Summer is right around the corner here in the United States bringing with it both good feelings and worry.

For boys, summer equals a long vacation to do what they love every day: nothing, play video games and sports, run around, hang with friends, swim, etc. And who can blame them?

Recommending books to boys seems like it should be pretty straightforward.

1. A boy needs a book to read.

2. A parent asks an expert other—teachers/librarians/reading specialist—or book recommendations or reads blogs/articles/books touting the best books for boys.

3. A parent gets said book(s) for the boy and shares it with him.

4. The boy reads the book(s).

But, as many parents figure out (and teachers too), recommending a book to a boy is not so straightforward, especially step 4: The boy reads the book(s).

Advocating for 9–14-year-old boys and their reading lives is my passion and specialty, however, because I’m female, this hasn’t been an easy row to hoe.

People often question me on why I’m not advocating for girls and empowering them instead.

Recently, I asked a boy in seventh grade, a football player and video game fanatic, how many books he had read in the last 6 months. He responded, “two books for summer reading… maybe three if comic books count.”

I’m sure you’re thinking, “Huh, aliteracy? Don’t you mean illiteracy? Not a problem in my community. I don’t need this article.”

Wait! Stop! Please keep reading.