in my early teens. The books my peers wanted to read & discuss like V.C. Andrews. Mid-teens I discovered Robert A. Heinlein & Orson Scott Card. I have read primarily Sci Fi & Fantasy since then.

At the bookstore when parents come in looking for books for their reluctant readers I often suggest Robert Asprin’s Myth series. The books are short & funny!

The Cat series by Lila Jackson Braun is a mystery series that teens really seem to enjoy. James Herriot is also good, but the size of his books can appear overwhelming.

“Player Piano” and “Cat’s Cradle” are 2 of my all time favorites. I will say however that most of the people I tell to read Cat’s Cradle never finish it. The idea that everything is connected and that our “random” meetings of people are less coincidence then we think, is still something I think about often.

One can also never go wrong with Douglas Adams . The first read of “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” prompted the first outward burst of hysterical laughter while reading a book. It is as if Sci-fi and a great Monty Python skit had a love child and spawned all of Adam’s books. They will always win with me.

There are such great sci-fi writers too. I totally agree with Flutterby. I got really into Jack Chalker and his series starting with “Midnight at the Well of Souls” But I’m a total sucker for books that give alternative explanations for mankind’s religions.

I admit to really liking Christopher Pike while I was in HS too. I could never get into Stephen King but I read of few of Pike’s books. Its fluff and always an easy read. I often finished the books quickly because they were hard to put down. The funny thing is that back then one his books (Sati I think) seemed like such a life changing and inspirational. I tried to read it again last year and actually threw my copy away because I thought it was so bad. The characters were hollow cliches and it was just dreadful. ha. I guess that one’s taste in everything changes overtime.

Truly a difficult question. There are so many great books out there.

As a teenager is was mildly obsessed with:

• The Hitchhiker books
• 1984
• Catch 22
• The Catcher in the Rye and after that all things Salinger and I’d say Franny & Zooey had an impact on my world-view at the time.

Some books I think teenagers like

• Jennifer Government
• Wicked
• David Sedaris

I have a teenage brother who is a reluctant reader. He refused to pick up a book until he spent 3 months in juvenile detention last year and had nothing to do but read. The first book he picked out from the jail library (perhaps from any library) was Jurassic Park and he then went on to “hate all books except for Micheal Crichton who is exciting”. Of course he is just one data point and kind of a weird kid. From that experience I would suggest pointing out books that inspired the movies that the teenagers already like. Of course this has to be unique to each kid. What comes to mind:

• Jurrasic Park
• The Notebook
• The Secret Life of Bees
• Firefly
• The Golden Compass

The other thing that is important I think is to point out all the reading that they already do. When a kid thinks reading is boring, ask them to think about what they’re doing when they’re online. READING. Or what they’re fave magazines are. Graphic novels, magazines, blogs.. All reading! Sometimes I think fiction just isn’t for everyone and some people, even teenagers would rather be reading non-fiction if its about the topic of their interest.

both of these authors write stories and novels for adults, but have published books for young adult readers as well. that can make a good transition sometimes. if they like “m is for magic” or “the absolutely true diary of a part time indian” it might be a gateway to some of the authors’ novels or more complex works.

We introduced him to the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. He also liked the Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison. The Twilight series got my daughter reading again. Strange as it sounds, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged stand out as high school books that made me think. Good luck.