Realistic Books for Teen Boys

Discover the best realistic books for teen boys with our curated list of engaging, relatable reads. From adventure to coming-of-age stories, find books that resonate with young men today.

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ID: 0440239389
(Type: books)
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Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes Cover
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Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

by Chris Crutcher

The daily class discussions about contemporary issues serve as a backdrop for a high-school senior's attempt to answer a friend's dramatic cry for help.
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ID: 0763640840
(Type: books)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower Cover
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic. The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. A years-long #1 New York Times bestseller, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and Best Book for Reluctant Readers, and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or “wallflowers” of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life.
It's Kind of a Funny Story Cover
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It's Kind of a Funny Story

by Ned Vizzini

Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life—which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job—Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That’s when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he’s just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping—until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety. Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. For a novel about depression, it’s definitely a funny story.
Monster Cover
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Monster

by Walter Dean Myers

FADE IN: INTERIOR: Early morning in CELL BLOCK D, MANHATTAN DETENTION CENTER. Steve (Voice-Over) Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady prosecutor called me ... Monster.
A Separate Peace Cover
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A Separate Peace

by John Knowles

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read. An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II. Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
William Golding's Lord of the Flies Cover
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William Golding's Lord of the Flies

by Harold Bloom

In this adventure story about a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted island, William Golding explores the dark side of humanity and the savagery that surfaces when social structure is broken down, and rules, ideals, and values are lost. In this valuable literary reference guide, a new selection of critical essays on Lord of the Flies is supplemented by a chronology of the author's life, a bibliography, and notes about the essay contributors. Book jacket.
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ID: B003KVKW9U
(Type: books)
Holes Cover
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Holes

by Louis Sachar

A New York Times BestsellerAdapted into the movie HolesInterest Level: Middle/High School Reading Grade Level: 3rd & 4th Lexile Level: 660L Theme: Belonging/Sense of SelfAn Accelerated Reader(r) title