The Best (and edgiest) YA out there

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bethany

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Okay, making my Christmas wish list, and I realized I haven't been reading much that I'm considering edgy lately. I thought it might be fun to make a list. Classic stuff, newer stuff. Very edgy, kinda edgy. Doesn't matter. I would put this in the random musing threads, but it might get lost in all the musing.
 

sharpierae

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I like Scott Westerfeld's stuff a lot: The Uglies trilogy, So yesterday, Midnighters... I don't know if it's 'edgy', but it is fast and sharp and great and makes me so jealous that I can't tella story as clean and quick. sigh.

Neil Gaiman is great, but maybe not really YA?

I always say Feed by MT Anderson in these kinds of lists, so I'll say Feed by MT Anderson.

I re-read the Weetzie Bat books recently by Francesca Lia Block, they were way edgy in their day, I guess.

I was really surprised and pleased by I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, never heard of him before, never heard of the book, it was one of those happy accidents.

thanks for posting this, bethany. I hope to get a few YA reading tips, too.
xxxrae
 

Lyra Jean

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Classics:
Little House on the Prairie series - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Anne of Green Gables series - L.M. Montgomery
Emily of New Moon series - L.M. Montgomery

Science Fiction
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Gather Blue - Lois Lowry
The Messenger - Lois Lowry
The Girl who owned a City - ??
Fire-us trilogy - ??
Children of the Dust - ??
 

Shady Lane

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Smack...of course. Melvin Burgess.

Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower...but I assume you've read this one already.

Sins of the Fathers by Chris Lynch...probably my favorite book.

Under the Wolf, Under the Dog by Adam Rapp.

Happy reading :)
 

reenkam

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Bleed - Laurie Faria Stolarz (edgy-ish, and plays with multiple POV and time shifts; also, this is one of my favorite books :) lol)

Just In Case - Meg Rosoff (edgy because of MC's age...though maybe it's ok in the UK)

The Realm of Possibilities - David Levithan (very well written; poetry collection, in a way; not that edgy, but semi-edgy)

Saints of Augustine - P.E. Ryan (semi-edgy; I thought the end wasn't so great though)

Hero - Perry Moore (edgy because it's a gay superhero...and I'm 99.99% sure there aren't any other books remotely like it)

After - Francine Prose (scary book, imo; edgy because of subject matter)

What Happened to Lani Garver - Carol Plum-Ucci (edgy because of subject; asks some philosophical questions)
 

greywaren

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I second FEED - I just read it and it was amazing.
 

speirbhean

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I absolutely loved Gabrielle Zevin's books, Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac... not edgy in terms of content but challenging and incredibly articulate in terms of language, theme and voice.
I have to say, after loving Meg Roscoff's first book - I was really disappointed with the second two.
 

OverTheHills&FarAway

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Neil Gaiman!

American Gods is not YA but is edgy.

Coraline is not edgy but is YA (and it's really really really creeeepy...)


But lately I read Jude and it's taut and tingling and revenge is involved along with drugs and prep schools and being set-up for things you didn't do...and jail...and did I mention a sweet (albeit bittersweet) revenge???


And Rosemary Sutcliff wrote the most gorgeous prose of anyone ever, imho. It's not edgy, unless you consider being murdered and kidnapped and sold into slavery and perhaps a teenage gladiator edgy...it's Roman-period Britain, and it's INTENSE. Check out Outcast, The Lantern Bearers, and The Mark of the Horse Lord for achingly beautiful difficult situations for young people to be in.

:)
 

alainn_chaser

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Holly Black. Seriously. And I also agree about Scott Westerfield (He has new book called Peeps that I want to read.)


Happy reading!
 

Secret Agent

For contemporary edgy YA, take a look at:

Street Pharm
and
Snitch (just out)

by Allison van Diepen (Simon Pulse)

These are novels about kids of color in urban schools where gangs and drugs rule. They are very edgy.
 

Cassidy

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The Book Thief- Marcus Zukas (don't know about edgy but it's brilliant)
How I Live Now- Meg Rosoff
The Beckoners- Carrie Mac
The Droughtlanders- Carrie Mac
Mistik Lake and also Confessions of a Heartless Girl- Martha Brooks
Far From Xanadu- Julie Anne Porter
Dust- Arthur Slade
Skellig- David Almond

The last two might be MG but they are so good I included them anyway...
 
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sharpierae

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And I also agree about Scott Westerfield (He has new book called Peeps that I want to read.)

I did read Peeps and enjoyed it immensely, same page-turning intensity, but all the parasite anecdotes in the chapter breaks seemed to be lifted from a (great!) non-fiction book called Parasite Rex without any props in the acknowledgments... so it made me feel weird and a little disappointed. is that allowed?

There's actually a sequel to Peeps out, but I haven't read it yet.
xxxrae
 

maddythemad

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Anything by John Green, Jaclyn Moriarty, or E. Lockheart.

Best. YA. Ever.
 

reenkam

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Jaclyn Moriarty is amazingly funny. (Not her newest book, so much, but the others). I don't know if I'd call her edgy, though.
 

Aslera

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Neil Gaiman. ANY of the Sandmans (trust me, I'm not a graphic novel person and I adore the Sandman series) and Neverwhere was a ridiculously awesome book.

Edgy, edgy. Do I read edgy? I read a LOT of political science/books about other places in the world. So on that list, I would recommend:

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart -- I think he was about 28 yrs old when he walked across Iran and Afghanistan, coinciding with the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He was unarmed, brilliant, had the language and a hiking stick. He weaves Afghan history in with personal accounts and sketches from the extensive diary he kept during his travels. I found it absolutely fascinating and consider him a rather brave person! He wrote a book called The Prince of the Marshes & Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq about his one year term as deputy govenor of a southern Iraqi province after the invasion of that country.

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seirstad (I could be spelling her last name wrong, I believe she's Norweigen). Also by Asne, With Their Backs to the World: Portraits from Serbia and 101 Days in Baghdad.

Sci Fi/Fantasy recommendations:

Anne McCaffery's Botany trilogy. Completely overlooked in my opinion and rather fun. Quick reads. Freedom's Landing, Freedom's Choice and Freedom's Challenge.

Pit Dragon series by Jane Yolen. I don't remember all the titles, they're definitely YA, but I reread A Sending of Dragons recently. Read them in order ;)

Other recommendations:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Year of Wonders
The Virgin's Lover (same author as the Other Boleyn Girl)
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (absolutely stunning account of growing up in Africa...believe it was Rhodesia --nowcalledZimbabwe).

A classmate of mine had his story written by David Eggers in a well acclaimed novel titled What is the What. He grew up in Sudan and was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan...displaced by the North South war, he walked for miles to find a refugee camp, one of his friends was eating by a lion. Incredible story and Valentino is a beautiful beautiful person.

umm, what else.

Bel Canto--not YA but edgy reading, excellent reading.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian --not actually a short history of tractors in Ukrainian but an excellent story. I absolutely loved this narrator. It's kinda quirky but it's a short book, good read.

okay, I'm done :p This is just from this year too. Except Gaiman. I discovered him before.
 

kellysarah

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How about Christopher Pike? Some of his YA stuff remains on my favourite book list, especially The Starlight Crystal.
 

blackholly

Tenderness

Robert Cormier's Tenderness is one of the edgiest YA books I have ever read, despite being published many years ago. And, like Shady Lane, I'd also recommend Melvin Burgess's Smack (although Doing It was probably edgier).

I have great love for Scott Westerfeld, E Lockhart, M.T. Anderson, John Green, David Levithan and Francesca Lia Block's books and would highly recommend them, edginess totally aside.
 

bethany

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Thanks, holly, I believe your books were mentioned on the edgy YA thread (or whatever it is called).

I had to move two shelves of adult books to re-shelve my YA collection. Now the question is, when I get a new classroom next year do I combine these with the 2k YA books in my garage, or do I keep my favorites to myself?
 

OverTheHills&FarAway

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Robert Cormier's Tenderness is one of the edgiest YA books I have ever read, despite being published many years ago. And, like Shady Lane, I'd also recommend Melvin Burgess's Smack (although Doing It was probably edgier).


Dude I love Tenderness. It affected me for weeks afterwards. Probably one of my favorite books. Robert Cormier being one of my favorite authors.

:(

Actually, I think it's one of the only books to make me certifiably depressed. That and Rosemary Sutcliff's The Outcast.
 
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