The recent renaissance in young adult fiction has really been a miracle, at least from where I'm sitting, because it's like it went from zero to 'holy cow, look at all this AWESOME' in less than six years. Sure, there's a lot of chaff mixed in with all that wheat, but there's more than enough wheat to make a really healthy, fiber-riffic loaf of bread. I have now beaten this metaphor to within an inch of its life, and will move on.
Because I've been reading so much YA recently, I thought I should do a quick round-up of books I've read which have proven to be awesome. This isn't what I'd call a book review post, per se, since I'm not really taking the time to review things, but with as much as I read, this may be the only way to get the word out about some truly rockin' books. The word needs to be gotten. You should get the word.
First up is the fantastic Evernight [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies], by Claudia Gray. This book hit shelves officially yesterday, and I've already read the whole thing twice, read some of my favorite scenes three or four times, and planned to loan it and Evernight both to my niece Kristine, because they will rock her world completely. I'm going to say something I don't say very often: Stargazer is totally worth the hardcover shelf space. If you like vampires, supernatural romance, school stories, or just plain good fiction, you should really give it a read. There will be a better review later.
Lipstick Apology [Amazon] by Jennifer Jabaley is a) non-genre, b) really awesome, and c) not technically out yet, being as it's one of those wacky advance reader copy things. How I love you, ARCs. Anyway, Lipstick Apology is sort of like a combination of Gossip Girl and I'll Be There For You (the sequel to Beaches), as written by Meg Cabot. It's smart, it's sassy, it's sentimental without becoming sappy, and it's just all-around really worth reading. I didn't find any of the lessons preachy, and all the characters were actually people, even if they weren't necessarily people we were supposed to like. I figured out the central mystery pretty quickly. I'm also substantially more well-read than most of the book's target audience, and even knowing what was probably going on did nothing to detract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole. I really recommend it.
I'm actually in the middle of So Lyrical [Amazon] by Trish Cook right now, and since I've never read it before, I guess I technically don't know if it's actually going to maintain its early promise and come out awesome on the other side. But frankly, I don't care. This book is like a fantastic mashup of Gilmore Girls and Rock of Love. It's snappy, it's sharp, it's trashy when it needs to be, ironic when it needs to be, and I would totally have hung out with all the main characters when I was in high school. Plus, it's in paperback, so it's not like you're taking that much of a gamble.
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side [Amazon]|[Mysterious Galaxies], on the other hand, is almost like the antidote to all those sappy vampire books that seem to be flooding the shelves in the post-Twilight haze currently covering the young adult section. Beth Fantaskey has managed to create a vampire romance that's touching, interesting, and oddly realistic, with a vampire society that makes an incredible amount of sense. I mean, between her and Claudia Gray, I actually believe this genre has a lot more of a future than people give it credit for. Plus, I really like her hero, as well as her heroine. It's a win all the way around.
Because this is my post, not yours, I'm also choosing to give a quick shout-out to one of my favorite young adult books of all time: The Girl With the Silver Eyes [Amazon] by Willo Davis Roberts. It's out of print, but in today's world, that only means as much as you want it to mean, and this is the sort of book that's just like a warm, fuzzy blanket filled with goodness and warmth. The technology is naturally a bit outdated, but the social aspects of the book, and the outsider aspects, all remain very true.
That's my YA round-up for today. Because I like to share.
March 25 2009, 17:18:10 UTC 8 years ago
*hugs that book*
March 25 2009, 17:35:54 UTC 8 years ago
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March 25 2009, 17:36:56 UTC 8 years ago
March 25 2009, 17:59:20 UTC 8 years ago
(I'm slightly less psychic than the average rock, but it's a good read anyhow.)
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Deleted comment
March 25 2009, 17:37:47 UTC 8 years ago
March 25 2009, 18:12:42 UTC 8 years ago
I loved Girl With the Silver Eyes. It's one of a handful of books that I'm now sorry that they were lost at some point along the move to adulthood (though it's possible I only dogeared a library copy over and over rather than owning a copy).
March 25 2009, 20:11:28 UTC 8 years ago
March 25 2009, 18:42:51 UTC 8 years ago
BTW speaking of YA I'm assuming you've read the Garth Nix Abhorsen books already, but just in case not, highly recommended.
March 25 2009, 20:11:46 UTC 8 years ago
8 years ago
March 25 2009, 18:56:41 UTC 8 years ago
March 25 2009, 21:01:59 UTC 8 years ago
I have a deep and abiding love for Lavinia Harris's The Great Rip-Off, which may be singlehandedly responsible for my beginning interest in the geekboy as a sex object.
March 25 2009, 21:39:02 UTC 8 years ago
Forest of Hands and Teeth
March 25 2009, 19:01:46 UTC 8 years ago
Have you read Carrie Ryan's recent first YA novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, about a girl wondering what's beyond the fences that keep the zombies in the forest from eating everyone in her village?
Re: Forest of Hands and Teeth
March 25 2009, 21:39:31 UTC 8 years ago
March 25 2009, 20:06:43 UTC 8 years ago
March 26 2009, 02:23:03 UTC 8 years ago
March 25 2009, 20:29:48 UTC 8 years ago
I've got a library copy of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side that I haven't opened yet, but I'm going to get to it soon. :)
March 26 2009, 02:23:17 UTC 8 years ago
March 26 2009, 17:42:56 UTC 8 years ago
April 7 2009, 18:01:20 UTC 8 years ago
A question
March 27 2009, 22:48:07 UTC 8 years ago
But other than Scott Westerfeld (I really liked the Uglies trilogy), what's good in new YA science fiction?
Re: A question
April 7 2009, 18:02:18 UTC 8 years ago
February 22 2011, 13:02:58 UTC 6 years ago