Homeschool Facts

Reading is more than a pass time for me; it’s an obsession! I love it. And while I in no way limit myself to teen books (otherwise known as young adult literature or YA books) I definitely have a special place in my house that’s overflowing with them! The people involved in producing all the great YA options just seem to be putting out exactly what I like! So there’s no way I’m going to ignore it just because I’m not a teenager. Why should I?

And having established my claim as an obsessive reader that loves YA books in particular, I thought I might as well share my positive experiences. Here are 8 books I’ve stumbled upon or been pushed toward (it doesn’t matter in the end) that I read over and over and recommend to others over and over. If you’ve never heard of any of them…where have you been and you should read more! If you’ve heard of a few…check some of the others out. You might like them, too. If you love reading, but you’ve never ventured into YA literature, here’s a good chance to give a few good books a shot!

1. Jeanne DePrau’s The City of Ember and its sequel The People of Sparks were so disturbingly spot on that I found myself forgetting that they were set in the future and could therefore not actually BE true; at least not yet. They left me with a new perspective on some of my daily habits and personal philosophies which I always find very satisfying. I like seeing me from a new perspective due to something I read in the pages of a book. You might want to read the book before the movie based on The City of Ember comes out this Fall, as well!

2. Dream Jordan’s Hot Girl came my way in the form of an ARC (Advance Review Copy). I really enjoyed it and made sure to post a review on the site that provided the copy (LibraryThing.com). The book offered great portrayals of friendships (good and bad), the foster care system (from several different perspectives), and of a teen making a decision to change her life and then working hard to do it.

3. Korman’s Son of the Mob is one of my “laugh out loud” books. And those are my favorites. It has a lot of dark humor, some romance, some action, some intrigue, and let’s not forget…the MOB! It’s just the perfect combination of the hilarious and the serious and the mundane.

4. City of Bones, Book One in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments Series, snagged me from the very first page. I am an absolute addict when it comes to good, likable characters. And I just love when they get to be so normal in such out of the norm situations. The entire Mortal Instruments series (well two books so far, but another comes out soon) offers such a wide range of reading enjoyment that I’d feel pretty comfortable recommending it to almost any reader. Unless you despise things you can’t see with your own two eyes I’d say it’s a good bet that this book will have something in it you can appreciate. (And if you despise everything you can’t see with your own two eyes you might want to just stick to biographies and textbooks. But even then…you’ll find things to disbelieve. Oh, ye of little faith…and imagination).

5. Shannon Hale’s Goose Girl is a retelling of the traditional fairy tale. I tend to like fairy tale retellings, but I can honestly say out of all the fairy tale retellings I’ve read, Goose Girl is my favorite. It was just so lilting and sweet while being passionate and strong at the same time. I enjoyed the style of the writing, the characters, the setting, and the story. It all moved together perfectly from beginning to end. The sequel Enna Burning may have been even a smidgen better and I wouldn’t allow anyone I liked to miss the third in the series, River Secrets, either.

6. Is Kissing a Girl Who Smokes Like Licking an Ashtray? By Randy Powell. This is a book that I picked up for the title alone. Sometimes that works for me; sometimes it doesn’t. This one actually turned out to be very interesting and I’ve enjoyed it more than once (I’m a re-reader). It’s funny. It’s fresh. It’s ironic. It’s just plain good.

7. House of Dance by Beth Kephart. This book falls into the category of “book I started recommending to others before I’d ever even picked it up.” I first ran across Beth Kephart’s writing by accident on her blog and immediately liked her surprisingly gentle style of questioning who, what and why. I found it so intriguing that I found myself mentioning her upcoming release to friends and family suggesting they read it before I ever got my hands on it. Which I never do!

8. This Lullaby is an all time favorite not only of Sarah Dessen’s stack of fabulous books, but in the whole of YA literature. I just really enjoy reading the story and I thought the characters offered such an interesting view of family, friends, love and loss. All very typical topics, you might say, but the way they were offered in this story made them seem more real to me and I appreciate that.

So there you have it; 8 pieces of young adult literature you should definitely go out and try. If you’re a book buyer jump on B&N.com and get a few with free shipping. If you’re into the deal you get with used books check out Abebooks.com and see if they’ve got a few listed from the same bookseller so you can save on shipping as well as price. Or if you’re one of those special readers that have a favorite bookstore that you enjoy dropping by periodically…jot down the names of a few that sound intriguing and ask if they’re in stock the next time you’re in the area. You won’t regret it!

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