5. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin
Picking up the momentum from the hugely popular TV series that you may or may not be allowing your teen to watch, Martin’s eagerly anticipated books are nothing if not thicker than the last. And while the graphic nature of the HBO series is definitely violent and has an unhealthy inclination toward showing a lot of rape, the novels are all long, and challenging. There is much to be said for having to read all about it, rather than just passively taking it in through the eyes.
