Q&A with Gretchen Powell discussion

When I set out to write Terra, I wanted to write the kind of book I liked to read--and I did! So it's pretty obvious that dystopias/sci fi is my jam.

My all-time favorite is probably a gimme, but Hunger Games still resides in top spot #1. I also loveloveLOVED Divergent, and right now I'm reading Delirium (finally!).

What are some of your favorite young adult books?

Hunger Games and Mockingbird (Catching Fire was a little slow), definitely.

And while not really YA (though they're labeled that way), The Paranormals series by JL Bryant. Starting with Jenny Pox. Fast reads, very exciting, and intriguing characters. Love them! I think Jenny Pox is free on Kindle. Worth the read.

While not exactly current and generally lacking in a female protagonist, Heinlein practically invented the YA genre and several hold up amazingly well, including Podcayne of Mars (WITH a female protagonist and bratty younger brother) and Citizen of the Galaxy,

YA is a slippery definition, but the early Elizabeth Moon books, including the Paksenarian series (the first, especially) are superb. Though fantasy rather than SF.

I'm actually reading Hunger Games now (I know I'm so behind on reading).

Watership Down by Richard Adams is one of my favorites. So well written and so sad... but so good!

And I loved Child of the Wolves by Elizabeth Hall. It actually inspired a good part of my book as she writes from the perspective of the wolves and it's so well done.

And The Black Stallion by Walter Farely.

Yes.. there is a giant animal theme there...