I'm going to list some of my favorite books.  

Read them, don't read them, check them out... 

I'll start with Oh, the Places You'll Go...read it, like right now. 

I'll continue with House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  It's pretty graphic, but beautiful in how it describes the will to live. This is one of my favorite stories ever.

Baudolino, by Umberto Eco, is "historical" fiction at its best...at least fantastical. 

One of my favorite books of all time is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn; another will-to-live story; amazing.  You can read it in a day.

Ender's Game is a fantastic story.  Sometimes you have to win BIG.

Oh, yeah.  I try to read this in school but rarely have time.  Read A Lesson Before Dying...but have tissue ready.  You can learn a lot from some injustices.

Read I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier.  It's a story of longing and searching. It's a wonderfully Gouda story...sorry, now I'm trying too hard.  I'll stop.  Please continue reading, regardless of my cheesiness.  Rats, did it again.  

Although Ender's Game is a close second, my favorite science fiction novel is Dune by Frank Herbert.  In fact, the whole series of six stories he finished before he died is quite captivating.  

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a wonderful story, not of first love, but first relationship...and lasting, established relationships. This might just be your viaduct to stronger connections. I'm trying too hard again; sorry.

I would never recommend a story based on gender; after all, I've read all these, enjoyed them, and...that's why they are here.  However, some books might have more appeal to a boy or girl.  Bridge to Terabithia MIGHT appeal more to girls, so Hatchet MIGHT appeal more to boys.  Also, please note the variety of genres here. Don't lock yourself into one type of story.

Read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  This is survival story...literally.

Like brilliantly written, poignant, comic (as in satirical) stories about Indians (Native Americans) and the early American West?  Read Little Big Man by Thomas Berger.

The last story I read was MASH by Richard Hooker.  It's a "war story".  Obviously, this is what the movie and TV series were based on.  In the same genre are No Bugles No Drums by Charles Durden, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and my Hands-Down-Favorite (one of my absolutely-most-favoritist-bestest-most liked) All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Please read this last one whether you like war stories or not.  It's not about war; it's about living. Can you say "pass the tissue, please"?  Wait!!!  Hold the (cell)phone...I'm recommending a book I haven't finished.  It's the sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front:  The Road Back.  So far, so good.  And...finished.  If All Quiet on the Western Front was a 99/100, The Road Back is a 97/100.  Excellent.

And then there is always Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Frankenstein..., Victor, that is. Once again, this is a story about "finding yourself". You may not always like what you find, but what you do with it is what's important.  Remember, people are not always what they seem.  P.S. I tell people all the time to get past the first couple chapters.  They may seem boring at first but are essential to understanding the story in the end.

The whole Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams made me laugh out loud.

Then the four books featuring Tiffany Aching, by Terry Pratchett, are amazing. Funny?  Oh, my!  These are amazing stories, and they may be even better on audio.  Ask me about them.  

Read the poems "The Tiger" and "The Lamb" by William Blake.  They're short and thoughtful (understatement).  These come from the book (that's why I put them here) of poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience.  Even if you don't like the poems, look at the artwork...

Read The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis. (I'll give a 100 test grade to the first person to tell me what the C. S. stands for)  Even if you are not of the Christian faith, it tells a story that somehow crosses "religious" boundaries.  Anyway, you'll be familiar with some of the characters, at least the references to some of the characters.  It's an epistolary work...look that one up, too.