Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion

As I mentioned a little while ago I thought it might be fun to start a featured author for each month and everyone could read one of the authors books and discuss them. I have found from my cozy mystery group this has gotten me to read authors I have never even heard of before, which is a good thing. I wanted to get some ideas for featured authors for each month (starting with Feb.) In our cozy group we usually read authors with multiple books so everyone can choose one they like and less well known authors, so they can be new to more people. Ideas?? Suggested authors??

I am new to Tamora Pierce and know she has a lot of YA books out there, so I thought she might be a good pick.

My favorite author that is not real well know (but should be) is Juliet Marillier. Most of her books are not YA although they are not real far over the line (wherever the line is). She has two YA books Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret which is the sequel (about the sister to the main character in the first book).

Another one is Devin O'Branagan who has written one YA book, Glory.

Great picks ladies!

He's obviously well known, but John Green is always an option. I've only read Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Also, I haven't read anything by Megan Turner Whalen and I think she has a few books out there. Not sure if it's one big series or if she has stand alone books too. I will always put a vote in for Melina Marchetta (but I think we should wait until March for her)

I'll do some more digging and get back with you.

I second Tamora Pierce! Her books are awesome, and there's loads of them.

Also, Orson Scott Card (surprise surprise) - he's written some of my favourite books of all time (Ender's Game etc) and he's just released two new YA books (called Pathfinder and The Lost Gate, I think?) His work tends to span genres and have fantastic character development.

Who else...Susan Cooper maybe? She wrote the Dark is Rising series (which I love) and some other stand alone books, all of which I hear are great, but aren't as well known these days as they should be!

Others that come to mind: Shannon Hale (The Goose Girl, etc), Scott Westerfeld (Ugies, Leviathan, etc)

It doesn't have to be lesser known author Bluemoon - that was just a suggestion. I am sure there are many people who still have not read books by more popular authors. Thanks everyone for your ideas. I think we def. have enough for each month of the year already! Yay!

I second Orson Scott Card. I've only read Ender's Game and want to read more form him.

Also Neal Shusterman. Again, I've only read one book from him.

I second Juliet Marillier, Susan Cooper, Orson Scott Card, and Neal Shusterman. I've read a little something by each of them and love them. The other authors sound great too.

I'll suggest Robin Hobb, Terry Brooks, David Drake, and Brandon Mull.

I like the John Green idea. Or Orson Scott Card or Neal Shusterman.

They're some of my to read authors.

Tamora Pierce for me

Yay! I am getting so excited. I think what I will do is start listing an author for each month of this year from the list, so everyone knows in advance who it will be. Thanks again everyone :)

Ok I have thought of a few more authors. I want to add Meg Cabot because even though her books are light, sometimes that is what you need to read.

Current authors I have not really read that were not mentioned, but have several books were Jerry Spinelli and Laurie Halse Anderson.
Lastly I was wondering what you all thought of classic writers like Lucy Maud Montgomery, Judy Blume, Gary Paulsen, SE Hinton, and V.C. Andrews???? Do we just want to keep the list with current authors or add in a few older ones?

Thoughts please. Thanks!

Thanks Catie - great ideas!

I was actually thinking LM Montgomery but for some reason didn't put her up there. I love it. And I think the new authors thing is a good idea too. Maybe authors that are apart of this Goodreads group?

thats a smart idea, gets the newer authors a chance and a chance to find new authors to look for

Oh I love this idea!!! Has one been picked for Jan yet? Im still fairly new to YA so most authors of that genre are new to me ;)

*I like the idea of adding new authors so that it is new to my mind and Im not comparing to what I remember of a book. Just my 2 cents :)*

I think having a new author and a classic could be cool and put up a nice contrast.

My only real problem with picking is new author is that the choices will be limited. I thought the point was to pick an author with multiple books so we could all gravitate towards books we would prefer. By choosing newer authors it's pretty much like choosing one book for us all to read. Which is fine if that's what we want to do.

I was thinking new as in first novel published in the las 5-10 or so years - not new like only has first novel published. Kind of like that group paired up the free audiobooks a classic and contemporary. And classic being an author with a very long publishing history that may not even be writing anymore.

I love Juliet Marillier. Tamora Pierce would be a good choice too.

well and the nice thing about doing an author that has multiple books is that people will pick different books and we'll all hear thoughts and reviews and opens more doors to extend our TBR's.

Brittany wrote: "My only real problem with picking is new author is that the choices will be limited. I thought the point was to pick an author with multiple books so we could all gravitate towards books we would ..."

That is why we choose authors with multiple books in my cozy group - that way people are not tied down to just 1-2 choices. I like all the ideas everyone has given me. I am going to try to start up a list for the whole year based on everyone's thoughts so feel free to throw out any other authors names at me you want. I plan to start with Tamora Pierce for Feb. I hope that is ok.

Heidi I wrote: " I plan to start with Tamora Pierce for Feb. I hope that is ok."

Absolutely not. Not okay at all! Kidding. Sounds great!

I've read a few of Tamora Pierce books. I would read them again just to have the chance to chat with others about her stuff. Really good choice;-)

i was looking through Goodreads trying to decide which one to start with.

I'm confused. She has 4 different series but they're all connected. Does that mean I should start with the first Alanna book?

This link might help, Wendy! It explains the suggested order to read the books in and how the series fit together.

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/tamora-pi...

Thank you!

No probs guys! Hmm, now to find one I haven't read. Or do rereads count?

Well if anything Arphaxad you can join in on our discussion in Feb. since you have read them all and give us your thoughts :) p.s. I just read my first T. Pierce book Alanna and it was a light quick read, so I recommend that if anyone wants a rec. for people who are new to her too. I plan to read the second in the series in Feb.

I am bumping the list so I can remember the order!

February - Tamora Pierce
March - Tie between Scott Westerfield & of course Melina Marchetta
April - Juliet Marillier
May - Lucy Maud Montgomery
June - Shannon Hale
July - Meg Cabot
August - Maria Snyder (our very own group member :)
September - Orson Scott Card
October - John Green
November - Katherine Paterson
December - Robin Hobb

FYI - I plan to post info about each author's books prior to each month.

Wow, looks like a great list!

Becca wrote: "Wow, looks like a great list!"

I hope so. Something for everyone :)

Nice work Heidi!

Brilliant, Dahling!

This looks awesome Heidi! I'm excited!

Likewise... I CANNOT wait!

P.S. I love March. Thanks!

Well Brittany I figured all of us Melina fans in the States would be reading Piper's Son anyway ,(like you mentioned), so I had to throw her on the list!

Catie wrote: "Not to mention, I've been wanting to read Leviathan forever."

I haven't read any of his books - is that a good series??

Are you talking about Extras Catie? Or the actual end of the trilogy, because if it's the end of the trilogy, I couldn't agree more. That was a great ending.

Catie wrote: "I don't know - I haven't read it yet :)"

Oh! Ha. Sorry :)

Heidi I wrote: "Well Brittany I figured all of us Melina fans in the States would be reading Piper's Son anyway ,(like you mentioned), so I had to throw her on the list!"

How true it is... My classes better not interfere with my Melina time. That would be tragic.

Ok I am going to have to figure out how to copy and paste from GR to get you info each month on authors, but for February this will have to do! I took the info from another website. As you know our featured author for Feb. is . Here is some info about her and her series in order. It looks like she has a book coming out in Feb., so this is great timing :)


About Tamora Pierce
Tamora Pierce is a fantasy author who writes books for young adults. Pierce is the co-founder of the forum Sheroes Central. She lives with her husband Tim Liebe in upstate New York with their four cats and multiple other pets. New and Forthcoming Hardbacks
February 2011 "Tortall and Other Lands" (Tortall)

Series
Song of the Lioness
1. Alanna: The First Adventure (1983)
2. In the Hand of the Goddess (1984)
3. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986)
4. Lioness Rampant (1988)

Immortals
1. Wild Magic (1992)
2. Wolf Speaker (1994)
3. The Emperor Mage (1994)
4. The Realms of the Gods (1996)

Circle of Magic
1. Sandry's Book (1995)
aka The Magic in the Weaving
2. Tris's Book (1998)
aka The Power in the Storm
3. Daja's Book (1998)
aka The Fire in the Forging
4. Briar's Book (1999)
aka The Healing in the Vine

Protector of the Small
1. First Test (1999)
2. Page (2000)
3. Squire (2001)
4. Lady Knight (2002)

Circle Opens
1. Magic Steps (2000)
2. Street Magic (2001)
3. Cold Fire (2002)
4. Shatterglass (2003)

Daughter of the Lioness
1. Trickster's Choice (2003)
2. Trickster's Queen (2004)

Circle Reforged
1. The Will of the Empress (2005)
2. Melting Stones (2007)

Tortall
1. Terrier (2006)
2. Bloodhound (2009)

Graphic Novels
White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion (2007)

I plan to listen to in Feb. :)

i'll be doing Alanna!

Awesome! Can't wait to see what you guys think of Alanna. I've had a real soft spot for her series since I first read it back in school :)

I liked Alanna. I listened to it on audio, but think it would be the same in print (the audio did not add too much). It was also really short, (3 tapes), which is nice sometimes.

I'll grab it on my Kindle.

Unfortunately my book buying is going to have to get more frugal, 2 instead of 4, since I just got a new car. On a better note, I got a new CAR!!

To put this in perspective I was driving a 1999 Ford Escort (salvage car, put together like Frankenstien, except all white). Now I have a beautiful champagne colored 2006 Equinox!!! I'm classy now.

Yay for you Wendy!