YA Rocks!
Don’t get me wrong–I love books for adults–light and funny books for adults (I’m not grown up enough yet for the literary drearies)–but I am finding that I get more excited about books for Young Adults. An obvious example is the Twilight series, but I also very much enjoyed The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart…and on and on.
I’m currently reading my third Maureen Johnson novel, Suite Scarlett, and I am loving it–the characters and humor are awesome, and the setting, a ‘jewel box of a hotel’ in NYC is eclectic and fun. I’ve heard blogging rumors that there’ll be a sequel, and all I can say is that I hope so.
My other new favorite literary heroine is Kiki Strike, a totally original, kick-butt teenage girl with a very interesting past. In book one of the series, she manages, with minimal effort, to corral a posse of talented girls (Girl Scout rejects who adopt the name The Irregulars) to explore a secret underground city beneath NYC and use their skills to fight the sort of crimes that baffle the local authorities. Creator Kirsten Miller is, in my opinion, a genius–and an elusive one at that. Kiki Strike has a blog, but Ms. Miller is keeping a very low profile.
I’m beginning to think that I like YA so much because there’s so much room for possibility. Lives are wide-open, and oddball happenings don’t seem nearly so far-fetched in the life of a teen–more the norm. I’m actually starting to wonder if there’s anything I could do with this obsession (other than start a blog reviewing YA, which doesn’t actually sound so bad…)
11/17/2008 at 11:47 am
I’ve read a couple of YA books myself – and really liked them.
I’m having difficulty explaining why here but I think it has to do with the fact that we can relate to some of the issues the young adults have in the stories. Or maybe we relate to how we were at that age. Maybe it brings back memories of that time in our lives. Or maybe we’re all Peter Pan’s who don’t want to grow up. Take your pick.
But it’s always good to have choices of books to choose from. (Not that I have a problem or anything!)
11/17/2008 at 2:00 pm
I’ve been reading a few YA books lately and found some really good one. I loved the entire Twilight series and can’t wait to see the movie this weekend. I love Ally Carter’s series, and will look into a few that you listed. I found Cara Lockwood’s YA series thru plotmonkeys. The series is called Bard Academy and the first in the series is Wuthering High. Very well written and fun. I’m starting the second in the series(The Scarlet Letterman) when I get home from work tonight.
11/17/2008 at 2:11 pm
And YA’s hot now, so even better!
11/18/2008 at 2:20 pm
YA is my fave too.. Definitely filled with possibilities.
11/18/2008 at 9:17 pm
Kiki sounds awesome! Ya know, another cool thing about YA is the ability to play with the structure of the book. There seem to be so many more rules in other genres but there’s a lot of room for experimentation in YA. I love it!
11/30/2008 at 6:16 pm
I love YA as well! Have you read “Speak” by Laurie Hals Anderson? Love that book!