Little Brother discussion

I run a book group for boys aged 12 - 13. Little Brother is a PERFECT book for them. But, some of the parents (me included), think that think it might be early to introduce some things for these kids (most specifically, some details in the relationship with Ange.

Still, the technology at the center of the fight, the fight itself, the heroes questionable positions, and the pacing are perfect for this gang.

So, can I ask you for some help. If I can't do "Little Brother" with these guys, is there something else you would recommend?

Thanks!

How about Robert A. Heinlein's Red Planet? It was one of the first SF books I read as a boy. Heinlein's YA books are excellent. Personally, I would not be a happy camper if my son was that age and read Little Brother.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out. I was thinking of various Heinlein books: Farmer in the Sky, Citizen of the Galaxy, Starman Jones. They had all of the energy that I remember of his books. But, they felt a little dated, enough so that I wasn't sure the kids would get into it.

But, he's such a good writer, there has to be something there. I was going to reread The Puppet Masters.

We settled on Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan for now.

You're welcome, any Heinlein YA works for me. Tunnel in the Sky is another good one.

Gotta try Vonnegut one day, I haven't gotten to him yet.

No. I try to pick books that are smart, have ideas worth discussing, and that the kids would love. It's all boys boys. That leads to lots of fantasy, SF, and action. We are doing lots of SF this year because we were doing, until recently, dystopian novels.

Ender's Game is pretty good, but i would skip the sequels.
For The Win is probably a better choice for a Cory Doctorow book with kid's that age.
The Maze Runner I would think is a perfect one for boys.

The sex stuff in Little Brother is pretty mild. In my Swedish liberal mind any ways=P

If not Doctorow, then what? Gibson. William Gibson. He covers much of the same ground, but he can write.

If not little brother, what, you ask?
why, then it would be older brother. Or perhaps younger sister, or maybe even older sister.

Paul wrote: "If not Doctorow, then what? Gibson. William Gibson. He covers much of the same ground, but he can write."

That's very subjective thing to say. I only read Neuromancer by Gibson and it bored me so much I don't feel like giving him another chance yet. I read most of Doctorow's prose and while I didn't like everything, some of the stories are among my favorites. I didn't dislike Little Brother, but I wished I could read it as a teenager, because I'm curious how I would react then.

I'd like to suggest The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer but I wouldn't vouch that there aren't some controversial passages there too.

The Diamond Age is an excellent book, best read after Oliver Twist in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend either to 12-13 year old boys, though. For the controversy you speak of, and boredom at that age with Dickens, who is best read at a more mature age when he can be properly appreciated.

I'll recommend Heinlein's YA books again for this particular reason: I recently listened to Red Planet and Tunnel in the Sky and quit both of them before finishing. Neither held up to my adoring memories of reading them as a youth. Heinlein likes to wax philosophical in his writing with ideas that are tiresome at times to a 40 year old like me who has heard such ideas hashed out ad nauseam. However, to kids, it can be a good way to give them a good story that gives them some food for thought and nudges them towards some critical thinking, also providing some topics for group discussion. Heinlein's YA is quite safe content-wise for 12-13 year olds.

Scot Westerfeld might be a good alternative. His Uglies series might suit for those wanting a dystopian novel while his Leviathan series would appeal for those who like something a bit more fantastic and steampunk.

I'll co-sign Uglies. It's a fantastic series that doesn't get too into the sexual relationships.

That said middle school is when I had sex ed. There's about the age group and they would find the character much much more relateable than a bunch of girls trying to become "Pretties" (literally).

I do like Ender's Game but there is a scene of racial slurs in that which might be an even bumpier road to go over than the sex stuff.

If you wanted to skip to Homeland the sequel. That's less objectionable than Little Brother and covers the same details. I just think the relevance is strong in LB. Homeland is more story.. and Doctorow isn't "great" at story.

You could throw down with some classics. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Asimov's The Caves of Steel. It's a mystery book but it's all about Robots and Murder (without having the grisly violence all over the page) it's about technology and the future. It's just less immediate than LB. Actually now that I think about it TCoS fits perfectly. it's a beautifully written. Relatable characters and subjects for teenage boys.

C.S. Lewis wrote a Sci Fi trilogy, the first of which is Out of the Silent Planet. I found it to be remarkable and completely imaginative.

I absolutely loved "Little Brother" but I do think it's a bit much for 12 - 13 crowd, not only because of the sex but also because of the terrifying nature of the story. Wish I had a good recommendation but I don't. If I knew what 12 - 13 year old boys wanted to read, I'd be a much more popular auntie.