Modern YA novel that celebrates boys

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carry On by Rainbow Rowell has a male protagonist

2 male protagonists. I like these books a lot.

There's Wizard of Earthsea.

For non-fantasy, depending g on age you could look at Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns by John Green. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares jumps back and forth between a male and female perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Percy Jackson, Harry Potter

Lord of the Ring

In fact until recently, pretty much every book.

That's a good quip. But you apparently haven't been to a bookstore in a couple decades.

I was at a bookstore last weekend. Girls have been reading books about boys having adventures for centuries. I know I did! Is there some reason that your boy can't enjoy books about girls having adventures?

Sure, my boy can and does read books about female protagonists. Sometimes a boy protagonist might be a nice change.

Some older books haven't held up over time but others have, and nearly all older books were better and more deeply written than the YA books of today, which are written to be read fast and thoughtlessly.

Huh? Not always.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Percy Jackson, Harry Potter

Lord of the Ring

In fact until recently, pretty much every book.

That's a good quip. But you apparently haven't been to a bookstore in a couple decades.

I was at a bookstore last weekend. Girls have been reading books about boys having adventures for centuries. I know I did! Is there some reason that your boy can't enjoy books about girls having adventures?

Sure, my boy can and does read books about female protagonists. Sometimes a boy protagonist might be a nice change.

Some older books haven't held up over time but others have, and nearly all older books were better and more deeply written than the YA books of today, which are written to be read fast and thoughtlessly.

Huh? Not always.

I mean I read The Fault in our Stars as an adult but that book 8s definitely not a fast and thoughtless book. Doesn't fit OP's brief because the main character is female, but definitely not a thoughtless book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jason Reynolds

Him!!

[Anonymous]

They have sports in them, and they're a little 80's/90's now, but I really like Chris Crutcher's stuff. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Running Loose, Stotan!, Whale Talk and Ironman are all great.

I really like N.D. Wilson's urban fantasy YA novels. They all have boy main characters and are set in contemporary settings. I'm extremely fond of the Ashtown Burials series, but Boys of Blur and the 100 Cupboards are also really good.

[Anonymous]

Hatchet

[Anonymous]

Lord of the Flies was great.

[Anonymous]

Carl Hiaasen's books are great for boys. Really liked Squirm and Scat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lord of the Flies was great.

There was a real story of a group of boys who were shipwrecked alone on an island for months. They built an effective cooperative society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lord of the Flies was great.

There was a real story of a group of boys who were shipwrecked alone on an island for months. They built an effective cooperative society.

I remember that! That’s right. I think Golding’s representation of how they would act was exaggerated, but I think he used that to carry his various themes.

In any case I think it’s not considered contemporary so doesn’t answer the OPs question. But I recall reading that many many years ago.

I also remember, vividly, reading C.S. Lewis’s “Out of the Silent Planet” around the same time. Windows to my childhood room open. A fresh autumn breeze puffing through my curtains on occasion and I secretly chewed tobacco (!!) reading until sometimes 3am on school nights!

Thanks for the memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lord of the Flies was great.

There was a real story of a group of boys who were shipwrecked alone on an island for months. They built an effective cooperative society.

Was it months? I thought it was weeks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lord of the Flies was great.

There was a real story of a group of boys who were shipwrecked alone on an island for months. They built an effective cooperative society.

Was it months? I thought it was weeks!

Fifteen months.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Percy Jackson, Harry Potter

Lord of the Ring

In fact until recently, pretty much every book.

That's a good quip. But you apparently haven't been to a bookstore in a couple decades.

I was at a bookstore last weekend. Girls have been reading books about boys having adventures for centuries. I know I did! Is there some reason that your boy can't enjoy books about girls having adventures?

Kids need books that are windows and books that are mirrors. Just because things were really one sided in the past doesn’t mean they should swing the other way now. I want my boys to be able to read contemporary books with girl and boy protagonists.

The point is, not all contemporary books feature "only girls." Which you would know if *you* had been in a bookstore lately.

Do you know how hard it is to find a book with a male protagonist? Or even a YA book by a male author? I spend gobs of time going through shelves and shelves at the library looking for something appropriate for my advanced reader, who is willing to read books w/female protagonists and is a self-proclaimed feminist, but who would like to read books w/male leads occasionally! Percy Jackson, Harry Potter are great, but too simplistic and when you hit upper middle school the pickings are slim! I brought home “Boy robot” last week from the library which stated it was about what makes us human - I didn’t pre-read it. DS comes downstairs today and says, “So Boy Robot was ok, but did you know there’s a lot of gay sex in it? I don’t mind but I thought you’d want to know.”
Gay sex is fine but it shouldn’t be this hard to find non-fantasy, non-sports YA books w/male protagonists! Go through a bookstore sometime. It’s about 10%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Percy Jackson, Harry Potter

Lord of the Ring

In fact until recently, pretty much every book.

That's a good quip. But you apparently haven't been to a bookstore in a couple decades.

I was at a bookstore last weekend. Girls have been reading books about boys having adventures for centuries. I know I did! Is there some reason that your boy can't enjoy books about girls having adventures?

Kids need books that are windows and books that are mirrors. Just because things were really one sided in the past doesn’t mean they should swing the other way now. I want my boys to be able to read contemporary books with girl and boy protagonists.

The point is, not all contemporary books feature "only girls." Which you would know if *you* had been in a bookstore lately.

Do you know how hard it is to find a book with a male protagonist? Or even a YA book by a male author? I spend gobs of time going through shelves and shelves at the library looking for something appropriate for my advanced reader, who is willing to read books w/female protagonists and is a self-proclaimed feminist, but who would like to read books w/male leads occasionally! Percy Jackson, Harry Potter are great, but too simplistic and when you hit upper middle school the pickings are slim! I brought home “Boy robot” last week from the library which stated it was about what makes us human - I didn’t pre-read it. DS comes downstairs today and says, “So Boy Robot was ok, but did you know there’s a lot of gay sex in it? I don’t mind but I thought you’d want to know.”
Gay sex is fine but it shouldn’t be this hard to find non-fantasy, non-sports YA books w/male protagonists! Go through a bookstore sometime. It’s about 10%.

Why are you excluding fantasy and sports? First you say it's hard to find a book with a male protagonist. People give all sorts of suggestions, some that are fantasy or sports-themed. Then you say it has to be non-fantasy and non-sports. Why are you excluding these two very large categories of YA books? These are what publishers are publishing and bookstores are selling because these are what kids are buying.

[Anonymous]

Ranger’s Apprentice
anything by Jack Gantos