Get Yer YA Recommendations Here!

Kjbartolotta

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I have a co-worker (I work at a Children's bookstore), who is obsessed with Bloody Jack and will swear up and down it's the best YA series. I haven't read it, though I own it, and would generally take my co-worker's rec at face value.
 

nightunderstars

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Hello! I'm looking for something that features a character with a mental illness that is NOT (just) depression and does it well - - no stereotypes or full personalities based on, but a major plot point is good. Best case scenario is bipolar but I'd take anything involving some form of heightened experience of reality.

I'd also love anything with a Regina George type who ends up a sympathetic and dynamic character, and anything that has a femme fatale character (to the extreme - - think aphrodite personified. I'm trying to get inspiration for doing a character who female-attracted people are automatically inclined towards, in a way that is more on the edgy YA side but still YA.)
 

be frank

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Hello! I'm looking for something that features a character with a mental illness that is NOT (just) depression and does it well - - no stereotypes or full personalities based on, but a major plot point is good. Best case scenario is bipolar but I'd take anything involving some form of heightened experience of reality.

Try ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven.

Also 17 & GONE by Nova Ren Suma. :)
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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Hello! I'm looking for something that features a character with a mental illness that is NOT (just) depression and does it well - - no stereotypes or full personalities based on, but a major plot point is good. Best case scenario is bipolar but I'd take anything involving some form of heightened experience of reality.

Borderline by Mishell Baker. ETA: but it's not YA.

For YA, try The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun.
 
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RaggedEdge

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<snip> and anything that has a femme fatale character (to the extreme - - think aphrodite personified. I'm trying to get inspiration for doing a character who female-attracted people are automatically inclined towards, in a way that is more on the edgy YA side but still YA.)

be frank's answer above made me think of an answer for the second half of your request: IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma.

It seems like there should be more but I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow.
 

eric2800

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Looking for titles similar to my future MS

I am getting ready to start on my first ever novel. It will be a YA title. I am going on 38 so definitely need to refresh with some YA content. I have recently started reading fiction again after a lengthy absence but not much YA. And it is hard for me to describe what I am looking to read but here goes anyway.

Mostly my story will be about a lot of teenagers (at least at the start) being in their own "world" with no adults. The reason for it may not be real or likely to happen, but what they do is reality based. So no fantasy stuff.

So I would like any YA title with 1st person/ tight 3rd person POV past tense. It may be multiple but I don't want a lot of POV characters at least in one book(ok over the course of series). Also, ok to have small fantasy elements or the premise to be out there but no dragons, goblins, or magic. Also, OK to be series or epic. Doesn't have to be.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Eric
 
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eric2800

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I know my wording was little odd so I'll post some bits of what I wrote in another forum site.

I am getting ready to start writing my own novel and need to read some YA books. The book will be teenagers only, no adults. They will be in their own "world" and the premise is a unlikely to happen. But other than that everything could happen. So are there any books with teenager only world but no fantasy as in magic, elves, or wizard stuff...

I know that my question may seem vague. But basically, a "world"(may be island, region, or planet) with teens that would parallel somewhat the normal world. Of course their early decisions will affect everything. And if I can write one book worth anything then I plan on having a series with different character arcs. I just didn't want too much fantasy in my "research" books. Very light fantasy is OK.

My "world" will be more of a closed system. For the most part any antagonists will be teen(s) of the same world and not teens as a group versus external or adult enemy.

Eric
 

CoffeeBeans

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Hi Eric - since you say you haven't been reading much YA at all and you want to write one, I think you should get yourself to the library or bookstore and start browsing a bit. I don't know how real-world your world is. The Maze Runner comes to mind, but they are not going about their daily lives in the book. Any boarding school YA would be similar to "world of mostly teens" but might be far off from what you're looking for tonally.

Maybe start with reading some YA you enjoy, and from there have a good conversation with a librarian about books that suit your research?
 

eric2800

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Thanks for response CoffeeBeans. Maze Runner was one of the few I did read. I might just read books with lots of teens just for the interaction between them. It just seems that most YA books with lots of teens are full of fantasy.
 

something

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Any 1st person YA fantasy suggestions?

Any suggestions would be great, thanks!
 

Sage

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Are you looking for reading recommendations or do you have questions about how to write it?
 

Sage

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Gotcha. Hang on while I merge with the recommendation thread.
 

Brightdreamer

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Any suggestions would be great, thanks!

Any further specifics - genre, type of character, single or multi/shifting POVs, triggers/things you'd rather not wade through, etc?

ETA - I'll throw out a couple random suggestions...

Vengeance Road, by Erin Bowman - A YA Western tale of revenge, growing up, and a lost gold mine. Flawed but strong heroine with a compelling arc.

The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud - They're MG, and some chapters are in third person, but the titular Barimaeus is a great character in first-person POV. Plus it's just a danged great series, particularly the main trilogy. Alternate-world fantasy, where magicians rule with an iron fist by enslaving spirits; the title character is a sarcastic djinn.
 
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something

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Any YA fantasy? Or even some YA fantasy that deals with mental health issues from 1st person? That would be super great, thank you.
 

something

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Any further specifics - genre, type of character, single or multi/shifting POVs, triggers/things you'd rather not wade through, etc?

ETA - I'll throw out a couple random suggestions...

Vengeance Road, by Erin Bowman - A YA Western tale of revenge, growing up, and a lost gold mine. Flawed but strong heroine with a compelling arc.

The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud - They're MG, and some chapters are in third person, but the titular Barimaeus is a great character in first-person POV. Plus it's just a danged great series, particularly the main trilogy. Alternate-world fantasy, where magicians rule with an iron fist by enslaving spirits; the title character is a sarcastic djinn.

Thanks for the suggestions, I shall check them out.
 

edutton

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Hi! I'm looking for YA books set in a lightly cyberpunk/post-cyberpunk futuristic society (nothing about super viruses/plagues, though). I'd appreciate any recs you might have. :D
 

Brightdreamer

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Any YA fantasy? Or even some YA fantasy that deals with mental health issues from 1st person? That would be super great, thank you.

Okay - got a few relatively random fantasy suggestions. Some are older, though.

The Everworld series, by K. A. Applegate. Four modern Chicago teens are pulled into a world created by forgotten gods... a world under attack by an alien god that eats other deities. Rotating first-person POVs in each successive book, including one (Jalil) who is OCD.

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde. A humorous alternate world where magic is slowly fading. Not my cup of cocoa, as the humor felt very heavy handed, but Fforde's a popular author, so you might give it a skim and see what you think.

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. A retelling of a Polish fairy tale about a malevolent forest. An award-winning standalone.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson. It skews MG, but Sanderson's a great author, and this book twists tropes and cliches in a way any reader should enjoy.
 

something

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This is perfect! Thanks so much for your help.


Okay - got a few relatively random fantasy suggestions. Some are older, though.

The Everworld series, by K. A. Applegate. Four modern Chicago teens are pulled into a world created by forgotten gods... a world under attack by an alien god that eats other deities. Rotating first-person POVs in each successive book, including one (Jalil) who is OCD.



The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde. A humorous alternate world where magic is slowly fading. Not my cup of cocoa, as the humor felt very heavy handed, but Fforde's a popular author, so you might give it a skim and see what you think.

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. A retelling of a Polish fairy tale about a malevolent forest. An award-winning standalone.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson. It skews MG, but Sanderson's a great author, and this book twists tropes and cliches in a way any reader should enjoy.
 

AndreaX

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This is sooo specific and I'm sorry in advance.

But can you recommend me books where two people are competing against each other in some kind of competition? Doesn't matter what circumstances they are competing or whether both are girls, boys or mixed gender.
 

be frank

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This is sooo specific and I'm sorry in advance.

But can you recommend me books where two people are competing against each other in some kind of competition? Doesn't matter what circumstances they are competing or whether both are girls, boys or mixed gender.

Any particular genre?
 

AndreaX

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Any particular genre?

Oh, something with fantasy elements if possible. And not just YA, but if you know if any MG with fantasy elements that fit the description that would be great too!