Friday, January 8, 2010

A question for you

What is your favourite YA book of all time? I just want to check I'm not missing out on any gems. Even though my to-read pile is almost as tall as I am, I think it can still get taller before it topples over and squishes my two cats in one of those all too frequent 'YA books killing cats' tragedies.


Is there ONE YA book that you recommend to everyone you meet, even the people who sneer at the idea of reading 'children's' books?


I rave to anyone who'll listen about Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, and The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins... So which book turns you into a crazy-eyed YA evangelist?

24 comments:

  1. Right now I can't seem to stop recommending The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I love books that really make me FEEL and this one lifted my spirits, broke my heart and set my mind alight with thinking. So far I've recommended it to five people and bought it as a present for two.

    N.B. My cat just fell off my YA tower - he survived though, which is more than can be said for poor Firesong by William Nicholson which now has a bent cover.

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  2. Teenfictionista- great choice, and one of the best first lines EVER! The book hurt my heart though.

    Let's see who's YA Tower of Joy can become the tallest...

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  3. I don't get the Hunger Games obsession. I enjoyed it but not as much as say When I Was Joe or Fallen. I have an angel thing so I love that book. I don't like the absolute bleakness of H.G. The society was so corrupt that it troubled me and left me hesitant to read the next book.

    A book that I really enjoyed that not enough people read is The Medici Seal by Theresa Breslin. Historical fiction. It is a great read.

    Please tell me you have read City of Bones by Cassie Clare. I totally love Mortal Instruments.

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  4. Becky- The Hunger Games was just about the most gripping book I've read. It is bleak, but somehow I found it less bleak than a lot of contemporary books I read.

    The Medici Seal... I must confess that I started to read it but didn't finish it. I was enjoying it, but probably not in the right mood for it... Sometimes I get distracted! I'll revisit.

    And I've read City of Bones and liked it. Must read the others! And I definitely want to read Fallen. Speaking of Angels, Hush, Hush is in my to-read pile... have you read it?

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  5. Just 1 book? That is tricky...

    ...but I love the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

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  6. Oh yes, got to love Hush, Hush. That was such a quick read for me and I really enjoyed it. So many people say it is too like Twilight but I'm more of a "there were books before Twilight" kind of girl.
    I bet you've read The Book Thief. That is awesome. What about City of Ember? I love that book and The Knife of Never Letting Go, have you read that? Seriously awesome.

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  7. Yunaleska- another good choice! Pretty sure I haven't read the last one in the series though... will add it to the list.


    Becky- I've got City of Ember and The Book Thief, but I haven't read either of them yet. Not sure why! I've just added them to the tower...

    Yes, The Knife of Never Letting Go is awesome. Now THAT'S a bleak one!

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  8. Bleak...hmmm...yes I guess you're right. The Ask and The Answer is even more bleak. It also has humour too. The little dog in Knife "poo, poo, poo". Have you read Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick? I really love the writing in that book.

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  9. Becky- Nope, not read anything by Marcus Sedgwick, although I've got a copy of The Foreshadowing.

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  10. Hard as it is to choose just one, I will say: Finding Cassie Crazy by Jaclyn Moriarty.

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  11. Luisa- one I've never heard of! Fantastic! What genre? What makes it amazing?

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  12. Picking just one is really hard, although if I really had to I'd agree with The Hunger Games. I've read it a good few times, which means a lot considering my TBR pile is ever-growing.

    Beyond that, I rave to a lot of people about Looking for Alaska. I even got my mum to read it and she adored it. I actually think if it were marketed as a regular grown-up book it would have received a lot more attention in general, but I'm glad to have it included under the YA umbrella.

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  13. Well, Jaclyn Moriarty's books are probably classed as 'teen chick lit', i.e. the focus is on teenage girls and relationships. It's just brilliant - quirky, funny, moving.

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  14. Am a huge Jaclyn Moriarty fan but as Luisa's already covered that I'll say "Everything Beautiful" by Simmone Howell. Intelligent and edgy.

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  15. Lauren- Yay The Hunger Games! And Looking for Alaska sounds great. Just bought it. Thanks for the recommendation!

    Luisa- I HAVE seen Jaclyn Moriarty's books around - very distinctive covers. Bought this one too. Thanks!

    And Emily- Intelligent and edgy you say? Two of my very favourite things! (The third being cheese, of course. But I don't like cheesy books so much.) Bought this one as well.

    Man, I'm going to be so broke. But at least I've cancelled my gym membership - more book money! Woohoo!

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  16. You've mentioned a lot of my reent favourites, specially the first Patrick Ness book, but no one's mentioned Little Brother by Cary Doctorow which I thought was absolutely brilliant. And everyone should read The Outsiders by SE Hinton and Crossing the Line by Gillian Philip

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  17. I second the vote for Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell.

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  18. You haven't read anything by Marcus Sedgwick? Dear me, that is disappointing. The Foreshadwoing isn't my favourite. I actually have a special section on my shelf for books by Marcus Segdwick.

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  19. Dropped in here from Nicola's blog party
    My all time favourite is The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein
    Recently finished What I saw and How I lied by Judy Blundell the first chapter of which I discuss in my blog.
    I'll be making a note of some of these fantastic recommendations and hope to see you in a bookshop or library soon.

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  20. Keren- Thanks! Some more to add to the list.

    Jo- I loved What I saw... Am going to head over to your blog to see what you though! Never heard of The Moth Diaries, but I'll investigate!

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  21. It's a standard at a lot of schools in the sixth or seventh-grades, but one of my all-time favorite books is "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Did you ever read it?

    I've read more middle grade than YA, but now that I write YA, I think I need to read more of 'em.

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  22. Theresa- I haven't read that one, but I've got a post-it note on my computer at work telling me to read it! Now I've got an extra incentove. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  23. I'll chime in on The Hunger Games and also second The Moth Diaries and The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Johnathan Stroud although they blur the line between MG and YA. What about Graceling by Kristin Cashore?

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  24. Thanks Jo! Have read the first of the Stroud trilogy, but yet to get my hands on the rest. Will investigate Graceling too!

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