Rob would like to try a Stephen King book, and has asked me to select one. I am very enthusiastic about this task, but also nervous: I didn’t read the books with a 16-year-old in mind, so it’s hard to pick. I’d like him exposed to the RIGHT kind of horror and depravity.
He thinks he’d prefer non-monster horror to monster horror.
The two I’ve read several times and think of as favorites are The Stand and The Green Mile. But I liked a LOT of others.
I love “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”, but our library only has it in a collection with the one about the teenage boy who likes to kill things, and I’d prefer not to introduce that. He might like The Bachman Books, but I’m remembering an upsetting school-shooting story; maybe that bothers me as a parent more than it would bother him as a student, but again, I don’t want to introduce the theme.
The ones I never want to read again were the ones like the one with the cop who went insane. Or Lisey’s Story, which I couldn’t even get more than 50 pages into because it seemed so extremely dumb and had so many of those italicized nonsense asides.
Under the Dome was kind of cool and thought-provoking, but it had one of those powerful-person-going-insane-and-manipulating-the-populace themes and those are not my favorites. (Needful Things also has that theme.) I get sick of hearing the crazy person repeat themselves over and over.
He says he might like to start with short stories, but some of those are more disturbing even than the long books. On the other hand, it might give him a good Stephen King sampler: some monsters, some creepy stuff, some thinky stuff. But short story collections are even harder to remember which ones are which.
What do you think? Have you read some of these more recently than I have? Which are your favorites—and/or, which seem like a good one to start with?
I don’t read Stephen King (maybe I should start!) so this comment is mostly useless. However, if we were choosing the books based on the movie I would have to vote for The Green Mile. Love that movie…one of the few I can watch over and over again.
I laughed at “I’d like him exposed to the RIGHT kind of horror and depravity.”
11/22/63 – one of my favorite books, and happens to be a King one. And it’s time travel based, nothing freaky. There is sex, but not graphic, and is based in love (if that matters). Also great from a historical standpoint.
I agree!
I LOVED 11/22/63. I don’t like horror (monster-y stuff) so I haven’t read his scarier stuff, but man, this was a great book. The history would be super educational but in a fun way, and as Holly said, the sex isn’t graphic. Definitely appropriate for a 16-year-old, I think.
Me too! It was creepy but nothing that kept me up at night. A page turner for sure!
This was a FABULOUS book! But it’s long. Really long. But then again, most of Stephen King’s best stories are the longest ones – so if he’s a voracious reader this one might work.
I also LOVED 11/22/63!! I also learned a lot about the time period and the assassination from it. It’s got more going for it than just the timey-wimey stuff. History and healthy relationships are a big theme, too.
It seems like what he wants to try is horror, so this probably won’t be helpful, but my favorite Stephen King novel, hands down, is 11/22/63. It also has the bonus of including some history, albeit mixed in with fiction so it’s hard to tell what really IS the history. It’s definitely a very suspenseful book, but I don’t remember it being scary, per se.
Joyland was pretty awesome. Also short and with a young male protagonist. As a teen, I read Carrie, Cujo, the early King with absolute enthusiasm. Now I prefer some of the longer stuff like The Stand and It. I would start him with shorter stuff. I think Different Seasons has the short story that Stand By Me came from. Start there if not with Joyland. I love King even though I am hit and miss on his recent stuff. He is completely underrated, even if he does need an editor to tame his manuscripts from time to time.
I think the shorter earlier books are better for a first Stephen King read. I remember reading Christine in college and being terrified and amazed that he could make a car so scary – he can paint a picture. And The Shining is great too – I don’t think there is much sex in either of them. Cujo is good, I did not read Pet Semetary and I couldn’t handle the clown in It. The Stand is great, but sooo long – I think you have to be committed to Stephen King for that.
I like all Stephen King but I do like his earlier stuff best. I reread The Stand recently and it didn’t hold up as well as I thought it would, though the first 2/3 was still pretty good. For non-horror I’d recommend The Shining and maybe the more recent Mr. Mercedes, which is unlike most of his other stuff. If you haven’t read Mr. Mercedes, it’s great. Super compelling. If Rob ever does go for the horror books, Salem’s Lot is my hands-down favorite. I reread it about every other Halloween.
I was introduced to Stephen King through Misery (which was to be published as a Richard Bachmann book but his identity was uncovered before publication). I also love The Stand and I remember actually being terrified by Christine but I came here to recommend 11/23/63. I LOVED this!
I read Insomnia in high school and remember really liking it, in fact I kind of want to read it again…20 years later since I have forgotten so much!
I have never read a single Stephen King book, but not because I am opposed to him or anything. I just haven’t gotten around to it. And I LOVE to read. I probably read 2-3 books/week.
I am excited to read through all of these comments and pick one to start with.
I don’t read Stephen King but my wife has been an avid reader of his books since elementary school.
She says that she would also recommend The Stand but cautions that it is lengthy and additionally recommends Under the Dome and Duma Key.
The only Stephen King book I’ve read is 11/22/63. I really enjoyed it but it’s definitely not a horror novel, so if that’s what he’s looking for then that’s probably not the best option.
Next on my list is The Running Man. It’s pretty short for a SK book and seems more science-fiction-y suspense than true horror. But I haven’t read it yet so I don’t know for sure.
The only Stephen King novel I’ve read is The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It was a good psychological thriller, no monsters. I’d recommend it to a teenager, for sure.
Yes, I agree. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Perfect for YA. Suspenseful but not gory or too scary. This is one of the only one’s I’ve ready of Stephen King. My husband’s read all of them, but as someone who was just starting out, he told me to start with this book. I liked it!
It’s short and quick and would give him a good start at it. If he thinks it’s not scary enough, then you know you can take it up a notch!
Does he specifically want horror, or just King in general? I have heard good things about the Dark Tower series and I really, really loved The Eyes of the Dragon when I was Rob’s age. Those are all more fantasy, though. The Green Mile is fantastic but also not horror. But fantastic! If he’s gung-ho for non-monster horror, though, I think maybe Misery might be good?
All this is reminding me that I should really re-read The Stand.
The Stand is an excellent choice if he doesn’t mind that it’s LONG, but what I would really, really recommend is the Gunslinger books. They are Perfect for him. They’re actually fantasy with some horrory stuff mixed in, a fantastic set of characters (as King does), and have almost a mystery to solve. The first book is the shortest and most cryptic. (We have reviewed all of these books on Shelf Love if you’re interested in getting a taste of what they are like.)
Other than that, my favorites that I would recommend to Rob: The Shining, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Talisman (another excellent fantasy one), 11/22/63, Doctor Sleep (sequel to The Shining.)
TOTALLY agree on the Gunslinger (the trilogy is called The Dark Tower). Really cool fantasy stuff plus some horror, but not monster horror. Completely appropriate for his age.
Nth-ing the gunslinger/Dark Tower recommendations. I especially like it because I feel like King’s endings are often weak, and by having it be a multi-book series, you get a lot more writing with only one weak ending.
Oh man, I LOVED the Talisman. I read it in high school and it really spoke to me — the main character is a smart, fantastic kid named Jack.
The first King novel I read was Misery, when I was 11 or 12. I would also enthusiastically recommend the Dark Tower series, though like a lot of his work, it is not really what I think of as horror.
The Shining was a better book than a movie; highly recommend. Salem’s Lot is the first one I read, in high school, but it’s a vampire novel. Needful Things would work. The Stand is a great YA novel, but oh yeah it’s long. I read it as a HS senior, and it was too long for me, but I knew so many who loved it. I don’t recommend Gerald’s Game. I think Carrie probably appeals more to girls. I really loved the movie Stand By Me, but I’m not sure which book of his it’s based on. I also loved the movie Storm of the Century but am not sure it’s a book; if it is, it is a great horror story, with no monsters. Now I want to see the movie again!
My first Stephen King was “The Eyes of the Dragon”. It is not a typical King novel. Sure, there’s violence and whatnot, but it’s supposedly the story that King made up for his own children.
For anthologies, I really like Different Seasons. It includes “The Body” (which was the basis of the movie Stand By Me), “Rita Heyworth and the Shawshank Redemption” (also made into a movie), “Apt Pupil” (also made into a movie) and “Breathing Lessons”. I read It, Misery, Cujo, and a whole slew of other King novels before I was 16 or 17 years old, and I don’t seem to be scarred by the experience.
Cujo would be great.
I third 11/22/63 — a great read, not too scary or violent, but very suspenseful.
I second Insomnia — I remember loving the fantasy aspects of this.
And I “first” The Talisman, which he co-wrote with, I believe, Peter Straub — it’s about an 11-year-old boy (King’s favorite age, judging by the kids in his other books) who has to travel by himself across the country to save his mother, yet he learns about this other world which is sort of a twin to the one we live in. Parts of it were scary but in a good way. I read it as a teen.
Oh, and I loved the Dark Tower series too, though it kind of petered out as the books went on.
The Dark Tower series (The first one, The Gunslinger, is my least favorite, unfortunately.), The Eyes of the Dragon, or The Talisman. I wish I would have read those at 16, but I didn’t start reading SK until I was about 21. I started with Tommyknockers – not the best introduction to King. I also would vote for 11/22/63 or The Stand, as they seem to match what he is looking for.
I read “Pet Semetary” when I was 12 (I am now 38). It was when I first got serious about reading. I wasn’t traumatized by it, but I love horror books and movies.
Christine? Don’t remember a LOT of sex but the car being “alive” would be good for a 16 year old? I mean can you say don’t get attached? LOL
The Eyes of the Dragon is my all time favorite Stephen King book, but it’s not very Stephen King-y. I highly recommend it regardless. At Rob’s age I was reading Cujo, Pet Sematary, Carrie, It (I remember there being iffy sex scenes in It though). I never read the Dark Tower series but my brothers loved it. I read a ton of Dean Koontz at Rob’s age too, with Lightning being my favorite (but again, iffy child molester scenes). I was super uncensored as a kid, clearly.
I remember loving The Dead Zone, although The Stand will always be my favourite. I read them both when I was about Rob’s age, I think.
I recommend The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. I remember reading that one as a teenager and I don’t remember it having being too heavy or having too much of the really adult themes. My first Stephen King was It, which I got totally sucked into, but is definitely darker. The Shining is a good one! And my favorite King book is 11/22/63 (which I read as an adult)- totally fascinating story about the JFK assassination and time travel (history and time travel- right up my alley)
I read SO much Stephen King in junior high and high school that I burned out by my early 20’s. BUT I read The Stand when I was 11, and I handled it fine, and even re-read it a few times. Other contenders: Salem’s Lot, which I read in junior high — it is vampires, so imaginary-enough to not be terrifying for a modern 16 year old guy; Misery, which *is* about a crazy woman but it’s so far removed from anything we would encounter as non-famous-writers that I think he’d be fine with the creep-factor; Insomnia, which is just all-around excellent; and now that I’m writing this all out I change my mind and think he should go with The Talisman (with Peter Straub). SO GOOD. Main character is a young guy, 12 I think, but he is mature and relatable. At least he was to me, as a 14 year old girl or however old I was when I first read that. It’s been a while. Ahem.
And now I want to go read a King novel.
My first King novel was Through the Eyes of the Dragon and I still love it. My husband and I also love love love the Dark Tower series – soooo good!
Love his earlier stuff, especially Christine and Cujo – straight up horror. Another one I really like is Bag of Bones – a really good ghost story. I remember reading his short stories in HS as well – good mixtures of different types of horror – Skeleton Crew, Night Shift, Four Past Midnight.
I agree with Bag of Bones. Such a great ghost story.
Someone’s already recommended it, but I LOVE The Talisman. There’s also a sequel, The black House, I believe, which is good, but not as good as the first. Skeleton Crew is a nice collection of short stories, and includes the novella ‘The Mist,’ which was turned into an ok movie (except for the ending). The Stand and The Shining are always good, solid choices.
My very VERY favorite of his is On Writing, which is totally not what Rob is probably looking for, but I recommend it anyway, even if you hate Stephen King’s type of tale, because he’s a fascinating person and there’s a lot of fun background info in there.
I loved Eyes of the Dragon, and I liked Cujo but it scared me. :) I guess that’s the point. Tommyknockers scared me terribly, but I think it’s partly because I read it in college while I was home sick with a kidney infection and a raging fever and I would read a chapter and then fall asleep and dream my teeth were falling out and aliens were coming, and then not be sure if I was awake or not. It was way more terrifying than I expected because of that.
Yes! Was coming here to recommend Eyes of the Dragon and On Writing.
Skeleton Crew was the other collection (that does not contain Apt Pupil) and it was just great. Perfect one to get started on!
I read The Shining in high school and thought it was great. Scary but great. I remember seeing the movie a few years later and thinking the book was much better. I feel like I read one other but can’t remember now. But now I want to read 11/22/63 since there are so many people saying it was so good.
Oh and just to clarify, I don’t enjoy scary stuff normally. I can’t remember why I would have picked up an SK book. Maybe just out of curiosity. Despite it being scary (to me) I still loved it.
I loved The Stand…what about “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”?
I thought 11/22/63 was the best book I read last year. It didn’t have monsters or sewer clowns, so it was a little different than what you might expect from Stephen King. It was such a great story, I would totally suggest it. When I was 16, I thought Cujo and Pet Semetary were really great and they are a little creepier- with the zombie kid and the rabies and all..so I hope he chooses one of these to start and then loves them all.
I still love The Stand and I listen to the audio book on Youtube once in awhile. I’d also recommend The Dead Zone, Salem’s Lot (although there are vampires which I guess are mosnters), Firestarter and Cell. I didn’t love 11/22/63 as much as everyone else. I found it slow. The first Stephen King book I ever read was Night Shift. It’s a good mix as is Skeleton Crew.
Oh! and also, I don’t think anybody mentioned: Hearts in Atlantis! Also great for a 16 year old guy- I bet he would really like this.
If you want old school Stephen King horror, The Shining seems like a nice place to start. Or there is a collection of his very early short stories called The Night Shift which are all horror and I imagine might appeal to a 16 year old, though I don’t remember them terribly well.
From his more recent stuff, Joyland might work. I really liked it though it seems a little sweeter than some of his other novels. I think most recent release, Revival, is fantastic but I’m not sure it’s really right for a teenager (lots of old-age, lost-time, and regret). I’d probably avoid the Full Dark, No Stars collection. Not because it’s not good, but I just reread one of the included novellas (A Good Marriage) and there is quite a lot of rape and torture referenced.
11/22/63 was really good- kind of a departure from his normal stuff but still plenty creepy.
If you could find a stand-alone copy of The Long Walk, I think that’s one of his finer short stories. Way before its time in terms of reality shows. Stand By Me, as you mentioned, is awesome too.
I read The Shining when I was 15/16 because it was my boyfriend at the time’s favourite book. He was 16-ish so maybe Rob would like it too?
I read when I was 14 and for some reason especially loved Firestarter.
So many great comments! I started reading SK when I was 11 or 12. I think The Dark Tower books would be great if he’s into Gunslingers and westerns at all (although I am not into them and still loved the books, so that is definitely not a must). I loved Insomnia, but I would hold off on that until you’ve read a few other of the Stephen King “classics,” because there are so many instances of things mentioned in that book that tie back to other ones that you would totally miss if you hadn’t read them. I loved The Shining, and I agree that as far as short stories go, the ones in Different Seasons are pretty awesome. I hope you’ll let us know what he chooses and what he thinks!
I have read just about all of his books. The Eyes of the Dragon, Duma Key, 11/22/63, The Green Mile, Bag of Bones and Lisey’s Story are all good for a teen. Duma Key is probably my favorite.
my now 23 year old has been reading IT off and on for 4 years. He doesn’t want to give up but isn’t really enjoying it either. One time I found the book on the sidewalk in the rain. It had fallen out of his backpack on the way to school. We dried it out and now it is even a harder book to read because the pages are crinkly and the paperback is HUGE.
I recommend starting with The Shining. I re-read it recently and it is awesome and scary. Plus, there is a recent sequel, Doctor Sleep, and I thought it was fun to re-read The Shining and then immediately read the 20-years-later sequel. Instant gratification!
That said, one of my favorite books of all time is 11/22/63. I can’t recommend it highly enough. But because your son specifically wants to try Stephen King and 11/22/63 is so different than other Stephen King books, I didn’t recommend it as a starting point. But everyone should read it ASAP anyway because it is fantastic.
Lastly, one his newer ones, Mr. Mercedes, was quite good and there were no monsters. It was actually kind of weird for King because it was about a regular creepy murderer and really didn’t have any fantasy/sci-fi elements. Although, now that I think of it, there were some pretty disturbing incest-related parts. So maybe not right for a teenager.
Hey! I can speak to this from actual experience! The first Stephen King book I ever read was Carrie. I was 13. I remember it well because I was visiting my aunt and uncle in preparation for being a bridesmaid in my much older cousin’s wedding and was bored out of my mind so I grabbed it at random and was hooked! I read Salem’s Lot and The Shining pretty quickly thereafter and loved them both (although I will admit that Salem’s Lot freaked me right the heck out for years. I still loved it.)
As background, I never watched horror movies and hadn’t ever read anything in horror genre, so it’s not like I was a tough cookie but I loved all of those books so much. In later high school sometime (?) I read The Stand. It remains one of my favorite SK books, but evidently that was just the first book in a life-long enjoying of post-apocalyptic books. Anyway, if he’s not super sensitive, I’d recommend Carrie, Salem’s Lot or The Shinning as good first books – the first two of those are actually fairly short and The Shinning moves right along.
I love, love, LOVE Stephen King books! My favorites being 11/22/63, Under the Dome, and Dr. Sleep. I’m not a fan of short stories in general, so I comment on those. Am working my way through the Dark Tower series and although they are good, they aren’t my cup of tea – it does seem like something that a boy would enjoy more (the gunslinger, etc.). I’m not sure which I’d recommend, mainly because like you, I haven’t read them with a younger reader in mind.
There are so many that I have loved! When I was a teen I read The Shining, Pet Sematary, Cujo, The Shining. Later (20s?) I loved Needful Things. Firestarter. Misery. Dolores Claiborne. Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever DISLIKED a King book.
I did enjoy 11/22/63 and Under The Dome but those seem more adult to me. Maybe Dolores Claiborne too (isn’t there wife beating in that one?). Maybe Thinner or The Dead Zone?
Oh, I just loved them all so much!
Hey, while I have some SK fans here, maybe someone can help me out. Years ago, I read a short story that I’m almost certain was by SK. I’d like to read it again, but I can’t find it now. It was about an evil boy. There was a lot of psychological stuff in it, about how this evil kid worked hard to pass as normal. Among the things he did was push his best friend out of a roller coaster while the coaster was going through a tunnel. He told everybody that his friend was showing off and climbed out of his seat. Does anyone know anything about this story?
I read a ton of Stephen King books when I was young, starting with ‘Salem’s Lot when I was 8 and I’m not totally scarred for life (aside from STILL being scared of vampires and pandemic influenza from The Stand).
The Bachman Books would be good, even with Rage. I read that in high school and wasn’t scared by it or anything…though, different time, probably. But The Long Walk is SO great. Maybe if you could just find that book…. Firestarter is great, The Stand is the best, Misery, the Gunslinger, IT, The Shining. So many!
As others have said, The Talisman would be great. That is one of the best books, I think.
Has he read other more adult books? Some of the things that bother us as parents probably aren’t so bad, really. Though, I say that as someone who’s mother did let me read a lot of somewhat questionable books when I was younger (however, that led to my love of books and my mom and I still share books with each other, so that may work out in a good way?).
That school shooting story has been removed from more recent editions of the Bachman Books (at King’s request, I believe) so you should check to see which version your library has! I like Carrie for teenagers too.
My husband who has read many King books (I have read zero) recommends Salem’s Lot, Joyland, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
I definitely agree with the suggestions of The Eyes of the Dragon, Carrie, and Talisman. I’d also suggest Bag of Bones. None of them are too graphic about sex or violence and have good character development.
Oh! And! For short story collections, Four Seasons has both Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, which are both pretty tame. And I remember really liking Everything’s Eventual. I only remember one or two stories, buy I tend to like King’s non-gory books much more than the gory.
Whatever you do try to avoid IT. I still have an abject fear of clowns some 30 years later because of that book!
Does Rob like The Hunger Games? If so, he might like The Long Walk – it’s more psychological than King’s monster-horror stuff, but it’s short enough (it’s a novella) that it could be a good introduction to his style without too much commitment. The first Stephen King book I read was IT, which is good but so long!
The Stand or The Shining?
Definitely not IT! Not only is there that really disturbing sex scene between the token girl in the group plus all of the boys, which I read way too young (14?) and I’m still like whaaaatwasthat? 25+ years later; if your neighborhood has storm drains he’ll never want to go walking around the neighborhood again!
Also, have you ever seen Kyle Lambert’s film stills mash up between Toy Story and The Shining?
http://www.kylelambert.co.uk/gallery/toy-shining/
You might just have to Google Kyle Lambert and Toy Shining I can’t always get my links to work :/
My 15-year-old recently read The Shining, and liked it well enough to have Salem’s Lot and The Stand in her reading queue. Interestingly, she thinks the Very Best book she’s read this year is All Quiet on the Western Front (yes, I know it’s not by Stephen King), which her dad recommended because he remembers it making a big impact on him at around her age.
I’d start him with ‘The Shining’ or ‘Salem’s Lot’. I think ‘The Shining’ is still a brilliantly claustrophobic family tragedy (and this is what the movie got so wrong, I think – you never saw Jack-the-loving-husband-and-father, just Jack the angry psycho, which meant that you never understood why Wendy and Danny loved him so much, or why it’s so heart-breaking that the Hotel can use his addiction to turn him into a monster.)
‘Salem’s Lot’ has Danny, who I think is one of King’s better child protagonists. It also introduces a lot of the gloriously soupy Dracula memes into the claustrophobic American small town setting which King loves so much, and I think that the combination still works well.
The trouble with the Tower series is that the first book is a very sophomoric effort (I think he began it as a teenager) and I found it pretty tedious to get through. That series took off with the second book, and so I don’t think it’s exactly a fair or representative chunk of King’s work.
Ooh! My favorite subject! I started reading Stephen King at age 8, which I do not recommend, especially if one has just finished up the Little House on the Prairie series and wants to try something “different.”
My all-time favorite book of his is Insomnia. It is just beautiful. Other ones that Rob may enjoy include Joyland, 11/22/63, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, the Long Walk (I think this is a novella) and The Gunslinger series.
Eye Of The Dragon is excellent, and a good introduction to The Dark Man, who pops up in many books. The Talisman was awesome, and very age appropriate except for maybe the time working in the bar or in the orphanage – really strong on adults being horrible to children. But excellent in children being strong and able to handle major issues. The Stand, of course, Carrie, Cujo, oh, and ‘Salem’s Lot. 11/22/63 was excellent. I also recommend the Dark Tower series.
Stephen Kings wife Tabatha is also a great author. She has a three series set out about a teenage boy, his father, and his girlfriend. Rob might be able to get into those, especially if he likes basketball.
I’m pretty sure Rage has been removed from modern editions of The Bachman Books. However, of the stories in that book, “The Long Walk” was really the only great story in it. “Rage” was good, “Roadwork” was really kind of dull–I only vaguely remember it–and “The Running Man” was just so hopeless and dark that it was a chore to read. It was well-written and an interesting premise, but eh. You should be able to find a stand-alone edition of “The Long Walk.” And like other commenters have said, the novella length makes for an easy introduction.
“The Eyes of the Dragon” was my favorite King book at that age, and I had also read “Carrie,” “The Stand” and “IT” by that time. I would recommend any of them. They all have things about them that appeal to the teen mind. Yes, “IT” has some high-level squick going on, but he’s 16, not 12. I would be really surprised if it was more than he can handle.
The “Different Seasons” collection is really good, despite “Apt Pupil.” Maybe you can find stand-alone editions?
My favorite Stephen King was a collection of short stories that I got about 30 years ago… it included “The Mist” and a whole bunch of other short stories. Not monster-scary, but otherworldly-scary. It’s a good start because the stories are short, and really easy to get into.
I starting reading King when I was in 5th grade (’89-’90) for Book-It, I negotiated one King book month vs. 5 Sweet Valley High, it was a sweet deal. I loved The Bachman books so much. I also really like Pet Semetary, Talisman, Tommyknockers, and Misery. And none of them really freaked me out too much. However, to encourage my interest, my mom took me to see Misery in the theater and I was traumatized, and I can’t say there is a King movie that I really like very much. I think with reading, your imagination only allows for what you can handle, maybe that +1, but seeing the movie, for me, at that age, was like my imagination +50, just too much. And condensed into a short amount of time – I could take a break from the book.
When I was a teenager, I really liked Christine and Pet Cemetery. To me, they weren’t so scary because they were fantastic, in a couldn’t happen-way, so not too scary. The Stand really messed with my mind.
I’d say most of his recent works are more likely to put a teen off his books – they’re often steeped more in adult worries like regret at paths not taken rather than just being straight up ‘fun’ scares. They’re also long enough to put someone off if they aren’t already a fan of his world building style of writing.
Pet Sematary is a good choice. No “this could really have done with being edited a touch more” fat to trim. Pretty damn creepy but probably not the kind that would give a teen nightmares.
Cujo for the same reasons (though he could easily skip any chapters about the cereal story without really missing any plot if he finds those parts slow)
The Body because no-one has ever written teenage boys just shooting the breeze as well as he did here.
The Sun Dog, Langoliers, The Mist. Shortish, each a different type of scare. If he doesn’t find something he likes in one of these six then Stephen King probably isn’t his thing!
A 15 year old who wants a straight horror story ? From a Buick 8. It’s simple, yet oh so creepy Stephen King at his best. Reminds me of his first few books.
The only Stephen King book I can remember enjoying was Firestarter. I was probably a little younger, but I was a precocious reader.
I also loved On Writing, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what he’s looking for.