Great Books According to My Teen & Tween Boys

We are big book people - like the "even though we've been full-time travelers for 7 years now, we still have an extensive library and can't seem to stop buying books" kind of book people. It's a crazy habit, I know, and I thought I kept it hidden pretty well, but when I heard from three friends this past week asking for our favorite book recommendations for their teens and tweens, I knew our secret was out. I also knew it was time to share that book list with all of my other friends here.

We are the Orrs, and we're addicted to good books (mostly middle-grade novels). We can't help it, nor do we want to. We've also been homeschooling for over a decade, which has made us fall in love with good books even more year after year, so I don't see an end to this habit in sight.

Even so, I have to admit something: I haven't assigned a book to either of my boys in years.

Here's why:

These kiddos love reading books so much that I don't have to assign them anything. They read because they want to. (Also, I'm pretty fond of desire-led learning too, so that might have something to do with it.)

And while I did hope and pray for this since they were babies and I certainly did my part by taking them to the library and book shop every week since they were old enough to ride in a car seat, I'm convinced they love to read because I let them read what they love.

As a result, they've become experts at choosing good books to read on their own.

And while I haven't yet organized a link to everything we love to read, here's a list of the books my boys love to read over and over again:

(copy the titles and author names below and search for them on your favorite independent bookstore’s website!)

#1 - The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini

#2 - Dragon Rider 1 and 2 by Cornelia Funke

#3 - Wings of Fire Series by Tui Sutherland

#4 - Anything written by Brandon Mull

#5 - Renegades, Arch Enemies, and SuperNova by Marissa Meyers

#6 - The Legend Series by Marie Lu

#7 - The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

#8 - Anything written by Stuart Gibbs

#9 - The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (of course)

#10 - The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

#11 - The Adventurer's Guild by Nicholas Eliopulos and Zack Loran Clark

AND, if you love audiobooks as much as we do, here are our favorite book series on Audible:

#1 - The Space Case series by Stuart Gibbs

#2 - The Masterminds Series by Gordon Korman

#3 - The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson

#4 - The Spy School Series by Stuart Gibbs

#5 - The FunJungle Series by Stuart Gibbs

#6 - The Ashtown Burials Series by ND Wilson

Want to know more about good books for teens and tweens?

Hop into the email group and shoot me a message - I have loads of other recommendations that wouldn't fit in this post. Also, check out the Read-Aloud Revival , get yourself a copy of The Read-Aloud Family, and grab an Audible membership for yourself too! (We're Platinum members, which saves us LOADS of money and keeps us in a regular stream of audiobooks for the whole family.)

What are your family's favorite books and book series?

Come over to the email group and join the discussion!

P.S. Have more questions about homeschooling?

Check out these posts for more info:

• How to Homeschool, Road-school, and Oceanschool

• The 3-Step Strategy for Successfully Homeschooling Any Subject

• Too Much Togetherness? Tips for Learning at Home

• Making a Case for Worldschooling

• A Day in the Life: Desire-Led Worldschooling with 12 and 14-year-old boys (while working from home)

• Traveling More: Could We Homeschool?

• Why Staying at Home Isn't a Waste (& How to Make It Happen)

• How to Kiss Summer Slide Goodbye for Good

Or, hop into our email group and send me a message.

I'd love to talk homeschooling with you!