The term 'adventure' is a code word meaning 'for guys', just like 'romance' means 'for girls'. That doesn't mean there aren't girls who enjoy a good adventure novel, and that there are no guys who shed a tear of joy for a good romance. I'm just going with the numbers, here. Most adventure novels speak directly to testosterone. Estrogen need not apply.
In that context, it is not surprising that most adventure novels center on war or survival, or war and survival if you are lucky. They tend to act out on written page every boyhood fantasy of gut-wrenching action resulting in mounds of glory (and often the admiration of women everywhere). The best novels, however, show the dark side of that fantasy, and the price that must be paid for said glory.
These are the Best of the Best Teen Adventure novels.
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel - Oppel's stories have two things in common - they focus on flight, and they are completely imaginative. Matt is cabin boy aboard a luxury passenger airship. When the ship is attacked by air pirates, it grounds on an undiscovered island abounding with mysterious flying cats - and it also happens to be the pirate lair. Matt and the other passengers' race to escape will leave you breathless. The sequel, Skybreaker, is possibly better even than original.
Alive by Piers Paul Read - Incredible true story of the Uruguayan rugby team's 72-day survival and self-rescue after crashing high in the Andes Mountains, including the horrific decision to eat their dead to survive, and their effort to save themselves. Gives new meaning to the phrase "take one for the team." Hard to put down, and impossible to forget.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - Saga of a German teenage soldier in the battle trenches of World War I as he discovers the horror of war, the shallowness of glory, and meaning of brotherhood. Although written decades ago, the message is timeless - that war is hell, especially for the young. The last scene will haunt you.
Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose - Classic documentary that follows the men of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, as they fight through Europe during World War II. Told in anecdotal style, the story sucks you into a relationship with the men such that you experience every victory and every tragedy as if you were there.
Black Hawk Down: a Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden - A gritty, detailed account of the doomed American mission to capture a pair of Somali warlords in Mogadishu in 1993. The power of the story lies in the telling: picture after picture of destruction, demolition, and death. Very few non-fiction novels have so completely captured the horrific chaos of war.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing - The incredible true story of Shackleton's 1914 trip to the South Pole. When the ship is trapped by pack ice and eventually crushed, Shackleton and his men come to a bitter conclusion: no help is coming, and they must rescue themselves or die. Dragging life boats at first, and later floating north on a floe, the expedition finds rescue after two years on the ice, and without losing a single man. You can't make this stuff up.
Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima by James Bradley with Ron Powers - The raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most famous pictures ever taken. The son of one of the flag-raisers recounts the sometimes tragic life stories of the six men who raised the flag that February day in 1945 while fighting still raged. Told in a very "you are there" style, Bradley takes you through one of the most vicious battles of WWII where 48,000 men fell, and through the aftermath that affected each man's life.
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer - The author recounts the horror of WWII on the Eastern Front, experienced as a teenage foot soldier in the German Army. At first the adventure of a lifetime, Mr. Sajer's service slowly devolves into a desperate battle of survival against starvation, crushing cold, and relentless Russian artillery. His matter of fact narrative as he stumbles through one major battle after another will pull you along with a leaden heart. Maybe the best book about WWII, and always haunting.
Ghost Soldiers: the Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides - The true story of a group of Army Rangers and Filipino guerillas who undertake a daring mission to rescue the brutally mistreated soldiers captured by the Japanese during the first days of WWII. Penetrating far behind enemy lines, the determined force liberates hundreds of prisoners and shepherds them to safety with the Japanese army in hot pursuit. The account of the escape will leave you breathless, and remind you that truth is often stranger than fiction.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - Young teen Brian is the only survivor of a small plane crash in the remote Canadian wilderness, and must survive on his own. The story follows his ingenuity and luck as he surmounts the many challenges of finding food, shelter, and safety. The author deftly balances the mix of machismo and insecurity that appeals especially to young teen boys. This is the best in class of survival novels.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell - Based on actual events, this book tells the story of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island. When her entire tribe is evacuated from the island, a young girl is accidentally left behind with her younger brother. When the boy tragically dies, she must find a way to survive in solitude while awaiting rescue that may never come. A favorite of English teachers everywhere.
The Last Mission by Harry Mazer - Toward the end of WWII, 15 year old Jack lies his way into the U. S. Air Force. His head filled with visions of glory, Jack joins a squadron in England that flies hazardous bombing missions over Europe. As the war nears its end, Jack's plane is shot down in Germany behind enemy lines. Captured and taken to a POW camp, Jack experiences events far more terrifying than any bombing mission, effectively shattering his delusions of grandeur. Will he survive the war?
The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall - When a German airplane crashes on the beach, Chas and his friends find the mother of all war souvenirs: a functional machine gun. After firing the machine gun at a German fighter plane, the plane crashes and the gun jams. When the pilot of the downed plane stumbles into their hideout, the group strike a devil's bargain with him: if the German repairs the gun, they will help him escape across the channel. Emotional and physical mayhem ensue in this fantastic story.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo - Waiting for a brutal dawn attack, Thomas reminisces about the events that led him to the trenches of WWI France. From his youth in a poor but loving farm family, to his relationship with his beloved older brother Charlie and brain-damaged brother Joe, Thomas describes his life with a flowing terseness that borders on pure poetry. True to the horror that was WWI, the ending is downright shocking, but absolutely what it needs to be. This is an unforgettable novel.
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith - Jeff Bussey enters the Civil War at age 16 with dreams of glory and adventure. His dreams give way to fear and disillusionment as he encounters the absolute horror and misery of a bitter war. The teenager slowly morphs into just another battle-hardened, cold-hearted soldier, trying to survive day to day. When Jeff is recruited for a hazardous mission behind enemy lines, he discovers that the men he fights are no different than he - tired of war and ready to go home.
Soldier Boys by Dean Hughes - Spence and Dieter are farm boys on different sides of WWII who follow complex feelings of patriotism and insecurity to join the fight. Parallel stories follow the teens from the idealism of basic training through gradual disillusionment. Their worlds collide violently at the pivotal Battle of the Bulge, when both must survive numbing cold and desperate combat to survive. Hughes realistic description of the violence of war is first rate, and the characters rise above cliche.
Soldier X by Don Wulffson - Based on a true story, 16-year-old Erik is drafted into the German army during WWII. Because he speaks Russian, he is sent east to fight the Russians in bitter cold and food deprived conditions. After a first horrific battle, Erik decides to take the uniform of a dead Russian solider and impersonate him for the duration of the war. Claiming amnesia, he is sent to a field hospital. When the hospital is attacked, he escapes with his new love, a nurse, to hopefully eventual freedom.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi - In the year 1832, 13 year old Charlotte Doyle finds herself the only passenger on a sailing ship bound for America from England. Her discomfort at being alone amongst a group of sailors is swept aside as she inadvertently becomes embroiled in an attempted mutiny. When the ship docks, she is arrested and found guilty of murder. Only her ability to convincingly convey the actual truth of the mutiny stands between her and the gallows.
Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliot - American Henry Forester is a young flier for the British Royal Air Force during the early days of WWII. Although brave on the outside, Henry is a psychological mess, largely due to his punitive father. When he is shot down during his 13th mission, he must journey back through Nazi-controlled France to safety. Receiving aid from the French Resistance, he survives one perilous scrape after another. The details of the story lend great authenticity to the telling.
The Best of the Rest:
After the First Death by Robert Cormier
B for Buster by Iain Lawrence
A Boy at War: a Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer
Boy Kills Man by Matt Whyman
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi by David Chotjewitz
Deathwatch by Robb White
Downriver by Will Hobbs
The Goats by Brock Cole
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier
In Pharaoh’s Army: Memories of the Lost War by Tobias Wolff
In the Company of Men: a Woman at the Citadel by Nancy Mace & Mary Jane Ross
Incident at Hawk’s Hill by Allan W. Eckert
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Light Years by Tammar Stein
The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Pagan’s Crusade: the Pagan Chronicles by Catherine Jinks
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Real Time by Pnina Moed Kass
Shackleton’s Stowaway by Victoria McKernan
The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff
Shooter by Walter Dean Myers
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel
Slaughterhouse-Five; Or, the Children’s Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
The Wreckers by Iain Lawrence
Young Men and Fire by Norman MaClean
