Way OT: Favorite books from adolescence?

by HCE, Thursday, May 28, 2026, 08:34 (55 days ago)

I'm looking for summer reading suggestions for my oldest son, who's finishing sixth grade now and turning twelve in August. He's a deeply intelligent kid, but not a natural reader, unless something really grabs his attention, in which case he's insatiable. I have all the usual parental concerns about summertime regression and excessive screen time, but on a more positive and personal note, my late tween/early teen years were foundational for my love of reading and my taste in books. (I'm pretty sure I can draw straight lines from Ellen Raskin to Umberto Eco, Jerry Spinelli to Colson Whitehead and Salman Rushdie, and Carl Deuker to Hilary Mantel in my personal library.) I really don't want him to miss out on that.

Anyway, that's a long preamble to a pretty simple question: what were your favorite books when you were in middle school?