'THEODORE BOONE Kid Lawyer' by John Grisham

A mystery/thriller novel about thirteen year old Theodore who is so passionate about becoming a lawyer someday that he hangs around Law courts, sitting in on the trials of bad guys. His dream virtually comes true when he has the information to stop a villainous killer from going free but exposing the murderer could endanger him and his family. What will Theodore do?!

This is written by world famous adult writer, John Grisham and is part of a series.  If you like solving mysteries, get this book before the sequel comes out in our library! 

Author website

'THE HARDY BOYS' by Franklin W. Dixon and others.

A series of mystery books about two teenage brothers, Frank and Joe; The Hardy Boys; who  end up in each story as amateur detectives, solving crimes and mysteries; sometimes helping their private detective Dad with international espionage dramas, or just stumbling across villains whom they help bring to justice. 

Over fifty-eight titles in the 'The Hardy Boys' series have been issued in over 25 languages and they are age-old, timeless classics for boys. There are also online electronic games on this series.

'GRANNY' by Anthony Horowitz

A comedy thriller genre with protagonist, Joe, who suffers from having an evil Grandmother. Everyone is afraid of his granny, with her 'murderous ways, disgusting habits', who forces him to eat vile cream cheese.  The son of rich, uncaring parents, Joe is almost a prisoner in his huge family mansion, Thattlebee Hall and seems unable to escape from the clutches of his granny whom he feels is out to get him, but he doesn't know why.

'JUST STUPID' by Andy Griffiths

A different series of another crazily humourous book by Australian author, Andy Griffiths, features a boy named Andy who tries to make practical jokes on his friends and family but winds up getting into all sorts of ridiculous and embarrassing, slightly gross situations.  The author has an incredible imagination, which will really make your mind boggle, but don't try any of Andy's antics!!


"...every young trickster will love them." (Australian Bookseller & Publisher)

Author website

'SPRUNG' by Andrew Daddo

Fergus Kipper is a boy who always seems to get caught in a series of humourous and embarrassing misadventures, like throwing eggs at a neighbour or wearing his dad's undies to school. The title 'Sprung' comes from Australian slang, referring to someone who is caught doing something they shouldn't have done. This cover shows Fergus who has just been 'sprung' in one of his many situations that land him into trouble. 

Listen to part of the story! 
Author's website

'DON'T PAT the WOMBAT' by Elizabeth Honey

Written for sixth-grade boys, this humour based novel evolves around a school camp, where five boys, known as the  'Coconuts' are eagerly looking forward to having fun, playing jokes with 'blood-sucking leeches, mud fights and half-wild wombats'.  They strike trouble with the 'The Bomb' - the meanest teacher around who tries to make their time at camp miserable. In a letter home, the narrator, Mark writes, "Give my love to the T.V. Tell it I will be home on Friday", so it will keep readers amused by the funny personalities of the boys in the story.

'BUMAGEDDON- the Final Pongflict' by Andy Griffiths

A very bizarre, humourous Science Fiction adventure with Zac, a boy who tries to save Earth from being taken over by an invasion of unusual zombie creatures.  For boys who like far-fetching gross creatures and whacky plots look for these books on the shelf under the author's name, 'Griffiths'.  There are two other books in this series, plus many more by this author who writes predominantly for boys.

   

According to the author's website, Bumageddon was the most popular Australian children's title in 2005, with sales of more than 90,000 in seven months.

Author website: Andy Griffiths   Book Website

 

'H.I.V.E.' series by Mark Walden

The top secret "Higher Institute for Villainous Education (H.I.V.E.)" is not your average school.  Set underneath a volcano deep in the ocean, it trains brilliant teenagers to become criminal masterminds.  Otto Malpense is the 13 year old protagonist endeavouring to escape from  this school with his new found friends, but they must outwit the evil headmaster, Dr. Nero and his colleagues.  The plot revolves around Otto's plans and reveals a teenage boy with a great sense of humour along with a cunning range of combat strategies for fighting the bad guys. This action - adventure genre will make you want to read the whole series, which we have in the MS Library!Click here for author website
Click here to generate your evil laugh.. mwah ha ha! 

'I AM NUMBER FOUR' by Pittacus Lore

Action/Science-Fiction genre with a hint of romance for the hero, this novel will grip you till the end.  The cover says it all - with a teenage hero ready to conquer his super human enemies.  Set in America, the series has lead characters from all over the globe. John Smith is easy a likable protagonist and we get to know his inner-most thoughts whilst he weighs up how to carry out the next steps in his strategy to stay alive and conquer the bad guys from an ancient rival planet, as they seek to take over Earth. There's some complicated background to the plot, which is made clearer as the novel progresses. We are eagerly awaiting the sequel, 'The Power of Six' and will let you know when it arrives in our library.

See the Movie Trailer

'JIMMY COATES - KILLER' by Joe Craig

This action-thriller genre series was made for middle school boys!  It features an 11 year old, Jimmy, who is shocked to suddenly discover he was designed as a political assassin, with super human powers. Set in London, one minute Jimmy is at home fighting with his sister and the next he is forced to escape from sinister men in black suits who abduct his family and continue to relentlessly hunt him down. Jimmy has a cool sense of humour as he tries to work out what has turned his life upside whilst jumping in and out of helicopters, leaping over high walls and hitting out with a mean punch... check it out!   

'TRUANCY ORIGINS' by Isamu Fukui

 

This is the prequel to the main novel, 'Truancy' and Mrs Stanley predicts that this could be made into a movie one day!   Set in the future, it's an eerie, action packed example of the  'dystopian' genre (where a society has been totally controlled by the leaders - for those of you who have read 'The Giver'), so a haunting and bleak mood creates an air of suspense.  The protagonists will appeal to both boys and girls, as for each main male character, there's a girl mysteriously linked in as a side character.  Dramatic and unpredictable, the plot begins with twin brothers rebelling against the cruel education system which controls and manipulates children. One brother breaks away and builds a youth army of 'truants'; hence the title of the book; and forms the rebellion against the education system.  There's a twist in the story when the brothers start fighting against each other as well as against the 'bad guys'. If you like brilliant tactical fight scenes and cunning battle strategies then read this book! 

The author, Isamu Fukui wrote 'Truancy' when he was 15 years old during high school. Stay tuned for news about the arrival of the next books in this series.  Click here for the novel website

'THE PHOENIX FILES' by Chris Morphew

'The Phoenix Files' adventure genre series is written by a young Australian author, Chris Mophew. Students who have read all three that are stocked in our library, are eagerly awaiting the fourth episode.  Each novel is told from the point of view of one of the main characters (so girls will also be reading this action packed adventure mystery book).

Set in contemporary Australia, plot revolves around three young teenagers who have started at a new school when their parents are relocated to new jobs in a small, new town, in the middle of nowhere.   When the protagonists discover they cannot make contact beyond the town, the reader is caught up in a world of suspense as the teenagers seek to solve the mysteries that keep cropping up, and we wonder if they will survive the horrors that lie beneath this new place.
Here's an extract to get you interested....

"The end of the world is one of those things that you never really expect to end up being YOUR problem. Not that I used to spend much time thinking about that kind of stuff. But if I had, I would've thought it was pretty safe to assume that saving the planet would be someone else's job."

Check out the author's website!