all the Giver series books at that age, though.

Adult books like Jurrassic Park are fun, some Michael Creighton, some John Grisham...

[houseelf]

My oldest read Dan Brown around that age. If he is a gamer, some of the books will remind him of Assassin's Creed.

[Thirteen]

If he has aged out of YA, I would go for adult then. (I was the same way) What genre is he into?
At 12, I was into horror/thriller, and would devour Stephen King novels. If that's his thing, start him right with: The Stand. Such a great novel, with some sci-fi elements and dystopian theme.

[Thirteen]

Susan Cooper? (The Dark is Rising series)
LOTR? The Hobbit?
There are some good YA books by Mike Lupica (sports related)
A Dog's Purpose

I feel like maybe some of the dystopian fiction is just a little bit much. My son really liked Maze Runner and all the Giver series books at that age, though.

Adult books like Jurrassic Park are fun, some Michael Creighton, some John Grisham...

Yes to Creighton.

[rufflesanddots]

Stephen King is a great recommendation!