My thirteen year old niece would want things like itunes cards, a cell phone upgrade, or a gift card for a store. I know teen age boys are really into the game Call of Duty. Apparently, that's really big right now.
Maybe you could just give him the money and let him pick.
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.