Gift ideas for tween and teen boys and girls

[Leewei]

Dear hivemind,

Looks like I've gotten some Christmas shopping left to do for nieces and nephews. Instead of giving them loaves of fruitcake, I'm leaning more toward books, comic books, or similar things. Does anyone have ideas for good presents around $20?

Thanks in advance!

[Corlindale]

I really like the Fablehaven books by Brandon Mull, they have a very Harry Potter-esque style and I thoroughly enjoyed them when I read them last year. Tweens and young teens are probably the target audience (main characters are 10 and 13 in book 1), but even at 28 I absolutely loved them. I'm gifting them to my sister this year, who is 13.

[DoctorFaust]

The Skullduggery Pleasant books might be worth looking into as well if they like things like Harry Potter.

[Knaight]

Do you have any idea what genre preferences there are, how they read compared to grade level (there are 12 year olds I'd stick to YA with and 12 year olds where I'd be breaking out fiction intended for adults*), and just that sort of thing in general. Better yet, do you know if they currently have part of a series that you could give another book in?

The price limit isn't much of an issue here; even a new paperback is generally under $20 and depending on what used book stores are like in your area that could easily be anywhere from 3-10 older books.

*With certain obvious caveats.

[BiblioRook]

The price limit isn't much of an issue here; even a new paperback is generally under $20 and depending on what used book stores are like in your area that could easily be anywhere from 3-10 older books.

Even hardbacks and trade comics kind of fit. Talking about comics, Ms. Marvel and Batgirl come to mind for a teen audience (though personally I have no real experience with Batgirl, but I heard good things). For that matter stuff like Gotham Academy and Lumberjanes. Thinking about it those probably skew more towards girls then for boys (though boys very well might enjoy them too) but when I think of comics for teen boys I can't think of much beyond the typical Shonen manga stuff...

As far as books go I can not recommend the Artemis Fowl series enough, seriously. I'm 30 years old and I still consider it one of my favorite series.

[Knaight]

As far as books go I can not recommend the Artemis Fowl series enough, seriously. I'm 30 years old and I still consider it one of my favorite series.

I'd have one hesitation there - more than most this is a series where you should see if you're duplicating books they already have. If not, it's a pretty safe bet.

[Fri]

Can recommend skullduggery pleasant if they like/you want to turn them into pulp adventure fan (it's about wisecracking skull magical detective for god sake) but my favourite YA fiction is the Bartimaeus Trilogy.

It's about the growth of the main character from a talented magician orphan boy to cynical antiheroic adult that work in an opressive magipunk-ish AU britain society before finally turning back to heroism later on. The best part of the book is watching the growth of the main character (he start as a kid, is a teen in the second book, and an adult working in the government at the final book) and interaction between the boy and the other main character, the titular bartimaeus, his wisecracking genie partner who make a lot of jokes and explanations via footnotes.

If you want to introduce them to weird fiction, my other favourite YA book is Abarat by clive barker.

It's super weird and awesome and sometimes scary with fitting illustration. Just check this book cover.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/75/Abarat_book_cover.jpeg

[DoctorFaust]

Can recommend skullduggery pleasant if they like/you want to turn them into pulp adventure fan (it's about wisecracking skull magical detective for god sake) but my favourite YA fiction is the Bartimaeus Trilogy.

It's about the growth of the main character from a talented magician orphan boy to cynical antiheroic adult that work in an opressive magipunk-ish AU britain society before finally turning back to heroism later on. The best part of the book is watching the growth of the main character (he start as a kid, is a teen in the second book, and an adult working in the government at the final book) and interaction between the boy and the other main character, the titular bartimaeus, his wisecracking genie partner who make a lot of jokes and explanations via footnotes.

****, how did I forget about this one? The Bartimaeus Trilogy is freaking great, and the MC goes through some seriously great character development.

And another one I just remembered that you might consider looking at is the Howl's Moving Castle series by Diana Wynne Jones. It's a bit similar to Discworld, in that it plays with a lot of the standard conventions of fantasy worlds, and has a lot of fun doing so. It's something they might enjoy if they liked fairy tales, or if they've seen the film.

[Serpentine]

Tamora Pierce!
Good, readable and re-readable young adult fantasy. I particularly recommend her stuff for girls, but there's no reason boys shouldn't enjoy them just fine as well.

[lunaticfringe]

Christopher Moore is damn good especially his vampire trilogy: Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck, and Bite Me. Maybe more Teen than Tween depending how sheltered/conservative they are, but they are easy to read, light Comedic Fantasy.

DiscWorld

Also I just give my teen/tween relatives Cash Monies and they love me for it. It's unimaginative but seriously from ages 12-23 it always seems to be appreciated.

[Flickerdart]

Dear hivemind,

Looks like I've gotten some Christmas shopping left to do for nieces and nephews. Instead of giving them loaves of fruitcake, I'm leaning more toward books, comic books, or similar things. Does anyone have ideas for good presents around $20?

Thanks in advance!

Lego. Lego is the best. If they do not have Lego in their lives, they need it. If they already have Lego, they will want more blocks!

[khadgar567]

Amazon kindle gift card if they have an e book or new gen iphone

[Liquor Box]

I suggest finding out what sport they like and getting some equipment for that. Ball's always get lost or punctured, so you never have too many balls.

Most 12 year olds like clothes, but make sure you understand what is fashionable where you are from. Girls often like makeup too.

I doubt there are too many 12 year old boys who do not like nerf guns, or pellet guns if they are allowed them.

Books, which almost everyone has mentioned, are fine too. I think 12 years olds may be a little old for lego, and other toys.

[BWR]

Ask their parents what sort of interests they have, then get something based on that. Tastes and interests are too varied to blindly give recommendations.
If the nephew were me at that age, a collection of Lovecraft or RPG books would have been perfect, and clothes would have been (barring the heavy woolen socks my grandmother would knit) be mostly uninteresting. For my girlfriend, manga like CLAMP's stuff and Sailor Moon and Masamune Shirow would have been perfect.
There are kids who hate all of those things, and however wrong they are, we must respect their right to be wrong about harmless things by not wasting the good stuff on them.

[Knaight]

Most 12 year olds like clothes, but make sure you understand what is fashionable where you are from.
Kid fashion tends to do its own thing, so this is generally not going to work - it's the kids who have no interest in fashion who are a safe bet for clothing. Sports equipment is much more viable, although sadly it tends to be way out of the price range much of the time*.

*Why a wooden bat costs $150 is a different matter, but they all too often do.

[Celestia]

Walmart sells My Little Pony plush dolls. I'm 26 and have two, so someone half my age certainly needs one. That's basic math.

[Liquor Box]

Kid fashion tends to do its own thing, so this is generally not going to work - it's the kids who have no interest in fashion who are a safe bet for clothing. Sports equipment is much more viable, although sadly it tends to be way out of the price range much of the time*.

*Why a wooden bat costs $150 is a different matter, but they all too often do.

I suppose it depends what sporting equipment you want to get.

I just bought my nephew a rugby ball, which cost about USD15. That was not the cheapest option (circa USD5), nor the most expensive (over USD100).

[Knaight]

I suppose it depends what sporting equipment you want to get.

I just bought my nephew a rugby ball, which cost about USD15. That was not the cheapest option (circa USD5), nor the most expensive (over USD100).

Balls generally aren't too bad, but they're also generally there. Anything else has a tendency to be completely ridiculous (although soccer shin guards aren't too bad).

[Anonymouswizard]

It really, really depends on their interests (as well as reading level and preferred plot type for books). It might also help if we can get a rough age to work with, although I know from experience that when one 14 year old is reading Frankenstein for fun another is refusing to read anything that isn't called Harry Potter*, mainly due to having been the former, so it's not going to certainly help.

I am definitely echoing the Bartimmaeus Trilogy, I loved all three books even when I found most YA fiction annoying. Skulduggery Pleasant (at least the early books, I grew out of them) are also enjoyable. After that, the question is what do they like? If they enjoy Fantasy or Science Fiction I certainly would not shy away from adult novels, I think both the Dresden Files and Rivers of London (Midnight Riot in the US? It's a much worse name for the book) are going to be enjoyed by anybody from their mid teens onwards.

* Insert rant about why that series should just die already.

[Knaight]

It really, really depends on their interests (as well as reading level and preferred plot type for books). It might also help if we can get a rough age to work with, although I know from experience that when one 14 year old is reading Frankenstein for fun another is refusing to read anything that isn't called Harry Potter*, mainly due to having been the former, so it's not going to certainly help.

It also depends a lot on what the parents are comfortable with their kids reading. I may have read A Game of Thrones at 14, that doesn't mean handing it out to 14 year olds is a good idea. With that said books intended for adults are a likely option, particularly for the sort of teenagers who would appreciate a book as a present in the first place.

[Anonymouswizard]

It also depends a lot on what the parents are comfortable with their kids reading. I may have read A Game of Thrones at 14, that doesn't mean handing it out to 14 year olds is a good idea. With that said books intended for adults are a likely option, particularly for the sort of teenagers who would appreciate a book as a present in the first place.

Of course, you should always consider the Parents, I'm just a tad biased because my mum couldn't give a darn by the time I was 14. I mean, my suggestions will tend towards ones that are slightly more explicit on the relationship front, because one of my favourite series isn't afraid to mention when the main character is getting lucky, but it would really good if Leewei could give us more information.

[Knaight]

Of course, you should always consider the Parents, I'm just a tad biased because my mum couldn't give a darn by the time I was 14. I mean, my suggestions will tend towards ones that are slightly more explicit on the relationship front, because one of my favourite series isn't afraid to mention when the main character is getting lucky, but it would really good if Leewei could give us more information.

I lean conservative on this - my parents didn't care (I found Martin's work through my dad), but I've generally found that I have to recommend around parents, and that it's the sort of thing where you want to error on the side of caution.

[Leewei]

Of course, you should always consider the Parents, I'm just a tad biased because my mum couldn't give a darn by the time I was 14. I mean, my suggestions will tend towards ones that are slightly more explicit on the relationship front, because one of my favourite series isn't afraid to mention when the main character is getting lucky, but it would really good if Leewei could give us more information.

I have quite a few nieces and nephews between 10 and 19 years old. If your recommendation involves R-rated content, please indicate it. Likewise, if your recommendation might bore older readers, please indicate it (I know more than a few "young adult" series that work just fine for older readers).

I'm very interested in graphic novels as well as traditional novels. Ms. Marvel and Batgirl are both on the list.