Helen Stringer's Blog - Posts Tagged "boys"
Boys Don't Read
I've been working on a new book called "Paradigm." It's a departure for me in that it's YA and is from a boy's POV. I sent it to a couple of agents (changing agents is a pain) and received a response from one today.
She had asked for the first 10 pages, which I sent a little over a month ago. She very politely declined because, "...it’s a hard sell as publishers get hooked on the ‘boys stop reading at 12.'"
Now, I know that it is true that boys tend to lose interest in reading at around that age, but is that any reason to give up on them entirely? My nephew is twelve and loves to read, but it's really difficult to find anything for him when we go to the book store. Parents of boys have told me that they have the same problems. It's one of the reasons I wrote "Paradigm" in the first place.
Has anyone else noticed that there isn't much for older boys to read? If not, what titles/authors do you think really do succeed in keeping the love of reading alive?
She had asked for the first 10 pages, which I sent a little over a month ago. She very politely declined because, "...it’s a hard sell as publishers get hooked on the ‘boys stop reading at 12.'"
Now, I know that it is true that boys tend to lose interest in reading at around that age, but is that any reason to give up on them entirely? My nephew is twelve and loves to read, but it's really difficult to find anything for him when we go to the book store. Parents of boys have told me that they have the same problems. It's one of the reasons I wrote "Paradigm" in the first place.
Has anyone else noticed that there isn't much for older boys to read? If not, what titles/authors do you think really do succeed in keeping the love of reading alive?
