Thursday, April 21, 2011

So You Wanna Read YA Lit?

YA novels are the booming genre in today's world of literature. From #1 national bestsellers to feature films, teen reads are taking the world my storm. Everyone wants to write them. Everyone wants to read them. 

Many people want to jump in to the world of YA lit but don't know where to start. Should I just read Harry Potter and call myself an addict? If I read Twilight am I a cop out? Should I only read the paperbacks that haven't been checked out in years?

Welcome to my new series: 

So You Wanna Read YA Lit?

Now, for the people reading this who already enjoy YA lit, you might be wondering "There's rules to this?" 

Absolutely not!

This is just a simple weekly blog series to introduce people to other YA titles, authors, and genres they otherwise wouldn't have thought to read. There's a world of lit beyond The Hunger Games and I aim to prove it!


Step #1 - Popular contemporary stand-alones

For people new to the YA genre, not knowing whether or not you'll like it, it's always easiest to start with things you're familiar with. Start off by choosing a book you've heard other people recommend or seen on the shelves before. Try something contemporary, something set in the 2000s so you might recognize some of the lingo or plot scenarios. For Step 1, I also advise to avoid series. While they're a great way to get you hooked on characters, they can be especially long and tedious for people who don't read very often.

To get you started I've selected 15 of my favourite popular contemporary stand-alone novels.


Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan


Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti


Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway


The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Before I Die by Jenny Downham



How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal


Happy Reading! Check back next Thursday for the next installment.

1 comment:

  1. I'm ashamed to admit, as a contemporary fan, that I've only read 2 of those, and own another 2.

    That said, I really loved Thirteen Reasons Why. Most of the ones I haven't read yet are on my dying to get wishlist. This is a nice idea for a feature, and I like that you have new and a bit older books in there.

    ReplyDelete

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