My 13-year-old nephew recommends books
Book recommendations by Gabe, age 13.
1: reserved for the best book in the world
2: being the best
3: being amazing
The Hunger Games; Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games is an AMAZING book that keeps you guessing at every turn, but there are only two downsides, almost everybody in the world has already read it, and it is super violent (and when I say violent, I MEAN it!!!), I’d give it a 3 because of all the violence.
The Maximum Ride Series; James Patterson: Max is a teenage girl who is 98% human, and 2% bird. They are mutants stuck in the School. They’re pretty much lab rats until they make a daring escape, and I can’t tell you much more otherwise it will give away the ending, but READ IT!!!! I would give it a 2, for being such a good read.
The Jimmy Fincher Saga; James Dashner: Jimmy Fincher is an ordinary boy that, while climing a tree, sees the mayor dispatch (not kill, but don’t tell that to your kid) of someone, and is taken hostage. He finds out about a murderous plot for an old man (can’t remember his name) to gain unparalleled powers, so it’s up to Jimmy to beat him at his own game. I would give it a 2.5, because this was my favorite series for so many years.
Slathbog’s Gold; M. L. Forman: This is my very favorite book EVER!!! The series is Adventurer’s Wanted, and it is about a boy named Alex, who sees a mysterious sign in a book store. When he goes in to ask about it, he is rushed into a wonderful adventure with delights at every turn. This is the only book I can give a 1, because it is the BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD (besides Shannon Hale’s books that is)!!! [Shannon says: you are totally in the running for favorite nephew]
The Girl That Could Fly; Victoria Forester: This is a book that I absolutely could NOT put down. I stayed up ‘till midnight reading secretly in bed, and I only slept because my eyes couldn’t stay open long enough to get half a page. Reading this book should be a no-brainer for anybody. It is about a little girl named Piper McCloud, who can fly. So she is shipped off to an institute called I. N. S. A. N. E., where there are other children with “gifts”, but something isn’t right about the place… It is a great book and I would give it a 2.
Simon Bloom the Gravity Keeper; Michael Reisman: This is a delightful science-fiction book about a boy named Simon who finds a Book (capitalized for a reason) that gives him power over physics. But what he doesn’t know is that another, more sinister figure by the name of Sir is looking for the book, and will get it by any means… Great book, 2 stars.
Hatchet; Gary Paulsen: This is an amazing book about a boy named Brian, who gets stranded in the middle of nowhere, and has to survive with nothing but a hatchet. Amazing, 2 stars.
The Book of Three; Lloyd Alexander: I thought this book would be a “drag”, but it was actually one of the books I looked forward to reading the most every day. It is a whole new telling of “The Black Cauldron”. 2 stars (as always)
Gregor the Overlander; Suzanne Collins: This is an amazing story about an “Overlander” called Gregor, who gets sucked up with his little sister into an amazing world of giant cockroaches and rats, it may not seem good, But READ IT! 2 stars.
A Whole Nother Story; Dr. Cuthbert Soup: This is a completely random, but hilarious story about a psychic dog, a time machine, and a sock puppet named Steve. Really funny, 2 stars.
Artemis Fowl; Eoin Colfer: Fantasy meets science in this wonderful world of two races, humans and fairies (High tech and extremely trigger happy fairies to be exact). A Must-Read, 2 stars.
The Far Side; Gary Larson: This is not really a book, but the funniest series of comic strips on earth. Hilarious, 2 stars.
Eragon; Christopher Paolini: Possibly the greatest book on earth (thought the 3rd book is better), This Is A Book You Must Force Your Kids To Read (well technically, you have to force it into their hands and make them look at the first word, then they won’t ever let it go)!!! 2.5 stars for being so great!
Fablehaven; Brandon Mull: This is one of the best books ever, except the fact that this first book is not the “hook you in and won’t let go ‘till you finish” kind of book, you have to muscle your way through the first part, then you won’t be able to put it down again. 2 stars
World of Grayham; Phillip Jones: A really good book, in which two world collide (unfortunately not literally). Sam, George, and Shalee are taken from Earth, and are kept in time bending chambers, and are brought to Grayham, because earth was destroyed in the God Wars. Awesome, 2 stars.
Magyk; Angie Sage: This is an amazing book about a boy named Septimus Heap who is the seventh son of a seventh son. I can’t remember the rest, but it was a very good book, 2 stars.
So those are all of the books I can think of that I have thoroughly enjoyed so far. I know parents are trying to get their kids off the computers and away from the tv, but here is 1 tv show and 1 video game that every kid must watch/play: “Avatar; The Last Airbender” is a really funny animated tv show that the whole family can enjoy, While Minecraft is a really addicting sandbox game that can be downloaded for free by clicking the link in the description of this video.
Thanks!
ATTENTION PUBLISHERS: My nephew Gabe will gladly accept any books you think he'd like. He's a voracious reader and he'll review his favs regularly here. Send via my publisher Bloomsbury. And isn't he a sweetheart? I'll tell you the truth about Gabe: not only is he smart, but he is kind. A true gem.