AskAManager discussion

Hi all!
I know from some of the open discussion Fridays that there are many of us who love YA fiction even though some of us are several *cough* years removed from the "official" age guidelines. What are your favorite reads?

Mine:
Divergent (I'm woefully behind on the series)
Hunger Games
Percy Jackson series
The Kane Chronicles
Beautiful Creatures series

Skews slightly younger:
The Underland Chronicles
The Mysterious Benedict Society

Did not care for:
The Maze Runner (ugh, the 3rd book)
Fablehaven series (meh)

I just finished Eleanor and Park; I can't recommend it highly enough. I just loved it. Some language is a bit rough, but it's true to life in high school as I recall it from that era.

I need to start in on the Divergent series. I quite enjoyed Unwound as well. A while back I was really into YA dystopias...now, I prefer more realistic stories.

Laura, I read Eleanor and Park first and loved it, then I read Fangirl and loved it even more!

I recently finished the Pure series of books. It's dystopian, but quite a bit different from the recent others of its genre. I haven't enjoyed the third books for so many series lately (I'm looking at you Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies), but this one was great all of the way throughout the series. I love dystopian literature (YA and otherwise), but there is just so much out there that isn't well written these days. (My philosophy is "life's too short to spend time on bad literature.") You can't go wrong with Lowry's The Giver either.

I also recently finished The Fault in our Stars by John Green, and I highly recommend it. Beautiful story, realistic with a vein of hope running through a fairly hopeless story.

Savvy by Ingrid Law is one of the best YA novels that has come out in recent years, in my opinion. I also always recommend the Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander to anyone who might be interested in fantasy. And how could I wait until last to mention any books by Madeline L'Engle? There's more than just A Wrinkle in Time, although those five are definitely some of her best. Many Waters has always been one of my faves, because it's a look at the twins, which we don't get too often.

Oh! The Squire's Tales, a retelling of Arthurian literature, by Gerald Morris are absolutely wonderful. I am impressed with how he made the legends fresh again, and this is coming from someone who has long loved legend and myth and has immersed herself in it for years. Take it from me, you'll fall in love with the characters.

I love all literature, and probably always will, no matter what my age is. If YA novels are good enough, they transcend their borders. As a former 7-12 English teacher, I will say that there is a LOT of good lit that gets sidelined as YA literature, so I don't think we should let others look down on that group as a whole. (And there's a lot of really crappy literature for adults, in the general sense of the grouping.)

Thanks Margali! I will have to download that. Jessica, I take Madeleine L'Engle books as a given. My best friend says there are 2 kinds of girls: those who read Madeleine L'Engle books and those who don't. Guess which kind we are. :-)

Thanks for all of those recommendations! Jessica, I definitely agree that lots of good lit gets sidelined as "YA." I also think that lots of stuff for adults gets a pass because it's geared for adults, as if we're supposed to overlook poor editing or flaccid storylines. Life is too short!

Laura and Margali, I'll have to check E&P and Fangirl out. Thanks! :)