YA/Fantasy books

[jml2]

Let's recommend/ review/ discuss YA/Fantasy books!

 

[jml2]

My favourites that I've recently read:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
- I had low expectations given the title and cover but everyone was raving about it, and they were right! It's like a really good romantic comedy movie in book form. The boy reminded me of Robert Pattinson, in both looks and real life personality.


The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
- I thought it was kind of silly and derivative but ok with the first book. But by book 3 I was won over. It started to get quite awesome. And now I'm looking forward to book 4 released very soon!

 

[kokobombon]

I´ve recently finished the 7 book saga of The Dark Tower by Stephen King. Wouldnt exactly call it YA but it´s a fantasy/sci fi/western story.
I loved it! Essentially it´s the story of a man searching for the center of his universe, a sort of God that holds everything together. The Tower is falling apart and with it his world (which is a sort of post apocalyptic one).
Along his journey he "recruits" a boy, a young man and a young woman (all have very interesting stories and problems) to help him find the Tower and stop those who are destroying it. King also introduces characters from his other novels which if you´re a fan would love but if not, won´t bother you.
I couldn help but fall in love with the characters and the story after reading book four I was so sad that it took me like a month to pick book five lol

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43615.The_Gunslinger

 

[kokobombon]

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
- I thought it was kind of silly and derivative but ok with the first book. But by book 3 I was won over. It started to get quite awesome. And now I'm looking forward to book 4 released very soon!

I´ve seen it in the bookstore and wondered about it...
I think I´ll give it a try

funny how split is people´s opinion! lots of 1 vs 5 stars in goodreads.com

 

[jml2]

give them a try!
It is considered a contender for the 'next big thing' along with Hunger Games.
Like a lot of YA, the writing is not great but the story worlds are fun and addictive.
The author used to write Harry Potter fanfiction, and there was some silly controversy or something and many of the one stars come from people wrapped up in that I think.

 

[eternitygoddess]

Obernewtyn Chronicles - about a girl messiah living in a dystopian society set after a nuclear holocaust. The author has been writing it since she was a teenager, and the description of the world in the books is eerily similar to what the world might be like post nuclear-holocaust.

Gemma Doyle Trilogy

Blue Bloods

Mortal Instruments Trilogy | Infernal Devices Trilogy

 

[jml2]

I just finished Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices #1)
it was pretty fun! I think I like it better than Mortal Instruments.
Some of it was silly but I like the 3 main characters and am interested in their secrets. I like Will better than Jace

 

[sobriquet87]

I'm not a big Fantasy person, but I love the Harry Potter and Lord of the Ring series.
The Hunger Games is also great YA/Fantasy series.
I've recently heard about a book called Divergent by Veronica Roth that I might read.

But I can definitely give a recommendation for a YA book to avoid, it's called Matched by Ally Condie...the author can't write for s**t.

 

[Belowen]

I am 2 books into the 3 book series by Carrie Ryan, starting with "The Forest of Hands and Teeth". I basically only picked these up because they are zombie centric, but they're not too bad as far as YA fiction goes. Once you get past the part where the female protaganist is generally a PITA and the romance is stomach churning, YA books aren't too terrible.

 

[lostgirl]

But I can definitely give a recommendation for a YA book to avoid, it's called Matched by Ally Condie...the author can't write for s**t.

Haha I agre it's poorly written but I did enjoy the story!

As for books to recommend I'll second the recs for The Hunger Games trilogy, the Obernewtyn Chronicles, and the Gemma Doyle trilogy. All great reads and they don't fall into the trap antifeminist stomach churning romance that the poorer examples of the genre do.

Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books aren't as good but are still worth a read. As are Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth and Dead Tossed Waves (I think a third book recently came out)

I'll add to the list:
Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

 

[sobriquet87]

My favorite YA author when I was in high school was Christopher Pike. His books are like more mature, better written versions of the Fearstreet books.

I also loved the Georgia Nicholson series when I was in high school.

 

[Alvedansen]

didn't know where else to put it, but has anyone here read World War Z? it's about a guy after a worldwide zombie apocalypse who interviews survivors to find out what exactly happened. i loved the book, it had some really interesting political plots (how would certain countried/the military react) and the many survivor stories were pretty cool as well.
Brad Pitt is currently filming the movie version but it sounds like they turned it into the average zombie movie =/
Here's the official synopsis from Paramount:

"The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself."​

this is not what the book is about at all, so disappointed right now, i was really looking forward to the movie =(

 

[sobriquet87]

I just started reading an adult fantasy/historical fiction series called Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
It's really good. I definitely recommend it. They're massive books though, so be prepared for a ton of reading.

 

[Belowen]

I recently read Divergent by Veronica Roth and it was really good. I would definitely suggest reading this if you like YA Dystopian.

 

[lostgirl]

I just started reading an adult fantasy/historical fiction series called Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
It's really good. I definitely recommend it. They're massive books though, so be prepared for a ton of reading.

I love that series. Really enjoyable reads. Definitely not YA and I don't know if I'd call them fantasy. I think they're more historical with a sci-fi/time travel twist.

Which book are you on?

 

[LUXXX]

I read a great YA book called "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin, not sure if it's fantasty, but it is about the afterlife. I loved it so much, very poignant and beautiful story.

 

[Birkin]

"A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin , there are 5 books published from a total of seven. It is a medieval adult fantasy. Really enjoyable.


1. A Game of Thrones
2. A Clash of Kings
3. A Storm of Swords
4. A Feast for Crows
5. A Dance with Dragons
6. The Winds of Winter (Forthcoming)
7. A Dream of Spring (Forthcoming)

 

[Alvedansen]

re: the Diana Gabalson series: do you have to read them in the right order? i think i have one of them, but it's def not the first...i think it's the fifth. should i start with the first one or can i just read that one?

i' currently reading Unwind by Neal Shusterman. it's set in the future where it's forbidden to abort children from the time they're conceived until the age of 13. between 13 and 18 parents can file an order to "unwind" them which means that every part of them will be 'donated' to other humans who need a new lung/arm etc. the book follows three kids who escape and are on the run. it's quite enjoyable so far but i don't like the changes in narration with each chapter. in the "A song of ice and fire" series it makes sense and i actually love it, but here it's not that needed and it's rather annoying.

 

[sobriquet87]

^Yes, you definitely should read them in the correct order.
Each book is a continuation of the previous one, so it would be confusing if you didn't. Here's the order:
Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
An Echo in the Bone

I love that series. Really enjoyable reads. Definitely not YA and I don't know if I'd call them fantasy. I think they're more historical with a sci-fi/time travel twist.

Which book are you on?

I just finished Drums of Autumn and I'm about to start The Fiery Cross.
And I agree. Definitely not YA.

 

[lostgirl]

^The Fiery Cross a transitional book in a lot of ways. It doesn't have as much action as some of the previous installments. It's still a good read, and there are some important revelations. But it's laregly about bringing the characters to a time and place where they need to be for the events of A Breathe of Snow and Ashes.

The only thing that annoys me at times is that it takes soooo long for each new book to come out! I've heard rumor that the 8th book will close the series but I don't know if that's true or not. But what's nice about the series is that there are a lot of little "extras" to keep you busy. For example, Gabaldon recently wrote a graphic novel called The Exile which covers roughly a third of the first book in the series. It's told from the perspective of Murtough (Jamie's godfather) and lets us in on things that happened while the events of the first novel were going on, that Claire wasn't involved in.

Have you ever read the Lord John Grey mysteries? They feature Lord John as the main character (though Jamie makes a few appearences as well). They're not as compulsively readable as the Outlander books but they're a nice spin-off series.