Welcome to A Way into YA; a series of guest posts where some lovely YA loving bloggers will give you their best recommendations and try to get you to love YA as much as they do! If you've always wanted to give it a go but have been overwhelmed by the amount of choice then hopefully this week will help you find a place to start!
Hopefully you've been keeping up with all the great guest posts and YA related greatness we've had going on here all week. If not feel free to catch up, we'll wait!
Now that that's done, the final guest blogger in this series (but by no means the final post of the series) is Rachel of Confessions of a Book Geek. She is an eclectic reader as you will see and is here with her recommendations of amazing books from across the genres!
I’ve been reading Young Adult books for quite a while, in
fact I’m now considered to be an Adult (whether I like it or not!) who reads YA
fiction. But that isn’t all I read. In fact, I read across a broad range of
genres and age ranges, so when I find something I really like, I think it makes for a quality recommendation!
YA literature has gone through a *boom* in recent years,
with new book-to-movie adaptations being announced every other week (at least
that’s how it feels!), and “hot” new authors springing up regularly. It’s not
surprising then that knowing where to start with YA can be daunting, thanks to
Bex and this feature, I’m bringing you some of my top YA picks!
Contemporary - I'll Meet
You There by Heather Demetrios
When I’m reading a great contemporary
YA, I like to feel the realism of the story, and I love being able to relate to
the characters – not necessarily through like-for-like life scenarios, but at
least relate to their thoughts, dreams and emotions. I love it when
contemporary stories have “issues”, when there’s grit to the storyline and when
characters face real-life predicaments that result in character development.
I’ll Meet You There has all of the above by the bucket-load, and some beautiful
writing, and a great romance. I
highly recommend this read!
Romance - Maybe
Someday by Colleen Hoover (New Adult Cross-over)
Although many of my recommendations
from other genres may feature a romance, or elements of one entwined throughout
the plot, my actual romance recommendation is anything by Colleen Hoover, but
for newbies I’d specifically recommend Maybe Someday. Colleen Hoover is the
master of the NA genre, which can still be overlooked sometimes, as early-NA
had a bad rep for being soft erotica. Do. Not. Fear. Colleen Hoover is rarely that steamy (though if a little more
steam is what you are after, then I
recommend Ugly Love ;) ). Maybe Someday is a mixed media
collaboration that has its own custom soundtrack that you can listen to (for
free) as you read the book. It is immense!
If you still need persuading, just
check out this non-spoiler, fan-made trailer, featuring the title track, Maybe
Someday (coincidentally, also my favourite song from the book!).
Fantasy – A Court of Thorns and Roses by
Sarah J Maas
I believe someone else pipped me to the
post to recommend Throne of
Glass by Sarah J Maas, so I’ve chosen her
most recent release, A Court of Thorns and Roses, affectionately referred to as
ACOTAR by the fans! Inspired by Beauty and the Beast, this story has amazing
world-building, Fey, and a great romance element. Speaking as someone who was
epically terrified of Fantasy for the longest time, I can safely say Maas is a sound
choice to dip your toes in the water.
Dystopian - Noughts and
Crosses by Malorie Blackman
I’m sure everyone is familiar with The
Hunger Games and the Divergent series, but one of the first dystopian novels I
ever read (at the tender age of 12) was Noughts and Crosses. I reread the whole
series at the age of 24, and loved it just as much as I did the first time
around. Throughout the Noughts and Crosses series we follow different character
points of view, across multiple generations, in a world where white people are
heavily discriminated against, and black people hold all the power. It takes
the world as we know it, and tilts it on its axis, offering fresh insights, and
heart-breakingly good story-lines.
The titles all link to my review of
each book or series, except for A Court Of Thorns and Roses, which I’ve yet to
review on my blog. Many thanks to Bex for having me on her blog today, and I
hope from my recommendations you find a new YA book to love!
twitter - @bookgeek90
I read a lot of Malorie Blackman when I was an actual young adult and she's fantastic. I also have A Court of Thorns and Roses on my wishlist, I'm desperate to read it! The other two are new to me though and I'll definitely be checking them out! Anybody else have the song from that trailer in their heads now?
Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on Cinder by Marissa Meyer. One Saturday I'll have another edition of Make Mine an Indie featuring a YA publisher, and on Sunday I'll finish up with my own recommendations for some great titles and a giveaway.
The series so far:
Make Mine an Indie: Alma Books
A Way into YA Day 1: Science Fiction
A Way into YA Day 2: Backlist Books
A Way into YA Day 3: A Bit of Everything!
A Way into YA Day 4: Some More Great Books and a Giveaway
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