Do not want pseudo-vampires and magicians. Anything actually unique and entertaining to read?

Really, I mean it. I'm tired of the constant barrage of female characters, too.

Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher doesn't have vampires or magicians in it, though it does have paranormally-type things (and one girl). Same with Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld (though some of the main characters are girls).

Feed by M.T. Anderson is a sci-fi futuristic thing that I thought was quite good, and the main character's a boy.

(Er, I don't understand your problem with female characters. Is it just female characters in stories with vampires and magicians, or female characters everywhere?)

If you're into comics, try Death Note. It's totally awesome.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson

No vampires, no magic, just the cruelty of human monsters and the curiosity of the main (male) character. Takes place before and during the American Revolution.

Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz

Turn of the century Japan. Japan is being westernized and the way of the Samurai is forbidden. The main character (again male) is accepted into the top school and has to deal with hazing, fitting in, and his father's impending sepukku.

Both of these books are great reads.

Female main characters in general. I prefer characters with more androgynous personalities and more often I see that done better with male characters. I've noticed sarcasm from female characters is less funny, as well. Then again, I don't venture much into YA fiction so I may be completely ignorant about this.

"If you're into comics, try Death Note. It's totally awesome."

I agree, but I wish whoever did the plotting had given that detective a backstory. With comics you do more looking than reading, though.

The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian and The Graveyard Book are the best YA novels I've read this year. They both completely blow away expectations and both have unique male protagonists. The Graveyard Book just won the Newbery Medal, too.

You could try Click which is a novel written by 10 authors. It was pretty unique although I think it was written from both male and female perspectives.

You might also like to try some of John Green's books. The two I read, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines were both rather unique stories from male perspectives.

I saw Scott Westerfeld mentioned, but not my fave novel by him which is Peeps. Although it is arguably a vampire novel it is more about a disease that mimics vampirism.

Shelter Me by Alex McCauley is an amazing read with nothing supernatural in it, although the main character is female so it might not appeal to you. I really enjoyed it though - best book I've read in a long time.

Lots of entertaining stuff out there, but unique? As Ambrose Bierce said, "There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don't know." Maybe it's time to dust off an old classic, like Faulkner's The Reivers or David Copperfield. No, I'm just kidding. Try Generation Dead by Daniel Waters. It's about zombies, but not really. It's about prejudice and bigotry and high school and bullying... and zombies.

I suggest Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, which I did think had some new aspects to it - set in a not too distant possible future, in San Francisco, it deals with the effects of terrorism on society, and what happens when the innocent get swept up by Homeland Security.....
I also second the suggestion for The Graveyard book.

I definitely suggest Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This is the book that Miyazaki made a movie out of, but the book is WAY better. Not that the movie isn't good. It had the voices of Lauren Bacall and Christian Bale in it, after all.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book sooo much more. It's hard to explain, and I feel bad because it has both wizards and a female lead, but it's so different from everything I've read. It completely captivated me, and was one of the first YA books I read that really hooked me on the genre.

Also, I suggest the Uglies series or anything by Scott Westerfeld. The Uglies books are about a post-apocalyptic, dystopian society that forces total face and body reconstruction on everyone at the age of 15. It's tech and futuristic flash with hoverboard chases and wilderness survival, but underneath it's a story about identity and growing up and all those other touching topics. I also enjoyed Westerfeld's Peeps, which takes vampirism as a form of parasite, and features a male protagonist, and his So Yesterday, which is all about modern New York City and pop culture, and the main character is a guy with an awesome narrative voice.

Anyway. That was long. But this is the first thread I've ever replied to, so, forgive me?

A couple recs for you. Other than Cormier, these are in no particular order. I’m just putting them down as I see them in my library.

--I second Generation Dead. Don't judge it by its cover.

The Chocolate War It starts off as a dare, but one guy bucks the system of education. He refuses to sell candy for the high-school fundraiser, no matter the cost. There’s also a sequel, Beyond the Chocolate War. I’d really recommend anything by Robert Cormier. I am the Cheese is my other favorite by him. Can’t describe it, just read it. ;)

It's Kind of a Funny Story Male author and protagonist. A teenage boy contemplates suicide and is put into the adult ward of a mental hospital for a few days.

Body of Christopher Creed The school freak turns up missing after sending an email to the principal. People laugh at the idea of him either running away or killing himself. One of his former bullies becomes drawn in and has to find out what happened for himself.

Thirteen Reasons Why A high school boy comes home to find a package containing the audio tapes of a girl who recently committed suicide. If he gets this package, he is one of the thirteen reasons why she died.

Skin You don’t usually get a guy’s perspective on anorexia. This one has the character watch his sister fade from it.

Burger Wuss To get back at an ex-girlfriend, a guy decides to wage war on the local burger joint that her fling works at. What’s the best way to destroy a place? From the inside. Anderson also did Feed, but I was surprisingly let down by it (and it involved vampires, anyways)

The Book of Lost Things After his mother dies, a boy hides in a tree and wanders into a magical realm. It’s a twist on many of the classics, and I promise you it’s worth the read.

The Witch’s Boy by Michael Gruber. Follows the life of a boy who was raised by a witch and a bear. Also has the twist-on-classic theme. For those of you who liked Graveyard and Book of Lost Things, I think you’ll love this.

Tooth Fairy Graham Joyce became one of my top three authors with this one. Most of his other stuff is adult, but fantastic as well. This ain’t your dainty princess fairy. She’s a sight, and a foul-mouthed one at that!

The Looking Glass Wars and Seeing Redd. Okay, this one has a female main character, but it’s an action-based twist on Alice in Wonderland.

The Neverending Story If you’ve only seen the movie, you’re majorly missing out.

Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Fanfriggintastic. I went to a Catholic school all my life, and parts of this made me go “YES!”--anyways, it’s about a circle of guys who live to prank. To get out of one stunt, they have to come up with the ultimate prank.

edited because Witch's Boy touchstone not working. I put the author for you as well.

I second the vote for The Absolutely True Adventures of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and also suggest Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

What about Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones? Or her book Dogsbody, or even The Ogre Downstairs? No magicians or vampires in those, although they are all fantasy, and to my mind pretty unique.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was one of my favourite reads last year. Not a vampire in sight. Although, the narrator alternates between Nick and Norah, so only every other chapter has a male protagonist. A great book, though.

I second (third?) Peeps. Trust they others when they say it's not really about vampires. A great, great book.

*edited because I've lived in a foreign country for too long. Note to self... 'before' is not the same as 'between' despite the fact they both start with the same two letters. Arrgh.

I just read A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban and can not say enough wonderful things about it. It's realistic fiction, and though the narrator is a girl, there is nothing really "girlie" about the book, and it has a strong male character.

When I finished it, I actually went right back to the first chapter and started over again, it was that good!

I definitely second the recommendation of I am the Cheese! It is amazing! It is hard to explain, but I'd put it in the thriller (maybe psychological thriller) category.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is also fabulous. It is about teenage boys in gangs and all of the stuff they go through.

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a great book about a futuristic society.

I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle (former "Simpsons" writer) and King Dork by Frank Portman are both great books whose heroes are high school boys who are unpopular dorks. The books cover their romantic conquests and life in general. They are both pretty funny as well.

Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith is a good historical fiction book set in the Civil War.

I hear that anything by Chris Crutcher is good. Whale Talk is the only book by him that I have read and it is very good. It deals with everything from sports to racism to dealing with abuse to befriending outfits and so much more.

Hope these suggestions help!

Tangerine by Edward Bloor - a soccer player moves with his family to Florida and deals with some major ethical evil bubbling under his new town's surface.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: a fable which really isn't a fable at all, but rather a young boys perspective on WWII and concentration camps.

While I'm on that trail, Night by Elie Weisel. The view from the other side of the fence.

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a little science fiction-y, but very cool, about a clone growing up on his patron's farm.

I am loving this list! I've read some of these, heard of many of them but have a lot of new ones to try thanks to all of you. I just finished Thirteen Reasons Why today, finally. I've been wanting to read it since it came out. It was good and so sad but it would have been better if I wouldn't have been interrupted so often while reading it. I started Coraline this evening and it's off to a good start. Thanks for so many more good ideas!

I have read tons of YA lit, most of which are not about pseudo-magicians and vampires. My favorite YA authors include Robert Cormier, Adam Rapp and Markus Zusak, neither of whom wrote about pseudo-magicians or vampires. My favorite YA books include Cormier's I am the Cheese, After the First Death and Tenderness, Rapp's The Copper Elephant, 33 Snowfish and Little Chicago, and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief and I am the Messenger. You can check out my young adult fiction tag for hundreds of YA books, most of which aren't about pseudo-magicians or vampires.

Un Lun Dun. It's quite unusual and well done. It does have a female lead, but she's not originally cast as such, and so is not typical. Also, the other main characters are unusual and distinctive enough that it shouldn't aggravate your bias too much.

I've seen a couple people mention Robert Cormier but nobody mentions Fade, my favorite by him.

The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy - female protagonist, but I think she could just have easily been a he
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean - another female protagonist, but really not terribly relevant
The Montmaray Journals series by Michelle Cooper, because it's YA historical fiction that's not at all romance- or action-driven
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
...and who could leave out Lord of the Flies by William Golding?
All of the above recommended for being a bit weird and my favorite reads that aren't like many other books I've read.

I also second Fade and Tangerine.

Try Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. It's a ghost story with a quirky and cool male protagonist. Sure, Anna (the ghost) is female but she's... special.

I'm with you on this. I'm sick of those kinds of books and want some different books.

Unwind is FABULOUS. I second #18's suggestion of The Giver also.

This topic is old as heck, but I thought I'd throw in some of the most excellent YA books I've read lately with male protagonists.

For the Win by Cory Doctorow

Gentlemen by Michael Northrup

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Trash by Andy Mulligan

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

There's also Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley -- it has a male protagonist.

OUT by M.J. Swartz. At 1st you can't figure out the genre and then...

I would say anything by Robert Cormier (The Chocolate War, Heroes, Fade) or Robert Swindells especially Brother in The Land.

If you like fantasy try
Susan Cooper The Dark is Rising series.

>19 MissTeacher:; Miss Teacher: How do you feel about 12 year olds reading The House of Scorpion. This afternoon, I was listening to my grandson read 4 chapters in The House of Scorpion and I wasn't impressed at all! There were curse words, continual references to the Mexican Drug Trade and then there was the cloning descriptions. I personally don't think 12 year olds need to be reading this as a class assignment. I realize the book had received numerous awards, but, I still can't get my head around letting 6 and 7 graders read it as a class assignment.

35> I read The House of Scorpion sometime in middle school (probably 6th or 7th grade) for book club, and it didn't hurt me at all. Yes, parts of it were rather macabre, but it made for good discussion. And as for the Mexican Drug Trade - wouldn't that be a good way to bring current events and real world issues into the classroom? It is a problem, and I don't think 6th or 7th grade is too young to start learning about it. The Holocaust is much worse, and it is something that all sixth graders should know about.

Eleanor & Park is my favorite new one this year.