What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

Tried to read Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25. Couldn't get through it. Seemed like a copy of I Am Number Four. So...it's basically a copy of a copy?

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. I loved Unwind so freaking much that I figured it was a crime I hadn't read anything else by him yet.

Return to Daemon Hall by Andrew Nance. I'm actually almost done with it.

The original Daemon Hall scares the hell out of me no matter how many times I read it. So far this one is just as successful in the making-me-look-over-my-shoulder department.

KateSmash said:

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. I loved Unwind so freaking much that I figured it was a crime I hadn't read anything else by him yet.

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Bruiser was my 1st Shusterman. Loved it!

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman. I loved Unwind so freaking much that I figured it was a crime I hadn't read anything else by him yet.

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*Loved* Unwind. His Everlost series is amazing.

Momento Mori said:

However it's predominantly a set-up book

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Omg yes. You said it. This is something I keep ranting about. Nowadays everything is series and when I read a book that leaves lots of unanswered questions and just basically sets the scene for the next one without any kind of closure, I feel like I got much less than I should have gotten because it's not really a story, just a part of one. I'd be glad if there was a warning on the cover every time: such and such title, book one in such and such series. Otherwise I feel like I ordered a dinner, got half a bowl of soup, and then was told to come back for the rest in ten months, and btw the dessert will be served in 2013.

Back on topic: I'm almost finished with two books.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, which is unusual and engaging and all sorts of great. I liked the heroine, too. Finally, no Everygirl in the leading role, she is regal, she used to fly high and she never forgot it. She's decisive, too, knows what she wants and knows what risks she is ready to take. What a rare treat. There is another thing that fascinated me--the atmosphere. It's so thick, you can taste it. A lot of books are marketed as fairy tales, but this time, yes. It is a fairy tale. It has that ethereal aura.

And Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, which I tended to put aside, just reading a chapter now and then, but eventually it grew on me and I'm glad I kept reading. It's pretty imaginative, even though it has that unfinished feel of a set-up book in a series.
Though I still think Evie's judgement is kind of clouded. At the beginning I felt bad for Reth. I mean:
1) Guy A overreacts when she is threatened and becomes violent towards the person who threatened to kill her.
Eww, says Evie, get the bleep away from me, you are disgusting, I don't want anything to do with you ever.
2) Guy B infiltrates the organization she considers her own and threatens the person she loves, he could easily harbor plans to kill everyone here. Omg, says Evie, he's so cute, I think I'll go entertain him.
Eh?

Just read "Matched" by Ally Condie. Not worth all the hype. I felt like I read alot and nothing happened. Probably won't be picking up the next one.

Currently raeding "Falling for Hamlet" by Michelle Reys. It hasn't gotten a ton of good reviews, but I'm loving it. I love, love LOVE Hamlet and all things Shakespeare, and I think her writing is pretty sharp and funny. I'm really enjoying the update, and I'm totally into it. Plus she cleverly found a way to retell a familar story without losing the audience in the fact that everyone already knows how it ends. Can't wait to finsih it. I'm loving it.

I just finished "House of Stairs" by William Sleator -- an oldie, but a disturbing-in-the-right-way goodie!

Currently reading If I Die by Rachel Vincent. Next on my reading list is Matched (I really hate how they put a blurb by MTV on the front cover, ugh).

ETA: I really like the Soul Screamers series, but If I Die had a bit of an unsatisfactory ending for me. Not to mention the way she handled a certain character getting arrested was totally friggin' wrong because the way said character was arrested was completely unrealistic. I had a few other gripes, but other than that it was a good read.

Now off to see if Matched will live up to its hype.

Reading Anna Dressed in Blood. It's a little too unaesthetically gritty for my tastes (which might sound weird but I just mean that I prefer a more Gothic fairy tale like, purposefully beautified style), but it's oh so fresh in the midst of paranormal YA. It has that old school spookiness. No sparkly ghosts.

The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening

Just finished The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening by Karice Bolton and it was great! Tried it because it was $1.99 on Amazon and was an awesome purchase. Might try more indie authors. The second one isn't out until December but can't wait. Also finished Divergent which was interesting by V. Roth.

Bruiser was good, but somehow I feel like maybe I made a mistake reading it after Unwind. Let's face it, Unwind is a tough act to follow.

Now onto Shut Out by our lovely Kody Keplinger. I'm not a big contemporary reader, but she had me at "retelling of Lysistrata".

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

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, which is unusual and engaging and all sorts of great. I liked the heroine, too. Finally, no Everygirl in the leading role, she is regal, she used to fly high and she never forgot it. She's decisive, too, knows what she wants and knows what risks she is ready to take. What a rare treat. There is another thing that fascinated me--the atmosphere. It's so thick, you can taste it. A lot of books are marketed as fairy tales, but this time, yes. It is a fairy tale. It has that ethereal aura.

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I loved that book. I ordered it when it first came out (there was some news coverage about the cover being whitewashed, which made me interested in the book). When it arrived, I read it all in one evening. Which I felt guilty about; it felt disrespectful to the hard work someone's put into writing a book to read it so quickly!

Her second book is about to be released and I'm tempted to buy it in hardcover, something I practically never do. I'll probably wait a bit and see if my library gets it though.

Windcutter said:

Reading Anna Dressed in Blood. It's a little too unaesthetically gritty for my tastes (which might sound weird but I just mean that I prefer a more Gothic fairy tale like, purposefully beautified style), but it's oh so fresh in the midst of paranormal YA. It has that old school spookiness. No sparkly ghosts.

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Finished it. The same opinion as above. I also liked that it stood easily on its own despite being (once again) the first book in a series. I was satisfied with the ending despite some unanswered questions, it was open in a dramatic yet somehow completed way.

Winterturn said:

I loved that book. I ordered it when it first came out (there was some news coverage about the cover being whitewashed, which made me interested in the book). When it arrived, I read it all in one evening. Which I felt guilty about; it felt disrespectful to the hard work someone's put into writing a book to read it so quickly!

Her second book is about to be released and I'm tempted to buy it in hardcover, something I practically never do. I'll probably wait a bit and see if my library gets it though.

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I'm waiting for it, too, especially since the summary made me think "wow, that's so hard to pull off, how will she do it", and that sort of issue always makes me interested.
Besides, what Jaclyn Dolamore has in spades is something a lot of authors lack--atmosphere. Not voice, a lot of people can do voice well. But the kind of atmosphere that leaves an aftertaste like a dream.

Clean by Amy Reed

Finished Lola and the Boy Next Door earlier this week, and adored it. It was even better than Anna and the French Kiss. Can't wait for her next book! I'd read a shopping list by Stephanie Perkins at this point.

Going back to adult books for a brief spell, and then some more YA.

Just finished Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty. I think I liked this one better than The Year of Secret Assignments.

On to Lola...

Just finished Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann. Not as creepy as I wanted it to be, but not bad either. The narrator is really self-involved, but since she's also OCD it kind of makes sense for her to be--very detail oriented and a little paranoid. I did like how her relationship with the love interest played out--they actually have stuff in common, and they're friends for a while, and then sparks happen. Sense-making, organic, believable romance. Good stuff.

Now starting: From Bad to Cursed, by Katie Alendar. I liked the first book a lot. This one seems to be aiming for cult/demon territory, rather than malevolent ghosts. Sounds fun.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

Just finished Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann. Not as creepy as I wanted it to be, but not bad either. The narrator is really self-involved, but since she's also OCD it kind of makes sense for her to be--very detail oriented and a little paranoid. I did like how her relationship with the love interest played out--they actually have stuff in common, and they're friends for a while, and then sparks happen. Sense-making, organic, believable romance. Good stuff.

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I liked that one, though I found the romance a bit boring (you probably guessed from that other thread, I'm not too much into sensible romance xd). But I liked the tone, the voice. It felt mysterious right till the end. Though I had a moment of "hm, really?" at the reveal, but I'm a very overfed reader of the subgenre. It's very difficult to surprise me.

Reading Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, yes, I'm so late, I know. So far so good, I really like her portrayal of fairies.

^Yeah, I'm aware I'm a bit of an anomoly in that I prefer people in a relationship to actually, y'know, like each other. Most people tend to like the melodrama and the angst. I just eyeroll through that stuff and wish they'd get over it. But I didn't read that book for the romance--I read it for the crazy-looking haunted desk.

I dunno if you've read her other series, Wake, but I finished the first of those books recently too, and that romance is significantly angstier. At least in the first book. I prefer to imagine it gets better with the others, because it's such a cool setup: He's an undercover detective. She sees other people's dreams. They fight crime.

And Wicked Lovely is wonderful--I loved that book.

I finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox last night. I thought the set-up was really good but ... not much happened. And I didn't really care for the epilogue. It was still pretty good overall though.

I've just started Across the Universe. The first chapter was amazing.

Winterturn said:

I finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox last night. I thought the set-up was really good but ... not much happened. And I didn't really care for the epilogue. It was still pretty good overall though.

I've just started Across the Universe. The first chapter was amazing.

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IMO, the first chapter was the best chapter... haha.

Reading The Girl in the Park.

Sage said:

LOL, I agree. And the last few were the worst.

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Definitely!