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Top Enjoyment Reading for My 11th Grade Guy by Teresa Rolfe Kravtin
As this school year commences, I have little time left to kick into gear to insure my son has some opportunity to read for his 
own enjoyment before he graduates from high school. We do not lack for book stacks in our house: in my office, in our garage, on the dining room table, in the bedroom, on the stairs, on the coffee table, just about anywhere you look. I employ my son and his friends twice a year to help me with my job, which involves all these books. They help me unpack publisher catalog boxes, they sticker catalogs with my contact information, they remove the previous season’s catalogs and help tote the heaviest boxes of catalogs to the landfill for recycling, they sort through my samples and organize them in catalog order, and finally help me assemble my catalog mailings.
I talk to my son about the books I’m reading. He sees me and his dad reading all the time. I share all the exciting developments about my job with him, which author’s first book has just sold movie rights to Hollywood, the author that signed a copy of a book I loved. I have booksellers who look forward to seeing him during my summer swing through south Georgia and the panhandle of Florida, when he accompanies me on my sales calls. (Road trip!) Years ago, I took him to meet Rick Riordan, and Jeff Kinney when they 
traveled to Atlanta for book signings. When our beloved cat Lucy passed away, it was my son who comforted me and his dad with the spiritual wisdom he gained from reading The Warriors cat clan books. At a younger age, he and I enjoyed sharing the bounty of children’s books from my publishers with his elementary teachers and librarians. We’d pick a day and load up the car with boxes of picture books and take them to school and distribute them to his teachers. I think we enjoyed giving them away more than the teachers enjoyed receiving them. My son has experienced the business of books.
My son has not had the experience of a teacher with a classroom library who is book talking books, reading aloud in the classroom, modeling reading themselves, setting aside time for reading during class or encouraging enjoyment reading since the third grade. I’m afraid that reading is purely assignment driven, and the fun reading of Wimpy Kid and Percy Jackson is a distant memory. How much does he read for his own enjoyment, you ask? Not very much, sadly. So I’m kicking it into gear and making an effort to change that this year. I enlisted the help of the most talented 11th grade teacher I know (I’m looking at you, Paul W. Hankins!) and I asked him for a Top Ten List of Enjoyment Reading for a Guy in the 11th Grade. Between the two of us, I think we have a great selection that will undoubtedly grab his attention and hopefully kick start his own discovery of authors and books that he might share with me. I have already rounded up the titles listed here that I have at home, and will shop for the rest at one of my wonderful independent bookstores (as John Schumacher always says, “Support independent bookstores whenever possible.”) Yes, there are more than ten titles below because how can one stop at ten? Please share your top enjoyment reads for guys in the 11th grade. We have the whole school year to get through.
Here is a link to my bookshelf of these titles on Goodreads: enjoyment-eading-for-11th-gr-guys
Teresa Rolfe Kravtin (@trkravtin on Twitter) is a publisher representative in the southeast. You can read her blog A Rep Reading at http:arepreading.tumblr.com and find her book recommendations on Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1737994-teresa-rolfe.
Nerdy Book Club 
I love the tile STRUTS AND FRETS. So clever. I’m sure your son is in good shape with these books. I’d add the GONE series. Thanks for sharing, TRK.
Thank you, David. Adding now . . .
While at Target yesterday, I ran into a teacher from Maddie’s elementary school. This is the kind of teacher you’d run into anywhere, and I do. I went out of my way to go to where she was at the checkout with her son, now in the 9th grade. We have a tradition, this teacher and I. I’ll say to her, “You already know what I am going to tell you.” She’ll respond, “And you to, you know.”
I asked the young man what he was reading for enjoyment and he told me about a series he was just getting into. It provided the perfect moment to introduce Patrick Ness’s The Chaos Walking Trilogy.
Without missing a beat, this teacher pulled out her mini-composition book and wrote down the author’s name and the title of the series. Another hand-sell of a book. The informal promotion of books and reading. In the classroom, at the library, in restaurants, at the store. . .wherever.
I might mention, this teacher friend of mine? She teaches Kindergarten.
And what is our tradition? What do I say to her each time I see her?
“The work you do is so very important. You must know this.”
Thank you, Teresa, for the lovely mention today.
Awesome, Paul, just awesome.
You are the best, Paul W. Hankins. Enough said. :->
It’s great to see FOR THE WIN on the list, but I’d definitely add LITTLE BROTHER, also by Cory Doctorow. As an introduction to Cory Doctorow, Little Brother is more accessible than For the Win, but potentially life-changing. It’s not just a ‘good read’ for guys in the 11th grade, it’s a ‘must read.’
Thanks, Selena. Duly noted. I am in possession of Little Brother, but have yet to even read it myself. I will rectify that, and share with Taylor.
Oh I’m so sad he hasn’t had a teacher like that since 3rd grade. As a teacher, I just don’t understand that. It’s so important. I don’t know all of the books on your post but I do know a lot of them and they’re terrific. I also love anything and everything by John Green and David Levithan’s Every Day.
I’m adding those Katherine. Taylor’s 3rd grade teacher was EXTRAORDINARY. She’s now retired. Whenever I see her, I remind her that she was the BEST 3rd grade teacher EVER. She has always been quick to credit parents, which is another facet of this wonderful lady. I just wish Taylor could have had each one of my lovely Nerdy Book Club teachers for each grade you teach. Now wouldn’t THAT be an incredible education? Donalyn for 6th, now 4th. Colby for 4th, too. You for 5th, David for 6th, Paul for 11th, and Sarah for 12th.
To all you Nerdy Book Club teachers: THANK YOU for creating a reading environment that is meaningful to kid’s lives. It’s so important. Hat’s off to you!
And Cindy for 9th! I need Nerdy teachers for 7th, 8th, & 10th!
Now THAT’S an endorsement. I don’t think I would have been the teacher he/you would have wanted 6 years ago when he was in my grade. I am a much different teacher and reader now thanks to my district buying us THE BOOK WHISPERER and getting on Twitter–my full time PLN. I’m thankful for this crew.
I’d gladly have taken your son for 7th & 8th, Teresa!
I love that you’re focusing on older students. Too often reading at this age is restricted to the list of “must read” books assigned by schools. I hope you’ll let us know what your son thinks of these books.
I just read ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL and CURVEBALL last week. I loved them both.
Michelle, kids get so busy with school that often their free time is little or non-existent. Or, the one chance during the weekend to get together with friends. It is a huge challenge to insert enjoyment reading into the mix.
I loved Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, too! Can’t wait to read Curveball. Thanks for the recommendation and the comment.
Just want to remind folks not to underestimate the pull of nonfiction for today’s “infokids.” I like the Malcolm Gladwell on your list and have found that books about the history of rock and roll, science, and battle history tend to top the list for my guys.
Feel free to be specific, Anna. I love non-fiction, too! Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve also found great reads in science and biography. We are all musicians in our household, so music is a top topic for us, too. Thanks!
Thanks for this! I am a high school librarian who does book talks with kids. I know that ‘Anna Dressed in Blood’ and ‘Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children’ were popular in my school with boys and girls. The Chronicles of Nick series is one that has been recommended to me by a boy (I’ve not read it yet so I don’t know how that series stands). I just read ‘I Hunt Killers’ that I think will appeal to a few males (and females!) in the school. I don’t have a lot of those titles so I’ll have to put them on my (generally student generated) purchasing list to help expand my collection.
Great suggestions, Allison.
Ball Don’t Lie by Matt De La Pena? Wish I could think of some female authors to mix it up a bit. Maybe Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King or Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins?
Adding . . . :->
This post is important, but it makes me really emotional. It is really sad that your son has not had a teacher since Grade 3 that has promoted reading for enjoyment. I teach Grade 2/3 and see promoting book love and lifelong reading as my mission. And I just have to say – you are some kind of Mom! Think of all of the impact your reading passion has had on him (maybe to unveil itself later in his life even). But, it sure would be great for him to be immersed in an environment like that at school. I get that. I want that for my children too. I wish I had some titles to add but my book knowledge extends into early young adult selections and I’m not so sure about readers your son’s age. Katherine recommended John Green titles and I would second that. I read all of his books this summer and wow! Does he like dystopian titles? What about the Maze Runner series? Pretty gripping and dramatic. I’m sure this nerdybook club community will continue to provide you with some fantastic titles!
Thank you, Carrie. It makes me emotional, too. My son has used the “I have books I HAVE to read” excuse to put off my own suggestions. What I would want for him more than anything else is to hear about great books from someone other than me, because I’m his mom, who happens to be in the book business. Making him read (which I would never enforce upon him) would be about as successful as making him practice the piano, which I did many years ago.
Every week I ask him, “What are you reading for your own enjoyment?” just to remind him that I’m thinking about him. To his credit, he mostly enjoys his assignment reading, and his AP Government teacher has some good books scheduled to read this year, too. He’s very busy this time of the year with marching band, which takes up most of his extracurricular time and energy.
What I can give him is a glimpse into the world of book publishing from my perspective, which teaches him about books AND business, and there is great value in that. When his energies turn to reading for his own enjoyment, he will certainly possess the tools to fuel that pursuit.
Love the post, sad about your story, actually. I am still waiting for my sixth grade grandson to be inspired by a teacher or librarian. So far, there are too many rules & regs about reading for him to see why to try something else, except for grandma sometimes! We in the family are all readers, & it is so sad to hear that schools don’t help show the inspiration of reading. Great books here: I wish you well for your son.
Thank you, Linda. It is a reminder that we must never cease spreading the love of reading. It’s also a big thank you, to all teachers out there, who are trail blazers in their classrooms doing all the right things in the face of many obstructions to model reading as enjoyment. It’s never too late. One teacher can make a difference. Grandmothers are equally influential. My best to your grandson, too!
So sad but so awesome that he has you in his life…and us! Go Nerdy Book Club! I love Hold Me Closer, Necromande by Lish McBridge – and the sequel, Necromancing the Stone comes out soon.
Also, for non-fiction, I recently read Columbine by Dave Cullen and that was amazing. So interesting. 🙂
Thanks, Jen. I’ll add those to my list.
Teresa, thanks for this post. I immediately shared it with my high school students on my teacher Facebook page. They, of course, jumped all over it, asking which of the titles we had in our library. Thank you!
Yay! Excellent and you’re welcome!
Has he tried listening to audiobooks? This might be a solution for him right now while he is so busy. I highly recommend Rotters by Daniel Kraus. The audiobook is astounding. Well, to be honest, the book itself is astounding too. I was listening to the audio and eventually had to get my hands on a physical copy because I wasn’t in my car enough and was dying to find out what came next! If audiobooks appeal to him, I’d also suggest Seth Baumgartner’s Love Manifesto by Eric Luper and the Curse Workers trilogy by Holly Black. I highly enjoyed these and thought the audio versions were great. Good luck.
Thanks Amy! I missed these suggestions earlier. Thanks so much!!
Great list! I’m sharing with my friends with older boys! It’s a shame that something happens between elementary school and high school that turns kids off to pleasure reading. So glad there are talented advocates for young adult contemporary lit! I think if we promoted books like this more often, we’d have a lot more older kids reading!
I LOVED the Chaos Walking Triology. What about some Todd Strasser like Boot Camp or my favorite, If I Grow Up?
I thought of a few more…what about Divergent and Insurgent from Patricia Roth? Unwind and Unwholly from Neal Shusterman. If he likes History, what about the graphic novel Maus?
I’m a little sad to be solely teaching Writing this year, but I don’t miss an opportunity to recommend books to kids. I think all teachers should talk books with kids, no matter what they teach.
GREAT suggestions, Georgina. I agree about talking books no matter the teaching specialty. There are many wide-ranging reading interests and that fact, plus that anyone can have a passion for reading (history, math, music, art & science teachers, plus administrators) is also an excellent modeling opportunity. Reading goes hand in hand with writing. I’m sure you have many occasions to talk books or authors with students. Thanks!
Hi,
I’m a high school librarian and I would also suggest these books:
Twisted–Laurie Halse Anderson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian–Sherman Alexie
Swim the Fly–Don Calame
Rot and Ruin Series–Jonathan Maberry
Tina