Google Alert! 8 YA Books to Read Again and Again...

Google recently alerted me to the new posting of an article with my name on it and I have to say...WHAT? It's been totally mangled. So if you've already read this article in a previous post I apologize, but I have to re-post it because anyone who runs into it on the random site currently hosting it (in its very nearly unreadable version) are being redirected here in the comments on the article.

So if you've already read this...oh well! Next time you'll be more entertained. If you haven't...enjoy!

8 Young Adult Books Worth Recommending
By SarahBeth Carter

I am an avid reader with a definite weakness for YA (it’s like my mother-in-law’s love of chocolate). No matter how much I indulge myself…the books never lose their interest, their excitement, their ease, their sense of honesty. The genre seems to be filled with books, authors, and publishers that know exactly how I think and see the world. And if that’s not worth reading I don’t know what is!

So as an obsessive reader of YA there’s just no reason for me not to share the treasures I’ve found. If you haven’t checked out young adult books yet here are a few you should try. If you love Teen books and find any on the list you haven’t given a shot…you should rethink it and pick it up the next time you’re looking for a good book. And if you have no idea what I’m talking about just find one of the books below, open it and read. You’ll get it after a few pages.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DePrau. This book just seemed so clean and straight forward; so real. It is definitely set in the future, but in a future that seemed so simply inevitable after reading the book that it made me want to change my ways and be a different person. This book is followed by a sequel, The People of Sparks that is just as good. The City of Ember also has a movie based on the book that was released in Fall 2008 and it’s a fun addition to the reading. (Although…I enjoy movies almost as much as I enjoy books so I’m not the toughest critic when it comes to ripping up movies based on books. I usually just enjoy them despite their differences).

My next recommendation is an Advance Review Copy I received in 2008, Hot Girl by Dream Jordan. It presented the foster care system in a way that gave me a better glimpse of something I’ve never experienced first-hand. As such I can’t be the best judge of the realism used to portray the issues relating to foster care, but it left me more aware of the elements that can be involved and that most likely are involved in many cases. In addition it offered one of the most touching philosophies on friendship that I’ve run across in a new novel for a long time. I really enjoyed watching the growth the characters achieved (and sometimes endured).

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman. This is not a recent YA book. It’s just one of my all time favorites. I’m asked quite often for book recommendations and I’ll usually ask the reader what they want in their book. Are they looking for meaning? Are they looking for distraction? Are they looking for answers? Are they looking for history? Son of the Mob is the book I recommend if they’re looking to laugh. This book is just full of hilarious moments that shouldn’t be funny in the first place, but somehow Korman pulls it all off and I find myself laughing out loud. And if laughter isn’t one of the most precious things you can gain from a book…I’ll need to downsize my personal library.

City of Bones, Book One in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments Series, snagged me from the very first page. I am an absolute addict when it comes to good, likable characters. And I just love when they get to be so normal in such out of the norm situations. The entire Mortal Instruments series (well two books so far, but another comes out in March 2008) offers such a wide range of reading enjoyment that I’d feel pretty comfortable recommending it to almost any reader. Unless you despise things you can’t see with your own two eyes I’d say it’s a good bet that this book will have something in it you can appreciate. (And if you despise everything you can’t see with your own two eyes you might want to just stick to biographies and textbooks. But even then…you’ll find things to disbelieve. Oh, ye of little faith…and imagination).

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale was a book I picked up years ago. I can’t remember if I was drawn to the cover or if someone suggested I give it a try, but whatever happened to get it on my bookshelf doesn’t matter because it hasn’t moved since. It’s one I’m loath to loan out in case it doesn’t return. But in all honesty, I’d just buy a second copy if the first went missing. This is one that I’m excited to offer to my daughter when she gets a little older (she’s only 8 and isn’t quite up for the complexity of this 383 page novel). But I’m sure she will be soon. Goose Girl has politics, intrigue, adventure, deception, supernatural powers, royalty, fantasy, fairy tale, friendship, family, love, hate, confusion, frustration, and a lot more.

Is Kissing a Girl Who Smokes Like Licking an Ashtray? By Randy Powell. This is a book that I picked up for the title alone. Sometimes that works for me; sometimes it doesn’t. This one actually turned out to be very interesting and I’ve enjoyed it more than once. (I’m a re-reader). It’s funny. It’s fresh. It’s ironic. It’s just plain good.

House of Dance by Beth Kephart. This book falls into the category of “book I started recommending to others before I’d ever even picked it up.” Having had the opportunity to read Beth Kephart’s writing prior to the release of this particular novel, I knew that there was no way it couldn’t offer her surprisingly gentle style of questioning who, what and why that I find so intriguing.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. This is another of my all time favorites when it comes to books for teens. The character, Remy, really became quite real to me with her insistent refusal to let go of her lack of faith in love. I enjoyed watching the many (and varied) characters Dessen created crash and collide through the story looking for their own spot to be.

So there you have it; 8 pieces of young adult literature you should definitely go out and try. If you’re a book buyer jump on B&N.com and get a few with free shipping. If you’re into the deal you get with used books check out Abebooks.com and see if they’ve got a few listed from the same bookseller so you can save on shipping as well as price. Or if you’re one of those special readers that have a favorite bookstore that you enjoy dropping by periodically…jot down the names of a few that sound intriguing and ask if they’re in stock the next time you’re in the area. You won’t regret it!