Trail-Mix Readers discussion

A discussion spot for YA specific chatter.
I'll start things off with this question?

What is the very first YA novel you read?

I don't remember for sure, but A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle was definitely one of my first. I loved the surrealism of the book and the concept of youth taking on a seemingly insurmountable threat-- and prevailing, of course.

I can't be sure if it counts as YA, but I recall reading all of the Chronicles of Narnia books in fourth grade. If that doesn't count, the very next year I discovered Judy Blume. I think Blubber was the first one I read.

Secret Garden about age 12

Though I had already been reading HG Wells & Jules Verne before I read Secret Garden.

Chronicles of Narnia are great. I remember debating with my friends over which order you had to read them in. But now in later box sets they all have The Magician's Nephew First.
I don't think I've ever read the Secret Garden but I have seen the 1949 movie where it goes from black and white to color every time they enter the Garden.

I'm old. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was always the first book in my day. ;)

Wow, I consider all of the above children's lit. I consider the first real YA book I read to be the last of the Harry Potter Series.

I read all of the above mentioned books before I was 16 and consider the cut off for YA 16+ (that doesn't mean they won't be enjoyed by younger kids). Like the secret Garden, that was one of my school books in 4th grade, so was Lion witch and wardrobe and a wrinkle in time was read in fifth grade. They didn't have content in them that would be inappropriate for children, like say, Twilight, which is YA and has sex in the last book.

Reading YA PNR (I have gobs of it on my shelves), what I notice is that YA deals with becoming an adult and the things that teenagers face as they come to grips with their imminent maturation--how do you deal with love, sex, violence against yourself and others, friendships that fade, relationships that change (parent-child, brother-sister, student-teacher)? All these things and much more are YA themes. Whereas children's stories TEACH moral lessons, YA stories deal with the consequences of moral choices.

White Fang, by Jack London. I read that book so many times when I was younger. My copy was so worn and dog-eared!

First YA book I read was Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. That book opened the fantasy genre for me, and I've been there ever since :)