So my kids were spoiled by HP and HG

[ThirdandLong]

If you think your kids would like fantasy, I have read several great series. All of these are 'teen' appropriate - no sex, not too violent. It's what I read in high school (because I love fantasy).
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
The Belgariad by David Eddings
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Edited to add: I also read a character that's very Indiana Jones meets Macgyver - Dirk Pitt. He's featured in several novels by Clive Cussler, and they are mostly teen appropriate. Mild violence. Sex is sometimes aluded to but not described.

[bluelikejazz]

What ages are they? Would they like something more adult or more YA? The Erragon Series (I have no idea what the series is really called, but Erragon is the first in the series) is good. Or The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson Series) or Lord of the Rings (something more adult) or Chronicles of Narnia (more Middle School reading level, but still an awesome series)

Sorry that was a lot of rambling...

[angnshaun]

what about

Lorien Legacies or the Maze Runner

[secretlyevil]

His Dark Materials

Anne of Green Gables series

There is some HP fan fiction that is actually really good. He's written a whole spin off series about James, HP's son - www.elderscrossing.com/

The Looking Glass War series by Frank Beddor. I read the first one and enjoyed it. Haven't had a chance to pick up any of the others.

ETA: What about manga? It's a very different genre, you either hate it or love it. Like any others there are good ones and bad ones. Some of them are pretty graphic drawings (LOL - graphic drawings). Anyway that maybe something either one of them might enjoy. Definitely would suggest previewing them first in case there might be something you object to. Naruto is a fantastic series and there are hundreds of them. Definitely keep your son entertained for years to come.

[doxies]

I'm reading Suzanne Collins's other series - Gregor the Overlander - with my son since he is too young for HG. I think they are pretty good so far.

I also really liked John Green's books - maybe your daughter would like The Fault in Our Stars.

[secretlyevil]

Little Women, etc.

Little House on the Prairie series

Yes, I know a lot of what I suggested wasn't modern but they're classics for a reason - they span generations.

[secretlyevil]

Series of Unfortunate Events ( I think my little sister read those in middle school)

Boxcar Kids

American Girl series (Can't remember if these are elementary school or not)

Nancy Drew

Hardy Boys

Seriously - I'm not as old as I sound. I will be 34 at the end of this month. Gag - I can't believe I just admitted that in writing.

[secretlyevil]

When I was 13 I was reading adult books so my perspective about what is age appropriate is probably completely out of whack. I think a good book is a good book no matter what the "genre is."

[secretlyevil]

This thread has lots of oldies but goodies.

pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=nbc&action=display&thread=4691

[shananagins]

I was reading adult books at 13, and a lot of my 8th grade students read adult books now, would he like Steven King?

There is a YA fantasy series that a lot of the boys in my class like by Cinda Williams Chima. The first book is called The Warrior Heir

[secretlyevil]

Had one more thought - The Magicians. Technically it's YA. Now that I'm typing and thinking about it, no this one isn't appropriate for a 13 / 11 year old. Lots of swearing, booze and some sex. Why is this YA?

[aurora]

I really loved Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books when I was that age. They're definitely YA appropriate (no swearing, sex, violence) and there are a ton of them. Most don't have to be read in order, though there are a few that are more like trilogies. Some fun sets tell stories from the same time period but from different perspectives.

Whatever you do, though, start with the older ones written by Anne alone. The later ones that she co-authored with her son Todd have pretty terrible writing.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

What about the Chaos Walking books? I read the first one (The Knife of Never Letting Go) and didn't love it, but a 13 year old boy might. I know lots of people who rave about them, though, and say they love them more than HG.

[bookwormjen]

Rick Riordan, who wrote the Percy Jackson books, is continuing the Olympian series (Percy is featured) and he has another series with Egyptian Gods. I think it's the Kane Chronicles. I've read both series and like them.

Yes, I am in my early 30s and read children's literature. I blame HP for starting it.

Brandon Sanderson has a kid's series about a boy named Alcatrax Smedry. It's really good, too, in the fantasy vein.

[Nerd Alert]

My nephew (also 13) just read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and really liked it.

[DarcyLongfellow]

There's a lot of good dystopian young adult fiction out there right now. I adored Daughter of Smoke and Bone, although I'm not sure I would have loved it at age 11.

Angelfall was also cool, and maybe more likely to appeal to a teenage boy than Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

I don't know a lot about Aspergers. Does your son have trouble relating to fiction at all? Would nonfiction be more interesting to him? I have an uncle who prefers nonfiction because he would rather be learning new interesting facts than "wasting his time" on reading something someone else "made up." If you found an area that interested him, I bet you could find some good nonfiction.

[BravoBravo]

May 17, 2012 11:11:42 GMT -5 aurora said:

I really loved Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books when I was that age. They're definitely YA appropriate (no swearing, sex, violence) and there are a ton of them. Most don't have to be read in order, though there are a few that are more like trilogies. Some fun sets tell stories from the same time period but from different perspectives.

Whatever you do, though, start with the older ones written by Anne alone. The later ones that she co-authored with her son Todd have pretty terrible writing.

I read the Dragonriders of Pern books around that age.

[DarcyLongfellow]

May 18, 2012 6:59:45 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Yes, I think he prefers nonfiction because I do think he has a trouble relating to fiction because he also has issues relating to people. I think he also has issues separating the book from real life. However, mostly he prefers NF to help fuel his obsessions and memorize more facts, etc.

So, I really am fine with NF, although we aren't supposed to let him have full access to his obsessions. Also, I feel like only limiting yourself to NF is going to interfere with his reading development and things.

That makes sense to me -- I'm sure I'd feel the same way.

I was wondering if there was some nonfiction that was more similar to fiction. Like biographies maybe? Something where there's a story being told, it just happens to be a true one?

I just did a google search for "nonfiction that reads like fiction" -- lots of hits, but man, those do not sound like something I'd want my 13 year old son reading if he got obsessed with books and had trouble separating reality from what he was reading. Maybe some of the ladies here know better nonfiction -- wasn't one of the first threads on this new board about nonfiction? (I didn't even click it since I'd much rather read fiction, but I think I remember seeing it!)