What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?

Parametric said:

Finished Ca1tlin K1ttredge's YA steampunk THE 1RON THORN yesterday. It was a good book that became a kickass book because of a series of jaw-dropping last-third revelations. By the end I no longer trusted anyone or anything I'd been told. It's also Lovecraftian! So if you want to read about girl steampunk engineers going toe to toe with eldritch abominations, go get THE 1RON THORN.

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I've been thinking about reading this one. I think I might go ahead and get it now

Finished Gone. Meh.

The second one is supposedley quite good, and I hear Marty Stu gets completely deconstructed from now on. Thank goodness if true, because Sam grinds my gears.

I might give the second a try.

Over the last few weeks I've read a couple of YA.

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I loved this book. I liked reading from Miranda's perspective in her diary. The voice was great and I loved seeing how she changed over the course of the book. It was fascinating to feel so in tune to one character with out a lot of action. This was a real emotion driven book. It felt so real to me, I was emotionally traumatized through out. Sometimes I felt like I was going to wake up to starvation and the world being changed so drastically!

The Gone Series, books 1-3 by Michael Grant. These are pretty good. The story is more MG almost, but the content is definitely YA. My 12 year old son would love them, but I'm a little worried about some of the themes, though I'm sure he'll do fine. Although I liked them and any time I read a book or a series I really want to finish so I can know the end of the story, they were only about a B- for me. I was all set to buy book 4 on my ipod because I thought it was the final, but there are two more to be written. Since it's not the end, I guess I can wait until book four is cheaper on Kindle.

Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras by Scott Westerfeld. Once again, I really got into this series, though I'd give it a B. I become invested in stories and charcters no matter how bad the book really is. Not that this was a bad book. Tally was a very interesting character and I felt for her, but some of the themes were a little redundant. I also thought they could have ended the series with Specials and resolved Tally's issues, or wrote the fourth book about how Tally resolved her issues. Instead, Westerfeld took a new direction with a new character and a weak plot. tally comes in eventually, but I could have done with out Extras. I didn't really want to see a future where despite solving the world's problems we are still dependent on a system where fame for no apparent reason makes you important. (Can we all say reality show stars?)

I was intrigued by Matched when I saw it at the book store and the title automatically made me think of what the book was about. I'm interested, but after the Uglies series, Twilight and a few others, I'm not sure how much more teen romance I can take. I actually liked how in Hunger Games the romance takes a back seat along with a lot of other superficial things. Give me some more substance is all I ask!

I read Matched Last. A good book, if for nothing else than there are two main themes. The love story, but more importantly the female lead finding herself and becoming the strong woman she needs to be.

Definitely recommend it. It is not like Twilight. Darker in some ways. Think "The Giver", if Jonas had had a love who was more like himself and understood things.

I'm reading City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. I think I'm a bit behind most of her fans, but I'm enjoying it so fa.

I recently completed reading the Chaos Walking trilogy, by Patrick Ness. The whole series is superb, but I found that the the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, was the best. The first book always seems to be the best...

Next up on the list is the Tunnels series, though as I read them, I can't help but to wonder at the poor writing....

I've just finished reading "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. I loved the world she created but was thoroughly disappointed with the ending which was not only an anti-climax but also illogical! Anyone else read this book? I think it could have been really wonderful if she'd just ended it differently.

Also, hi there. I'm new. I thought this would be a pretty good place to start posting.

x

I love the ambiguity of the ending, actually. It leaves you wondering, did they get away, or did they die in the snow? Was that a "we're dying" vision?

But it's part of a trilogy, so finish all three books before you knock it. It does make sense, if you finish Gathering Blue and The Messenger.

BriMaresh said:

I love the ambiguity of the ending, actually. It leaves you wondering, did they get away, or did they die in the snow? Was that a "we're dying" vision?

But it's part of a trilogy, so finish all three books before you knock it. It does make sense, if you finish Gathering Blue and The Messenger.

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I had no idea it was part of a trilogy! Oops. I'll definitely look out for those then. I just thought it was a bit confusing, if Rosemary leaving was such a tragedy and then The Giver encourages Jonas to leave, how does that all tie in? The actual running away and finding Elsewhere was fine, I just couldn't work out what he was running away for! Anyway, I did love the concept, I just found that bit a little odd. I'll look out for the other books though. Thanks for the heads-up.

Just finished THE HERO AND THE CROWN by Robin McKinley, which left me a bit meh really. There are some great lines and scenes in it but the story itself felt too disjointed for me and the time jumps in the first third really stopped me from engaging with it.

Am about to start an ARC of DUTY CALLS: DUNKKIRK by James Holland. It's a historical action thriller about a 16 year old boy who's fighting in the British army during World War II and is caught up in the Dunkirk evacuation. The book's released in the UK on 2nd June.

MM

I just finished Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld. I couldn't wait to start reading Specials (which I started reading this morning, right after I finished Pretties). Although the structure is pretty similar in the three books, regarding plot, I'm in love with the series. THe whole universe is pretty intense!

Next I have to read The Hunger Games series (I also want to read Battle Royale so I can judge for myself) and The Mortal Instruments series. I'm just too curious about both series to think of reading anything else at home. Besides, I've been neglecting them for way too long.

I usually read two books at a time. One at home and another on the bus while coming or going to work. So I think I can cover these series until the end of the year.

Alessandra Kelley said:

I'm here because I'm reading Found (The Missing: Book 1) by Mar6aret Pe+erson Hadd1x. (I take it people spell names oddly to stop searches?).

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Honestly, I don't see the point. First, what's there to hide? Authors want people to talk about their books. Second, I highly doubt the John Greens of the world go around looking for all the people who have commented about their books. Third, not everyone here does it, so the next person who comes along and says, "Oh, I love Margaret Peterson Haddix" will show up in the search, and the conversation can be linked back to the OP who used the u1+ra sp3c1al sp3ll1ng.

So, I don't get it. But to each her own.

QueenViv said:

Next I have to read The Hunger Games series (I also want to read Battle Royale so I can judge for myself).

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I personally think these are two very different books, although Collins is def. mowing Takami's grass (wow, that sounds kinda sketchy). I found BR almost too graphic, but it is unapologetically so, and of course has a very interesting premise (and great ending).
They're similar worlds but different focuses-- unlike, for example, Match3d and the G1ver-- I think the former was a direct rip-off of the latter, with illogical/bad additions to the worldbuilding and a SUPER boring romance thrown in. But that's just my opinion.

Edited to clarify: I meant the 'former' in that sentence, not 'first book published between the two'. Yay communication skills!


Happy to thwart the googlebots,
PollyAnna

Alessandra Kelley said:

Oh, okay. I hadn't quite wrapped my mind around why it was done. I've gone back and edited/fixed it, anyhow. I hadn't realized why people were using the funky spelling, so I just did it in my ignorance.

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Well now you won't look ignorant! (just kidding-- I don't think you're calling those who do it ignorant-- that would be harsh )

I would actually do it in the opposite circumstance Sage describes:

Sage said:

I have been known to 13@$0 names before when I was critically analyzing them, but not in this thread.

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I come to this thread to see quick recs and bewares, and I usually offer the same so my posts are brief and def. NOT analytical (see above example. "Hated it: bad worldbuilding".) I don't think they are search-worthy, and so I googlebot thwart. (I'm not suggesting every poster is guilty of the same non-analytical posts-- it's just my own reason). If I'd taken the time to really crit something, I'd feel better about being searchable.

But ANYWAYS, I came on to say that I loved The A5k and the An5wer and am on to R@ampant-- expecting good things!

I started c3ns0ring after the nth blog post by an author saying that people who criticise their books will suffer.

Oh, I was wondering why some people's posts had funky text. I thought my computer was going funny.

:feels bad for swearing at computer now:

I'm not going to self-censor because I think any author that sensitive needs to rethink their career choices.

MM

I've just finished Wither by Lauren DeStefano, and while the ending left me hugely unsatisfied because it felt too easy and too rushed, the book got me hooked enough that I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series. I want to see where she's going with things because she left so many aspects of the plot unexplained such as the nature of the virus that's killing off all the young people.

It got a bit squicky for me at times with the whole child bride situation, but the premise was interesting enough.

Next on the list is The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff! I've heard good things about it!

Smish said:

Everyone at my office reads the Sookie Stackhouse books, so this weekend, I agreed to start the series. I'm nearly finished with the first book and am not impressed at all.

I miss YA.

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I didn't take to the books either when I tried to read them, but the T.V series??? Yum. I can't wait until the next season. I absolutely love the show!

Waiting for Mockingjay from the library, and I picked up Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I was hoping for something similar to the Hunger Games Trilogy, and heard such good things about Uglies. But I am halfway through and a little disappointed so far.

Not that I don't like it. But it is much slower and is dragging in several parts. I keep waiting for something exciting to happen. I will finish it, but if it keeps up like this, I don't see myself picking up the next one any time soon.

Lils said:

Next on the list is The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff! I've heard good things about it!

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It's easily one of my favorite new reads. So much better at the creepy, cool atmosphere than Cryer's Cross. It really did a lot of things right, to me.

I'm currently flipping through Demon In My View, which Amelia Atwater - Rhodes wrote when she was like 14. It's not the strongest writing ever, but there's something about it that speaks to the isolated black-clad 14 year old I myself was, not too very long ago.

Alessandra Kelley said:

Oh gosh, I didn't mean it was ignorant to use tr!cky spe11ing. I meant I was ignorant of its purpose, that's all.

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No, no-- that was me being funneee. I knew what you meant.