What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

Vandal said:

Just picked up Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Who?

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I wonder who that could be? *looks around AW* Oh, wait...

Gosh, I want Ten SOO badly.

Finished Elissa Janine Hoole's Kiss the Morning Star last night.

Um, I kinda loved it. There were a couple of scenes I would have loved to see expanded so the impact of later events was more powerful, but as a general feeling OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE. It was just so beautifully written and had these little details that created perfect images in my head.

Also, there is a scene with a bear where I was actually holding my breath as I was reading.

Anyway - YAY for another AWer writing an awesome book. I think this place is breeding them or something. The AW program. They're trying to produce the Kwisatz Haderach of writers....wait...does that make the mods the Bene Gesserit? Hmm. This metaphor needs work.

Nakhlasmoke said:

Finished Elissa Janine Hoole's Kiss the Morning Star last night.

Um, I kinda loved it. There were a couple of scenes I would have loved to see expanded so the impact of later events was more powerful, but as a general feeling OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE. It was just so beautifully written and had these little details that created perfect images in my head.

Also, there is a scene with a bear where I was actually holding my breath as I was reading.

Anyway - YAY for another AWer writing an awesome book. I think this place is breeding them or something. The AW program. They're trying to produce the Kwisatz Haderach of writers....wait...does that make the mods the Bene Gesserit? Hmm. This metaphor needs work.

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Thanks for that. I'd be interested in reading Elissa's novel - but it wasn't available on Amazon UK last time I looked. I have a big TBR pile and no budget for new books right now, but I hope to get hold of a copy later in the year.

Alouette said:

I loved Junk by him but was a little disappointed by this one. The characters just didn't feel that real and it felt kind of dated to me. I don't know how to explain in but it was as if the tone was a bit childish despite the serious subject matter. And I did find the voices of the characters a bit cliched. My friend loved it though so maybe I just couldn't connect.

I picked up The Night Circus today. Such a beautiful cover! I'm only a chapter or so in but I'm loving the fairytale-ish quality this has.

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Ditto. I didn't really connect with any of the characters either, and usually I'm a fan of the don't-give-a-damn types. I really liked Burgess' DOING IT - just unfortunate that us in the UK can't get a DVD of the TV series (there's only region 1 available )

Right now it's 4:45 am and I just finished C0urtn3ey Summ3rs' S0m3 Gir!s Ar3. Holy Shit. I started it at 2 am and i just finished it and holy shit.

MysteryRiter said:

Gosh, I want Ten SOO badly.

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Me too. And so does the mister man. We're probably going to have to divorce over irreconcilable differences from arguing about who gets to read it first. *stares at calendar* September, why you no be here yet?

Annnd to stay on topic: picked up Terrier by Tamora Pierce. I spent all of late elementary and middle school forehead-deep in adult fantasy. How no one ever told me to read her is a crime. She would have been my favorite thing ever back then. I feel cheated out of an important part of my childhood.

Between Shades of Gray was the best book I've read so far this year. Depressing and disturbing, yes, but so engrossing.

Right now I'm reading a self-pubbed book called The Vincent Brothers. The lack of editing is really pulling me out of the story.

So I read Article 5 (dystopian YA) and I have to say, I LOATHED it. It's the first negative review I've ever posted on Amazon. I can't like books where I hate the MC, and in this one, I wanted to punch the MC in the face for 90% of the novel. Talk about whiney, self-righteous, and stupid. Plus, showed ZERO understanding or sympathy for what the lead male (reluctant soldier suffering PTSD and her supposed love interest) had been through in his efforts to keeps her safe. All she did was complain, criticize, question his motives, and try to run away, when HE was the one having to make the tough decisions and using his survival skills to keep them alive (saved her butt six times, and all she does is complain).

UGHHHHH.

On the bright side, when I read novels like this, it makes me reevaluate my own MC and ensure I'm not making the same mistakes. Because dang.

Just finished The Fault In Our Stars! OMG. Can anyone say FANTASTIC! I now have my hands on Insurgent. Can't wait.

jkellerford said:

Just finished The Fault In Our Stars! OMG. Can anyone say FANTASTIC! I now have my hands on Insurgent. Can't wait.

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Insurgent is a great book, if you liked Divergent, you'll love it

I have yet to read The Fault in Our Stars, but I've heard good things.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver. After that is Shadow and Bone by Lee Bardugo

MysteryRiter said:

Gosh, I want Ten SOO badly.

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I can't wait for this one!


I just finished The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. I'll probably read the second two eventually. Loved the Fisher brothers.

MKrys, is D3lirium worth reading? It's one of the few popular dystopians I haven't read yet.

I enjoyed DEL1RIUM.

Vandal said:

Just picked up Possess by Gretchen McNeil

Who?

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MysteryRiter said:

I wonder who that could be? *looks around AW* Oh, wait...

Gosh, I want Ten SOO badly.

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You guys are cute.

I liked Delirium, I did not enjoy the sequel Pandemonium. It definitely suffers from sophomore slump syndrome, IMO.

Alouette:
The characters just didn't feel that real and it felt kind of dated to me. I don't know how to explain in but it was as if the tone was a bit childish despite the serious subject matter. And I did find the voices of the characters a bit cliched. My friend loved it though so maybe I just couldn't connect.

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I do think that he romanticises his characters because he's so keen for the reader to feel some sympathy for them. He does it well and I did really enjoy this book (especially the way he doesn't tie it up with a bow at the end) but if I've got a criticism it's that he doesn't show that some kids are just nasty and they mean to be nasty and he never explores that - his characters are all soft underneath.

I'd still recommend it though - if only because I'd read quite a few books of this type this year and his characters had the best voice for me, mainly because he lets them use the f-bomb so I can picture them better.

I've just started a young reader book (age 7+) - I'M DOUGAL TRUMP AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT by Jackie Marchant, which is a young boy's diary about monsters in his shed and how he's always blamed for things. It's a lot of fun so far and has some really funny illustrations (particularly of the shed).

MM

Today was too hot to do anything but read so I read two books.

First, Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr.

Then, Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss.

Both very amazing.

Sage:
I will have to check this out, since it sounds a little similar to my kidlit books

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I finished it over lunch and really enjoyed it - very funny and the illustrations are great (there's one of the shed being threatening that made me snort Pepsi out of my nose).

Torn on what to read next.

MM

Slightly off-topic: can I ask why some people 1337 the titles of books? I'm just wondering.

Recent reads:
Blackwood - Gwenda Bond. I had a few minor quibbles but overall I really liked it. The mystery of Roanoke is not explored a lot in YA fiction so it was a refreshing change of pace.
Tithe - Holly Black - Also highly enjoyable. Read it in one sitting.

Now:
The Demon's Lexicon - Sarah Rees Brennan. Enjoying it so far, but I've been reading a lot of contemporary YA fantasy lately, so I think I'm getting a bit burned out on it.

The Assassin's Curse - Cassandra Rose Clarke. OMG SO GOOD OMG. Desert fantasy with a pirate's daughter and a scarred, cursed assassin. Yes, please.

lauralam said:

Slightly off-topic: can I ask why some people 1337 the titles of books? I'm just wondering.

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I think it's so the authors don't find it if they search for their name/the book title.

Just finished The Duff. I literally zoomed through it in one afternoon. It was a really fun read, I thought and I really enjoyed it. I thought some characters could have been a little better developed but overall it had a great voice and it drew me in right from the start.

^Loved that book. I read it recently, and Bianca's voice was awesome! Cynical, but unique and well done. Really good book, although it was hard for me to believe her involvement with Wesley at first. (This is not spoiling anything in case anyone was worried it was! It's in the blurb. )

I'm reading a friend's MS at the moment--and it's a really clever story, FWIW--then into The Fault in Our Stars, since most of the YA book cynics on Goodreads are in love with the book (which is really rare to see so many of them agree like that--in a positive way).

I've recently read (had a reading spree): Shatter Me, Wicked Lovely, and Incarnate. I had a good time reading all of them, actually.

Taking a break from YA to read Pride and Prejudice, but I think I might divide my time between Austen and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

I tried to read This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, but I just couldn't seem to get into it. It was obviously beautifully written - I was smitten with her writing style from the first page - but it's not the right time for whatever reason. I think I need to sandwich contemporary between sci fi/fantasy, since that's my preferred genre, and contemporary feels like a bit more "work" to read. I'm going to try This Lullaby again in a bit.

I'm about to start Across the Universe. I've heard lots of good things about it!