What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

eyeblink said:

P.S. Just checked - according to MM's website, Alibrandi was not published in the UK - the only English-language editions outside Australia were in the UK and Canada. Not to mention translations into eleven languages!

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I'm so surprised it wasn't published in the UK. Melina Marchetta is probably the best-known YA author in Australia, and it's almost all on the back of Looking for Alibrandi. Her other novels have been successes, as I understand it, but not to the same level. LfA is known as the "most stolen library book in Australia" and it is, as you said in an earlier post, taught in high school English. When I read it as a teenager, it struck me as the first novel that really captured what my high school years were like. Not the Italian/Lebanese aspect, because I'm white, but the whole private school/debating/boys type of deal. When you go to a single-sex school, the way you socialise is so different.

(Boys are so weird.)

I haven't seen the movie since it came out in theatres, but I remember enjoying it. Though I thought they made one of the love interests a bit more skeevy than he was in the book.

I really haven't read enough recent Aussie YA. I might have to pick up the Beatle book you're all raving about.

Cheers.

Looking for Alibrandi may be Marchetta's most successful release within Australia, but it didn't gain much international acclaim. Saving Francesca gained a bit more, but it was Jellicoe Road that catapulted her onto the international stage -- she won The Printz award, a lot more people suddenly seemed aware of her etc. So yeah, I don't think as many people outside of Aus know about Looking for Alibrandi (which is sad, because it's fantastic. I studied it in HS English, it was pretty fun ).

But yeah she has always Australia's biggest YA author, imo.


Adk -- the sister in Beatle was kind of annoying (but I assumed some of it was him perceiving her with a bit of bias), buuutttt she reminded me in some ways (unannoying ones, haha) of this girl I know called...Winsome. It was kind of freaky, but cool.

inkspatters said:

Adk -- the sister in Beatle was kind of annoying (but I assumed some of it was him perceiving her with a bit of bias), buuutttt she reminded me in some ways (unannoying ones, haha) of this girl I know called...Winsome. It was kind of freaky, but cool.

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Oh, we were talking about the sister in Twenty Boy Summer. As for Winsome being annoying, hmm, I agree it was kind of because we were seeing things from his POV and boys will always think their sisters are annoying. Weird coincidence about your friend.

And I LOVED Beatle!! I'm going to do a funny, different kind of review, maybe later today if I find the time.

Ohhhh, that explains it. I was like "what video camera?" lol. And I understand that one more. She annoyed the hell out of me, but I did forgive her in the end.

Twenty Boy Summer was such a good read -- I feel like re-reading it, now.

ETA: I've been meaning to review Beatle for a while, too. But I need to get some distance so I can talk about it without going, "So good. Read. Now" -- I suck at talking about books I really love.

inkspatters said:

I suck at talking about books I really love.

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haha... me too. Thankfully Nomes doesn't have that problem. I've gotten so many good recs from her and her reviews.

I'm reading The Gates by John Connolly and IT IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!! He is such a clever writer!!!! (and thanks to this thread Im asking for Beatle Meets Destiny for Christmas).

Torment by Lauren Kate
and because I'm not as interested in the book as I thought I'd be I'm also reading
Night Star by Alyson Noel
Oh and just minutes ago finished Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Losing Faith by Denise Jaden

jkababy said:

I'm reading The Gates by John Connolly and IT IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!! He is such a clever writer!!!!

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oh gosh! I despised that book. I couldn't get far in it. The style felt like a bad Pratchett knockoff, like 'Good Omens 2: The Sucky Sequel or something.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
It's like what it would have been like if Bella was truly in love with Jake and Jake wasn't such a puppy dog.

TrishD said:

I'm reading City of Bones by Cassie Clare.

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I loved this whole series. Thought it was very, very smart and sexy.

About to start The Mermaid's Mirror by LK Madigan.

inkspatters said:

Ohhhh, that explains it. I was like "what video camera?" lol. And I understand that one more. She annoyed the hell out of me, but I did forgive her in the end.

Twenty Boy Summer was such a good read -- I feel like re-reading it, now.

ETA: I've been meaning to review Beatle for a while, too. But I need to get some distance so I can talk about it without going, "So good. Read. Now" -- I suck at talking about books I really love.

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I love your reviews! so articulate and thoughtful. I think you should include the rave moments too

adktd2bks said:

haha... me too. Thankfully Nomes doesn't have that problem. I've gotten so many good recs from her and her reviews.

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haha. I find books hard to review. I never feel like i do them justice. Also, I cheat and tend not to mention books I don''t like.

I've gotten good recs from you too. It's just I am more slothful and read more than you, so I have more to rave about I am actually ashamed of how many books I've read this year. I'll have to make a goal to read less next year...

I'm currently reading THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger. I'm not normally a fan of contemporary romance because I find them rather samey, but I'm enjoying the voice of the MC and her character development and while the male MC is a bit of a wanker, I'm hoping there will be some kind of redeeming feature later on.

MM

inkspatters said:

But yeah she (Melina Marchetta) has always Australia's biggest YA author, imo.

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Just chiming in on the Aussie novel recs here - I reckon as far as popularity in YA lit, Robin Klein definitely held that crown in the nineties and early noughties. And Jaclyn Moriarty is definitely right up there with Melina - in Australia, in anyway. (Maybe not right up there, but I've rarely met a teenage girl who hasn't read Feeling Sorry for Celia)

Other notable Aussie YA authors that I can think of - apart from John Marsden, is Marianne Curley. The bookstores in Australia seem to be pushing 'Old Magic' quite a bit. It was published a decade ago, but the publisher reissued it recently, most likely because of the whole paranormal thing.

ETA: I forgot one! Margaret Clark! Another late nineties, early noughties YA author. Her books were light and fluffy and very chick-litish though.

DrummerGirl said:

I am actually ashamed of how many books I've read this year. I'll have to make a goal to read less next year...

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A goal to read less? I've never heard of such a thing!

lvae, I've never heard of Robin Klein...But I'm fairly young, so I may have missed her

Jaclyn Moriarty and John Marsden, definitely, though -- Marchetta just stands out to me as the biggest, cause she's my favourite, undoubtedly And Margaret Clark. I've seen Marianne Curley around too.

I think Judith Clarke's been pretty awesome,too. I loved One Whole and Perfect Day. And there's also Nick Earls.

lvae said:

Just chiming in on the Aussie novel recs here - I reckon as far as popularity in YA lit, Robin Klein definitely held that crown in the nineties and early noughties. And Jaclyn Moriarty is definitely right up there with Melina - in Australia, in anyway. (Maybe not right up there, but I've rarely met a teenage girl who hasn't read Feeling Sorry for Celia)

Other notable Aussie YA authors that I can think of - apart from John Marsden, is Marianne Curley. The bookstores in Australia seem to be pushing 'Old Magic' quite a bit. It was published a decade ago, but the publisher reissued it recently, most likely because of the whole paranormal thing.

ETA: I forgot one! Margaret Clark! Another late nineties, early noughties YA author. Her books were light and fluffy and very chick-litish though.

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Oh - Robin Klein was HUGE. Everyone i knew read her books. Libby Hathorn was too. margaret Clark - I re-read her fairly often. i was addicted to her books as a teen. Some were quite edgy though (Diary of a street kid, Back on track - my first hard core drug book! LOL).

inkspatters said:

lvae, I've never heard of Robin Klein...But I'm fairly young, so I may have missed her

Jaclyn Moriarty and John Marsden, definitely, though -- Marchetta just stands out to me as the biggest, cause she's my favourite, undoubtedly And Margaret Clark. I've seen Marianne Curley around too.

I think Judith Clarke's been pretty awesome,too. I loved One Whole and Perfect Day. And there's also Nick Earls.

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one whole and perfect day wasn't my fave of judith clarkes...

i think we've had a bit of a boom lately in Aussie YA. it's such a (comparitively) small publishing industry - and publishers are printing just superb stand-out talent (IMO).

I liked Jackie French as well - but she is mostly MG and picture books now.

Steven Herrick has always been a favourite as well. And i studied Maureen McCarthy in high school (Crossroads)

I'm a hard core fan of Sonya Hartnett too. I read Sleeping Dogs when I was 14 and have never forgotten how that book made me feel. her books are really something else. She has one SO many awards including a Printz honour.

brian caswell used to be everywhere as well. And Gary Crew.

oh - and not Aussie, but I love new Zealand authors too...

did you guys read all Sherryl Jordan's stuff? I love her - such a brilliant imagination. She was everywhere too - wish she still was. it's hard to get her out of print books now.

I haven't ready any Sheryl Jordan. But super big yes to Maureen McCarthy and Sonya Hartnett and Libby Hathorn!

I feel like I've missed out on Robin Klein -- I'll have to see if I can find some of her stuff.

At the library, I always used to go to the "H" "M" and "C" spots first

M: Marsden, Marchetta, McCarthy, Moriarty, Moloney (james), Metzenthen (David), Murphy (Kirsten), and Murray (Kristy) So many fave Aussie authors hanging out together in the M spot...

Hartnett, Hathorn, Herrick,

Clark, Clarke,

Then I'd kind of spread out from there...

I love nick Earls too

Well, as an American who reads quite a lot of YA, I'll confess that the only Aussie author I came across on my own (that I knew was Australian; I'm sure there have been others) was Marchetta. I read Saving Francesca several years ago and liked it a lot, so when Jelicoe Road became available, I read it, too (and LOVED it).

But since I hang out here with so many cool Australians, I'm now also a fan of Moriarty, and I loved Lucy Christopher's book, and plan to read all those other authors you've been blabbering on about.

I've now finished Looking for Alibrandi and I did enjoy it. It's an interesting experience reading it having recently visited Sydney, particularly a couple of places that feature in the book (George Street - where my hotel was! - and Darling Harbour for example), though how different those places are now from the early 90s I don't know.

As I said, I saw the film version on DVD ten years ago, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again after reading the book. Marchetta wrote the screenplay, and there's at least one significant structural change in the film to the novel - one key event (SPOILER: John Barton's suicide) takes place just before the halfway mark in the film, but near the end in the novel. I remember that event turning the film around for me, having found the tone a bit all-over-the-place up to then.

Oh, by the way, I spotted a factual error. Zeffirelli's film of Macbeth features in the plot. Unfortunately that's one Shakespeare play that Franco Zeffirelli didn't make a film of. I wonder if she meant Polanski instead?

That was the forty-ninth book I've read this year. What will be the fiftieth? Decisions, decisions...

I am currently reading "Night Hoops." It is a fantastic book and one that I thought would be more geared towards young men, but I am finding it to be very interesting. It really explains a little more about the heart of the game of basketball.

inkspatters said:

I feel like I've missed out on Robin Klein -- I'll have to see if I can find some of her stuff.

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You must have heard of 'Hating Alison Ashley'. I feel so old now, because after that, I'm going to add ... Back in my time, we had to study that in school! There's also Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, and Came Back to Show You I Could Fly

Wiki-ing that now, my jaw really did drop. I said nineties to early noughties before, but it seems eighties to nineties is more accurate! (I'm not that old, I swear!)