What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

Sean Wills said:

I was tempted to try that because the premise is similar to my WIP (going into people's dreams), but I've heard bad things about the way the plot turns out...also the writing style in the Amazon preview irritated me.

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Yep, those were my thoughts, too. It's been quite awhile since I read it, but if I'm remembering correctly, it was written in third person, present tense, which I find to be distracting. No other person/tense bugs me, but I've never read a third-present novel where the person/tense doesn't stand out throughout the novel.

Also, the plot does get a bit unrealistic. I can buy the slipping into dreams thing, but the elements that were supposed to reflect a normal world didn't work for me. Too many things were too far fetched... and oddly enough, I'm NOT talking about the fantasy elements.

Smish
ETA: I hope this post makes sense. It's very late and my head's starting to spin.

Like everyone else, I liked Wake but not enough to read the sequel. I kinda adore third/present, though. Melina Marchetta's The Piper's Son is in third/present and it's awesome -- but then Marchetta's just an amazing writer, and I have no doubt she could pull of second future or something

I'm about to take my second shot at Beautiful Creatures -- I read like fifty pages the first time, got busy and then forgot everything that happened in those fifty pages, haha.

inkspatters said:

Like everyone else, I liked Wake but not enough to read the sequel. I kinda adore third/present, though. Melina Marchetta's The Piper's Son is in third/present and it's awesome -- but then Marchetta's just an amazing writer, and I have no doubt she could pull of second future or something

I'm about to take my second shot at Beautiful Creatures -- I read like fifty pages the first time, got busy and then forgot everything that happened in those fifty pages, haha.

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I haven't read that one, but I do love Melina Marchetta, so if anyone can write a third/present book I'd like, it's probably her.

The only other third/present novel I can think of at the moment is After, and I HATED it. I really, really wanted to like that book, since it's about a public defender and her juvenile client charged with attempted murder. I'm a public defender and much of my work is with juvenile clients. So, a YA novel about my job! Yayy, I thought. I was very, very disappointed.

Smish said:

I haven't read that one, but I do love Melina Marchetta, so if anyone can write a third/present book I'd like, it's probably her.

The only other third/present novel I can think of at the moment is After, and I HATED it. I really, really wanted to like that book, since it's about a public defender and her juvenile client charged with attempted murder. I'm a public defender and much of my work is with juvenile clients. So, a YA novel about my job! Yayy, I thought. I was very, very disappointed.

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Oh, After is one I've been meaning to check out, but...Um, is it super unrealistic or something? Or just terrible?

David Levithan pulls of third/present nicely too, imo.

Wake had a really choppy style which I imagine was probably hard for most people to get into (I like choppy, but I know that's odd, haha), whereas Marchetta's is absolutely lyrical and amazing.

vfury said:

I've heard The Haunted is way better than The Hollow, according to reviews by people who had similar reservations. It's out in paperback over here, so I'm willing to give it a shot. I'll let you know how it goes.

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Thanks!

I read Flash Burnout by LK Madigan last night. Love the family dynamic in this one, especially the parents' jobs.

inkspatters said:

Oh, After is one I've been meaning to check out, but...Um, is it super unrealistic or something? Or just terrible?

David Levithan pulls of third/present nicely too, imo.

Wake had a really choppy style which I imagine was probably hard for most people to get into (I like choppy, but I know that's odd, haha), whereas Marchetta's is absolutely lyrical and amazing.

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After was just poorly written, in my opinion. I never felt any real connection to the main character (partially because of my hatred for third/present, I'll admit). I had to force myself to finish the novel. I could've put it down at any time and walked away, never looking back.

There's also a lot of authorial intrusion, particularly in the final chapters. So, with the distracting person/tense, and the author butting in frequently, I just never got sucked into the story.

It's certainly not unrealistic, though. I will say that for it. Some of the scenes are very graphic and realistic, and most of the court scenes, client interview scenes, and detention center scenes are fairly realistic, too.

inkspatters said:

Like everyone else, I liked Wake but not enough to read the sequel. I kinda adore third/present, though. Melina Marchetta's The Piper's Son is in third/present and it's awesome -- but then Marchetta's just an amazing writer, and I have no doubt she could pull of second future or something

I'm about to take my second shot at Beautiful Creatures -- I read like fifty pages the first time, got busy and then forgot everything that happened in those fifty pages, haha.

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I know melina does The Piper's Son so beautifully - just loved the ues of third person present. it felt so natural.

I have Beautiful Creatures on my shelf @ home (courtesy of Penguin). I may check it out one day... let me know what you think!

I just read Simone Elkeles sequel to Leaving Paradise: Return To Paradise. Argh. it was a train-wreck can't look away experience. very disappointed with it and I cant imagine reading any others of hers (that she's working on) after enduring through that one. which is a shame as i liked some of her other books okay... i think i am able to overlook some things that dont appeal to me when the premise sucks me in and stakes and tension are done well - without that I end up getting bugged by all kinds of things.

I also read Loving Richard Feynman by Penny Tangey (short-listed for CBCA) and it was so refreshing and good and I just feel proud of it in general. I think a lot of teens will love it

DrummerGirl said:

I know melina does The Piper's Son so beautifully - just loved the ues of third person present. it felt so natural.

I have Beautiful Creatures on my shelf @ home (courtesy of Penguin). I may check it out one day... let me know what you think!

I just read Simone Elkeles sequel to Leaving Paradise: Return To Paradise. Argh. it was a train-wreck can't look away experience. very disappointed with it and I cant imagine reading any others of hers (that she's working on) after enduring through that one. which is a shame as i liked some of her other books okay... i think i am able to overlook some things that dont appeal to me when the premise sucks me in and stakes and tension are done well - without that I end up getting bugged by all kinds of things.

I also read Loving Richard Feynman by Penny Tangey (short-listed for CBCA) and it was so refreshing and good and I just feel proud of it in general. I think a lot of teens will love it

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Wow, I would never have guessed your reaction to Return to Paradise!

I read it too and enjoyed it a lot, though didn't think it was as powerful as the first one. And I am a *tad* annoyed Maggie never let Caleb see her scars...that was a big thing in the first book and in the second it kind of didnt exist...? Anyway, I really really liked it...but didn't love it like the first (And just one teeny other thing...the COVER! WTF? I loathed it, no offense!).

Anywho. Re-reading Angel's Blood even though its not YA because, dang, I just LOVE that series! Then going to start Clockwork Angel...maybe...tehehehe.

emma_kate said:

Wow, I would never have guessed your reaction to Return to Paradise!

I read it too and enjoyed it a lot, though didn't think it was as powerful as the first one. And I am a *tad* annoyed Maggie never let Caleb see her scars...that was a big thing in the first book and in the second it kind of didnt exist...? Anyway, I really really liked it...but didn't love it like the first (And just one teeny other thing...the COVER! WTF? I loathed it, no offense!).

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I'm not a fan of the cover either.

Honestly - i just didn't get what the point of the book was? Really - why did it need a sequel when it had no strong plot? I would've preferred to just leave it at the first book without the last chapter that lead into a sequel.

PLus, I loved caleb in the first one - but in this i just didnt get him and his motivations at all. seemed contrived for the sake of drama.

but, i am glad it seems to be just me

I've just finished 'Magic Under Glass' by Jaclyn Dolamore. I've realised after doing some searching online, I prefer my edition of the book. [though the cover model for the other version was gorgeous]

The next book up is 'The Goldsmith's Daughter' by Tanya Landman. I haven't started it yet, but the book looks gorgeous, and the premise really intrigued me.

lvae said:

I've just finished 'Magic Under Glass' by Jaclyn Dolamore. I've realised after doing some searching online, I prefer my edition of the book. [though the cover model for the other version was gorgeous]

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I've been meaning to read 'Magic Under Glass'. I passed it up the last time I went to the bookstore but I think I'll pick it up the next time to go. I liked the excerpt of the first chapter I read, so I'm hoping it'll be good. And yeah, the model on the US cover is gorgeous, but I think I'll get the other version.

I finished Mockingjay a couple of days back, and uh, it killed e and I still haven't stopped thinking about it.

Not a YA, since it deals with a 21yo mother but I'm reading Susan Lewis' The Choice.

Finally finished Graceling and I LOVED it. And...I finally started...MOCKINGJAY! Yay. I have been avoiding a lot of blogs and post lately because I haven't read the book yet. Now I can be in the loop.

I just read a YA short story collection called "How Beautiful The Ordinary", but I have to complain about it. It's a collection of stories about LGBT people, although there is no way to tell from looking at the cover. I wouldn't have picked it up except I saw a review of it. It has a lot of authors I like in it (Margo Lanagan, David Levithan, Julie Anne Peters etc.), but almost none of the stories are YA. They are either about adults, or written in a You darn kids don't know how good you have it! sort of tone, or a Golly gee oh my quaint memories of teenhood which seems like it would be intolerable to the average teenager.

On the plus side, a great fantasy-ish not-YA story by Margo Lanagan. And a sweet biographical story about William Sleator, beloved sci-fi YA author of my childhood, who is gay! Hurray! I guess, like Maurice Sendak, he started writing so long ago that it was not OK to be out and a writer of books for impressionable youth.

Now I'm reading TTYL, but I find it kind of hard going. It's hard for me to form an impression of the 3 different characters in the instant messaging format. The different fonts is not enough! I think I would be enjoying the plot much more sans gimmicky format.

Wow. I can't believe the YA collection was so non-teen-centered. What the heck? YA short stories are dying breed, with almost no teen magazines printing short stories anymore, and a collection like that sure isn't going to help.

I can't bring myself to read TTYL. I hate 'text speak' with a passion and just don't think I could handle the format.

Smish said:

Wow. I can't believe the YA collection was so non-teen-centered. What the heck? YA short stories are dying breed, with almost no teen magazines printing short stories anymore, and a collection like that sure isn't going to help.

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The weird thing was that the collection editor is like a big time YA writer/editor guy. I don't know why all the adulty stories. The only ones that felt YAish were Julie Ann Peters' one, about two girls' first time, and an autobiographical (?) piece by Jennifer Finney Boylan about being a young trans teenager.

Just read the first 50 pages of THE DUFF last night!

Finished Paper Towns, by John Green, yesterday. He's a truly talented writer, and it's amazing to see how his characters grow over the course of a novel. However, I have to confess that the final section left me a bit underwhelmed. I'll have to let it process awhile and see how I feel about it after another reading.

Finished the 4th book in John Marsden's Tomorrow series, Darkness, Be My Friend, and am about to start Before I Fall.

DrummerGirl said:

I have Beautiful Creatures on my shelf @ home (courtesy of Penguin). I may check it out one day... let me know what you think!

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Mine's courtesy of Penguin too, lawl. So far, I'm enjoying it more than the other paranormals I've read. Although I have some beef with the character motivation, and the fact that some of MC's behaviour is OTT.

I don't think the voice is inherently un-male, like others have, so far.

Started Stolen last night, intending to read a chapter before bed (quickly discovered there are no chapters), and when I finally looked at the clock again, it was 2:30 in the morning. Oops. So, I'm halfway through, and I have to say, it's freaking awesome.

Just finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Enjoyed the poetry, the environment descriptions, and the foreshadowing that paces you through the book. There's a sad, bittersweet quality to Grace and Sam's romance, because they know it will be shortlived.
Also this week, read Gayle Forman's If I Stay. I teared up at the end, and I am so not a crier. The way she wove back and forth through Mia's memories to create love for the characters. Engaging.