# HELP! I've acquired a 14-yr-old boy. Need recommendations



## Guest (Feb 19, 2016)

Mike and I are fostering a 14-year-old boy. We've had him for two weeks now and we're finally settling into a routine. After speaking with his school teachers and counselor, one of our goals is to encourage him to read more. So I am looking for recommendations. 

His interests include Minecraft (and video games in general), building things (LEGOS, K'Nex, anything he can put together), and robots (He says he wants to build robots when he grows up). He has a short attention span, however, so anything really long and too complicated is gong to be a struggle. 

HELP!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

First thing that popped into my mind are the three (?) Johnny Maxwell books by Terry Pratchett. I believe 14 would be around the target age group of the books (IIRC Johnny is in high school -- or whatever they call its equivalent in Britain).

GoodReads series page: https://www.goodreads.com/series/40652-johnny-maxwell


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I Robot and Caves of Steel by Azimov?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41811.The_Caves_of_Steel


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

If he's into Robots I'd endorse Asimov . . . but might want to start him on some of the Robot short stories rather than jump right into _Caves of Steel _if he's not a big reader already.

He might also enjoy the Artemis Fowl books . . .

At that age my son read a lot of R.A. Salvatore books . . . . I know because they're still on his bookshelf in his room. 

And KUDOS for taking him in . . . . I know kids that age can be difficult to place and difficult to get to know because of having been bounced around.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper (I don't like the first book, but the others are good)
The Chrestomanci books by Diana Wynne Jones.
Narnia?


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2016)

Ann in Arlington said:


> If he's into Robots I'd endorse Asimov . . . but might want to start him on some of the Robot short stories rather than jump right into _Caves of Steel _if he's not a big reader already.
> 
> He might also enjoy the Artemis Fowl books . . .
> 
> ...


He's definitely not a big reader, we're going to start on shorter stuff and work it into the reward system we set up for him as part of his plan.

It's a kinship foster, so we know him (which makes it easier on him and us!). And he got Mike's game room for his bedroom. Which means it has a big flat screen and all of Mike's action figures...oh...excuse me... "collectibles" in there. The benefit of Mike being a big kid himself, I guess lol


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I stand foresquare in favor of reading, but finding something hands-on in his interest might be helpful also. Maybe building some kind of small robot kit?! I'm not savvy enough in that area to have a specific recommendation.

To tie this to reading, I know there are kindle books and paper books on tech-oriented activities for kids, and I'm sure some of them are robot-focused.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> I stand foresquare in favor of reading, but finding something hands-on in his interest might be helpful also. Maybe building some kind of small robot kit?! I'm not savvy enough in that area to have a specific recommendation.
> 
> To tie this to reading, I know there are kindle books and paper books on tech-oriented activities for kids, and I'm sure some of them are robot-focused.


or a raspberry and arduino with a how to manual to read


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

A book I absolutely loved when I was around that age and read over and over was _Run For Your Life_ by David Line. I'll see if I can find a link...

Looks like it's only available on Amazon.com secondhand: http://www.amazon.com/Run-Your-Life-David-Line/dp/0140304304/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455966831&sr=1-1&keywords=Run+for+your+life+by+david+line


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> I stand foresquare in favor of reading, but finding something hands-on in his interest might be helpful also. Maybe building some kind of small robot kit?! I'm not savvy enough in that area to have a specific recommendation.
> 
> To tie this to reading, I know there are kindle books and paper books on tech-oriented activities for kids, and I'm sure some of them are robot-focused.


Agreed . . . . a 'how to' where he gets to learn how to read follow directions would give him a skill I find sadly lacking in adults.  So much so that if I tell my clients "You sign where it says 'taxpayer' and have your wife sign where it says 'spouse', they'll still do it wrong sometimes. 

AND . . . he'll end up with something cool at the end of it!


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

There's a video game book bundle going on now at Storybundle.com. Something there may pique his interest.

https://storybundle.com/games


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

There's always Percy Jackson and Harry Potter and those you can tie into the movies. 

I'll check with my GS to see if he can remember what he was reading at that age. I'm pretty sure he was reading the Cirque du Freak series, but I know there were others before that.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Mike and I are fostering a 14-year-old boy. We've had him for two weeks now and we're finally settling into a routine. After speaking with his school teachers and counselor, one of our goals is to encourage him to read more. So I am looking for recommendations.
> 
> His interests include Minecraft (and video games in general), building things (LEGOS, K'Nex, anything he can put together), and robots (He says he wants to build robots when he grows up). He has a short attention span, however, so anything really long and too complicated is gong to be a struggle.
> 
> HELP!


Try Hachet. It's a really good book, not too long, and while it's easy enough for a ten year old to read, it's not written down to children. I read it at the same time as my son and enjoyed it just as much. If he likes that, then he can try My Side of the Mountain, and from there, lead into post apoc type survival books to keep him reading.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

After pondering, I remembered that this book features a teenage young lady heroine who is developing mad scientist superpowers and builds devices, including a small non-talking robot. Her partners in "crime" are another teenage girl and a boy with budding powers. I liked it! Wasn't so crazy about the sequel.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,209163.msg3164307.html#msg3164307

Above is a review I wrote shortly after reading it.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> After pondering, I remembered that this book features a teenage young lady heroine who is developing mad scientist superpowers and builds devices, including a small non-talking robot. Her partners in "crime" are another teenage girl and a boy with budding powers. I liked it! Wasn't so crazy about the sequel.
> 
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,209163.msg3164307.html#msg3164307
> 
> Above is a review I wrote shortly after reading it.


Claw: I am reading this series  now and really liking it. Not YA as its set in college but very well done. Probably wouldn't work for Julie but you might like


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## alawston (Jun 3, 2012)

NogDog said:


> First thing that popped into my mind are the three (?) Johnny Maxwell books by Terry Pratchett. I believe 14 would be around the target age group of the books (IIRC Johnny is in high school -- or whatever they call its equivalent in Britain).
> 
> GoodReads series page: https://www.goodreads.com/series/40652-johnny-maxwell


I'd second Pratchett in general - the Johnny Maxwell books are great, as is the Bromeliad trilogy (Truckers, Diggers, Wings). The Tiffany Aching Discworld books are also nominally aimed at younger readers. And with dozens of Discworld books after those, if he does take to them, you won't need to worry too much about what he should read next for a good couple of years after that.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

alawston said:


> I'd second Pratchett in general - the Johnny Maxwell books are great, as is the Bromeliad trilogy (Truckers, Diggers, Wings). The Tiffany Aching Discworld books are also nominally aimed at younger readers. And with dozens of Discworld books after those, if he does take to them, you won't need to worry too much about what he should read next for a good couple of years after that.


Within the Discworld milieu, _The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents_ is targeted toward the pre-adult demographic (although I enjoyed it just fine as part of the well-into-adulthood demographic).


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2016)

Thank you all for the ideas! Hopefully some of these will get his interest!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I'd also recommend John Christopher's Tripod trilogy, I read it about that age and loved it.  It is available on kindle, at about 7 dollars a book.

I may actually break down and buy them myself....


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

It's just occurred to me that he might like some Steampunk stuff as well . . . I've not read that much, but I'll see if I can't find some titles.


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## Joseph J Bailey (Jun 28, 2013)

You could try the Hitchhiker's Guide for something different. At that age I was reading Terry Brooks and Raymond E. Feist. As others have said, Discworld is light and fun.

Honestly though, it was Tolkien that got me into reading (LotR then the Hobbit).

You could also try popularizations of movies and games he likes.

Another option would be to try graphic novel conversations of popular novels to ease him in, build confidence, and interest. My daughter loves to read but only in short bursts. Having pictures available helps break things up and gives her images to explore and think about (I know there is a new version of the Hobbit out with lots of pictures).

Good luck!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The puns in Anthony's _Xanth_ novels are pretty funny for a young teen . . . . I think they're on Kindle . . . . no robots, though.


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## 67499 (Feb 4, 2013)

I'm still a 14-year old boy and the book I grab for those awful transatlantic flights or anytime I want to escape the world is _The Oxford Book of Adventure Stories_ edited by Joseph Bristow. Short stories by Poe, Rider Haggard, Kipling, Jack London, more. Nothing better when you are or want to be a kid. (Don't be put off by the current awful cover linked below. The original cover, full of fighting pirates, was great.)


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

This was pretty good, the protagonist was a robot/powersuit maker
"Being a supervillain means never having to say you're sorry &#8230; Unless it's to the judge or the parole board. Even then, you don't really have to. It's not like it's going to change the outcome or anything."

Those are the words of Calvin Matthew Stringel, better known as Mechani-Cal. He's a sarcastic, down on his luck armored villain. Follow his exploits as he gets swept up in a world domination scheme gone wrong and ends up working for this weak willed, mercy loving heroes. Immerse yourself in his epic battles and see what it's like to be an outsider looking in at a world that few have ever experienced.

Climb into Cal's battlesuit and join him on his journey. Will he avoid selling out his principles for a paycheck and a pardon? Can he resist the camaraderie of being on a super team? Does he fall prey to the ample charms of the beautiful Olympian Aphrodite? How will he survive the jealous schemes of Ultraweapon, who wears armor so powerful it makes Cal's look like a museum piece?

See the world of "righteous do-gooders" through the eyes of someone who doesn't particularly care for them.

And remember - Losing an argument with a group of rioters isn't a good excuse to start lobbing tear gas indiscriminately at them. You've only got so many rounds and it's going to be a long day, so make sure you get as many as possible with each one.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

I would suggest trying some sci-fi short story anthologies; and I ditto the Asimov suggestions. I remember Jules Verne being a fun read at that age as well. And Rod Serling's Twilight Zone shorts always pulled me into the narrative and kept me enthralled.


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## German_Translator (Jul 26, 2015)

You might ask him which particular video games he likes, as there are quite a few novels set in video game worlds, such as _World of Warcraft_.

http://wow.gamepedia.com/Novels


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## ShellPresto (Mar 1, 2016)

"Who Fears the Devil" by Manly Wade Wellman is a collection of short stories about "Silver" John, a guitarist with a healthy heaping of mystical knowledge traveling to odd places and small towns along the Appalachians. They're written in a first-person, story-telling manner, so they're easy to read, but entertaining for all ages. Silver John encounters all sorts of eerie things, from spirits locked in objects, to psychic projectionists, to strange monsters and creatures. Although the stories can be creepy or chilling, they aren't gory; they were written in simpler times. 

There's an ebook edition available on the kindle, and amazon stocks the old, vintage editions. Paizo publishing recently put out a new, illustrated paperback collection of the stories as well, but that's not available on Amazon.


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## ShellPresto (Mar 1, 2016)

After some more time to think about it:

Grimm's Fairy Tales are short and interesting. Boys may have a knee-jerk reaction to think they're for girls, but they often have bizarre magic or adventure that appeals to boys, and some of the endings you don't see in the Disney movies appeal to that slight hint of creepiness or 'ew' factor that boys look for in stories. Because nothing says "I want to marry Prince Charming" like cutting your toe off to fit in a shoe.
http://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Complete-Fairy-Tales-Jacob/dp/1607103133/

Also, comic books are a great idea for kids who want to read. I read them voraciously as a teen. I recommend if you go with Marvel and DC to go for older comics, both because they traditionally had more words in them, and also because newer ones are very scattershot with what they put in them. I've read recent comics where Doc Ock took over Spider-Man's body and... uhm... had a private moment with himself thinking about Mary Jane. Or the new Batgirl, in which she gets so drunk she can't remember even meeting a boy she was making out with at a party.

If you do want a modern comic that is great for all ages (it's my favorite right now, and I'm 32), and is all about a nuclear-powered robot, I recommend Atomic Robo. The graphic novels can be read in any order. They're action-packed, full of adventure, often funny, angst-free, and often incorporate historical figures (like Nikola Tesla and H. P. Lovecraft) and settings (such as the world wars) into the stories. And dinosaurs.
This one is my personal favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Robo-Vol-Other-Strangeness/dp/0980930286/
You can find others by searching for 'Atomic Robo.'

And if he's interested in Marvel or DC comics and you want to know a story/graphic novel that's "safer" to buy, just let me know which heroes he likes and I'll be happy to point some out to you.


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

You might try the Tintin graphic novels. Those are quick and fun.

What about the Artemis Fowl books? Pretty funny, some magic, some science, and flatulent dwarves. If he shows interest in fantasy, I recommend Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles for his age.

Maybe some of the Doug Tennapel graphic novels (NOT Black Cherry... he writes some that are adult-ish), such as Escape from the Lizzarks or Cardboard.

http://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Doug-TenNapel-ebook/dp/B00D3PYLCW/


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2016)

A semi-win: he's joining his school's comic book club as an extracurricular activity. I'll take it!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Christopher Bunn said:


> You might try the Tintin graphic novels. Those are quick and fun.


 I heartily endorse Tintin, though he may find them dated.


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## SophieStern (Mar 7, 2015)

There are a lot of Minecraft freebie reads on Kindle these days. My kids just devour those. He may also like some old-school Choose Your Own Adventure books! There are several robot ones in the series. 

My kids also really love The Boxcar Children and The Hardy Boys. Right now they're reading Encyclopedia Brown and love it.


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## Fergusanthony (Mar 9, 2016)

The Hitchhiker's Trilogy is always good. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic. Detective stories can be a great way to get kids reading. What do his friends read? It might be useful to look at that so he has someone to talk books with. There's a book by Russell Banks called Rule of the Bone. It's about a sixteen-year-old boy from a Trailer Park who goes looking for his father. Although parts of it might be a little grown up for him.


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## Blique (Apr 1, 2016)

The Lunar Chronicles is quite nice. It features a ton of robots, and the protagonist is a cyborg mechanic.

If he likes comic books, then I definitely recommend getting him interested in manga, if he isn't already. He might like Fullmetal Alchemist, since the plot concept is building things with alchemy. The Yu-Gi-Oh manga is almost completely unrelated to the popular card game based off of it, at least for the first several volumes; instead, it's all about the protagonists playing different kinds of games with life-or-death stakes, and it's very intriguing. I can't think of many manga with robots unfortunately, so I'll just recommend some good ones in his demographic:

Assassination Classroom - action comedy

Hikaru no Go - slice of life and games

Bloody Monday - teenage hacker vs terrorist plot

Death Note - antihero playing god

A Silent Voice - slice of life about deafness and bullying

Horimiya - slice of life comedy


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## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

Try Brandon Mull.  His Fablehaven books are fabulous, and all the rest of his books are good, too.

Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz books (if your foster son is into snarky humor) would be perfect for his age group, too.

Robert Heinlein's juveniles are great adventures.  Most of them don't have robots, though.  Isaac Asimov's books, of course.

Oh!  Artemis Fowl is a great recommendation!

I read a series a few years ago called Mars Diaries that was pretty good.  It's Christian science fiction (so I'm not sure if that's a positive or a negative for you), and it's about a boy in a wheelchair who is wired to be able to control a robot with his mind.  There are science fiction adventures and mysteries.  He lives on Mars.  I quite liked it.  I gave a copy to my twelve-year-old brother, and he LOVED the series.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm loving this thread.  Learning a lot.  KBoards members are the best!

Betsy


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## Guest (Apr 1, 2016)

SophieStern said:


> There are a lot of Minecraft freebie reads on Kindle these days. My kids just devour those. He may also like some old-school Choose Your Own Adventure books! There are several robot ones in the series.
> 
> My kids also really love The Boxcar Children and The Hardy Boys. Right now they're reading Encyclopedia Brown and love it.


You know the Minecraft books hadn't even occurred to me. I've actually seen them in the past and forgotten about them. I just went and downloaded a dozen of the freebies for him.


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## The Hologram Library (Jul 10, 2016)

https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Jack-Brian-Falkner/dp/0375843671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469650014&sr=8-1&keywords=brain+jack

This is a long book but it grabs the reader's attention quickly and is about computer coding, A.I and hacking (some black hat, but mostly white). For someone into robots and Minecraft, especially a boy, I think he might like it. Anyways I hope he does. 
Best of luck and I hope with all the great recommendations on this thread you find something that turns him into a regular old Bibliophile.


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## SerenityEditing (May 3, 2016)

My son - not a reader despite my best efforts - really enjoyed Hatchet, which someone else mentioned earlier. The only other books he was ever really interested in were the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, though that doesn't sound up your guy's alley. 

I also second the graphic novel/comic books suggestions. I don't enjoy them myself (not even Neil Gaiman's, and I adore almost everything else he's written) but they're less intimidating for people who aren't into reading, and often have very serious, thought-provoking themes/situations.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

My humor/snarky answer: Tranquilizer gun. And if there are any darts left over, you can use them on the kid! 

More serious answer:

We, here, are all a bunch of readers. But not everyone is. My brother has dyslexia, and he hated reading until he was well past middle-aged. As child, I hated reading until I found a book that absolutely connected with my soul-thereafter I became a rabid reader. In that light, it is highly likely that he may need find something in a book that speaks to him before he is going to discover reading.

The classics bored me to tears. In fact, it was because of the classics and other stories that were geared towards "learning to read," that I hated reading so much so early on. It wasn't until I was eight or nine-years-old that I came across my first science fiction book---a _Tom Swift Jr._ novel---where I discovered there were actually stories that combined science with adventure.

Graphic novels are an excellent way for people who have difficulty with reading to jumpstart their ability to read. The images help them assemble the mental image of the novel and attribute the dialogue to the characters. That's why I did so well with the Tom Swift series, because the occasional images embedded in the narrative helped me construct the mental image of what I was reading. After reading a bunch of them, I was able to do it on my own. Once that happened, I was able to successfully make the jump into full narrative prose without the need for pictures.

Tom Swift Jr. might be a bit beneath him at 14. But it still might be worth a look. I would suggest the novel _Dragonworld_ by Byron Preiss and Michael Reaves. It's an illustrated novel that has a sophisticated storyline. More importantly, _Dragonworld_ features a protagonist who is a bit of an outcast and misunderstood by others and does his work in isolation. That might speak strongly to a 14-year-old who is having some difficulty in life.

Other books with outcast/isolated/introverted main characters. People who don't feel like they fit in or belong:

_A Wrinkle in Time_ -- Need I say more? While the protagonist is a girl, she is his age and going through similar issues. She learns to connect with the other characters, even though she can't really do the things they are doing.
_Escape to Witch Mountain_ -- Feeling different from everyone else and having problems with fitting in? This is the story for you. I read this after I saw the 1975 movie. I felt the book was better because I was better able to get into the characters. This story really struck a chord with me, feeling like I was different from everyone else. It turned out, that the author, Alexander Key, wrote another book that really stuck with me early on. It was one of the first books I read stepping away from the Tom Swift series:
_The Forgotten Door_ -- Jon is the perfect outcast. He doesn't fit in. He knows he doesn't belong here. But he can't remember where he is supposed to be. All he knows is he has to find that place whence he came.

All these titles feature characters who don't fit in. Who "don't belong." Outcasts. They also look at the escape from where they feel they don't belong and finding that place where they do belong, where they fit in and are like the others. These books may speak to him.

Now, let's get away from books for a moment.

One of the issues with people who have a short attention span (ADHD) is getting them to focus on one thing. Working with one's hands is a good way to develop this kind of focus, which is why so many dyslexic and ADHD sufferers tend to work with their hands.

Lego MindStorms, while expensive, is one of the best things available to learn how to build and program robots. If he wants to go a little deeper, try getting him interested in an Arduino. There are a lot of good beginner's kits at Maker Shed that won't break your budget. It's one thing to build a robot, but an Arduino can give that robot senses and a brain. (An Arduino is an open-source micro controller board, that takes commands and activates external devices based on those commands.)

This leads to programming, which is extremely close to creative writing in how it engages the brain. You have to write simple programs so the Arduino knows what to do when it receives input. Trust me, when he can make things do things, his mind will light up. You may want to clear an area in the garage or the basement that he can use as a workshop.

Have him read up on Dr. Mark Tilden. Some of the most lifelike (and creepy) robots use the simple technology he created: the _nervous net_ (as opposed to neural net). These are really easy robots to build.

Music is another place to turn to. It also works as a channel to express emotion and to vent that emotion whether negative or positive, without embarrassing themselves.

A lot of kids turn to guitars, imagining a career as a rock star. Guitars are easy to do solo, not requiring band or structured music programs. It's easy to learn chords so you can strum a tune. A lot of kids want an electric guitar, because it is easy to get a broad range of sound out of them without much effort. An acoustic guitar is the better choice to start with. It is portable, requires no electricity, and it will force him to learn to actually play. Have him listen to some classical guitar where the notes are actually played, not chords strummed. Then have him listen to Eddy Van Halen and Joe Sitriani. If he can start playing like that, then get him that electric guitar.

The clarinet is a mistake. A lot of kids choose the clarinet because it is small and easy to hold. The problem is, it is one of the more complicated woodwind instruments to learn to play, because one must develop the proper technique in order to get the proper sound out of it. It also highlights one of the problems with many school music programs: once a kid starts on an instrument, they are stuck with it. They are made to learn to play that instrument until their ears bleed. It is like being told by the Sorting Hat that you are going to Slytherin when you really wanted Hufflepuff. Good music programs will let the kids mess around with different instruments until they settle on one they like.

I got stuck with the saxophone that way. Not that I don't enjoy playing the "E-flat Sewer Flute"---the sax is a really soulful instrument to play when done right. But I was told to take the saxophone, because I had long fingers and hands and that made me better suited for that instrument. It wasn't until high school when I had the chance to try out different instruments. I went on to teach myself the oboe, baritone, violin, and a few others. I still would like to learn the trombone and the flute, just to round out the sound. I'd really like to learn the Cello.

Have him listen to music that features the different instruments played well and see if there is a sound he'd like to pursue.


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## SerenityEditing (May 3, 2016)

WDR said:


> ..._The Forgotten Door_ -- Jon is the perfect outcast. He doesn't fit in. He knows he doesn't belong here. But he can't remember where he is supposed to be. All he knows is he has to find that place whence he came.


Is it bad form to jump through the computer, grab you, and plant a big ol' smoochy kiss square on your face?

This was one of my favorite. books. *ever.* My mom threw it away in a move and over time I forgot about it; every now and then something will remind me and I'll think, _Didn't I read a book once about... something... falling... can you fall TO a planet? No, that can't be right,_ and chalk it up to just another one of my weird dreams.

OMG. So excited. I wish I had time to read right now!!!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

WDR said:


> Then have him listen to Eddy Van Halen and Joe Sitriani. If he can start playing like that, then get him that electric guitar. call an agent to sign a contract with Sony Music...


Fixed that part for you....


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Fixed that part for you....


ROTFLMAO!!


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## Ros_Jackson (Jan 11, 2014)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> A semi-win: he's joining his school's comic book club as an extracurricular activity. I'll take it!


I was about to suggest graphic novels. My son laps up the Walking Dead series, as well as anything Marvel, DC and Star Wars. The only one I can think of that specifically has robots is the Saga series, which is definitely for adults which might not go down to well with your fostering board.


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## JE_Owen (Feb 22, 2015)

Yay comic books! A gateway drug  If not, at least he's reading and absorbing story. I know this thread is a couple months old but I wanted to throw in my two cents, repping the YA 

For an awesome, suspenseful, _modern_, page-turning novel with a male teen protagonist, I highly recommend _Incarceron_ by Catherine Fisher, and its sequel, _Sapphique._ Gorgeously written BUT with action, angst, machines, grit, adventure, oh my gosh I need to reread those books...

If you're starting out with books at a super readable level but still with action, coming of age and adventure stuff, the Ranger's Apprentice series has been sucking in kids of both genders. The protag starts out young but grows as the story progresses, of course. Might be slightly outside your guy's sphere of interest, but running around in the woods and survival and fighting stories are always fun amiright?


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