The Hunger Games discussion

Hi everyone,

I'm writing young adult fiction and would like to read more while I'm doing it. I've read The Hunger Games books and have also read The Book Thief, Twilight saga (did not enjoy so would prefer suggestions not similar to this), all of John Green, Perks of Being a Wallflower....probably some others I can't remember.

I'm looking for some suggestions on other YA books to read please! I would prefer something where romance isn't the main factor.

Thank you!

Oh, I've read The Maze Runner too!

My favourite ya series at the moment is Angelfall. The 1st book is good, the 2nd is even better. Angels have enslaved humans. They do unspeakable horrors. The main heroine's sister has been taken and she's trying to find and save her.

There is romance but it feels more like a side story, like how there was romance in hunger games but it wasn't overpowering.

Try the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, in my opinion, that's really good YA. Or "A Heart Shaped Bruise" By Tanya Byrne and Witch Crag by kate Cann is really good. For historical YA, you could try Revolution by Jennifer Donelly, Viking Gold or Sovay by Celia Rees. For typical romance YA, a Sarah Dessen book or Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. Simlar to Perks of being etc, is "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini. And for some less typical YA, Meg Rosoff's books (Just in Case, How I live Now, There is No Dog) or The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.
Ooh and two of my favourite YA books are "Naked" and "Bunker Diary" both by Kevin Brooks

Nuran wrote: "My favourite ya series at the moment is Angelfall. The 1st book is good, the 2nd is even better. Angels have enslaved humans. They do unspeakable horrors. The main heroine's sister has been taken a..."

Thank you! That sounds really good! Yeah I don't mind romance on the side, it usually adds wonderfully to a story, I'm just not a romantic enough to read a whole book dedicated purely to a love story!

Thanks again :D

Sorrel wrote: "Try the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, in my opinion, that's really good YA. Or "A Heart Shaped Bruise" By Tanya Byrne and Witch Crag by kate Cann is really good. For historical YA, you could t..."

Thanks! Loads of suggestions and I will look into all of them! Thank you!

Two of my favorite YA series are Ally Carter's Heist Society and Gallagher Girls.
I also like Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief. It is in the young readers section but it is definitely a YA series.

A.J. wrote: "Two of my favorite YA series are Ally Carter's Heist Society and Gallagher Girls.
I also like Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief. It is in the young readers section but it is definitely a YA s..."

Thank you! Sounds good!

I forgot to warn you. There is a little bit of language in The Queen's Thief series. I forgot about it because my sister had the books when I read them and she had marked all the bad words out.

A.J. wrote: "I forgot to warn you. There is a little bit of language in The Queen's Thief series. I forgot about it because my sister had the books when I read them and she had marked all the bad words out."

Haha thank you! No worries though, I'm all good for bad language! I'm an adult and mostly I don't read young adult fiction, though I do enjoy it and want to read more to help with my own writing of a young adult book!

All suggestions are really helpful!

If you want something different try Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz series

A recent book I read that absolutely blew me away was "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer." I'm waiting for the sequel to hurry up and come in the mail! There is romance in it, but it's definitely not the main plot. It's one of those books that make you go "WHAT!? I have no idea what is going on!" It's addictive and awesome.

Another book you could try, and I'm totally not being biased or anything, is "The Institute." umm by me (kayla howarth) LOL. It may seem like it's main focus is romance at first, but I can assure you, it's not. It's also a free ebook through ibooks, barnes and noble, and kobo. 99c on amazon. Paperback also available.

The Guardian Chronicles: Dark Horizon and The Guardian Chronicles: Rise of the Phoenix by Matthew Burkey. They're the first two books in a four part series. There's action, magic, romance, werewolves, demons, vampires, it's basically a supernatural cocktail full of awesome.

He's a good friend of mine, so I'm a bit biased. ;)

The Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman, its a bit bloody but its not dripping with mushiness.
The Raven cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, very light on the romance if you want that sort of mysterious, magical, creepy vibe you'll like this.
The Skulduggery Pleasant Series by Derek Landy. if you like antiheros and general badassery
The Shattered Sea series by Joe Abercrombie. if you've been meaning to read high/dark fantasy but can't stomach the very graphic violence,sexual stuff etc., this is the YA-friendly version.
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. YA-fied Beauty and the Beast, well the author has a number of YA-fied fairytale books and this is the first and its quite interesting.
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix.fast-paced and just AWE-some, its quite quite light on the romance bit too.
by Charlie Higson. if you ever wished that The Walking Dead was set in London and the main characters were kids and teenagers then this is for you, don't get too attached on the characters though.

so far this is all i can recall. i hope you'd read one of them ;>

One of my all-time favorite YA books/series is The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. In my opinion, it's the best young adult dystopian series out there.
Some other good reads are the Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes (all fantasy). If you're looking for a good contemporary read, all of Jennifer E. Smith's books are really good.