i've had it with that freaking middle school. oliver's in 6th grade and he has gone from a happy, vibrant kid who loves to learn to a very unhappy, unmotivated boy. i've been to the school and met with his teachers and counselors twice and they cannot seem to help him so starting today he's going to an alternative school.

he was spending a lot of time coloring handouts and doing math he did in 3rd and 4th grade. one teacher spends an overly zealous amount of time accusing the kids of forging parent's signatures (she did this to him the first week) and making them retake tests because she's sure they are all cheating. she admitted to thinking he was a troublemaker because of his long hair but has since changed her mind.

the bottom line is he has been bored out of his skull and retreating in to his own little world. i know the breakup has been hard on him and his hormones are kicking in (his voice is getting frighteningly deep and i don't even want to talk about his facial hair) and all that has not helped.

he attended the new place on friday and today and he is so f'ing happy with it. so other than venting, i am calling on the collective obnish wisdom to help me create a reading list for his english class. he wants to read books about the future and/or future societies. so far we have:

- farenheit 451
- animal farm
- brave new world
- hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

other possibilities may be:
- lord of the flies
- 1984

i need a list of 8 books and they can't be "trashy." are there any--particularly, contemporary authors/books you might recommend? this is not my genre at all and i'm a little stuck. thank you in advance for contributing to my son's (and our family's) sanity.

How about....

Catcher In The Rye
Of Mice And Men
The Great Gatsby
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Pearl

Grab some Isaac Asimov short stories too - maybe "I, Robot"

Slaughterhouse 5
The Autobiography of Malcom X
Catch-22 (although it may go a bit over his head?)
Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I second:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Catcher In the Rye

you guys sure these books arent a little advanced for a 6th grader? i mean, i read 1984, a canticle for leibowitz (a good recommendation too) and fahrenheit 451 in grade 8. i had better reading skills than pretty much anyone else in my grade (i know because there were only maybe 50 kids), and for me, i was pushing it with my skills. are you sure he's that advanced already?

I don't see why not. He's gotta be at least 11 or 12 so these books are fine. They may be a bit challenging but I'm sure he'll approach it with determination. Of course, I'm only saying that cause I know his mother and she's quite a fesity one.

he was reading at a 12th grade level in 4th grade so he's bright but i have to think about his maturity level. he started farenheit 451 over the weekend and likes it a lot. i think 1984, lord of the flies and slaughterhouse five are all great books but i think he'll appreciate the messages they have to offer more in a few years.

again, great books suggested but the theme is societies/future societies.

a third To Kill A Mockingbird (which I did in 7th or 8th grade)

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game

I read these in 7th grade:
the human comedy - william saroyan
the cay - theodore taylor

8th grade:
a separate peace - john knowles
in our time - ernest hemingway

Feed by MT Anderson.

Possibly a bit advanced for 6th grade, but if he's motivated and intelligent, which it sounds as if he is, I think he (and you) would enjoy it.

I second the recommend for A Canticle For Leibowitz. Great book.

He might like books like A Handmaid's Tale, The Lathe Of Heaven and Ecotopia, too.

And you can't really go wrong with classics like The Time Machine

Here's a link to some more information about Feed:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 69-1426441

Definitely:

"A Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke

Very simple, concisely/well-written sci-fi, about what exactly you'd better ask someone else, but I loved it and I reckon Oliver will too.

To Kill A Mockingbird is the best book ever.

Sketch's suggestion of Ender's Game is very good. Sounds perfect for his situation, actually.

Another good one I read about that page is the White Mountains. Can't remember the author. It's the first book in the Tripod trilogy.

EDIT: John Christopher wrote The White Mountains. Also, speaking of tripods, what about War of the Worlds?

Aces on TKAMB

I'd also recommend "Shane" and "The Red Pony". 6th grade may be a tad early for the likes of "Brave New World", "Lord of the Flies", and "Animal Farm".

You may want to give Ayn Rand's "Anthem" a try. It's relatively short, and very easy to follow.

Asimov's stuff should work well, too. He was a truly gifted writer.

H.G. Wells and Jules Verve work well at that age, too.

There's an excellent book called "Walkabout", the author's name escapes me, that has the kids stranded alone after a plane wreck motif that "Lord of the Flies" has, but it skips all the nasty human nature parts.

Good luck, and congrats/respect for taking an active role in your child's education. Sounds like he'll thrive.

A Clockwork Orange-Anthony Burgess

Earth Abides-George R. Stewart

The Dispossessed-Ursula LeGuin

"Brave New World" and "Catcher in the Rye" were the only books I actually read in their entirety throughout high school. They were so different from anything else I was forced to read and they fascinated me to no end.

Also, I was given the chance to read Lord of the Rings but unfortunately shrugged it off during my freshman year. It wasn't until the movies came out that I realized that I should have actually read it. There's just something about being forced to a read a story that can turn me off from it, not matter how good it might be.

It's all about what the next step for humanity might be. What must occur for us to reach this next level and how our next evolution may mean us becoming something not quite human.

Roots and Queen. I read those in eighth grade, and loved them. Great stories. Also, my first exposure to the practice of Islam -- at least as applies to West Africa (probably some pre-Moorish tribal influence there) --, and corruption [sic] of the races (erm, I did know one mulatto in elementary, but he, like so many in my second thru fifth grades, was a prick, and I didn't want to tar all bi- or multi-coloureds with that one brush of the Frost family).

just keep him away from "go ask alice" and you will be ok.

Prolly won't need to read "Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret", either.

Unless, of course, he wants to play brass in a ska-punk-pop band. I recall that on the bios included with a Tiger Meat Magazine split-seven-inch with Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger that one of the horns put that down as his favorite book.

Also, the RBF novelty single, "She's got a girlfriend now", would probably be nice for the boy to hear. It would remind him of ayah. Har har.

I third Sketch's recommendation for Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Might I humbly suggest some Robert A. Heinlein such as, Citizen of The Galaxy, Starman Jones, Farmer in The Sky, Have Space-Suit Will Travel.

His juvenile novels are great stories. His adult novels are classics, but adult. The above are some of my favorites from when i was his age.

alexander puskin

You're such an ubermensch.

Not for nuttin but I liked these around that age:

To kill a Mockingbird (great suggestion so I'll 8th it or whatever)
The Time Machine- HG Wells
Jules Verne- Mysterious Island (not really futuristic but definitely sci fi, kind of futuristic I guess because of the Nemo sub.)