The Harry Potter books are big favorites of mine, and I teach at an elementary school where the 5th graders actually have the first one as part of their curriculum. They love it!

I agree about the Harry Potter books. They have made a tremendous impact and have blurred the line of Adult/Chidren's Literature.
I am still thinking about other books for this category.

gbg

I've wondered too. Which books would make a good bridge? What ADULT books would interest the teenage boy? Because I have two coming along that like to read, but I suspect are bored with the usual teenage book. I'd like to get them something for Christmas.

I thought that mysteries or sci-fi would be a good way to go. But so many of the newer mysteries have all those words that grandmothers aren't supposed to know and sex scenes that go on, in detail, for pages.

What do you think about the Dick Frances or Tony Hillerman series? There are relationships, but they aren't the steamy, sweating, rolling between the sheets type and the language is clean. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether or not 12-15 year old boys would like them?

Have you thought about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time for a teenage boy? It's easy to read, funny, sad, and it's a great story. I also think it has made quite an impact. Perhaps not quite as much as Harry Potter, but in the UK at least, you don't find many people who haven't read it and have a strong opinion of it one way or another.

I think Dick Francis would be super. There are four featuring Sid Halley (including his brand new one), and those are very good. It would probably be best to read them in order.

I second the Dick Francis novels - I started reading them in my teens, and was hooked.

In science fiction, how about Robert Heinlein - Citizen of the Galaxy, Door into Summer are 2 that come to mind. David Weber (In Fury Born) and Elizabeth Moon (Heris Serrano/Esmay Suiza series) both write good military SF, and are more contemporary. More serious is Moon's The Speed of Dark, a near-future story about an autistic that will bring to mind the Daniel Keyes' story Flowers for Algernon.

If they liked the Matrix movie, William Gibson's classic cyberpunk novel Neuromancer is also a possibility.

cheryl

>The ones that really made a difference in the lives of a lot of people?

Ok, I'm confused. Are we talking about books that made an impact on people, or are we recommending books for children? If its the first, I don't see any of the ones listed as having made an impact except for HP. If the latter, well I can probably think of a few tho my list tends to be for the younger set.

Anyway, just clarify, please :)

BTW cheryl, I am a fan of all of those sci fi - esp Door into Summer.

Cindy, I think The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime fits both categories, making an impact and straddling the line between adult and children's fiction. Another one that did both was Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy.

Parker's Spenser novels allude to all that physical stuff, but are not detailed. They have a lot of understated humor, and some sensible information amid the fiction. They are short...paperbacks are very portable. The older ones do have more substance than the newer ones.

The earlier Ed McBain books are cracking thrillers; so are the later ones, but the violence is rather OTT in my opinion.

I'd second Dick Francis, too.

CindyDavid, for your clarification, I started the thread, and then the remark was made that the Harry Potter books bridged the young/adult reading. I then wondered if anyone knew of any others.

To me, and you are free to disagree, a book that interests a young person enough to promote him/her to an adult level of reading is an important book. There is a big difference in my mind between children's books and what may catch the interest of a teenager.

It's a tricky age. They, expecially boys, need to be introduced to adult reading, but so many of the books now are involved in blood, gore and sex and therefore might be unsuitable for the 12-15 year old young man. Dick Frances is a writer that can tell a good story without resorting to sensational descriptions. It's important to catch the interest with good writing and interesting plots.

To change a non-reader into a Reader is important, regardless of the book. It can, and does, change lives.

agnes, I am not disagreeing about Potter (notice I said "I don't see any of the ones listed as having made an impact except for HP") I do agree with you on the transition to adult books. And changing a non reading into a reader does indeed change lives. So yes, the book has had a huge impact. However, the following posts were ones that included either children's books or transitional books that while good, aren't necessarily life changing. Hence my confusion -

>The ones that really made a difference in the lives of a lot of people?

Perhaps I am being too serious about the definition of 'important books'. In your introduction, you say "The ones that really made a difference in the lives of a lot of people?" When I see that, the books that come to mind are anything by Upton Sinclair, or Uncle Tom's Cabin. So I think that is why I was confused.

anayka, I love Richard Powers, and enjoyed Dark Trilogy, so I agree with you its an excellent book (btw, he has a new one out that I have on my hanukah list - the Echo. Have you seen this one yet?) I just don't see the series as having made an impact on lots of people

Cindy, sorry, I am still not making the point. It is NOT the book that is the life changing thing, it is the PROCESS of changing a non-reader to a reader that changes lives. Do you understand that difference??? The Harry Potter books were excellent in do exactly that. They got kids INTERESTED in the process of reading. Children that had been totally uninterested in anything between two covers started to devour the Harry Potter books.

What you may feel is an Important Book, is pretty much a worthless book if it doesn't catch the interest of the young reader that is getting too old for children's books.

And that Cindy, was the point. I wanted to point out that TO ME, certain books and certain types of books, (mysteries, sports stories) were important simply because they got kids to READ.

I hope I am not missing the point, either, but going back to 1952, I think for many, "The Diary of Anne Frank" had an enormous impact. I was very young when I read it and it opened up all sorts of mental windows for me, as it did for several of my friends.

agnes, I apparently did not get your intent at all. You are talking kids, important books for them. You are not talking about books that made a difference to lots of people. Thats fine.

>it is the PROCESS of changing a non-reader to a reader that changes lives. Do you understand that difference?

I am a teacher of young children. I well understand the difference and the importance. That just wasn't what I thought this thread was. No problem - carry on. Sorry if my comments rankled. I do that sometimes.

Thank you Cindy, that's exactly what I meant. Some books, the ones that catch the non-reader's interest are, in my opinion, important because of the what they do. They interest Kids. No Great Messages. Just plain enjoyment and entertainment.

We need more books that can bridge that child/adult level. Especially the boys. Too many of them seem to think that reading books is sort of a sissy thing.

Woodnymph, I agree about "The Diary of Anne Frank". I read it as a young teenager and it had quite an impact on me.
When I was 14 I was allowed to check out books from the Adult section of the library and introduced myself to Agatha Christie. Although I think she is probably too dated for today's young adult, if you could get one to read "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", who knows.

Well, how about Nancy Drew mysteries? In my day, long before Harry Potter, this series often hooked younger readers, particularly during summer vacation. There was also a similar series for the boys to read. I recall in 4th grade, there were books given as prizes to those who had read the most during summer. I'd read all of Nancy Drew and then some, so I won, but I don't recall what the prize was.Kids who would not touch anything else would settle down with one of Carolyn Keene's novels.

A book I know that made a huge difference to at least one person was Goodnight, Mr Tom, by Michelle Magorian (1981). My daughter lent this book to a class mate and it came back in pieces so we let her keep it. Several years later I met this girl, then a philosophy student, and she told me how enormously important this book had been to her in her early teens and that it had changed her life. I know she had very serious problems at home when she grew up and the book gave her the courage to break with her abusive family.

(>i)What would you say were the important books of the last few years? The ones that really made a difference in the lives of a lot of people?(>/i)

I must say, in Cindy's defense, that the thread did start out sounding as if you were looking for all titles, not just transition books. Then you mentioned the HP books, which seemed to take it down the teen to adult path.

I think Tony Hillerman would be an excellent choice for teen boys. His books don't have the racy stuff, and they give the reader lots of interesting information about the Navajo culture and religion. The main characters are great role models in that they are good people, yet very human. Plus, Hillerman tells a great story.

One of my favorites is "Skinwalkers."