Robbie is convinced his life is over. He is sent to Great Oaks, a school for troubled youth that is run like a prison. To get home, he must follow the rules, face the past, and tell the truth. Otherwise, Great Oaks School will really be the end of the line.

When a friend of mine recently asked for some boy book recommendations for a sixteen year old, I tried to think of YA books that would have been up Dad’s alley. However, the sixteen year old was not into fantasy or sci-fi, so I limited my list to realistic fiction—current and past—with the reluctant reader in mind. Please share some favorites that grabbed you.

1. The Pigman by Paul Zindel

2. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

4. Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

6. Liar by Justine Larbalestier

7. Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner

8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

9. Break by Hannah Moskowitz

10. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff

Fate now smirks when she sees me, as I am the only female in a house full of males – even the dog and both of the cats are boys. The presence of several Y chromosomes in my life has made me think harder about all things boy-related, including their reading preferences.

My oldest son is just about to turn 12. He still reads, but he has trouble finding things that interest him. He’s a bit “eh” about fantasy (he never really got excited about Harry Potter, something that he will never admit to his friends), he didn’t like Twilight because there was too much “love stuff” and he’s too young for books like Looking for Alaska by John Green. The past few months, he has found a few books that he really liked – Savvy by Ingrid Law was a big hit (even though it is sort of a “girl” book), and Feed by M.T. Anderson is a favorite. He’s always looking for things to read, but is quick to dismiss anything that is overly girlie.

I’ve been told by those who should know that boys don’t read. At least they don’t once they pass the age of 12. Oh, they might pick up an action/fantasy book or a good graphic novel on occasion, but as a species, they don’t read regular books. I’ve started to wonder if boys stopped reading regular books because there aren’t many regular books for them to read, or if writers and publishers have stopped marketing regular books to boys because it was a losing proposition.

With all this in mind, I have a confession to make – I write books for girls. Honestly, it didn’t start out that way. When It’s Six O’clock in San Francisco is coming out in July, and as a picture book, that is for both boys and girls, but my YA Dirty Little Secrets is being marketed to girls. The book I’m writing now is definitely for girls (too much love stuff, as my son would say), and the zygote that is percolating and may turn into the book after that also seems to have a girl main character.

I feel bad about this. I want boys to have great books that will give them other perspectives on life without having to leave home. Even though my main character is a girl, I still hope some boys will pick it up and enjoy it. As my son says, they can always take the jacket off when they carry it around so that the girl on the cover doesn’t look weird.

If a book comes to me that has a strong boy character, I’ll write it, but I’m not sure I’ll go out looking for one. If you write it, will boys come? Honestly, I don’t know.

THE MONSTER VARIATIONS

• Publication Season/Year: Summer, 2009
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Release Date: August 11, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover): 9780385737333
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

Someone is killing boys in a small town. The murder weapon is a truck, and the only protection is a curfew enacted to keep kids off the streets. But it’s summer-and that alone is worth the risk of staying out late for James, Willie, and Reggie.

Willie, who lost his arm in the first hit-and-run attack, finds it hard to keep up with his two best friends as they leave childhood behind. All of them are changing, hounded by their parents, hunted by the killer, and haunted by the “monster,” a dead thing that guards the dangerous gateway between youth and manhood. But that’s not all: shadowing the boys everywhere is Mel Herman, the mysterious and brilliant bully whose dark secrets may hold the key to their survival. As the summer burns away, these forces collide, and it will take compassion, brains, and guts for the boys to overcome their demons-and not become monsters themselves.

In this chilling and poignant debut novel, Daniel Kraus deftly explores the choices boys grapple with and the revelations that occur as they become men.

ADVANCE PRAISE:

“Beneath the terror and the thrills, there is *truth* in this haunting tale. It pierced my heart straight through.” –Lauren Myracle, ttyl and Bliss

“Has shades of A Separate Peace, Lord of the Flies, and To Kill a Mockingbird, but is utterly unique from the very first line.” –Joshua Ferris, Then We Came to the End