Second Tripods.
Also, the Myth series by Robert Asprin. Fantasy novels, lots of puns and silliness, plenty of adventure, no graphic sex. Now that I think about it, no sex at all. Maybe a few heaving bosoms. I tore through them about his age.
MSC might be a little hard to find; my father spent about three years trying to piece together the series for me, and that was ten years ago. There was a reprint, though, so it can be done, and it’s totally worth it if you can.
Any of Robert Heinlein’s “boys” books would be good choices- Tunnel in the Sky, The Rolling Stones, Space Cadet, Farmer In The Sky, Between Planets, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, and A Tenderfoot in Space, if you can find them. If you’re worried about sexual content, the above books are pretty safe, as is Heinlein’s (IMHO) best work, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, though some of his later works might be less so.
And I think that it’s important to read The Hobbit and A Wrinkle in Time young, maybe too young to get the whole meaning. There’s a childlike sense of wonder in both books, and I know that I can regress to that wonder much better for having read them early. Make sure he reads these two sooner rather than later.
I started reading the Wheel of Time when I was 12, the series tappers off a bit towards the end but the Eye of the World is a great book. Besides if he starts now he might time it out right to finish the series as the last book is published.
Just what I was going to suggest. I greatly enjoyed these at his age.
But one of the principal characters is a Pervert!
But yeah, good suggestion.
That’s Pervect to you, bub!
Garth Nix has some great books for that age - the days of the week ones are quite good.
When I was 12 my favorite book series (well, trilogy) was The Time Trilogy by Madeleine L’Engle (1. A Wrinkle in Time; 2. A Wind in the Door; 3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet; this later became a tetralogy with the addition of Many Waters). I also loved the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Tom Sawyer.
If you’re lucky enough to find some old copies at a library or some place, I’d like to recommend The Seven Citadels (Geraldine Harris, 1984-ish).
When I was in 6th grade we started on Chronicles of Narnia, Chronicles of Prydain, and The Dark is Rising. All books I still love. Also did Tom Sawyer, Secret Garden, and Westing Game that year.
In 7th grade we read Hobbit and Huck Finn, and it’s bugging me that I can’t remember anything else. Oh, Call of the Wild! 8th grade we did To Kill a Mockingbird.
Those are things I remember loving in the middle school years. Also, my students from when I taught middle school were all into Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, Eragon, and that one with the mouse, hmm, can’t remember.
Excellent observation! I like that.
I would suggest anything by E.E. “Doc” Smith, if you can find it. The Lensman series and the Skylark series are both excellent for youngsters (of all ages!)…TRM
I don’t remember how old I was when I read them, but I thoroughly enjoyed the “tripod” trilogy by John Christopher.
The Heir series by Cinda Williams Chima. Dragon Heir, Wizard Heir, Warrior Heir.
Agreed with Prydain, Percy Jackson, Jim Butcher, Garth Nix.
Because of the Clancy and the Alex Rider books, I’d say maybe try Dick Francis and Louis L’Amour. They star adult men, but both authors wrote very clearly and had a lot of adventure. I was plowing through L’Amour at that age.
Jack London, Jim Kjelgaard, and Walter Farley might be other possibilities. I don’t think Kjelgaard wrote in series much, if at all, but he was one of my favorite authors when I was a kid.
Has anyone read the Charlie Bone series? Are they any good?
I read the first one and thought it was fine. I wasn’t really taken with it, so I didn’t continue, but I don’t remember anything that really bugged me.
Lawrence Watt-Evans writes a series of fantasy books. Several series, actually, but I think that the Ethshar series are pretty good for cadet (not really a kid, but not an adult, either) readers. The books occasionally refer to events in other books, but most are stand alones which are set in a common world, so the reader can read them out of order. The Obsidian Chronicles are aimed at a more mature audience. The hero is enslaved, escapes, gets help from a group of mutilated, enslaved prostitutes, and goes on to have more adventures. I really don’t recommend this for a youngster. I was less than enchanted with the first book of the Annals of the Chosen series, I just didn’t find the book to be all that engaging.
If he hasn’t read the Earthsea trilogy, he should. The fourth book in that series is not as good, and it’s for adults.
I read a LOT of Andre Norton’s books when I was that age. They’re sort of old fashioned, but they are engaging for a certain sort of reader. I never really got into her Witch World series, but apparently it was pretty popular.
JOHN BELLAIRS!!! LOVED him!
I second the recommendation of Andre Norton. I read a lot of her at a tender age as well, and it led to a life-long (at least, so far) love of SF. Sort of a “gate way drug” of SF literature…TRM
John Bellairs was a good suggestion, I LOVED those books at that age. Hell, I still read them from time to time as an adult and they’re still good.
Same with Alexander’s Prydain series.
And again with Christopher’s Tripod series.
Hell, I had three good suggestions but was beaten to them :p. I’m happy to second them though.