18 Outstanding Books for Middle School Boys (even reluctant readers)

I’ve got a pretty good eye for teenage boy reading material. Ya know, the safe kind that you’re thrilled for your kid to be reading. While I haven’t taught English to middle school boys since 2006-2008, I was much more recently a youth minister to kids ages 12-18. Currently, I am currently a literacy specialist that spends a LOT of time with books!

I swung by our local library and spoke with a librarian to get their favorite books for middle school boys. I hope you find these reviews helpful.

Not all middle school boys are reading SUPER fluently, so I also included the Lexile level.

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Choosing Just Right Books for Middle School Boys

I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but middle school boys are sort of all over the map in terms of their maturity. Some middle school boys are roughly as mature as their female counterparts, and others are still babies!

A child’s reading level, measured here by their Lexile level, complicates matters even further. Almost all books (including every book below) has an easy to find Lexile level.

Lexile scores measure the complexity of a sentence. Your child’s reading or ELAR teacher will have this information, so send an email and find out. There are also lots of charts available that correlate grade level to Lexile score.

Some 7th grade boys will have the maturity level of an upper elementary school student with the reading capabilities of a high school senior. Conversely, there are plenty of kids who are socially mature and ready for heavier topics but still struggling to read on grade level.

Kids who are socially and academically asynchronous in their development have a hard time choosing books.

That’s why some of these books that I’ve chosen may seem babyish to some and just right to others. Middle school boys are like that! At the other end of the spectrum, some books like the Hunger Games may be too violent or dark for more sensitive kids. You know your child best, so hopefully these reviews will point you in the right direction.

Hint: If you need help motivating a middle schooler to read, check out this excellent post from Imagination Soup!

I hope these books for middle school boys get you started on a grand adventure together. There’s nothing wrong with reading to your early teenager if they’ll let you! In fact, I’d call it a huge victory. Good luck, everyone!