"Those awful things are survivable, because we are as indestructable as we believe ourselves to be. ... We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail." ~from Looking for Alaska by John Green
Most of my regular readers know that I've been kicking around the idea of a YA (Young Adult) novel for the last few weeks. Well, I'm still inspired, still writing, and up around 27K words after this weekend. I like my characters, my plot seems to be going the way I thought it would, so I'm pleased so far. Still waiting for the axe to fall and things to start falling apart, though...
Speaking of YA, I'm trying to do some research and reading the most popular books & authors out there on the Young Adult shelves right now. I'm almost through Carolyn Mackler's The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (meh...I'm lukewarm about it...it's a little simplistic for teen readers, in my opinion) - next on the pile is Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever - then something by Ally Carter - and maybe The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I've already read Meg Cabot and of course Stephenie Meyer. For me, John Green (Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns) still stands out as brilliant in the genre, along with Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak, Wintergirls).
My question for you: have you read any of these authors? What did you think? Other strong YA writers you'd recommend?
3 comments:
Oh, one of my favorite topics! I loved The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and so did my son (it's a "girl" book that boys seem to like).
Authors you haven't listed: Deb Caletti, Maureen Johnson, and Elizabeth Scott are three of my favorites.
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta was one of my favorite books last year. You might consider picking up Sonya Sones for novel in verse.
And don't neglect the debut novelists. A lot of debut authors band together in community sites, so you can get a list of many books very easily. It's a good way to see what editors are buying from writers without an audience. I just Googled ya debut authors and got plenty of hits.
Let me know if you want even more recommendations. I could talk about this all day! LOL
Thanks thanks thanks Charity!!!
A few other mentionables: Melissa Marr, Sherman Alexie, Cassandra Claire and Markus Zusak (most definitely).
Just found your blog. Will follow. :)
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