YA Book Pimping (and recs wanted!)

[naomi_jay]

I read these two books over the weekend at my parents' - loved them both. There were some great stories in The Eternal Kiss, the standouts for me being Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Cold Town, Libba Bray's The Thirteenth Step, and Karen Mahoney's Fall to Ashes. In fact, I liked Holly Black's story so much, I went out and bought Tithe despite the fact that I'm not supposed to be buying any more new books until I clear my TBR pil (ha ha ha, oh that will never happen and we all know it). And Tithe is so awesome that I now want recommendations for other UF/paranormal YA books, please!

I've got Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely and Daniel Waters' Kiss of Life on my TBR pile, but I'd welcome any suggestions from people. I did want to try Cassandra Clare's series, but I've heard some rumours about plagiarism - anyone know anything about that?

Comments

[yolandasfetsos.livejournal.com]

Hey Naomi! I'm curious, what rumours did you hear about plagiarism with Cassandra Clare's series? I haven't read anything about it. I've read the first two books and have the third on my bookshelf. LOVED the first two.

I've been on a total YA kick lately, so here are some that I've really enjoyed:

LAMENT: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong

THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES series by Rachel Caine

PEEPS by Scott Westerfeld

THE DEVOURING by Simon Holt

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER by Dan Wells

Of course, I've also read some AWESOME futuristics. Let me know if you'd like me to list them too. And I have SO many more to read. :)

Enjoy!

[kaz-mahoney.livejournal.com]

First of all: THANK YOU!! *blushes* Glad you liked my story, though I agree on the best in the collection - I loved Holly's story. Beautifully written...

Re. Cassandra Clare: that is a whole can of worms that you might not want to open. You may possibly get comments on this entry from people who hate on Cassie & her work (just a friendly warning *g*). But the short version = any issues involving 'plagiarism' relate to her days as a fan-fic writer, NOT anything to do with her novels. I highly recommend City of Bones, Ashes, etc. It's a great series! :)

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Argh, lj keeps screwing up my comments, lol. Basicall, you're welcome, it was a great story!

Thanks for the heads up re Cassandra Clare. Think I'll check out City of Bones next time I have spare money and/or shelf space...

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Lol, can't not want a book called "I Am Not a Serial Killer!" Thanks :)

RE Cassandra Clare - like Kaz said, I'd heard rumours about plagiarism dating back to her fanfic days, but wasn't sure if it was confined to her fanfic or not. From what I can gather, she used to be a big name in HP fandom, and there was some contention over passages borrowed from other writers. *shrug* I don't know much, but it made me wary.

[catephoenix.livejournal.com]

I've been binging on YA lately, and have just finished Kiss of Life - as good as Generation Dead.

How about:

Lesley Livingston - Wondrous Strange
Neil Shusterman - Unwind
Carrie Ryan - Forest of Hands and Teeth
Laurie Halse Anderson - Wintergirls.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I really want Carrie Ryan's book. Yet another for the day when I have money/shelf space! Will check out the others too - thanks!

[shartyrant.livejournal.com]

I seem to be reading more YA lately than adult. I also recommend the Cassandra Claire novels. I don't know anything about the plagiarism except rumors dealing with her fanfiction which I have never read. I am sure you can pull up info about it on google as that is how I found out some of it by accident on a non-related search.

Have you read Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle series? If you liked the short story, you'll probably enjoy the series as it is definitely different.

Also, I would recommend trying Holly Black's Valiant and Ironside (sequel to Tithe) as well as the graphic novel Kin as it deals roughly with the same type of "supernatural".

I read the Forest of Hands and Teeth and didn't like it. Too slow, boring and angsty for me. The cover and idea rocked though. I'll be curious to see what you think of it though.

I am currently reading several more YA including Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon and Ash by Malinda Lo (a retelling of Cinderella with a twist). So far, I am enjoying both so it might be something to check into later.

Hope you have an excellent week!

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs! I've read the first Gemma Doyle book, the second two are on my wishlist.

[summersdream.livejournal.com]

oMGTITHE. I heart Roiben.

Holly Black's sequels to Tithe are really good. I like Ironside better (although for whatever reason it was one of those I liked more the 2nd time I read it, go figure).

The Gemma Doyle series by Libba are also amazing.

The Secret Country by Pamela Dean is my favorite series ever altho it's not really UF/paranormal and more fantasy but omg awesome...

Everworld by KA Applegate. Kind of dated now probably but still a fun fun series.

Abarat by Clive Barker is also really cool, and I didn't expect to like it but i've found myself wanting to read more of it.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I'm reading Clive Barker's Weaveworld at the moment. Really like it, but find it quite a slow read.

I really want to try the LJ Smith Nightworld books - they've all been reissued with spanky new covers over here. I guess I should thank Twilight for that.