Any reading recommendations for my 9th grade son? He loves to read when he can find a good book. Thanks?

Try the Ender's series. Beginning with "Ender's Game". This is a wonderful series about young people learning to live and work together, resolve conflict and ultimately "save the universe".

It is very engaging and not preachy. He will not be aware of the lessons. And it has a really nice twist.

I'm also in 9th grade, so I can probably send a few good recommendations your way. I've lately gone on a big Ken Follett kick. This is up to your discretion as a parent, but some of his books can be particularly explicit.

However, if this is not a problem, I would recommend: -Pillars of the Earth -World Without End (Sequel to Pillars of the Earth) Both of these are historical fiction, taking place in medieval times. The plot revolves around the construction of a cathedral. World Without End takes place during the time of the plague.

These are perhaps Follett's most explicit novels. -Whiteout This is a good thriller which centers around the theft of a virus from a lab. My personal favorite, however, is The Third Twin.

This combines Follett's best writing seen in Pillars of the Earth with a modern plot. It revolves around a researcher who uncovers a conspiracy surrounding a genetics company. Very engaging.

For other, lighter, fare, I'd suggest books by Kathy Reichs. Her books are about a forensic anthropologist solving crime. For fantasy, I'd suggest the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, but he may have read this already.In particular, I'd suggest the latest book, Brisingr, which shows how Paolini has matured as a writer.

Dan Brown has also been a favorite author of mine. You may know him for writing The DaVinci Code, but I've enjoyed his other books more. I suggest Angels & Demons, Digital Fortress, and Deception Point.

Starswarm_ by Jerry Pournelle. Anything by Jack London. Anything by Robert Heinlein ... I really liked _The Number of the Beast_ when I read it at his age.

Cory Doctorow has all his writings posted free on his site. craphound.com/index.php?cat=5 Of his recent work, I liked _Little Brother_ and _Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. _ Roald Dahl's work is aimed at a younger audience, but there's a lot that a high schooler can get out of reading _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,_ _Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,_ _Fantastic Mr. Fox_ and _James and the Giant Peach.

_ Micheal Crichton has a wonderful autobiography (my only complaint would be that it was written too early in his career) called _Travels.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell.

I thought both of these books were great: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins URL1 Maximum Ride series by James Patterson jamespatterson.com/books_maximumRide.html.

Lord of the Rings, if he hasn't already read it. The Silmarillion, if he's gifted. The Eragon books.

The Brian Jacques books: the Redwall series, and the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. Books by Lloyd Alexander: Time Cat, the Arthur series Books by Edward Eager: The Half Magic series If he likes mysteries: The Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy Sayers The Father Brown series by G.K. Chesterfied Detectives in Togas and The Mystery of The Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld also think about the Bertie Wooster books by P.G.Wodehouse. The last three series were written from the 20's to the 40's, and while they're "adult", they are by no means like modern mysteries.

They're less gory, less brutal and less crass, but still have sparkling writing, wit, and intriguing plots. There are a lot of books written in the last century that are excellent, but aren't "Harry Potter" so aren't really talked about much. Look for Newbery Awards books.

They tend to be both interesting and educational in a subtle way. Click here for a complete list starting in 1922: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal.cfm.

Sci-fi: Asimov's Foundation series (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series) Chalker's Well of Souls series (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_L._Chalker) Pohl's Heechee series (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_Pohl#Heechee).

I recommend anything by Robert Cormier. I am especially fond of "I Am the Cheese" and "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. " Mr. Cormier wrote "The Chocolate War", one of the most often challenged books (banned book).

S books are written specifically for young adults. They are generally dark, but thought provoking. Mr. Cormier's books opened my eyes to the world of literature when I was in 9th grade.It has been said that he was, "a rare writer who appeared to have a direct line to the hearts and minds of his young audience and made sure that they also had one to him.

" (See Guardian link below. ).

My 9 year old daughter loves The Best American Short Stories search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/res....

As an educator, my own feeling is that he should try to read things which will show up later in school or reinforce what he does in school. I'm not saying he should read nothing else, but time is in short supply: there's only 2 years more before those college applications go out. There are certain books that if you read, a lot of other books make sense.

Milton's Paradise Lost and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings both reference Virgil's Aeneid a considerable amount. The Aeneid itself owes a substantial debt to Homer's Illiad and Odyssey, as do numerous poems and plays throughout the history of literature, and numerous works in the history of philosophy. So I say stick to classics, but because classics can be rough, your son will need a guide that is read as the book is read -- 1.

Homer's Illiad and Odyssey - best editions are Richmond Lattimore's, which are literal enough for one to see roughly how Homer's wordplay works. Worst is Robert Fagles, who takes far too much license with the text to be trustworthy. Best secondary source for a 9th grader - Eva Brann's "Homeric Moments: Clues to Delight in Reading the Illiad and Odyssey." 2.

Virgil, Aeneid. L.R.Lind's translation from Indiana University Press is very literal, but Allen Mandelbaum has one out, and his Dante translations are very good. Best secondary source that covers this and Homer: John Alvis' "Divine Purpose and Heroic Response.

" 3. Herodotus, "The Persian Wars." Amazing reading, goes down easy but filled with incredible highlights that stay with one.

Best edition is David Grene's; best secondary source, Seth Benardete's Herodotean Inquiries.4. The Bible. Few literature programs touch this, and it is sad, because it is the most important work in the Western tradition.

Secondary source that is dispassionate but will delight even fundamentalists: "The Beginning of Wisdom," Leon Kass. Kass reads Genesis and keeps the rest of the Bible in mind, and shows how well-constructed the text is.

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer I Am Legend by Richard Matheson These books are great and interesting for your son.

It might be slightly early for him, but I really enjoyed Dennis McKiernan's works set in Mithgar when I was about his age. I would recommend starting off with either Voyage of the Fox Rider or The Dragonstone. Both are fairly long books though so he would need to be a patient reader.

One of the things I loved is that the entire series is 10 books long, but most of them are stand alone, self contained stories.

I personally find the Star Wars novels incredibly interesting. They have a great plot with moral values winning in the end. The story lines continue providing an ongoing adventure that evolves and can be read for some time.

randomhouse.com/delrey/starwars.

Sherman Alexie's books for young adults are great, and can be enjoyed both as literature and entertainment. A lot of people his age love sci-fi; Orson Scott Card is popular, as is Mercedes Lackey and Roger Zelazny. If he wants Classics, Dante's Inferno is much more fun than it sounds.

The anthology, "Best American Non-Required Reading" (edited by Dave Eggers) is specifically aimed at smart book-loving high schoolers.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.