I have a 14 yr old son and have been homeschooling since grade one. He loves horror and some dark fantasy. I am introducing him to Poe and Baudelaire this month with much eye-rolling on his part. Can anyone recommend some horror books or dark poetry that may appeal to a teen? We've done King, Koontz and Saul. Also, I have tried to encourage him to read authors like Twain and Dickens-I've been unsuccessful. Any hints or suggestions, or should I just let him take his own lead?
Have you tried instead of horror, Thriller novels, like spi ones or something. James Patterson is ace, and quite ... detailed. I also loved the Hannibal series personally, they were amazing.
Thanks Heather, I was actually just given over 60 thrillers/ mysteries, ( I have read none of them) and we have about 6 Patterson books among them. So I am lesson planning a whole theme around them and introducing forensic science as well. I just hope that will peak his interest.
Aye it might do. If you are looking for books to teach, I would suggest Shakespeare. I know it is a little ... hard to get used to, but I really enjoyed it and it is qite murderous sometimes and stuff. also try frankenstein or Dracula, I think we do them next year.
You know what's really creepy? "Interview with the Vampire", by Anne Rice. I'm your son's age and I liked it.
Ooh, yeah! Interview was nice. Though it's not too bad in and of itself, some of its sequels have questionable content. Though, if you've been through Koontz and King you it should be alright...
not even close to being a teen but when I was I could not stand Mark Twain. Still don't like Dickens so I probably never will. For adventure try books by Eric Flint. the Belesarius collection are great. It is an alternate history back to the roman times. also the Ring of fire is a small west virginian town dropped into the era of the 30 year war in europe. 1632. It is a good adventure as well. Mercedes Lackey writes great adventure stories as well. I would not worry about the twain and dickens. I have one son who loved Dickens and the other son has read some of them but they are a so=so book for him. If it isn't for school work let him pick and choose his own reading likes and dislikes. You may be surprised what he picks. one of mine picked up Shakespeare.
You might want to take a look at Robert Heinlein's 'juvenile' novels. Whilst they are not horror, they do contain quite a broad array of themes (including aspects of horror and dark themes) and although aimed at young adults, manage to do it without being patronising, as they take quite a lot of adult themes and problems and confront them head on, often having younger people who have to 'step up to the plate' as it were. His books which are not strictly speaking part of what would be classed as 'juveniles' are of course also worth a look too, and not just for the literary content. Some of them were, and remain, quite contraversial, perhaps most famously, Starship Troopers, which if you are educating your child at home, would be a good opener for discussing radical political ideas on education itself. On top of all that, Heinlein is one of the better fantasy writers who also managed to transcend to quite a few other genres. Al
Have him read something by Neil Gaiman. That guy can get pretty phantasmagorical. Suggested titles: Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, American Gods, and in the not-very-advanced-but-still-totally-awesome corner, Coraline.
On the subject of Gaiman... has anyone read his and Terry Pratchett's collaboration, Good Omens? Best book ever!
Thanks so much for all your input. I will give a lot of your suggestions a try. I can envision a huge book shopping spree-who doesn't love that? If he had his way he'd only read Guitar World We did read and watch 'Interview' but couldn't get into any other Rice work. He loved it. Thanks again-I'll report back if he gets turned onto the authors you all suggested.
