# Looking for young teen / tween books where young MALE hero learns courage / fighting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678 "2011-06-07T22:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/1 "2011-06-07T22:27:13Z")
My wife and I are pretty voracious SF / Fantasy readers. We’re also trying to find stories to read to our 8yr old son about young people developing courage and fighting skills. We keep finding plenty of stories of girls learning to fight / going to knight academies etc. (Like Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small series, or any number of Valdemar series books) but haven’t found any where the protagonist is a boy. Now, I’m all in favour of strong, capable, even fierce women and all, but \*\*truesquirt \*\*is having a hard time connecting with the girl protagonists. Any suggestions please? Doesn’t have to be Sword & Sorcery or Spaceships & Laserbeams, either. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/2 "2011-06-07T22:35:15Z")
What’s his reading level? These may be right, or may be right in the next year or three: Hatchet - courage, survival skills, independence; not fantasy The Golden Goblet - courage, resourcefulness, friendship, Egyptian history; historical fiction with an unusual enough setting it may as well be fantasy Percy Jackson - The Lightening Thief, e al - courage, weaponry, scholarship; essentially Greek mythos in a New York setting Artemis Fowl - I couldn’t get into these myself, but my son loved them. ETA: Oh, and the first couple of Harry Potter’s would be good at his age. The later ones contain some content best suited for older readers, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/3 "2011-06-07T22:36:24Z")
Does it have to be SF at all? The only reason female protagonists like that are so common in SF is as a reaction to the overwhelming preponderance of male characters like that in the rest of literature. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/4 "2011-06-07T22:41:37Z")
The [Warriors Series](http://www.warriorcats.com/warriorshell.html) really got my son reading around that age. The main character is a young male cat who runs away from being a pet kitty to a fierce Warrior cat, protecting his clan. Though not about humans, there is much for a young boy to identify with Rusty(pet name)/Fireheart (Warrior name). Another series my son (now 12) started a couple of year ago and his still enjoying is the [Ranger’s Apprentice](http://www.rangersapprentice.com/) series. The young man grows from an apprentice to the Rangers (special forces of the Kingdom) to becoming a Ranger himself. The books span 5 years of his training and adventures. There are 10 in the series. Book 10 has just come out. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/5 "2011-06-07T22:43:07Z")
What’s wrong with Dragondrums? I mean, it is the third in the series, but it can stand alone… ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/6 "2011-06-07T23:09:03Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > What’s his reading level? These may be right, or may be right in the next year or three: > > Hatchet - courage, survival skills, independence; not fantasy Was about to suggest that, actually. There’s a whole series (three or four books), though, interestingly, all the sequels are mostly alternate universe stories, based on whether or not the first book ended the way it did. Hatchet, The River (direct sequel to Hatchet, with Brian going back into the wilderness with a researcher), Brian’s Winter (about what would have happened if Brian hadn’t been rescued at the end of Hatchet), and I want to say there was one more, but those are the three that I read. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/7 "2011-06-07T23:19:08Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Was about to suggest that, actually. There’s a whole series (three or four books), though, interestingly, all the sequels are mostly alternate universe stories, based on whether or not the first book ended the way it did. Apparently it Paulsen pulled a Lucas and wrote The River out of canon. Brian’s Winter is said to be how the book really ended (I wonder if he changed the original book’s ending too?) with it being followed by Brian’s Return (“I want to live in the woods forever!” and Brian’s Hunt (“I do live in the woods forever!”). Also, the OP’s kid is too young now, but in a few years give him the Gone novels by Michael Grant. Basically, it’s Stephen King for pre-teens and ridiculously awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/8 "2011-06-07T23:22:49Z")
For some values of “young”, perhaps _Star Wars_ could work? Maybe something about Geronimo…seems like I read a biography of him written for that age range. _Tom Sawyer_ just for fun. Seems like I remember reading a short story called “The Rudiments” about a kid learning to box and then dealing with a bully. It was in a collection of children’s stories, but I don’t remember which one. _My Side of the Mountain_–kid/tween short novel about a kid that runs away to live in the wilderness. Not much in the way of fighting, but courage/survival skills may be worth it. And some of Heinlein’s juveniles…maybe _Red Planet_ about kids growing up on Mars. I sorta recall something about them earning gun licenses by some qualification mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/9 "2011-06-07T23:29:23Z")
Seconding Ranger’s Apprentice series - originally printed in Australia, really good series. The Redwall books by Brian Jacques might be interesting to him: they feature young squirrels or mice or badgers from an Abbey who venture out into the forest to fight evil beasties. There are approximately a million of these, but about a quarter of them have girls as the main characters. They don’t have to be read in sequence, which is always nice. For nonfiction that he might like, check out The Dangerous Book for Boys, which is lots of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/10 "2011-06-07T23:40:17Z")
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/11 "2011-06-07T23:46:59Z")
I love Michael Morpurgo–can’t vouch for the reading level of his retelling of _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_, but it looks like it would fit the bill in terms of the action/fighting element. Looks like he also has an anthology called _The Kingfisher Book of Great Boy Stories_. My stepdaughter, who likes the same type of adventure/action stories, loves _Time Cat_ by Lloyd Alexander–great story about a boy and his time-traveling cat. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/12 "2011-06-07T23:54:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Now, I’m all in favour of strong, capable, even fierce women and all, but truesquirt is having a hard time connecting with the girl protagonists. > > Any suggestions please? Doesn’t have to be Sword & Sorcery or Spaceships & Laserbeams, either. Go to older books, like those written before the 1970s or 80s. Back then, it was thought that girls were either not interested in those types of books, or would be able to connect with the male protagonists. Look for Robert Heinlein, Andre Norton, and similar writers. Norton wrote mostly boys’ adventure stories, set in a fantasy or SF background. You can also read a few of Lawrence Watt-Evans’ works. I’m currently rereading _With a Single Spell_, and though it’s obvious to an adult that some of the characters have sex, it would probably pass right over the head of a kid. Give it a read yourself. There’s also _The Misenchanted Sword_ by the same author. This series is pretty good for kids, generally. The main characters have to grow as the books progress, and the books can be read in any order. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/13 "2011-06-07T23:55:11Z")
Not so much about fighting skills, but some of the Jim Kjelgaard books are explorations of boys learning how to grow and cope with difficult things. I remember _Big Red_ and _Stormy_ specifically. Especially good if your son likes dogs. Along the Harry Potter/Percy Jackson line is also the Charlie Bone and the Gregor the Overlander books. Brandon Sanderson’s _Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians_ is a fun read. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/14 "2011-06-07T23:57:17Z")
[Red Hugh: Fighting Prince of Donegal](http://books.google.com/books?id=qSk-oyLksHsC&dq=isbn:1883937221) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/15 "2011-06-08T00:01:11Z")
Any one of dozens of books about the young King Arthur. The Sword in the Stone might be one to start with. I’ve actually always felt that YA and kids’ books tend to have more male than female protagonists, particularly if the writer was a woman, but I am absolutely terrible at remembering titles. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/16 "2011-06-08T00:05:51Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. :smack: Of course! ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/17 "2011-06-08T00:08:25Z")
A lot of Diana Wynne Jones’ books have boy protagonists. The Chrestomanci books are a good place to start, or _Enchanted Glass_. Once he’s hooked you can move him up to _Archer’s Goon_ and _Dark Lord of Derkholm._ And of course Susan Cooper’s “Dark is Rising” series stars mostly boys. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/18 "2011-06-08T00:08:31Z")
Quite a few of the Valdemar books have male protagonists or co-protagonists. The Herald Mage series, the Owl-Knight series, a couple focusing on Albrecht (sp? name?), \*Take a Thief \*(Skif), _Brightly Burning_, the current series on the foundation of the Collegium, the Mage Storm series … The Chronicles of Prydain, mentioned above, are good. Lloyd wrote a number of other books, including _The Gawgon and the Boy_ (just read that a bit ago, it’s fun), which he might enjoy. There’s also Alan Garner, his books often have male & female co-protagonists (_The Weirdstone of Brisingamen_ is aces, lemme tell ya). There’s also John Bellairs, who wrote what I call juvenile gothic. Most of his protagonists are young boys. There’s detective series like Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, too. OOO! And the classics, of course. \*Kim \*and _The Jungle Book_, by Rudyard Kipling. Can’t go wrong with those. Also _Puck of Pooks Hill_ and _Rewards and Fairies_. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/19 "2011-06-08T00:11:35Z")
Oh, John Bellairs is a great recommendation. I’m getting my daughter started on them even now. His boys are always nerdy and cowardly and unpopular, but they face up to horrors and discover they can cope after all. Also Bellairs was funny, odd, and erudite all at the same time. It’s my theory that a child that grows up reading his books will be inoculated against paranormal junk literature. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678/20 "2011-06-08T00:11:51Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Quite a few of the Valdemar books have male protagonists or co-protagonists. The Herald Mage series, the Owl-Knight series, a couple focusing on Albrecht (sp? name?), \*Take a Thief \*(Skif), _Brightly Burning_, the current series on the foundation of the Collegium, the Mage Storm series … I love these books, but even _I’m_ somewhat shocked and horrified by some of the content to the point of having some unsettling dreams when I read them (not teh gay, but the torture/rape stuff). I think 8 is really too young for those. But they should definitely be on the high school list! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-young-teen-tween-books-where-young-male-hero-learns-courage-fighting/584678.md?page=2)