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I just finished Out of the Shadows by Sarah Singleton last night which I thought was pretty cool, since it had a lot of historical content (Church of England vs. Catholic Church in the 14th century), and there was a whole underlying fantasy world. Characters were well-built, and I did get into it eventually, but it's definitely not for everyone. Which isn't a bad thing!

Also read Francesca Lia Block's latest, How to (Un)cage a Girl, which is a book of poetry. It's not like the poetry I usually read, but I think it's a great book of verse to put into the hands of teen girls. Definitely enjoyed it.

Right now I'm about halfway through Diary of a Chav by Grace Dent. At first I thought it was sort of just mimicking Georgia Nicolson, but there's a lot more going on here. It really paints a picture of what it's like to be at one of the lower-class schools in England, struggling with self-identity, and trying to decide what matters. I've decided I really like it.

I'm hoping to finish Chav tonight and to start Hottie by Jonathan Bernstein which was described to me as "cooler than it looks" and "really funny."

Tags: books, discussion, reading, reviews, teen, ya

Permalink Reply by Max on September 28, 2008 at 10:44pm: I just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Which was really good. I reccomend it. Also, I really like the Maximum Ride books by James Patterson. Then, of course, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. And The Host. Also by her. And anyone who hasn't read the Harry Potter books needs to crawl out of the hole they've been living in.

Permalink Reply by E. Kristin Anderson (Emily) on September 28, 2008 at 10:52pm: Haha, I'm one of those people in a hole! And I'm a manager for a bookstore kids dept. Shocking! I think my problem is that my sister, like four or five years ago, forced me to watch the first two movies with her without reading the books claiming it wouldn't ruin anything. Then when I tried to read HP I couldn't get into it AT ALL. I hope eventually to rectify my heretic ways.

Hunger games rocks - I was sort of bummed that her ending wasn't really an ending, but what a cool book! I think it's definitely the type of novel that has staying power, and that adults will want to read, too. Printz award, anyone?

Stephenie Meyer, in my eyes, is alright. I loved Twilight but found the rest of the series mediocre. I felt like Eclipse had a good ending, and that Breaking Dawn was a bit of a nutty ride. I have a copy of the host but am scared to read it since it's such a massive undertaking and I have so many other books to read that I might like better...

Permalink Reply by Max on September 28, 2008 at 11:00pm: Haha. I know a bunch of people who haven't read it. It's really good though, but it does start out pretty slow. The books are so much better than the movies. Sigh.

I know!! When I finished it I was all like, "Ugh, you have got to be kidding me!!" So now I want the next book. I want to know what happens with Gale. I won't be able to rest in peace unless I know.

And about Twilight, to be honest, I don't really like Bella or Edward. It feels to me like the characters with the most depth are Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme, and Jacob. And Charlie. So I liked the first the most plotwise, but I liked the third the most characterwise. The second was too depressing and the fourth was kind of messy. Kind of being a bit of an understatement.

And actually, I liked The Host a lot more than the Twilight books. But not the first, oh, 150 pages. After that it picks up. After that it really picks up. You just have to get through the beginning, and then it's really rewarding. At least, I thought so.

Permalink Reply by E. Kristin Anderson (Emily) on September 28, 2008 at 11:06pm: Good to know. Will have to give it a go one of these days. After I get through my pile of ARCs for work :(

I make a sad face but I secretly love being buried in books.

Permalink Reply by Max on September 28, 2008 at 11:35pm: Me too. It's always so hard to find good books, though.

Permalink Reply by Ali on September 30, 2008 at 5:59pm: Oh you should read the Host! I'll admit I'm a Twilight fan, but I AM capable of looking at it objectively so I know it's not the best writing, and doesn't have particularly sophisticated themes. The Host however I've been recommending to everyone who read Twilight and thought it was kinda meh. Because the Host starts slow but if you stick with it it's kinda amazing, a lot deeper and more grown-up than Twilight, and it will make you cry so much!

I also spent the last year in charge of the kids section of a bookstore, so yeah, recommending books to people is what I do :) I'm actually reading a YA book at the moment - Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr, which is the sequel to Wicked Lovely. I'd recommend it to anyone who liked Twilight or A Great and Terrible Beauty (I LOVE AGATB. I will not even get started on that or I will never shut up) or Holly Black's Tales of Urban Faerie.

Permalink Reply by E. Kristin Anderson (Emily) on September 30, 2008 at 8:51pm: Yeah I think Marr's books are very thematically similar to Twilight. Though they're not awesome, I liked them. I have a copy of Tithe, too, and definitely want to read it. But I'm overwhelmed with ARCs!

Permalink Reply by Ali on October 2, 2008 at 6:52pm: I love being overwhelmed with ARCs :) You have any good ones?

Permalink Reply by E. Kristin Anderson (Emily) on October 2, 2008 at 7:52pm: I think so! I'm really looking forward to reading Poison Ink by Christopher Golden, since I know he's worked on Buffy. And I grabbed Rogelia's House of Magic, My Mother's a French Fry, Cycler, The Possibilities of Santhood, Chalice, and Devouring the other day at work. I can't read them fast enough - so much good stuff to gobble up!

Permalink Reply by E. Kristin Anderson (Emily) on October 5, 2008 at 6:58pm: Gottagottagotta read it. I love Holly Black's new graphic novel, which is also an urban fantasy with wicked faeries.

Permalink Reply by Elayne on September 30, 2008 at 5:18pm: Currently, I am reading Goddess of Yesterday by someone who I can't remember the name of. It's for school. It's about a girl who is there for the whole Helen having a secret affair with Paris thing. I'm enjoying it so far, and I'm hating Helen, but I hate structured reading even more.

The books we read in fifth and sixth grade have a surprising amount of cursing and young adult themes for people that are barely adolescent. I love my school.

Permalink Reply by Ali on October 5, 2008 at 5:44pm: Ooh if you like that there is a really similar book by Adèle Geras called Troy. It's the story of Troy but told through the eyes of 5 teenagers living in the city at the time. It's v good (but I should warn you it's kinda depressing at the end...)