Monday, September 1, 2014

Young Adult

Lately, I have been reading a lot of young adult books. They are sort of addictive in that it's hard to go back to normal books after reading a few of them.

What I like about young adult books:

--The language is simple and easy to read.

For example, these are the first two sentences of a regular adult book I recently tried to read: "An icy rush of air, a freezing slipstream on the newly exposed skin. She is, with no warning, outside the inside and the familiar wet, tropical world has suddenly evaporated."

Huh? I had to read that like three times in order to absorb it. I am way too tired for a book written like that.

--They are never boring. Yes, sometimes silly or annoying, but not boring. Because kids don't have the attention span for boring.

For example, I recently read an adult book that was spending about 10 pages going nowhere about this random drunk guy in a bar. If this were a young adult book, that scene would've ended nine pages earlier. Or left it out entirely.

--The ones that adults manage to remember from their childhood are usually pretty amazing. I mean, if something sticks with you for 20 years, it's got to be pretty good.

So does anyone have any recommendations for a really amazing young adult books? If you want to see what I have already read and enjoyed, you can look at my reading list.

Hurry, before I have to read something meant for people my own age!

26 comments:

  1. Have you read Eleanor and Park? It's YA. You might enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you liked the Giver, by Lois Lowry, you may also enjoy Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son (3 different books in that series). Additionally, other YA books that have a nice pace to them, Sabriel by Garth Nix, The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau and Starters by Lissa Price.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The beyonders was pretty good, and fablehaven. The Belgariad as well... its not classified young adult but its a simple read anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fablehaven for sure if you enjoyed harry potter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did like Harry Potter, but in general, I really don't like fantasy books.

      Delete
    2. Ah I must have missed that bit. I don't know then, but it may be worth a try if you can get it from the library or something. I just saw Harry Potter on your list and Fablehaven is the first thing that came to mind.

      Delete
  5. David Almond (Skellig, Kit's Wilderness, Heaven Eyes) which are all sort of fantastical realism? Fantasy but not? Try Kit's Wilderness first. Also, someone mentioned The Giver. If you like that one, then try The Cure, Sonia Levitin.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Any thing by Tamora Pierce. She writes fantasy, but her women are incredible. Also, anything by Garth Nix.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Try Things Change by Patrick Jones. Gritty, and great.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Narrowing Path series by David J Normoyle, it's a young adult dystopia. He has a short prequel (The Cruel Path) you can check out for free to see if you like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why are there so many young adult books about dystopian society?

      Delete
    2. Because 1) The world seems pretty crappy right now to teens (and probably always has). 2) Teens seem to really like stories where there's a teen hero who takes on horrible adults in league with mostly other teens, and then imagines that their generation will do it better. Dystopias are structurally unjust, and to teens, their world seems fairly unjust. Because they're teens.

      Delete
  9. Ready Player One. I graduated from high school in 1993 and this book is great for anyone who spend any time growing up in the 80s. I don't know if it is technically a YA book, but I've described it as a hunger games for boys.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've been working my way through your reading lists, so thanks for compiling them. I love Inda and the rest of the series, by Sherwood Smith.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Give this one a try. Do a little homework on Wikipedia first. The whole time I was reading I was asking myself would I be able to do it, and then wondering how in the world they did it. Think about the environment they were in, and the diet.

    SOUTH

    THE STORY OF SHACKLETON'S
    LAST EXPEDITION 1914-1917: BY
    SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON
    C.V.O. : WITH EIGHTY-EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS

    ReplyDelete
  12. A Day no pigs would die, by Robert Newton Peck. I read all my children's english reading with them and this was amazing. I even read The Shining and it was not amazing.. Oh the joys of motherhood.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I second the Inda series by Sherwood Smith. I suppose technically they might be fantasy, but it felt more like politics and adventure to me.

    The Thief, and the rest of that series, by Megan Whalen Turner. Excellent.

    The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin

    The Ender and Bean series, by Orson Scott Card. I don't know if these count as young adult or not, but I read them in middle & high school and still as an adult. They're a mix of sci-fi, philosophy, history, and politics, I'd say.

    Frindle, by Andrew Clements

    Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Again, don't know if it's young adult, but it's short, simple to read and a wonderful book.

    Dragonfly by Frederic S Durbin

    The Bunnicula series by James Howe.

    Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. Not intended to be young adult but easy to read and hilarious.

    And a few that are probably to fantasy-ish but are really good: His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper, lots of things by Diana Wynne Jones (I recommend Howl's Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci books in particular)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm showing my age here, but the Superweasel books by Clifford B. Hicks were awesome! I recommend them highly!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm with you - I love young adult books. My brain just can't handle more than that. I loved Orson Scott Card's Ender series.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Justin Cronin - the passage, the twelve

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very Far Away From Anywhere Else by Ursula K Le Guin - short, but such a beautiful and lifelike book, I loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I feel like we have such similar reading tastes! I'm sort of an obsessive reader with a weakness for addicting YA books. I totally agree with so many of your reading list ratings (esp Mockinjay. I get in a rage when I think about it).
    Here are some books I really liked, that are perfect for when I want to read a book and feel happy.

    Anything by Rainbow Rowell: Eleanor and Park, Landline, Attachments, Fangirl.
    The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
    To all the Boys I've loved before, by Jenny Han
    Neanderthal seeks Human, by Penny Reid
    The newest novel by Liane Moriarty: Big Little Lies (I love her books)
    The Selection series by Kiera Cass (I thought it was kind of dumb when I started it, but it got oddly addicting)
    Slammed, by Colleen Hoover
    Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson (oldie but goodie)
    The Princess Bride, William Goldman
    Divergent, Veronica Roth (have you read this series yet? I liked it, but mixed feelings)


    Nobody judge me.

    -Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  19. It was a blustery day in the 100 Acre Woods...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you for the recommendations, everyone. You can check out my reading list to see which ones I end up reading and liking.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love reading my kids' school books. These are some of my favorites:

    Carry on Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham
    Little Britches, by Ralph Moody (first of a great series)
    Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, by Barbara Cohen & Bahija Lovejoy
    Frindle, by Andrew Clements
    Moccasin Trail, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
    Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson
    Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne
    The Great Wheel, by Robert Lawson
    Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
    Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan
    When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr
    Escape from Warsaw, by Ian Serraillier
    Journey Through the Night, by Anne DeVries
    Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death, by Sharon Linnea
    Navajo Code Talkers, by Nathan Aaseng
    Dragon's Gate, by Laurence Yep
    Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston
    Moonshiner's Son, by Caroline Reeder
    Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck
    Winged Watchman, by Hilda van Stockum
    The Wheel on the School, by Meindert DeJong
    Tisha, as told to Robert Specht
    To Destroy You Is No Loss, by JoAn D. Criddle
    Children of the River, by Linda Crew
    Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
    The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt
    The Wave, by Todd Strasser
    Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie
    Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin
    The Chosen, by Chaim Potok

    ReplyDelete
  22. First: I'm typing on my phone, so please forgive any typos or oddly phrased sentences due to this tiny window.

    Found you today, starting an archive binge, thought I'd leave a recommendation.

    Vivian Vande Velde is my favorite YA author. While my favorite book of hers is "Heir Apparent," I highly recommend "Curses, Inc" as the first book of hers to read. It's a collection of short stories. Her short stories are fantastic, because the end tends to completely change the entire story, so that the second reading is completely different from the first. "Curses, Inc." was the first book of hers I read, and from the moment I finished that first short story, I knew I loved her.

    ReplyDelete