Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion

Burned by Ellen Hopkins - my daughter snapped this up as soon as I got it home

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - reviewed 6/27

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt - I may abandon this one, not liking it so far

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Muchacho by LouAnne Johnson

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket - loving this so far!

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Saints of Augustine by P.E. Ryan

How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Day My Mother Left by James Prosek

Some of these are pretty well-known, but others I'd not heard of until I went browsing. Was wondering what you guys thought of these. Any in particular catch your eye, or you been curious about?

OOH! Almost forgot

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

I read Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and loved it!!

Ashley (my daughter) said that's probably her favorite book! So I have to read it. I'm glad you loved it Susan!

I own Bastard, but haven't gotten around to it.

My daughter read all the Sisterhood (pants) and loved them, but I only read the first. It was good.

I've read all the Lemony Snickett's and loved them too, but the farther in the series you get, the more similar the books are. The "freshness" wore off. Still...had to see the end!


And, Speak...well, if you read my review you'll know just how I feel about that book;D

I've read several. Speak and Twisted by LHA are two of my very favorites. They are intense but the characters are strong and the messages are positive, eventually. It's a hard road for those kids, but the writing is wonderful. I love LHA. Another favorite of hers is Wintergirls.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins was written very well, but poorly researched.

Bud, not Buddy is just such a cute story. I loved it. Such great writing. It's directed toward younger readers but is one of those books that transitions to and speaks to all age groups well.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants are cute and fun. Definitely they type of book that comes to mind when you say 'summer beach read'.

The Bad Beginning and the next 10 stories bored and/or bothered me. I know a lot of younger people who really enjoy them, and a few older people who liked the series as well, but I didn't feel that it was one that spoke well to adults. Everything is absurdly ridiculous, and I spent a lot of the time feeling talked down to and thought the author to be a little too condescending and smug. These are some I think are great for younger kids, but not really ones that I loved.

I haven't read Breathing Underwater, but I have read Alex Flinn's 2 modern fairy tale retellings (Beastly and A Kiss in Time) and I really enjoyed both of them, and BU is a book I've had on my TBR for a couple years.

His Dark Materials is my sister's very favorite YA series. I haven't read them yet, but I keep meaning too, and I know she loves them.

I've been hearing a lot about Sarah Dessen, so I will pick up some of hers soon. They seem good.

Sorry it's such a long post...! I can't wait to see what everyone else thinks!

Kandice wrote: "I own Bastard, but haven't gotten around to it.

My daughter read all the Sisterhood (pants) and loved them, but I only read the first. It was good.

I've read all the Lemony Snickett's and lov..."

hehe, thanks Kandice! Ashley read all of the pants series too. I've been wanting to read them for years it seems. Bastard is supposed to be a very tough - emotionally challenging - read. Looking forward to that one. Lemony Snickett I just need to read, been very curious about them, Ashley's read and I never did. I'm guessing they're not as good as Harry Potter right? So I'm trying not to have my hopes up too too high.

ADDED : Yeah, I DID read your Speak review, it's one of the reasons I picked that book. :)

Definitely not in the same league as Harry! They are very outlandish. They strike me almost a kid's version of Monty Pythin sort of humor. Funny with a very black side.

I own His Dark Materials as well. Allison sent them to me, but haven't gotten around to them, either. Maybe this summer. If you read them, let me know. Maybe I can read along.

Ashley wrote: "I've read several. Speak and Twisted by LHA are two of my very favorites. They are intense but the characters are strong and the messages are positive, eventually. It's a hard road for those kids, ..."

Wow, thanks for your thoughts Ashley. I've heard of so many LHA books, and always been curious. I've started Speak and it does seem good so far. I have a feeling I'll want to read all of hers.

Burned is my daughter's best friend's favorite book - I just found out it's all written in verse! So that should be interesting.

Breathing Underwater is also one of my daughter's favorites. I've been borrowing from her favorites list a lot lately. I wish I'd had time to read books she loved while she was reading them - guess I'm making up for lost time now. She's also one to rave about just about anything by Sarah Dessen. And she loved the Pants series.

The others I've pretty much found browsing either here or in the library. So we'll see what they bring. How to Build a House I found browsing in the audiobook section of the library. It's about a 17 y.o. girl who escapes her dad's divorce by spending the summer volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity type organization. Seems really interesting, even though I'd never heard of it before.

Cool! I'll look forward to hearing what else you think. I've read another of Ellen Hopkin's book, Identical and it blew my mind. It was one of the first novels in verse I've read and it was amazing. I didn't love Burned because I'm pretty familiar with the religion that plays a large role in the story, and she didn't do very good research. It's always a little (or a lot) jarring to read a story and realize that the author didn't take the time to do proper research. I can't argue that it's incredibly well written though.
Miss Hopkins definitely has a strong way with words. Her thoughts and characters do not leave you easily.

Kandice wrote: "Definitely not in the same league as Harry! They are very outlandish. They strike me almost a kid's version of Monty Pythin sort of humor. Funny with a very black side.

I own His Dark Materials..."

Cool! I'll definitely do that!

Ashley wrote: "Cool! I'll look forward to hearing what else you think. I've read another of Ellen Hopkin's book, Identical and it blew my mind. It was one of the first novels in verse I've read and it was amazing..."

I think you're right re: Hopkins. Ashley's friend Sarah, who's a tremendously bright 19 y.o. girl, carries that book around in her purse! And it's been awhile since she read it. I don't know if she always has it with her....but she really loves that book. So I'm very curious about it. It's waiting at the library for me, I'll be picking it up tomorrow.

I've read Speak and His Dark Materials, and have no interest in Traveling Pants. Are we talking about future group reads? I look forward to something that everyone hasn't already been talking about.

Cheryl, I think these are what Laura has on her current TBR... I might be mistaken, but that's the impression I got...

I've read both of the LHA books, and thought they were both great. Nice to see an author who can write guys as well as girls!

I own a few others on the list but haven't gotten around to them... so many books, so little time!

Ashley wrote: "Cheryl, I think these are what Laura has on her current TBR... I might be mistaken, but that's the impression I got..."

That's right Ashley. These are books I'm planning to read and setup threads for in Parents Corner. Although I'd welcome suggestions to add to the list!

I'm betting there are parents out there who are in the position I was in - they care about what their kids are reading, but don't necessarily have the time to read along with them, to be prepared for discussions that might come up. Or maybe their kids are at an age where they'd like to guide them in their reading somewhat. So I'm hoping that these threads will help out those parents.

If anyone would like to start a thread for any book - one you've read, or one you'd like more info about, please do!

That is a great idea Laura! I would talk to my parents about what I was reading, but I read so fast and so much that I usually had a new book every 1-3 days. That's pretty hard for a parent to keep up with! These parent's threads are a great idea!

Thanks Ashley! I'm hoping to develop a nice collection over time. It's been fun so far, and I hope it's helping some people!

Speak was an amazing read. I finished it fairly quickly and ever since I have wanted to read her other books, but haven't gotten to them.

His dark materials is a good series. However, when I read them I remember getting to the third one and being like.."why are the angels attacking?" (or something like that, it has been awhile). The whole part of there being a religious aspect had been lost on me..

I also have read the Travelling pants series. They were a fun read that I remember really enjoying.

The rest on this list I sadly have not read.

There's soooo many unread books put there. Sometimes it's a little freaky to think about. lol

I can't believe that before GR, I actually used to look for books to read. Really look! Now they just fall into my lap from every direction.

Yes, I've discovered still more library books. It's really sad, there are three mountains of them. I'm trying to whittle them down now. One of my libraries allows 20 3-week renewals! They're feeding my sickness!

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

I've read The Golden Compass series and love love love it!!

Thanks Amy!

ok tx

It looked good but changes from green to red print and back so I hope that won't drive me too crazy.

Still more to add:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (I have a real soft spot for this author since loving )

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Saint Iggy by K.L. Going

Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner

So B. It by Sarah Weeks

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me is phenomenal. I haven't been that thrilled with a book in a long time. I read it for the first time back in April or around there, and I just read it again a couple days ago because I loved it so much...! Such a good choice!

I'm really looking forward to that one. I'm on a short holdlist for it.

I know I read that as a kid, but I've been planning to reread that one too.

Laura wrote: "Burned by Ellen Hopkins - my daughter snapped this up as soon as I got it home

Speak by [author:La..."

I added Peaches to my tbr

Let me know what you think of it of you get to it before me, Teresa.

Laura wrote: "Let me know what you think of it of you get to it before me, Teresa."

It may be a while : )

I read Peaches last month and I really liked it. While I liked The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants series more, I really thought that Peaches was cute. I definitely recommend it. Here's a link my review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Is this the same author that wrote the May Bird series?

Sweethearts and When You Reach Me both were great books. I have been trying to get the young adults to read these two this summer when they ask for recommendations at the bookstore.

I really liked When You Reach Me, still need to read Sweethearts, but I love Sara Zarr, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Thanks Brenda!

Laura wrote: "Yes, I've discovered still more library books. It's really sad, there are three mountains of them. I'm trying to whittle them down now. One of my libraries allows 20 3-week renewals! They're fe..."

I loved "Knife of Never Letting Go" and can't wait for the 3rd book in the series.

I was very happy to see The Ruby in the Smoke make you list. I like His Dark Materials,but I love his Sally Lockhart Mysteries, in which this is the first. I hope you enjoy all of them.

On another note you need to give East by Edith Pattou, A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, Here, There Be Dragons by James Owens, of course Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Abarat by Clive Barker(of you can find it). All great YA reads.

Thanks Pam, loved Knife!

Thanks Celeste! Still enjoying Ruby. It's taken a back seat to some others right now but it's awesome. Feels very Victorian.

Wow, your suggestions were terrific Celeste! I added two of them, and already had one on my TBR.

I just finished Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and I really liked it. I thought it was a good story, with a good message and great characters. I loved Owen, and I loved who Annabel became when she was with him.

**THIS MIGHT BE A SPOILER for TWO BOOKS... BE CAREFUL**

I don't know what anyone else thought, but to me, it was quite similar to Speak by LHA. The main difference is that Melinda overcomes her complete silence with the help of art, and Annabel manages to open up about the hard stuff mostly through her connection to other people, specifically Owen.

Ashley wrote: "I just finished Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and I really liked it. I thought it was a good story, with a good message and great characters. I loved Owen, and I loved who Annabel became when she wa..."

*******SPOILER************



I agree, it was similar to Speak. I was also reminded of Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, which had the same kind of "dominant girl turns against follower after alleged boyfriend stealing" theme.

AngelaSunshine wrote: "Ashley wrote: "I just finished Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and I really liked it. I thought it was a good story, with a good message and great characters. I loved Owen, and I loved who Annabel bec..."

I'm not sure if I want to read Some Girls Are. From what I hear, it's pretty depressing. Is it worth buying?

Roshini wrote: "AngelaSunshine wrote: "Ashley wrote: "I just finished Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and I really liked it. I thought it was a good story, with a good message and great characters. I loved Owen, and..."

Eh. I didn't love it. It's pretty gritty, and I guess as a mom I was kind of bothered by the nonchalant use and discussion of drugs and alcohol. While I know that's commonplace in high school these days, I would still like to hear a hint of disapproval from the author!