Exceptional Books discussion

This book I wouldn't classify in any way, shape or form as exceptional. It's TYPICAL YA fare, the plot line is fairly interesting, but the adventures are routine & pretty predictable, the characters are 2 dimensional, & there is so much typical teenager angst to go around between the major players. I've read the whole series to see if it gets any better, & it just doesn't.

Agreed. I'm shocked anyone but this book on the shelf. It's pretty much formula YA paranormal from beginning to end.

I can understand a book that is not exceptional because of writing, story development,etc., but just because it is YA should not be an automatic discount from that exceptional category. I have not read this book to comment specifically but I have read other YA that I thought were exceptional.

Whoa, I didnt say b/c it was YA. I said b/c it was formula YA paranormal, ie, just like every other one I've read. Most of the books I've added to the shelf are YA.

Lena wrote: "Whoa, I didnt say b/c it was YA. I said b/c it was formula YA paranormal, ie, just like every other one I've read. Most of the books I've added to the shelf are YA."

No offense intended. :) I have heard others (not in this platform) critical of YA because it is written for the younger audience (easy to follow story lines, direct character development, etc.) and discount it for that purpose. For me, reading YA is nostalgic.

@Ruth--Nope, I love YA and don't find it lacking in any way. In fact, a lot of YA books have great themes and stories that are more interesting than adult books to me. I think the time when YA was discounted as inferior literature has gone by the wayside, which is a good thing most of the time.

I never said it was bad BECAUSE it was YA :) I added a book that was YA, The Secret Garden :) Some YA IS extremely well done. The Ellen Hopkins books I would say are exceptional because of the way she writes, in free prose, & how many YA authors DO that? None. She is also absolutely NOT afraid to tackle tough subjects, that are challenged by parents, schools, etc, but you know what? I would PREFER my kids to know what can happen to them if they get into drugs. Yes, it can be graphic, frighteningly so, at times, but if you have to use that as a tool to knock sense into kids' heads BEFORE they try it, so much the better. In this world, this is stuff they NEED to see.

But the Mortal Instruments series, & yes, I did read all 4, plus the new one that's a spin off new series, & it is NOT exceptional.

Here's a link to the Fan History article about Cassandra Claire and her plagiarism.

http://www.fanhistory.com/wiki/Cassan...

This author was guilty of plagiarism:

Quote from Wikipedia:

Fan fiction

Clare gained notoriety in the fanfiction world when she was caught inserting, without citation, a significant portion of fantasy writer Pamela Dean's work into the ninth chapter of Draco Sinister, the second installment of The Draco Trilogy. FanFiction.Net later removed Clare's account due to her plagiarism.

The Draco Trilogy (Harry Potter)[31]
The Very Secret Diaries (The Lord of the Rings)[32]

I personally would not read anything she's written, much less consider it exceptional.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Here's a link to the Fan History article about Cassandra Claire and her plagiarism.

http://www.fanhistory.com/wiki/Cassan...

This author was guilty of plagiarism:

Quote from Wikipedia:

F..."

AMEN.

I totally agree that this series is not exceptional. And I also agree that any past plagiary on the part of Claire is reprehensible. But I don't think that The Mortal Instruments series should be linked with the plagiarism. It should stand on its own, as an original series. She plagiarized in her fan fiction. Not that that makes it any more acceptable -- it does not. BUT, at least it was done in an arena where she wasn't making money. I know there are some authors who write fan fiction at the beginning of their careers in order to practice writing, without having to create the worlds & characters from scratch. If this is what she was doing, then at least she didn't let her indiscretions continue on into her "real" writing.

But Cassandra Claire's plagiarized fanfiction earned her a massive fan base, and you can't say that having a large pre-established fan base didn't help her get published/make her first book a success.

And she was not plagiarizing another fan fiction writer, she was copying a real fantasy writer. So perhaps all those fans belong to Pamela Dean and not Cassandra Claire? At any rate, I maintain my stance. She's a plagiarist and I would not read anything she's written or support her in any way.

From memory she would also use verbatim great slabs of dialogue from shows like Buffy and Red Dwarf. I remember reading her fanfiction way back in the day and thinking she was such a clever writer only to eventually realise that pretty much all the clever parts weren't actually her.