The Tripod trilogy by John Christopher:
1. The White Mountains
2. The City of Gold and Lead
3. The Pool of Fire
Is great for a tween. It's sci-fi with aliens and kids trying to escape from them in a post-apocalyptic world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tripods

"The Dragonlance Chronicles" a trilogy (and subsequent billions of later books) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman:
1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight
2. Dragons of Winter Night
3. Dragons of Spring Dawning
are also fantastic. They're Dungeons & Dragons based, so wizards and dragons and stuff, but in a really great setting. Terrific writing.

I recommend "The Dark is Rising" series, by Susan Cooper. Part mystery, part fantasy, really fun to read & sure to spark interest in learning more about the legends & mythologies presented in series.

I was (am) a big reader of sci-fi and fantasy as a young teen too! I'm not a boy, but many books I read starred boys and I think our reading tastes would have intersected nicely. I picked up a lot of random books while browsing in the library, so I'll try my best to remember authors.

I admit some of my recommendations might run a little young -- when I was 12, I wasn't really obsessed with adult content, and easily got into stuff that was just a little younger.

Sharon Stewart's Minstrel Boy: http://www.amazon.ca/Minstrel-Boy-Sharon-Stewart/dp/0929141547/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285600309&sr=8-1

Lloyd Alexander leaned more towards children, but I enjoyed some of his more whimsical novels, like Time Cat and the Cat Who Wanted to be a Man.

Diana Wynne-Jones is kind of fantastic all around -- another big fantasy writer. Jane Yolen is another huge name. Sorry I can't name specific books (as it's been a while) but a quick Wiki check for their most feted books will probably be a good bet.

Good luck!

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Leguin-- The Beginning Place and Very Far Away From Anywhere Else are also good. The latter is specifically written from the point of view of an awkward teenage boy.

The Dark Is Rising Series by Susan Cooper. Chock full of great mythological details, centering on the experience of an 11 year old boy, and overall great literature for kids.

The Hunger Games Series (I am at the moment unable to recall the author, but the books are immensely popular and the first two, which I have read, are quite good.)

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix. I cannot recommend this series enough. It is one of the best ya series to have been written in recent years in my opinion. I would avoid Nix's other work, though, as it is not nearly so well-imagined.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Even if your nephew has seen the movies, the books themselves contain quite a bit more interesting material and are completely rewarding.

His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman. The protagonist of these novels is a girl, but there is nothing stereotypically "girly" about the books, and the last two include a second protagonist, who is a boy about your nephew's age.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman. This book is snarky, hilarious, and thoroughly entertaining.

A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels (A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet) by Madeline L'Engle.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Virtually anything by Charles de Lint is a likely starter--he writes urban fantasy with a traditional mythological basis. (Lots of Celtic and Native American mythology.) I recently particularly enjoyed The Blue Girl.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. This is more sci fi than fantasy. It focuses on the experiences of a young boy and his companions in a rather bleak future.

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King focuses almost entirely upon young male characters and is, unusually for King, appropriate for young teens.

All of the many Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle are also pretty awesome, but it would probably be helpful to be able to discuss themes of class, race, and sex with your nephew if he is going to be reading them. Bonus: these are all in the public domain and can be found for free at many locations on the internet.

Watership Down by Richard Adams is another great book for youngsters.

The books listed above vary quite a bit in difficulty, so you may need to do a quick scan and see if specific novels are within your nephew's reading ability. It is probably the case, however, that if he is a reader he reads quite a bit above grade level, in which case he ought to be able handle all of the above.

You might also seek a copy of the latest issue of Batman Confidential. I understand the issue due out this week, 10/6/2010 is a particularly good one-shot mystery story that revolves around Batman's Detective abilitities more than super-heroics. A good friend of mine wrote it and sold it to DC Comics.

My stepsons loved the Shannara stuff by Terry Brooks at that age.

For free online books, many libraries now have downloadable e-books that can be checked out for several weeks. King County Public Library has quite a nice collection, and the e-books can be read on PC, Mac, Blackberry, iPhone, and many other devices.

If he hasn't already read them:

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien

The Belgariad by David Eddings

The Chronicles of Narnia (At least the first few) by CS Lewis

If he is an advanced reader you might also have him try:

Mr Norell and Jonathan Strange by Susana Clarke

"His Dark Materials" is Pullman's trilogy of "The Golden Compass", "Subtle Knife" and "Amber Spyglass".

Percy Jackson 5-book series starting with "The Lightning Thief".

Hi I write action-adventures & mystereis for readers 8 and up, especially boys.

Max Elliot Anderson

Author Web Site http://www.maxbooks.9k.com

Books For Boys Blog http://booksandboys.blogspot.com