Confession time – I don’t really read YA fiction. I never have. Even as a teen I had no interest in YA – they all seemed to be the same book, with different covers. Boy meets girl in high school. Boy meets girl in the past. Boy meets girl in the future. Boy meets girl in space. Boy meets girl in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. Angst, hormones, angst, whining, predictable ending. Yawn…. There have definitely been a couple of titles I enjoyed, but on the whole it’s never been a genre I immediately reach for.
Fast forward a few years and I now work with teens and help maintain a YA collection. What better time to give YA lit another chance?
I took a quick walk through the teen section today, and here are a few titles I picked out to try. I’ve never been a big fan of realistic fiction, but there seem to be enough sci fi / fantasy YA books out there to keep me occupied.
Better late than never? I wasn’t a big fan of the film so I’m not holding my breath, but I’ll try and keep an open mind…
The Forest of Hands and Teeth / Carrie Ryan
Zombies? I like zombies. There’s potential here.
The Rithmatist / Brandon Sanderson
I loved Warbreaker, so here’s hoping Sanderson’s YA novels are just as good!
There are a lot of Tamora Pierce fans at my book club, and I’m always looking for series with strong female leads, so I’m excited to give these books a try.
We’ll see how it goes….!