Re:Try these (Score 1)

Bujold is excellent, as is Weber. Others that might be good beginning reads for budding SF readers are: John Ringo's Posleen series (though it is a bit violent and has some strong language), Asimov's Robot novels (The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn, and Robots and Empire) or Empire novels (Pebble in the Sky and The Currents of Space). The Caves of Steel is an excellent introduction to SF for those who already like mysteries. Clarke is good, but stick to the 2001 series or the short stories. Rama is a bit ... weird for early teenagers. Heinlein, while excellent, is also better for mid-teens or up. Not because of the sexual content, mind you, but because the political and social commentary is probably a bit over their heads. Another excellent starter is Fallen Angels by Niven, Pournelle and Flynn.