Realistic Boy Fiction

I have never been into reading realistic fiction where the boy is the main character...until now.  Authors like Jordan Sonnenblick, Gary D. Schmidt, and Mark Shulman (is it weird that their last initial is "s"?) have really nailed the genre. 

I read Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie a few weeks ago by Jodan Sonnenblick.  Who'd have thunk that I'd be reading a boy book and crying?  Or laughing so loudly that the kids in the library look at me funny?  (And have even "shushed" me!)  It's an amazing book.  Boys will get it, girls will get it, and it's pretty much an all around awesome novel.

I listened to Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars on a recent car trip.  Also a powerful boy novel.  It just goes to show that boys have feelings too.  Even if they often punch people so they can feel the same emotion.  It made me smirk and laugh and gasp...especially when the rats fell out of the asbestos-tiled ceiling. 

I also read Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.  Wow.  Just...wow!  This book talks about how a boy finds himself through art, the library, and some teachers/librarians who are willing to take their time with him.  It details the struggles kids can have when their families are "messed up," they're new to town, and they're teenagers.

I read Mark Shulman's Scrawl which is also a book on the LoneStar Award's Nominee list.  It was an interesting read from a bully's point of view.  It has a narrative that will open anyone's eyes to the fact that most bullies are bullied themselves.

I'd recommend any of these books to both genders...although I think boys will enjoy them the most.