What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

Windcutter said:

So it was marketed as a contemp, not as a mystery or thriller? (That's me still figuring out this mixed genres thing.)

Click to expand...

Well, in the UK the YA market is kind of small (obviously we're a small island, but it's small even compared to the amount of people living here) and we don't really get enough thrillers or contemp to catagorise them seperately. Some people might consider them different, but it's more SF/F, paranormal [romance], historical, and contemp (inc. thrillers, romance, and realistic fiction in general).
But one of our two biggest book chains, WHSmith, put it in their featured books section, I remember, and that section in itself is only about 8 books a month, so if you look at it like that, it was considered one of the top eight YA/children's books in the UK in that month.

LadyA said:

Well, in the UK the YA market is kind of small (obviously we're a small island, but it's small even compared to the amount of people living here) and we don't really get enough thrillers or contemp to catagorise them seperately. Some people might consider them different, but it's more SF/F, paranormal [romance], historical, and contemp (inc. thrillers, romance, and realistic fiction in general).
But one of our two biggest book chains, WHSmith, put it in their featured books section, I remember, and that section in itself is only about 8 books a month, so if you look at it like that, it was considered one of the top eight YA/children's books in the UK in that month.

Click to expand...

Yeah, exactly. UK YA, because it's pretty small (and imports make up most of it), is pretty much split into "contemporary" and "not contemporary" (paranormal, mostly, but some fantasy/sci-fi).

I really liked Dangerous Girls, but I hated the twist. More discussion when you guys have finished it, maybe.

ETA: Oh, yes, WHEN JEFF COMES HOME! I've read that. Very dark and nasty. A strange book to come out of the late '90s, since it's very firmly YA and also feels like the darkest of the edgiest contemporary which is popular now.

WONDER by R.J.Palacio.

Very good. Extremely skilled storytelling.

LadyA, talking of W.H.Smith, the one in York has divided YA into 'teen' and 'YA' and I have absolutely no clue what the difference is supposed to be. Have you noticed this in your local branch too?

LadyA said:

Have you read ADORKABLE by Sarra Manning? If you can get past the feeling of wanting to strangle the protag, Jeane, every three minutes, it's actually a really good book. The LI is adorable and it's very British (which I know you like ).

Click to expand...

I have that one in my TBR pile (I didn't realise it was a British one, lol). I'll bump it up to read over Christmas.

The_Ink_Goddess said:

I really liked Dangerous Girls, but I hated the twist. More discussion when you guys have finished it, maybe.

Click to expand...

I've read it. I look forward to the discussion.

SpinningWheel said:

LadyA, talking of W.H.Smith, the one in York has divided YA into 'teen' and 'YA' and I have absolutely no clue what the difference is supposed to be. Have you noticed this in your local branch too?

Click to expand...

How strange! I was in the one in Bristol city centre this week, but I didn't notice if they'd done the same thing there (mind you, my visit to that aisle was a bit fleeting as I dashed through the shop).

E.T.A. Currently reading 'The Coldest Girl in Coldtown'.

SpinningWheel said:

LadyA, talking of W.H.Smith, the one in York has divided YA into 'teen' and 'YA' and I have absolutely no clue what the difference is supposed to be. Have you noticed this in your local branch too?

Click to expand...

Yes, they've done the same to the one in Oxford - but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason as to which books are put in which section - there's darker ones in the teen section than the YA section in some cases, and the age range varies. I think they're just cashing in on the adults-reading-YA by putting big sellers separate from the kids' section (where the 'teen' bit is, grrrr).

In York they're right next to each other in the children's section, so it's not even like they're trying to make some presence for YA books outside the kids' department (which Waterstones has done, quite sensibly I think, by moving YA downstairs next to science fiction).
Yep, no rhyme or reason. At first I thought YA must be older than teen (more like NA) but it's definitely not that, going on the choice of books in each part. And if it was just that adults are readier to buy books called YA than books called teen, why not just change the name of the whole section to YA? Makes no sense. I've asked about it on Twitter but not managed to get any answers. WHS is a strange shop these days. I wouldn't be surprised if its days were numbered.

The_Ink_Goddess said:

I really liked Dangerous Girls, but I hated the twist. More discussion when you guys have finished it, maybe.

Click to expand...

I've read it. I look forward to the discussion. (c) Netz + makes two of us

LadyA said:

Some people might consider them different, but it's more SF/F, paranormal [romance], historical, and contemp (inc. thrillers, romance, and realistic fiction in general).

Click to expand...

I like that, contemp and spec, simple and clear.
I see, thanks.

I'm just now finishing up the last book in the Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner.

For me, the first book started out kind of slow. But once the story got rolling, I haven't been able to put it down.

Just finished Brent Hartinger's GEOGRAPHY CLUB. A quick read with good voice and a realistic story. Predictable plot, but delivery was good.

Finished Malinda Lo's ASH, which I liked but didn't love (I'm so picky). I'm feeling like a Sarah Dessen book next--probably whichever one is free at my library.

I'm reading C0NJURED. One of my favorite kinds of stories--in which the first part of the book can be summed up as 'wth is going on here.'

So anyone up for a spoilery DANGER0US GIRLS discussion? I'm especially interested in your thoughts re: the ending, since [white spoilers ahead]
the final twist changes the readers' perception of MC and also makes it not a typical happy ending but something different
[white spoilers end here]

I just finished GOLDEN by Jessi Kirby. It wasn't awful, but just forgettable. Perfect, predictable little plot with absolutely no loose ends, cardboard characters existing as conduits for Kirby's overall themes, etc. *shrug* I've moved on to UNTEACHABLE by Leah Raeder, which is not YA, but is infinitely better.

I've almost finished DARK SATANIC MILLS, which is a YA graphic novel by Marcus Sedgwick and Julian Sedgwick with illustrations by John Higgins and Marc Olivent. It's set in a dystopian/post-apocalyptic future where global warming and other disasters has led to the rise of religious fundamentalism within the UK. A biker girl and an atheist stumble across the truth about the brutalist regime and must search for proof. It's staple dystopian/post-apocalyptic fare and although the story and characterisation's a little thin, it all draws on the poetry of William Blake for its inspiration and I loved the black and white artwork. All in all I'm enjoying it.

I've got some 'grown-up' literary fiction to read next but do have a couple of YAs I'm hoping to get through before year end.

MM

Windcutter said:

So anyone up for a spoilery DANGER0US GIRLS discussion? I'm especially interested in your thoughts re: the ending, since [white spoilers ahead]
[redacted for quote]
[white spoilers end here]

Click to expand...

I'm up for that! I personally loved the ending. I knew to expect a twist, but Haas wrote the ultimate unreliable narrator so well earlier on, that I thought, oh, this twist can't be true (that she is the killer), and then at the end there was those wonderful last two chapters that made it brilliantly creepy and added another layer to the whole narrative. Especially because through the whole book I'd been rooting so much for Anna. Plus Haas excelled herself in the ending, where Anna and the soon-to-be-dead girl (forgotten her name) locked eyes, and...it still gives me the shivers. End of spoilers

Windcutter said:

So anyone up for a spoilery DANGER0US GIRLS discussion? I'm especially interested in your thoughts re: the ending, since [white spoilers ahead]

[white spoilers end here]

Click to expand...

One thing that bugged me was surely she/her clothes would have been covered in blood and she would have had to clean herself up/dispose of them somewhere? Did that ever get explained or was that a big plot hole we weren't supposed to notice? (It's been a while since I read it, so I might have missed that little detail.)

Finished DARK SATANIC MILLS by Marcus Sedgwick and Julian Sedgwick with illustrations by John Higgins and Marc Olivent. I loved the illustrations and the way they show you the dystopian regime that Britain has become. But the story itself is slight and I never connected to the main characters because the book doesn't really focus on anyone in particular. It's worth checking out if only because it's rare for publishers to invest in graphic novels for the YA market.

I'm reading some MG and then I've got some literary fiction to dig into next.

MM

SPOILERS FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS

LadyA said:

I'm up for that! I personally loved the ending. I knew to expect a twist, but Haas wrote the ultimate unreliable narrator so well earlier on, that I thought, oh, this twist can't be true (that she is the killer), and then at the end there was those wonderful last two chapters that made it brilliantly creepy and added another layer to the whole narrative. Especially because through the whole book I'd been rooting so much for Anna. Plus Haas excelled herself in the ending, where Anna and the soon-to-be-dead girl (forgotten her name) locked eyes, and...it still gives me the shivers. End of spoilers

Click to expand...

I was very mixed on it. I personally thought Haas wrote it well - I was pretty convinced that the Anna is the killer twist was going to happen all the way through, although she impressed me by giving me moments where I wavered from this sentiment.

I, however, hated everything about the execution, and it almost killed the entire book for me.
- Hated the "psycho lesbian" twist. I felt this was a particularly insulting and irritating variant on it, as by the time "that flashback" rolled around, I felt that we were supposed to "know" that Anna was the real killer, as if the two couldn't be mutually exclusive. I just felt the whole thing was also played very creepily and insultingly, with Anna and Elise sleeping together at her mother's funeral and all.
- " "Wouldn't we all look guilty, if someone searched hard enough?" - a very powerful message, but, by all the stuff they found about Anna to actually be true, I thought it was a very cheap ploy. This felt particularly exploitative to me as it was SO OBVIOUSLY based on Meredith Kercher (with a little bit of Natalee Holloway thrown in for good measure).
- The thing I hated about it was HOW OBVIOUS I felt the parallels between real-life and fantasy were. Especially with the book coming down so hard on Anna being guilty with added "haha, we fooled you!" into the mix. Usually even Law & Order rips things off with more subtlety, and they're not exactly subtle. I thought it was insulting and very cheap to the murder victims (and, yes, even the killer(s), as nobody was ever exactly found definitely guilty for the murders.)

So, well written, but toxic subtext.

Super late to this one, but I just finished THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. Gotta say I'm not a fan. The characters weren't easy to like and I was incredibly frustrated with the love interest, who was British just because and was really possessive of the MC and just really irritating.

But I'm finishing up QUINTANA of CHARYN, which is the third book of the Lumatere Chronicles. I loved FINNIKIN way more than these last two books, but I've grown attached to these characters so I'm all in at this point! Still a very enjoyable read for me.

Next up is DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE. (Gosh, I know. I'm so late to everything, aren't I?)

EmilyBrooke said:

Super late to this one, but I just finished THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. Gotta say I'm not a fan. The characters weren't easy to like and I was incredibly frustrated with the love interest, who was British just because and was really possessive of the MC and just really irritating.

Click to expand...

Yay, I'm not the only person who thought he was British for no reason!!! "British Just Because" is a great term for it.

Becca C.:
Yay, I'm not the only person who thought he was British for no reason!!! "British Just Because" is a great term for it.

Click to expand...

Thirding this. There is a reciprocal thing in British YA where MCs or love interests are American just because ... it's thought more likely to appeal to the American market.

Meh. Am feeling bitter and cynical today.

MM

Momento Mori said:

Thirding this. There is a reciprocal thing in British YA where MCs or love interests are American just because ... it's thought more likely to appeal to the American market.

Meh. Am feeling bitter and cynical today.

MM

Click to expand...

Yep, so true. And for some reason, the British LI is ALWAYS from London, and always either posh or a combination of queen's English/cockney, and always says 'love'/'luv', 'bloke' (In THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT the British LI calls a fly a 'bloke', which just killed it for me), and 'bloody hell', 'chap', etc etc. Admittedly a lot of UK boys and girls do say bloody hell, but I've yet to meet a guy under 45 who calls anyone love.
And they always dress semi-formal or totally weird when actually almost all the boys I know dress in A+F shirts and Vans (which I'm pretty sure are both American). I did a post about it on my abandoned blog, actually.

And also MM, you're right - I've noticed the US LIs in British books too - like in Sarra Manning's stuff. I think there's the glamour of a sunkissed Cali surfer, or the huge houses and pots of money a lot of UK people think every American has, or the whole High School Movie cliche of the hot jock that we've all bought into!!

LadyA said:

Admittedly a lot of UK boys and girls do say bloody hell, but I've yet to meet a guy under 45 who calls anyone love.
And they always dress semi-formal or totally weird when actually almost all the boys I know dress in A+F shirts and Vans (which I'm pretty sure are both American).

Click to expand...

I always thought it was a leftover trend originating from the Buffy craze. Though Spike was like over 150, so he had an excuse.

But it seems like it's just a "type" now. Like a blond surfer from LA who is built like a young god, wears white year round and blinds people with the whiteness of his teeth. Or a gorgeous Japanese boy whose family owns a dojo so he's a martial artist on top of being a math genius and also has a perpetual facial expression stuck halfway between surly and sexy.

Oh, DANGER0US GIRLS.

LadyA said:

I knew to expect a twist, but Haas wrote [snip snip because white text is readable when one quotes a message]

Click to expand...

I started out thinking that it would be like
[here be spoilers]
one old movie in which two girls seem to be enemies, then murder happens, then we find out the girls were actually accomplices and their fake behaviour was for the sake of witnesses.
Then I thought maybe something went wrong with their plans, hence a dead body.
So I never thought Anna was truly innocent, but I also didn't expect the truth to be the way it turned out to be. I read some GR reviews and noticed some people were disappointed in the ending--not because they thought the twist was predictable, but because they liked Anna and rooted for her. I guess this kind of twist is still new to YA? Because quite a lot of thriller movies use it.
[end of spoilers]

Netz said:

One thing that bugged me was

Click to expand...

It seems it's a plot hole. At least, I don't remember any explanation. Maybe my memory is faulty, too.

The_Ink_Goddess said:

SPOILERS FOR DANGEROUS GIRLS

Click to expand...

Subtext, oh yes, I didn't think it would be so risky. Not risky because of spoilers themselves, you know, but risky because of the way it's handled. Like something vicious.

LadyA said:

Yep, so true. And for some reason, the British LI is ALWAYS from London, and always either posh or a combination of queen's English/cockney, and always says 'love'/'luv', 'bloke' (In THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT the British LI calls a fly a 'bloke', which just killed it for me), and 'bloody hell', 'chap', etc etc. Admittedly a lot of UK boys and girls do say bloody hell, but I've yet to meet a guy under 45 who calls anyone love.
And they always dress semi-formal or totally weird when actually almost all the boys I know dress in A+F shirts and Vans (which I'm pretty sure are both American). I did a post about it on my abandoned blog, actually.

And also MM, you're right - I've noticed the US LIs in British books too - like in Sarra Manning's stuff. I think there's the glamour of a sunkissed Cali surfer, or the huge houses and pots of money a lot of UK people think every American has, or the whole High School Movie cliche of the hot jock that we've all bought into!!

Click to expand...

I think "love/luv" comes from Jack Sparrow XD and "bloody hell" probably comes from Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley.

The British LI/American LI probably just comes from every teenage girl's desire for the unknown and the exotic. Did you ever have a new kid start at your school and everyone just becomes fascinated with them simply because they're from a different place or have something unique about them? I had a Scottish kid in my elementary school in Vancouver and he had his fair share of female admirers (myself included) because of his accent, even though he was totally typical apart from that.