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I just finished Code Name Verity. Anyone giving out free hugs? Cause man am I  right now.Highly recommend it, it's way way better than most YA.
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May 30, 2013 07:57
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Code Name Verity is fantastic, it's so well written. Really blew me away.
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May 30, 2013 08:07
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I am doing research for the YA novel I hope to write - a teen-detective/horror mashup. I want to understand the conventions of both genres in order to play with them, and that means reading examples of each. Besides Nancy Drew (which is a little below the age bracket I want to write for), what should I read? Thanks in advance!
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Jun 13, 2013 19:28
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Christmas Jones posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for any books about 12-14 year-olds that are written a bit above the Judy Blume level? (But like Blume in dealing with those sort of real-life issues, rather than going the Sci-Fi/Fantasy route.) You could try Paula Danziger, The Divorce Express and some of her other YA books did a lot for me when I was around that age.
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Jun 13, 2013 20:10
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Tupping Liberty posted:I don't know if this would be the right thread, or if there's a graphic novel thread around anywhere. Anyway, I'll ask here. I teach 7th/8th grade, and we do your standard "silent reading book of your choice" time. I have books they can borrow if they've forgotten their book or we haven't visited the library in awhile and they're done with their book. I'm always on the lookout for high interest readings at a variety of levels (I have students that read 30 words per minute and students that read 250 words per minute). What kind of age is The Diary Of Anne Frank considered OK for? If it's the same age then maybe, big maybe, Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman would be good. It's relationship to Anne Frank is that it is also about the events up to and during the Holocaust, it's basically a Memoir of the author's father who survived Auschwitz, so you may want to read it first before letting the kids at it, if you do you wlil want tissues in easy reach. The style is pretty nice, it's all black and white with different the groups being depicted as anthropomorphic animals (Jews as mice, Nazis as cats, Americans as Dogs etc)
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Jun 14, 2013 17:22
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I first read Maus when I was in 8th grade, I feel like I was the right age for it, so I'm going to second that recommendation. In a similar vein I would also recommend Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. If you want something more specifically focused towards young adults, I've heard good things about Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol and Smile by Raina Telgemeier, though I haven't read them myself. Edit: I JUST noticed that I wrote that Anya's Ghost made itself, sorry about that Awesomonster fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Jun 16, 2013 |
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Jun 15, 2013 18:47
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Awesomonster posted:I first read Maus when I was in 8th grade, I feel like I was the right age for it, so I'm going to second that recommendation. In a similar vein I would also recommend Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I did Maus at the end of the year with my 8th graders. They were definitely into it. Persepolis is also great. Another rec would be American Born Chinese, but I think some middle school students might need some context/explanation of the satire aspect.
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Jun 15, 2013 21:12
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Anime_Otaku posted:What kind of age is The Diary Of Anne Frank considered OK for? If it's the same age then maybe, big maybe, Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman would be good. Thank you guys for the recs! I just wanted to mention, for anyone else, that Diary of Anne Frank is a standard for Middle School (especially 8th grade) literature. This graphic novel sounds very interesting.
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Jun 16, 2013 05:39
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shapeshifter. posted:My favourite series at present would have to be the Dollhouse trilogy by Anya Allyn. There are only two out at present but I can't wait for the third. The start of the first book, Dollhouse, you are thinking 'well what's all this got to do with a doll house' but then suddenly you are up until 4am devouring all you can. I think I read the second, Paper Dolls, in a few hours. This is a terrible, terrible book and I recommend you don't waste your $0 on it. Christ this had some horrible writing, inconsistent characters, and just all-round awful plot. I don't understand how anyone can think that this is a good book, even allowing for different tastes. Here's a review from Goodreads that sums it up pretty neatly: quote:I don't know how I finished this. The plot was confusing and strange. It just didn't seem to be tied down at all to anything realistic. Some elements of it, like whatever Greek monster was mentioned, could have interesting, but they just felt flat and thrown in. The writing was also not so great. There was a lot of telling and not very much showing. I felt like I knew nothing about the main character's personality by the end and I even forgot her name a few times while reading. There were a few mentions of her past in the US, how she didn't have many friends and got involved in the wrong crowd, but I didn't see how that had effected her in the present at all. I felt like I learned nothing about any of the other characters, either, and there didn't seem to be much character growth throughout the book. I was really just confused and almost bored by the end, and though I was ready to put down the book by the halfway mark, I kept reading to see just how crazy the plot would get. Will not be reading the next book I can't believe I'm even mentioning this book on the same page on which Maus is being discussed. I've let myself down.
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Jun 16, 2013 11:13
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Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars by Daniel Pinkwater. One of my favorite books ever. It's about a really smart fat kid named Leonard Neeble and his friend, Alan Meldelsohn, who may or may not be a martian, learning how to phase themselves in and out of the 3rd dimension by meditating into a mental state called "State Twenty-Six". Then, they attempt to travel to the lost civilizations of Waka-Waka, Lemuria, and Atlantis. DO THEY SUCCEED? READ IT TO FIND OUT!!!!?? Also a lot of chili is eaten in this book.
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Jun 26, 2013 01:30
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I got a few new books when I went to the city last week. Curveball: The Year I lost my Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick: I kind of stumbled on to this one on Tumblr that I follow. It seemed pretty good, so I decided that it wouldn't been too bad for $9. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan: This was a staple that I've wanted to pick up for a few years now and now I own it. It looks like my YA block is going to be a long one.
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Jun 26, 2013 02:15
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Not something I normally ask since I prefer to avoid accidental derivation, but I'm in the midst of working on a YA novel series and I'd like to find something already out there that is similar in theme. Can anyone recommend a middle grade/YA series that is primarily centered around ghosts? I realize a good amount of urban fantasy does include ghosts but only as part of the world at large and not quite what I'd call central, whereas there are books and TV shows and whatnot up the hoohah centered around vampires and werewolves and witches, individually. The only work that comes to mind that is remotely in line with that I'm looking for is probably Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, even though I believe the target audience of that is a little younger than what I'm intending. Nevertheless, I really liked his treatment of ghosts.So where the likes of Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, The Morganville Vampires, and Vampire Academy is "about" vampires (even if they include other supernatural species) and the likes of Blood and Chocolate is "about" werewolves... I'd like something about ghosts. Something with well-formed characters as well as an interesting plot, if that's not too much to ask. I will also accept suggestions of a single novel, if it's really good and comes highly recommended.
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Jun 30, 2013 18:34
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I was rereading the thread to see if I missed any reccomendations and this seems up your alleySlenderWhore posted:
Sorry I can't give anymore. Ghostlove isn't very popular. There's also a sequel to the above book.
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Jul 2, 2013 05:42
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Y'all will want to view the videos of the Printz honorees' speeches (given tonight at the American Library Association conference in Chicago). Benjamin Saenz in particular will weather your stony hearts with his life story and how it relates to his book Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
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Jul 2, 2013 05:56
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Wedemeyer posted:Sorry I can't give anymore. Ghostlove isn't very popular. There's also a sequel to the above book. Thank you! Every little bit helps. I guess I should also be clearer that any recs would not necessarily have to include the teen romance aspect of the examples I listed. In retrospect, I realized that most of those popular YA selections I referenced were the star-crossed love types. So yeah, not necessary, although I wouldn't say 'no' to them either.
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Jul 2, 2013 11:18
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Panda So Panda posted:Thank you! Every little bit helps. I guess I should also be clearer that any recs would not necessarily have to include the teen romance aspect of the examples I listed. In retrospect, I realized that most of those popular YA selections I referenced were the star-crossed love types. So yeah, not necessary, although I wouldn't say 'no' to them either. The last two books of Rachel Hawkins Hex Hall series features a ghost character who is "haunting" the main protagonist and ends up forming a friendship with her. They're not fantastic though, but it's really the only ghost character I've read recently.
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Jul 4, 2013 12:38
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It's not a series, but Moondial by Helen Cresswell is a pretty awesome book about a girl who befriends a ghost.
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Jul 4, 2013 19:22
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vishnusprings posted:Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars by Daniel Pinkwater. One of my favorite books ever. It's about a really smart fat kid named Leonard Neeble and his friend, Alan Meldelsohn, who may or may not be a martian, learning how to phase themselves in and out of the 3rd dimension by meditating into a mental state called "State Twenty-Six". Then, they attempt to travel to the lost civilizations of Waka-Waka, Lemuria, and Atlantis. DO THEY SUCCEED? READ IT TO FIND OUT!!!!?? Also a lot of chili is eaten in this book. I read this book probably twenty years ago and have been trying to remember the name of it ever since. All I could remember was that the kid had a weird last name and was possibly an alien. THANK YOU!
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Jul 4, 2013 22:00
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Has anyone here read the Tomorrow series by John Marsden? I read the first two and I can see why they were a classic for people around my age when they came out in the nineties.
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Jul 5, 2013 13:16
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re: ghosts. What about Christopher Pike's Remember Me?
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Jul 5, 2013 20:42
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Nettle Soup posted:It's not a series, but Moondial by Helen Cresswell is a pretty awesome book about a girl who befriends a ghost. Interesting. I've never heard of the book, despite it being older than me. I'll have to check it out. bitter almond posted:re: ghosts. I remember finding Christopher Pike's works questionable when I was much younger, but I can't remember why, so I'll have to look into this. Especially since Wikipedia says it was a trilogy of sorts. Thanks!
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Jul 5, 2013 22:23
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Has anyone here read the Spook's Apprentice series? I think it's called The Last Apprentice: The Witch's Revenge here in America (gag). I'm reading it now and it's reaaaalllly good, it's just the sort of gloomy, morbid fantasy that I would have LOVED in middle school. The prose isn't great (its YA lit, c'mon), but the author is really smart about his characterizations and it's paced very well. I ask because I'm wondering how the series is as a whole - worth reading past book one? I'm always wary about book series that aren't literary ones.
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Jul 7, 2013 07:00
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Qwo posted:Has anyone here read the Spook's Apprentice series? I think it's called The Last Apprentice: The Witch's Revenge here in America (gag). I'm reading it now and it's reaaaalllly good, it's just the sort of gloomy, morbid fantasy that I would have LOVED in middle school. The prose isn't great (its YA lit, c'mon), but the author is really smart about his characterizations and it's paced very well. I also only read the first one so I'm not sure, but I just wanted to point out that it's going to be a movie soon. So read it before it's ruined, I guess.
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Jul 7, 2013 20:42
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AreYouStillThere posted:I also only read the first one so I'm not sure, but I just wanted to point out that it's going to be a movie soon. So read it before it's ruined, I guess. I actually finished The Spook's Apprentice last night, and ended up loving it a lot. Best modern YA Lit I've read in a very long while! The last book comes out in December so I think I'll hold off and buy a complete box set when they release one.
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Jul 7, 2013 21:23
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I just read City of Bones, #1 of the Mortal Instruments (mostly so I'd be ready for the movie, and also because a bunch of my students recommended it.) Kinda ballsy of the author to take the attractive new guy trope and make him the protagonists brother instead. I wonder how the incesty parts will play on screen. I found most of the characters annoying except for Jace for the first half of the book or so. It could have been that I was listening to the audiobook, though, and I didn't really like the reader.
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Aug 1, 2013 16:01
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Tupping Liberty posted:
Oddly enough Jace was my biggest problem with that book. I've read a few other YA books before/after and they pull off the Jace chracter trope so much better. The casting for him was spot on, as Jamie Campbell Bower is probably the only actor who could make me detest a character right from the get go.
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Aug 2, 2013 16:02
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Idk, I really liked the arrogant rear end in a top hat-ishness of Jace, like he was the only character who the author really nailed down until the end of the book, I mean I get he has daddy issues (and mommy issues) but the scene where Clary is trying to convince Jace that Valentine is a bad guy just drags on for too long, especially considering it's going on during this huge battle. I'm intrigued enough to take on the second book although this time I'm reading not listening.
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Aug 2, 2013 23:03
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bowmore posted:Has anyone here read the Tomorrow series by John Marsden? I read the first two and I can see why they were a classic for people around my age when they came out in the nineties. Only literally every Australian. It's pretty much required reading (or was about a decade or two ago) in every school that I knew of. That being said, it'd probably be best to give the follow up series (the Ellie Chronicles) a miss - its not as good as Tomorrow is.
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Aug 3, 2013 21:49
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Tornhelm posted:it'd probably be best to give the follow up series (the Ellie Chronicles) a miss - its not as good as Tomorrow is. I have started The Ellie Chronicles like 4 times and have never made it past halfway through the first one.
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Aug 4, 2013 02:16
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Can't wait for the new Heroes of Olympus book this October Man if its one thing I like its the old fighting out of Hell through the gates itself story. 
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Aug 15, 2013 03:49
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I thought I was the only one here who enjoyed Rick Riordan's series. I debated making a thread when Mark of Athena came out but figured no one would be interested. I like this series more than the Percy Jackson one, and I've felt every book has been better than the last (maybe with the exception of Son of Neptune --> Mark of Athena because SoN was so good). I'm really looking forward to House of Hades and how he sets this up.
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Aug 15, 2013 06:01
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Percy Jackson series gets slowly better since I think it grows with its audience as it gets darker and more mature with each subsequent book. Honestly I just want kids to get into Greek Mythology 
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Aug 16, 2013 02:01
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I loved Greek mythology as a kid, mostly from reading Anthony Horowitz's collections of myths. His other books were great as well, I think his black humor really set him apart from a lot of other books I read when I was younger. Unfortunately he's more Y than A, so he probably doesn't belong in this tread 
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Aug 16, 2013 02:15
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I just finished books 1-3 of the mortal instruments series. It was interesting and a different take on some things also the freaking out about feelings things was really funny. Are books 4-5 worth reading?
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Aug 16, 2013 19:31
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achillesforever6 posted:Can't wait for the new Heroes of Olympus book this October This is my current guilty pleasure YA series. I just love easy access Greek mythology, especially when it's set in modern times.
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Aug 17, 2013 01:59
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Democratic Pirate posted:This is my current guilty pleasure YA series. I just love easy access Greek mythology, especially when it's set in modern times.
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Aug 17, 2013 05:58
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elbow posted:I loved Greek mythology as a kid, mostly from reading Anthony Horowitz's collections of myths. His other books were great as well, I think his black humor really set him apart from a lot of other books I read when I was younger. Unfortunately he's more Y than A, so he probably doesn't belong in this tread Oh man, Anthony Horowitz's Myths and Legends was my favorite and most-read book from the moment I got it in 5th grade. So much so that I now read from it (half the pages are falling out) to my 7th grade world history class. I love that it has myths from all over the world, even though it is heavy on Greek and Roman. I think my kids' favorite was The Ugly Wife with King Arthur. I haven't read Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus ones; PJ was on my wishlist because of the movies, now I'll put Heroes of Olympus on there too.
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Aug 18, 2013 04:37
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Tupping Liberty posted:Oh man, Anthony Horowitz's Myths and Legends was my favorite and most-read book from the moment I got it in 5th grade. So much so that I now read from it (half the pages are falling out) to my 7th grade world history class. I love that it has myths from all over the world, even though it is heavy on Greek and Roman. Heroes of Olympus is a sequel to the Percy Jackson books, so get them after you read the PJ ones.
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Aug 18, 2013 09:10
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At the beginning of the summer I read the YA novel Just One Day by Gayle Forman and I didn't care for it much. Most of the novel consists of the main character whining about how she can't find the Dutch actor guy she had a one night stand with in Paris and about how in love she is with him and how she wishes he could get back with him even though he seems like a jerk to blow her off the morning after. Most of the reviews I've read have said that Just One Day resembles the "Bella can't function without Edward" plot in New Moon and I have to agree. I'm not bothering with the sequel Just One Year.
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Aug 18, 2013 14:56
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mastajake posted:I thought I was the only one here who enjoyed Rick Riordan's series. I debated making a thread when Mark of Athena came out but figured no one would be interested. I like this series more than the Percy Jackson one, and I've felt every book has been better than the last (maybe with the exception of Son of Neptune --> Mark of Athena because SoN was so good). I'm really looking forward to House of Hades and how he sets this up. My only qualm about Rick Riordan's books, especially the PJO books, was how overly simplistic everything was. Nothing too glaring about the plot, but the characterization and writing style seemed very juvenile to me, like it was being dumbed down for middle grade readers. It's difficult to think of things with a truly accurate retrospective view, but I feel like even in elementary and middle school I would have been able to handle better writing. Content wise, though, it was fine. I also enjoyed his Kane Chronicles well enough. Is it worth continuing on with the Heroes of Olympus series?
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Aug 18, 2013 15:08
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