“My son doesn’t read anymore.”
“My middle schooler needs more mature books, but I don’t know what to get him.”
“Do you have anything that’s not a romance?”
The challenge I encounter most often as a bookseller is recommendations for teen boys. As they age out of middle-grade (ages 9-12), it feels like all they can find in the Young Adult category (ages 12-18) has way too much kissing for their liking. And while female protagonists are awesome, boys want to read about boy heroes, too.
The current gender split between Young Adult readers is 60/40 females to males. The Horn Book reported that 65% of protagonists in YA these days are female, 22% male, and 13% feature both genders or nonbinary characters. “The Hunger Games,” “Shadow & Bone” and “Twilight” all feature female leads, love triangles, and romance alongside high action and interesting world-building. This is a departure from middle-grade, where boys are the majority protagonists, featuring in 48% of titles. Girls make up 36% and both genders cover 16%. Consider male-centric Middle-Grade category leaders like “Harry Potter,” “Percy Jackson” and “Dog Man.”
This gender gap continues with age. The Pew Research Center found that 26% of men reported not having read a book in the past year as compared to 21% of women. Worldwide, women are more likely to read for pleasure regularly and in greater quantities.
So how do we capture male readers before the statistical fall-off that begins in adolescence?
Thankfully, I’m also a mom, and I have a 13-year-old male reader in my house to provide at least anecdotal evidence of what boys actually like to read. I also hear back from Roundabout Books regulars who tell me what their boys can’t put down. I recommend starting with these three favorites:
- “Ready Player One” by Earnest Cline – The adult Fantasy/ Sci-Fi section is a great place for precocious teens. “Ready Player One” is a go-to for reluctant readers. It’s fast-paced, a total page-turner, and with video games and 80s pop-culture references, it’s just plain fun.
- “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card – This Sci-Fi classic is about a child prodigy trained in tactical warfare in an ongoing intergalactic war. As with Matilda or Dune, it’s immensely gratifying to watch a uniquely gifted underdog master their gifts and make world-changing moral decisions.
- “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss – My 13-year-old reads this book, and its sequel, over and over. Its author has been compared to Tolkien, and if you can overlook the fact that book 3 has never been published and (apologies, Rothfuss fans) probably never will be, it will become an instant favorite for you as well as your teen.
But what to read after such reliable picks? Try these:
- “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner – A logical next Dystopian read for Hunger Games lovers featuring male protagonists, survival, and adventure.
- “One of Us Is Lying” by Karen M. McManus – This first-in-a-series murder mystery thriller in which five teens go into detention but only four come out alive was so popular it was also developed into a show.
- “A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. LeGuin – An absolute Fantasy classic, this coming-of-age tale is the OG magic schoolbook.
- “Strange the Dreamer” by Laini Taylor – Gorgeously written, this Fantasy duology may include a romance, but its male lead and mysterious world-building will captivate readers of any gender.
- “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo – A team of lovable criminals attempts a magical heist (with a hefty dash of revenge) in this duology set in the Shadow & Bone universe.
- “Looking for Alaska” or “Turtles All the Way Down” by John Green – Green’s books explore the emotional reality of contemporary teen life with wit, depth, and heart.
- “The Inheritance Games” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Mysteries, puzzles, and intrigue abound in this series about an unlikely inheritor of a vast fortune and the indignant dispossessed family members.
- “The Sunbearer Trials” by Aiden Thomas – A Mexican-inspired Fantasy duology about a deadly competition and two unlikely boys fighting for survival.
- “The Fountains of Silence” or “I Must Betray You” by Ruta Sepetys – Exquisite storytelling against the backdrop of political unrest, Sepetys’s books are the gold standard for teen historical fiction.
If you want a more curated list for your kiddo (or yourself, young reader!), come on by Roundabout Books and let us help you pick something out. I firmly believe that everyone is a reader, they just need to discover the right book. Teen boys might need some extra help finding their jam, but I promise you, it’s out there.
—Joanna (Joey) Roddy has been a bookseller at Roundabout Books for over three years. She writes fantasy novels, narrates audiobooks, and generally lives and breathes books.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 24, 2025.
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Thanks for this! You’re missing a great contemporary book, “Promising Young Man” by Elias Axel. An intergenerational story told in the first person by 18-YO misunderstood, mistake-riddled Oscar on the cusp of high school graduation who looking for acceptance and purpose in modern America. A heartfelt and often hilarious coming of age on the road book.