On my YA picks

Today’s genre is young adult! I realize this is a fairly broad genre, but this isn’t something that I read too much of, so this is a fun post for me to write! Here are a few YA books that you might not have read already:

• Traitor’s Blade by Sebastian de Castell - This Three Muskateers-esque fantasy tale is full of fun, snark, heartbreak, and magic. A great read for older YA readers with an interest in fantasy (especially as a move into more epic fantasy).

• The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian - The Authentics is an adorable and touching contemporary YA story about adoption, family, young love, and being true to yourself. I loved this story and the young heroine - she was so relateable and imperfect and I loved her for it.

• Love and Other Alien Experiences by Kerry Winfrey - This book is a contemporary YA tale dealing with anxiety, family, loss, and getting through tough times. It’s full of quirks and has a very John Green feel to it.

• Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carringer - Finishing school doesn’t have to be boring. This book is all about a finishing school for spies - complete with cool gadgets and strange missions. I loved this book - and middle grade readers transitioning to YA books will thoroughly enjoy this story.

• K My Name is Kendra by Kamichi Jackson - Save this book for more mature YA readers who can handle difficult material. Kendra is a girl in a difficult situation that becomes more awful when she becomes a survivor of sexual abuse. It’s ultimately full of hope and the importance of family, but there are some difficult parts before the end.

• The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan - If you liked Huck Finn, this is a good next step. Shan’s dark fantasy take on the classic story is delightful and fascinating - and full of interesting world-building.

• Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson - If you like fractured fairy tales, this is the book for you. The Bluebeard story is retold in the Southern US around the time of the civil war - it’s an interesting mix of American culture and classic fairy tale elements.

For more YA book suggestions, check out Hey Teen Books Hey.

What YA books would you add to this list? What are your opinions on the books I have listed? What do you look for in a good YA read?

Series Review: The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his will.
Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart — the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning — and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.
He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge. (Steelheart description taken from Goodreads)

Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoner’s trilogy about superheroes (and the terrible consequences of superpowers) is fun, fast-paced, and hilarious. I first read Steelheart when I was stuck in an airport for several hours and needed something to read. I managed to find an autographed copy in an airport bookstore (Thanks, Brandon) and read the entire thing before the plane showed up. It was a nice way to spend the day and immediately got me interested in finishing the series, which I did when a Sanderson-obsessed friend lent me the next two books. While this is not my favorite Sanderson series, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it for YA readers.

And now, for some pros and cons:

PROS

• UNIQUE AND ENGAGING STORY - There aren’t a lot of superhero books that aren’t comics (at least, not that I’ve seen) and this series has an interesting take on superheroes - what makes someone with superpowers good or evil? How did they get their powers? What are the consequences of living in a society where a handful of people have superpowers? Sanderson addresses all these questions and gives a superhero-infested world a more realistic and dark mood. Especially interesting (to me, at least) is that the story follows a group of individuals who are not super, but who actively oppose the superheroes. This is something that we, as consumers of superhero franchises, have been conditioned not to expect. Stories are usually told from the superheroes’ points of view, right? Not in this case. And this unique perspective gives the reader a much-appreciated break from normal superhero lore and storytelling.
• HILARIOUSLY TERRIBLE METAPHORS - This is honestly one of my favorite parts of the series. David, the main character, is awful at metaphors.

But even a ninety-year-old blind priest would stop and stare at this woman. If he weren’t blind, that is. Dumb metaphor, I thought. I’ll have to work on that one. I have trouble with metaphors.

He certainly does. And that’s not even the best awful metaphor Sanderson gives us. Here are a few more to whet your appetite:

He was right. I was letting myself get distracted, like a rabbit doing math problems instead of looking for foxes.

They looked so dangerous, like alligators. Really fast alligators wearing black. Ninja alligators.

It would be like finding out that you'd drawn lots for dessert at the Factory and been only one number off, only it didn't matter because Pete already snuck in to steal the dessert, so nobody was going to get any anyway - not even Pete, because it turns out there had never been any dessert to begin with.

• CLASSIC SANDERSON TWIST ENDINGS - My favorite thing about reading a Sanderson book is that I can never be sure how it’s going to end. He’s a master at making you think one thing is going to happen and then going in a completely unexpected direction (that, in hindsight, actually makes a lot of sense and seems obvious upon a reread). This series was no exception. There are enough twists to keep things interesting and fun without giving the reader whiplash.

CONS

• MEH CHARACTERS - I really didn’t connect with any of the characters in this series and I wasn’t that bothered by any character deaths, honestly. Prof was probably the most interesting character and even he was kind of dull and kind of a stereotype. I attribute this partly to this being a YA series (which aren’t exactly known for their insane character development).
• A LITTLE CONVOLUTED - I’m a fast reader, meaning that sometimes, I skim books and miss important details. For most books, this isn’t a problem. For this series, it was a huge issue. I had to read far more carefully or I’d miss important details or new characters or the reasons for things happening or excellently bad metaphors. By the end of the series, there was so much information and conflict to keep track of that I was ready for it to be done and far less invested in the final book that I had been in the early books. This can be a pro if you’re someone who enjoys complex plots and lots of characters and drama, but for me, it was a bit much.

Have you read this series? What did you think of it? Who would you recommend this series to?

On YA books about school

This list was a little more difficult to put together because SO MANY YA books have school settings or themes. In making this list, we focused on books with stronger school settings or themes.

• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
• Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carringer
• I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Avalon High by Meg Cabot
• This Side of Home by Renee Watson
• Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
• Bitter Melon by Cara Chow
• Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
• Falling into Place by Amy Zhang
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
• King Dork by Frank Portman
• Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell

What books would you add to this list? What books don’t belong? Which ones have you read?

Series Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

In 2013, I was still a newcomer to YA fiction. I had taken a couple years off reading for fun (because of school) and was excited to come back to it, especially since I had just moved in with some girls who seemed to love reading as much as I did. In our first few months together, one roommate recommended Article Five by Kristen Simmons to me and I gratefully took her up on it. Having little experience with YA dystopian fiction, I was pretty impressed with the intensity of the novel and excited to read more. However, as time went on, I realized that this book was not nearly or fun as I’d originally thought and my interest waned as I finished the trilogy.

The description of the first book (pulled from Goodreads) is as follows:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Honestly, it took me some time and research to remind myself what happened in this series and I realized that I didn’t really miss it and that, in hindsight, it was not nearly as wonderful as I originally thought it was. But here I am today to tell you both the pros and cons of this book.

First, the pros:

• INTENSE - My favorite thing about this series is that it starts off on an intense note and never really stops. It’s a dark and action-packed ride (with plenty of plot twists and suspense) and that made it a fun and exciting read. This is more intense than some other dystopian series I’ve read. The emotions are always at a record high and the stakes are always as high as they can be. For me, this was rewarding and fun - especially during the first book.
• DECENT BACKSTORY - While many dystopian novels don’t explain how the world got from how it is today to being terrible and dark, this book did a good job of showing how things used to be and how they changed so much in such a short time. I appreciated this, since most YA dystopias seem to skip this step entirely.

And now, the cons:

• FLAT CHARACTERS - Ember and Chase (the main characters) are your typical YA stars - she’s perfect and good at everything and everyone loves her and wants her to fall in love with them and he’s brooding and dark and tortured and really good at combat. They were nothing special in my mind and I enjoyed the story much more than I enjoyed the characters.
• TYPICAL DYSTOPIA - I cannot stress how much this was just like every other YA novel I’ve read. As I think about it, I’m having trouble distinguishing this from Unwind by Neal Shusterman and Delirium by Lauren Oliver (and probably a bunch of other YA books I can’t think of right now because they were so boring and stereotypical). There is really nothing that stands out about this book except that it was the first real dystopian YA book I ever read, so it paved the road for my thoughts about all the ones I read later.
• TOO INTENSE? - I’m not sure if this was a pro or con for me. Maybe a bit of both. At first, the intensity was fun and intriguing. By the third book, I was exhausted. I couldn’t afford to have my emotions running so high the whole time I read. Honestly, I was a little relieved when it ended - finally, I could relax a little and read something calming.

Have you read this series? Do you agree with my opinions on it? Are you as sick of dystopian YA novels as I am?

On gritty middle grade/YA novels

As middle grade readers begin checking out YA books, the transition can be tough. To begin with, YA books deal with much different issues than your typical middle grade novel. YA books also tend to be trendier, grittier, and have very upfront and in-your-face love stories (or bizarre love triangles). Writing for middle grade and for YA is SO DIFFERENT as well - most middle grade is much fluffier and fun, while many YA books use more difficult words and are written in more real voices. For a middle grade reader who doesn’t quite know how to deal with these changes, I have a few suggestions. These are also for anyone who wants a bit of easy, but gritty, reading:

• Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Eleanor Updale - While this novel isn’t entirely dark, it has several dark aspects to it. Montmorency makes a Valjean-esque change from rags to riches and spends plenty of time being confronted with his past - while still trying to provide for his future.
• Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix - In a dystopian future not to far from our own world, families are only allowed to have two children. Haddix explores the stories of secret third children - and the terrible danger posed with their continued existence. My mum read these books before I did and highly recommended them when I was young. It was one of the darker books I read at a young age and I remember being somewhat
• The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick - In this Lord of the Flies-esque book, Philbrick shows a dystopian future where children run their own dark society and where some children cannot let go of their traumatic pasts.
• Lord Loss by Darren Shan - This series is one of the bloodiest I have ever read. For many children, the themes (and bloodshed) in this book may be too intense. The writing is very middle grade and incredibly easy to read. Parents may want to read this book before offering it to their children.
• The White Mountains by John Christopher - This classic science fiction novel was one of the first chapter books I remember reading. At age 8, it both intrigued and disturbed me. Reviewing it later in life made me realize it wasn’t nearly as dark as it seemed to me when I was young, but for a kid, this book packs a punch. While being easy to read, it can be a lot of very young readers to swallow. Highly recommended for introducing your child to science fiction.

Series Review: The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

I’ve read plenty of YA novels at this point - so many that I’m really starting to get sick of the genre entirely. I do tend to like YA fantasy, but so many modern ones are full of so many ridiculous tropes that it’s difficult for me to read anything. But this one felt...different. In a really good way.

The Winner's Trilogy follows Kestrel, a general’s daughter, and Arin, a slave under Kestrel’s rule. As time passes, their relationship changes, their roles in their countries change, and the “peace” between their nations dies completely. Kestrel and Arin must choose what’s more important - following your heart or remaining loyal to your country.

It’s difficult for me to pinpoint exactly what was different about this series, but I’m going to try. Because this is one of the better YA series I’ve read in a long time.

The pros:

• GOOD WORLD-BUILDING- Granted, this isn’t the best built world I’ve ever read, but compared to most YA books I read, this world was much deeper and much more interesting than I expected. There were cultural clashes and political intrigue and lots of interesting aspects to the world that made it feel more real - and a lot less like earth with a few small changes. I really appreciated the world. Also, there were several different societies and cultures that Rutkoski created that somehow worked together. It was interesting and obviously took a lot of work to create so much.
• COMPLEX CHARACTERS - Now, again, I’m comparing this with other YA I’ve read, because I’ve definitely read more complex characters in adult fiction. But the two main characters in this series were much more complex and interesting than most YA main characters. I feel like most YA characters are so wrapped up in their love interest that the rest of the plot functions as a way to keep lovers apart. In this book, the main love story was basically put on the backburner for a lot of the series because the main characters had things to do instead of being madly in love all the time. Sure - their love story was a huge part of the series, but instead of being completely defined by their love interest, the characters were able to put it aside to accomplish things that were important to them. I know that’s kind of a low bar for characters, but it was really refreshing to read YA characters like this.
• WELL-WRITTEN - I really liked Rutkoski’s style of writing. It was fairly simple overall, but she gave the books a very dark feel, while still giving the reader a small measure of hope that our heroes would triumph. I feel like the books started light, got significantly darker, and (in the end) got much lighter again. Her style of writing reflected this somewhat and it made reading more interesting.

And the cons:

• FAIRLY BASIC YA FANTASY - If it isn’t already clear that I’m pretty fed up with this whole genre, this should help. While this series doesn’t completely follow every YA trope, it still is pretty straight-forward and basic - there’s an intense love story (which is a triangle at a couple points), a main character is the only one who can do what needs to be done, no one else can compare to the main character’s talents, etc etc. It’s getting old and this book refreshed me in some ways, but was pretty basic in a lot of ways.
• NON-REALISTIC LOVE STORY - I did like the love story in this series overall, but it was just too much a lot of the time. I did like it more than most YA I’ve read, but the love story made me roll my eyes way too much - which might be a plus for some people, but wasn’t fun for me.

If you’re interested in easy, but slightly different YA fantasy, then this is a good series for you. Also, if you’re looking to move from basic YA into more adult fantasy, this is a good first step.

Series Review: The Demonata by Darren Shan

There is so much blood in this series.

Like, SOOOOOO much blood. The Demonata is, without a doubt, the bloodiest series I have ever read (and I like horror novels!).

And yet, I really really enjoyed this series - even though I’m not at all the intended demographic and it definitely wasn’t my first choice of book and I probably won’t read other series by Darren Shan.

You see, I mostly read The Demonata because all my younger siblings went through a Darren Shan phase and I felt like I should keep up with their interests somewhat (though, honestly, reading Darren Shan hasn’t suddenly brought us insanely close or influenced my siblings to read anything I’ve recommended ever). So over the course of a year, I dutifully read the series and, at the end, I was actually kind of happy that I had.

There are a lot of good things about The Demonata:

• STRANGE AND BIZARRE PLOT ELEMENTS GALORE - So Grubbs Grady lives with his uncle and along the way there’s a lot of demons and plenty of magic and some life-or-death chess matches and colorful blobs and werewolves and bullying and famous filmmakers and family drama and motorcycles and medieval times and just a lot of everything. Grubbs spends most of his time hunting/fighting demons and the rest of his time being an average teenage boy, but all the fun fantasy elements and plot twists make the story much more fun.
• GOOD BALANCE OF HUMOR AND HORROR - Overall, I’d classify these books as YA fantastical horror (or maybe YA horrific fantasy?), but it’s not all dark and bleak. Shan does an excellent job of making our characters funny and likeable and able to see the good in their terrible situations. They’re frequently joking around and having fun, in spite of their circumstances and that makes them very fun characters to read.
• UNPREDICTABLE - I’ve read a LOT of YA books and I feel like I have a pretty good idea what’s coming most of the time. But Shan kept me in the dark frequently. He took the story in ways I never imagined, he started telling the story from a different point of view, or gave the reader more background (which completely changed my ideas of what was going to happen). It’s really fun to read books when you legitimately don’t know what will happen.
• UNIQUE CHARACTERS - While a few of the characters in this series fit stereotypes (i.e. Grubbs Grady as the tortured teen hero), most of them are interesting and unique. Having the story told from different viewpoints also helps the reader to appreciate each character, their background, their place in Shan’s world, and their contribution to the story.

And even though I really enjoyed this series, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows (in fact, I don’t think there was any sunshine and there were definitely no rainbows in the entire series). There were some parts that I didn’t appreciate:

• MEH WRITING - I wasn’t expecting too much out of these books, but I was still a bit disappointed. The writing is passable at best and doesn’t really suck the reader in at all. Shan writes best when he’s writing about really bloody and graphic scenes (and there are a lot of those), but being a good writer is being able to write the whole story well, not just the gory parts. Shan’s The Thin Executioner is written much MUCH better (and is somewhat less bloody), so it may be a better place to start.
• UNREALISTIC - I know, I know - it’s partly a fantasy series, but STILL. Sometimes, the plot would go to extremes that were just too much for me to believe. Things would either work out far too well for our heroes or everything would suddenly come up to stop them and it was just too much for the sake of a dramatic ending (since this usually happened at the end of one of the books).

My favorite book in the series is Bec - the fourth book. We've spent most of the series up until now hanging out with Grubbs Grady and hearing his sad tales and seeing things from the point of views of Grubbs and the people he hangs around with. But we begin Bec by being transported into another time and seeing the history of a lot of the problems that Grubbs is facing and that changes everything. Also, Bec is a fantastic female character (in a series with mostly tough men and a few hardcore women) and her influence throughout the rest of the series is huge.

If you don’t like blood and guts, don’t read this series. However, if you can tolerate some of that and some mediocre writing for a fun and absolutely ridiculous story about good vs. evil and teenage angst, then this is a good series for you.