djkat95
My son is in the sixth grade and is on a ninth grade reading level. What books would interest him that wouldn't be too complex for him. Looking for something that isn't girly and would keep his interest. He is into books like Harry Potter, The Lord of The Rings, things like that. Any advice on an author or a name of a book, anything would help.
Answer
Gordon Korman is an excellent author of both children's and young adult books. His writing style is very light, very funny -- but he doesn't talk down to his audience.
Has he read the Artemis Fowl series? Fans of Harry Potter also tend to gravitate to these books.
On Etruscan Time by Tracy Barrett is quite good. This is a combination fantasy/history. A young boy is first disappointed by the prospect of having to go to Italy instead of staying home with his friends all summer, but a series of strange incidences at an archeological site have him digging for answers.
Eleanor Updale's Montmorency series is entertaining. There are four books so far. This follows the adventures of Montmorency, a petty thief who concocts a plan to use the undergroud sewers of London for bigger heists.
Kit's Wilderness, by David Almond, is an excellent read. Kip, a 13-year-old boy, and his parents move back to their family home in Stoneygate to stay with their recently-widowed grandfather. Kip finds the small former coal-mining town to be haunted by ghosts of the past. Kip discovers the townsâ history, including the ghosts of the children killed in a coalmine accident, and in the process tries to help John Askew, a talented but troubled older teen.
Louis Sachar's "Holes" and recent sequel "Small Steps" are fun reads. The first concerns Stanley Yelnats, who seems to live a cursed life after he is convicted of a crime he didnât commit and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a boot camp out in the middle of nowhere. But what seems to be ill luck may prove to be destiny as Stanley makes new friends and slowly uncovers the reason for their daily task: digging holes. This one may be a bit slow for your sixth-grader. The sequel is more mature, and follows the life of one of the other characters, Armpit, post-Camp Green Lake. Armpit is trying to live the straight and narrow, but temptations abound.
Any of Kenneth Oppel's books (that I've read) are excellent. The Silverwing Trilogy is a nice, fanciful read about the adventures of a silverwing bat. Airborn and its sequel Skybreaker are a blast. Airborn has often been called Piraes of the Carribean in the air. In both, Matt Cruse works on a dirigible, the highest class form of transportation in this somewhat alternate universe. He adventures with the independent Kate DeVris.
Soldier's Heart, by Gary Paulson, is very good, if somewhat chilling, especially if your son likes history. THis is a somewhat fictionalized story based on a true tale of a 15-year-old Civil War soldier. 15-year-old Charley Goddard lied about his age so he could join the First Minnesota Volunteers in 1861, and fought for virtually the entire Civil War. A fictionalized account of a real soldier and real events. Charley enlists so he can see more of the world, and it seems like easy money. But from his first battle, he realizes that there is nothing romantic or exciting about war. I do warn you: This one is pretty gritty.
Paulson is a very well-known preteen/teen author, as is Neil Gaiman. Your son also may like Brian Jacques, who is well-known for his Redwall series.
Gordon Korman is an excellent author of both children's and young adult books. His writing style is very light, very funny -- but he doesn't talk down to his audience.
Has he read the Artemis Fowl series? Fans of Harry Potter also tend to gravitate to these books.
On Etruscan Time by Tracy Barrett is quite good. This is a combination fantasy/history. A young boy is first disappointed by the prospect of having to go to Italy instead of staying home with his friends all summer, but a series of strange incidences at an archeological site have him digging for answers.
Eleanor Updale's Montmorency series is entertaining. There are four books so far. This follows the adventures of Montmorency, a petty thief who concocts a plan to use the undergroud sewers of London for bigger heists.
Kit's Wilderness, by David Almond, is an excellent read. Kip, a 13-year-old boy, and his parents move back to their family home in Stoneygate to stay with their recently-widowed grandfather. Kip finds the small former coal-mining town to be haunted by ghosts of the past. Kip discovers the townsâ history, including the ghosts of the children killed in a coalmine accident, and in the process tries to help John Askew, a talented but troubled older teen.
Louis Sachar's "Holes" and recent sequel "Small Steps" are fun reads. The first concerns Stanley Yelnats, who seems to live a cursed life after he is convicted of a crime he didnât commit and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a boot camp out in the middle of nowhere. But what seems to be ill luck may prove to be destiny as Stanley makes new friends and slowly uncovers the reason for their daily task: digging holes. This one may be a bit slow for your sixth-grader. The sequel is more mature, and follows the life of one of the other characters, Armpit, post-Camp Green Lake. Armpit is trying to live the straight and narrow, but temptations abound.
Any of Kenneth Oppel's books (that I've read) are excellent. The Silverwing Trilogy is a nice, fanciful read about the adventures of a silverwing bat. Airborn and its sequel Skybreaker are a blast. Airborn has often been called Piraes of the Carribean in the air. In both, Matt Cruse works on a dirigible, the highest class form of transportation in this somewhat alternate universe. He adventures with the independent Kate DeVris.
Soldier's Heart, by Gary Paulson, is very good, if somewhat chilling, especially if your son likes history. THis is a somewhat fictionalized story based on a true tale of a 15-year-old Civil War soldier. 15-year-old Charley Goddard lied about his age so he could join the First Minnesota Volunteers in 1861, and fought for virtually the entire Civil War. A fictionalized account of a real soldier and real events. Charley enlists so he can see more of the world, and it seems like easy money. But from his first battle, he realizes that there is nothing romantic or exciting about war. I do warn you: This one is pretty gritty.
Paulson is a very well-known preteen/teen author, as is Neil Gaiman. Your son also may like Brian Jacques, who is well-known for his Redwall series.
Help finding book summary...?!
juuunetumb
About 2 years ago I read The Lighthouse Land by Adrian McKinty and really enjoyed it. Just recently I learned that the sequel is out and I just got it from the library.
Now that I think about it, I've realized that I hardly remember anything from the first book, except for a few characters and the basic plot.
Does anyone have a link for a summary? I have found that sparknotes is really useful, and it has character descriptions too...
Please help!
Wikipedia doesn't have an article on it...
Answer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0810993619/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
"From School Library Journal
Grade 6â9âThirteen-year-old Jamie O'Neill and his mother leave New York City's Harlem for an island off the coast of Ireland, where Jamie discovers that he's a lord, a descendant of the Irish Kings. Despite his muteness after losing his left arm to bone cancer, he befriends talkative, clever Ramsay. While exploring a 1000-year-old lighthouse, the boys find an ancient gold object that lets them travel to an alien planet light-years away. On Altair, a pointed-eared, eight-fingered girl named Wishaway is awaiting the return of Lord Ui Neill, whom she believes will save her world from invaders from the Alkhavans, who travel in iceships and enslave the people they conquer. Jamie finds that on Altair he still has his arm and can speak. The planet is technologically stuck in 1607 due to a scarcity of natural resources, so Jamie and Ramsay use their knowledge of chemistry to show the citizens how to make "Greek Fire" (sulfur, quicklime, and petroleum) to burn their enemies' iceships. Before they can begin to fight, everyone on the planet starts getting ill. Will they find a cure and can they defeat the Alkhavans? This science-fiction adventure story has an interesting setting. However, the plot lacks a sense of real conflict, the ending is resolved too neatly, and all but the main characters lack depth.âSharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
An inheritance changes the fortunes of 13-year-old Jamie and his mother in the first installment of an sf trilogy by crime novelist McKinty. They move from Harlem to a lighthouse in Ireland, where Jamie is Laird of Muck Island. Having recently lost an arm to bone cancer, Jamie has become selectively mute, but a new friend, Ramsay, and a computer tablet that speaks for him boost Jamie's confidence. An artifact found in the lighthouse teleports the boys to and from a distant planet, where they help the Aldanese people fend off invaders. Jaime's arm becomes whole there, and he finds his voice again. The boys' friendship and banter is delightful, although the world building and some of the alien characters, including the love interest, a girl named Wishaway, need more substance. There's also plenty of action, as well as the potential of Irish legends playing into the sequels. Jamie's struggles with self-worth and his difficulty deciding whether to stay or to go home may remind readers of books in Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series. Cindy Dobrez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
The start of an epic sci-fi trilogy with an unforgettable hero
In the first book of this series from acclaimed crime fiction writer Adrian McKinty, Jamie OâNeill and his mother set out for a new home on an island off the coast of Ireland, a windswept place inherited from a long-lost relative. Itâs a chance to start again after the cancer that took one of Jamieâs arms. But Muck Island is no sanctuary. Many strange surprises await the OâNeills there, the strangest being the one locked in the top of its ancient lighthouse. Discovering it will send Jamie on an interstellar mission that could change the course of his life, and the universe, forever. "
"Kirkus Reviews In this fantasy-like space-travel trilogy opener, a grieving boy finds his strength in a distant land. Mute since he lost his arm to cancer a year before, Jamie lives with his mother in a Harlem slum. An inheritance from a forgotten relative brings them to a new home on an Irish island, where Jamie hopes to start fresh. Along with new friend Ramsay, Jamie discovers a strange device hidden in an old lighthouse: the Salmon of Knowledge, which carries the boys to the planet Altair. Here, Jamie is not a mute, one-armed child but a hero, the Ui Neill, a descendent of those who saved this world in the distant past. Ramsay and Jamie need to save a beautiful alien girl from the invaders who threaten her city, but they're only children against numerous warriors. And once Jamie has become the hero, why should he return to Earth, where he's "a voiceless cripple?" Despite weak dialogue and flat characters, an entertaining adventure. (Science fiction. 11-13)
(Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2006)"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0810993619/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
"From School Library Journal
Grade 6â9âThirteen-year-old Jamie O'Neill and his mother leave New York City's Harlem for an island off the coast of Ireland, where Jamie discovers that he's a lord, a descendant of the Irish Kings. Despite his muteness after losing his left arm to bone cancer, he befriends talkative, clever Ramsay. While exploring a 1000-year-old lighthouse, the boys find an ancient gold object that lets them travel to an alien planet light-years away. On Altair, a pointed-eared, eight-fingered girl named Wishaway is awaiting the return of Lord Ui Neill, whom she believes will save her world from invaders from the Alkhavans, who travel in iceships and enslave the people they conquer. Jamie finds that on Altair he still has his arm and can speak. The planet is technologically stuck in 1607 due to a scarcity of natural resources, so Jamie and Ramsay use their knowledge of chemistry to show the citizens how to make "Greek Fire" (sulfur, quicklime, and petroleum) to burn their enemies' iceships. Before they can begin to fight, everyone on the planet starts getting ill. Will they find a cure and can they defeat the Alkhavans? This science-fiction adventure story has an interesting setting. However, the plot lacks a sense of real conflict, the ending is resolved too neatly, and all but the main characters lack depth.âSharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
An inheritance changes the fortunes of 13-year-old Jamie and his mother in the first installment of an sf trilogy by crime novelist McKinty. They move from Harlem to a lighthouse in Ireland, where Jamie is Laird of Muck Island. Having recently lost an arm to bone cancer, Jamie has become selectively mute, but a new friend, Ramsay, and a computer tablet that speaks for him boost Jamie's confidence. An artifact found in the lighthouse teleports the boys to and from a distant planet, where they help the Aldanese people fend off invaders. Jaime's arm becomes whole there, and he finds his voice again. The boys' friendship and banter is delightful, although the world building and some of the alien characters, including the love interest, a girl named Wishaway, need more substance. There's also plenty of action, as well as the potential of Irish legends playing into the sequels. Jamie's struggles with self-worth and his difficulty deciding whether to stay or to go home may remind readers of books in Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series. Cindy Dobrez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
The start of an epic sci-fi trilogy with an unforgettable hero
In the first book of this series from acclaimed crime fiction writer Adrian McKinty, Jamie OâNeill and his mother set out for a new home on an island off the coast of Ireland, a windswept place inherited from a long-lost relative. Itâs a chance to start again after the cancer that took one of Jamieâs arms. But Muck Island is no sanctuary. Many strange surprises await the OâNeills there, the strangest being the one locked in the top of its ancient lighthouse. Discovering it will send Jamie on an interstellar mission that could change the course of his life, and the universe, forever. "
"Kirkus Reviews In this fantasy-like space-travel trilogy opener, a grieving boy finds his strength in a distant land. Mute since he lost his arm to cancer a year before, Jamie lives with his mother in a Harlem slum. An inheritance from a forgotten relative brings them to a new home on an Irish island, where Jamie hopes to start fresh. Along with new friend Ramsay, Jamie discovers a strange device hidden in an old lighthouse: the Salmon of Knowledge, which carries the boys to the planet Altair. Here, Jamie is not a mute, one-armed child but a hero, the Ui Neill, a descendent of those who saved this world in the distant past. Ramsay and Jamie need to save a beautiful alien girl from the invaders who threaten her city, but they're only children against numerous warriors. And once Jamie has become the hero, why should he return to Earth, where he's "a voiceless cripple?" Despite weak dialogue and flat characters, an entertaining adventure. (Science fiction. 11-13)
(Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2006)"
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