Reading for Momma and Son

Lord of the Rings is good, and so is "The Hobbit". By Tolkien
All the Narnia books are good for all ages.
Disc World books (there are a lot of them). By Terry Pratchett.
I've always liked "The Phantom Tollbooth".
The MYTH Inc Link books are very punny and lot's of fun to read. By Robert Aspirin.
There are 8 Shanara books that are on the AR Readers lists. My son is reading that series now.
The Belgariad (5 books) and The Malloreon (5 books) series are good, too. By Eddings.
The Ranger's Apprentice series, etc.
39 Clues are ok, but might be a bit too easy.
Anything by Douglas Adams is very good. (I loved Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).
There are too many good books to list!

My kids and I really enjoyed "Hatchet". "Holes" is another good one or anything else by that author is usually good. Start reading the newberry award books- they are usually really good. My kids also really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series.
have fun! I think you are doing a great job! my (almost)7 year old was really struggling with reading this year- I had him read the magic tree house books with me- and he has improved a lot! His reading level went from below grade level to one above grade level in 6 weeks! So, great job with your son!
~C.

for your son:

The Thief Lord
Inkheart series
The Hunger Games series
books by Chris Crutcher
some older standbys, such as Lord of the Flies, The Chocolate Wars, A Separate Peace. these books, and others like them, tend to be viewed as "school reading" books, but they all have male characters as the protaganist, and are very good stories. they focus on some type of struggle that most early teenage boys can relate to, even if the situation is a bit out of the ordinary.

for you:
if you like Twilight, try the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series. they are the "adult" version, and IMHO, a better storyline. these are the books that the HBO series True Blood is based on.
if you're in to chic-lit/fiction, try books from Jennifer Weiner, Jennifer Crusie, Sophie Kinsella, Ceclia Ahern, Katie Fforde.
if you like more substance with your books, check out The Thirteenth Tale, The Tale of Halycon Crane, books from Lori Lansens, Elizabeth Kostova. i also recommend The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Little Book.
if you like thriller/procedural/lawyer/cop type stuff, books from Lisa Jackson, Nelson DeMille, Patricia Cornwall, and Richard North Patterson are good bets. oh, James Patterson also.

two more thoughts for you: check out this website, www.goodreads.com it's a site devoted to ideas for reading and discussing what you read. you join, just like here, and you can browse book lists, track what you read, make recommendations, review books, and join book groups. it's an awesome site.

secondly, see if your local library gets the publication BookPages. if not, go to www.bookpage.com This is another great resource, it previews new and upcoming books, but not just from the NYT Bestseller lists. it covers all genres, including YAL and childrens.

sorry if that's a bit much, i'm a voracious reader, and have tons of suggestions and thoughts on the topic. plus, i'm an english teacher by training, so it's a bit hard to escape.

Happy Reading!

The Young Adult section at your library has thousands of books. Just go in and grab a bunch. Ask the librarian - she knows what kids like. She sees what goes in and out. She hears the comments. Same with your school librarian. You need to ask them.
The Inkheart series was great.
The Hunger Games series is terrific.
The Thief Lord was fun...
There are sooo many great books for that age!
Enjoy
LBC

Definitely tired of the snow:

The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien), if you have already read it together, The Lord of The Rings trilogy

John Christopher's Tripods Trilogy (1967) - LOVED these at that age. This story of three boys pitted against the sinister overlords who have run Earth for more than a century explores subversive ideas about propaganda and totalitarian systems of government, the confusing interplay between adolescent ideals and the compromises of the grown-up world, and even the ethical nuances of the relationship between pets and their 'owners.'

Robert Heinlein (you need to look through them, some are very YA appropriate, some are more adult)

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Madeleine L'Engle's A Ring Of Endless Light (1980) and The Arm of the Starfish (1965). I think a Wrinkle in Time is her best, but may be just a little on the young side.

If he likes sci-fi and fantasy my husband (and now 12 yr. old nephew) love the Dragonlance books. They come in paperback and usually are about the size of the average romance novel (not too intimidating like the Harry Potter books... they are HUGE!) Plus- there's a million of these Dragonlance series books, so if he likes them he will never run out.

Good luck!
and- yes, I am SO over the snow... I just moved here last year from Florida and I am not used to the weather being such a factor in everything I do!

Depends on what his reading level is right now. Obviously, you want to get him up to grade level, but it's important to get him reading something he CAN do on his own as he builds the habit and routine of it.

The Hardy Boys books are great because they are about teenaged boys but written at a slightly lower reading level. I read them out loud to my son (5) and there is a lot he doesn't understand, but he still gets really into the mystery. Also nice because it's a series, but unlike Harry Potter, he could read them all this year without them getting too difficult for him.

HTH
T.

I'd talk to your sons teacher and find out what all the other boys his age like to read, she/he would be your best bet for some good ideas as she would let you know what some of the "preferred" reading is as well.

For your son, I agree with the Mom's that said the Percy Jackson series and by the same author (Riordan), the Kane Chronicles, so far the only book written is The Red Pyramid. Initially he'll probably need a dictionary by his side for either series, Percy Jackson deals with Greek mythology and gods, The Red Pyramid with Egyption ones (I don't want to scare you off, it's just to get used to the pronunciation of some of the names). Both have kids humor interjected into all the drama.

For you, you could try the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, this is a trilogy and is very good, it may take a little while to get into the first book, but I enjoyed them. Also, a friend of mine LOVES The Art of Racing in the Rain, I just took this out of our library, but haven't read it yet.

My kids loved the Percy Jackson series.