Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion

Just finished Darkfever and I really enjoyed it. And it's a book that I never would have picked up if not for this group! Good recommendation!

Think I'll stop by the library after work and get the next one. I hope it's good! I scoped out the covers of the rest of the series and noticed that they are nothing like the first one, lol.

Yay, Laura! You'll love the other books too.

Glad you liked it Laura. It is def. a book I NEVER would have read if not for Shannen :)

Shannen, how did you discover the series? Just curious!

I don't even remember! I was trying to remember that the other day and couldn't. Too many books! I'll keep trying to remember.

Lol! That's what happens when you read so much, I guess! I'm glad to see that you liked all of the books. It's so disappointing when a series that starts off really good goes downhill.

Just finished Bloody Jack for the second time last night. Now not sure what book to start.... I am thinking the 5th fabelhaven or Vampirates book #3 or The Thief Lord or 2nd Bloody Jack re-read. What do you think?

I know that none of my friends suggested it. I'm thinking it might have been recommended by Amazon because it was one of the first books I bought when I got my Kindle. It definitely doesn't go downhill. Just wait until you finish the 4th book and are screaming because the last book doesn't come out until December!

The Fever series is really good - I am going to have to start reading them again :-) I just requested Kiss of the Highlander and should get it soon!

Mindy wrote: "Just finished Bloody Jack for the second time last night. Now not sure what book to start.... I am thinking the 5th fabelhaven or Vampirates book #3 or The Thief Lord or 2nd Bloody Jack re-read. Wh..."

Read something you haven't read before. There's a gazillion recommendations zooming around here. Your tbr pile shouldn't be lacking.

Oh no! For some reason, I had assumed that all of the Fever books were already out. I thought I could just rip through the whole series. Darn!

Becca, it is not lacking that is for sure. I live so far from town that I re-read if I don't have something on hand from the library. The books listed are the ones I have on hand. Just not sure which one to read out of the ones I have. You know it;s like watching a movie your not in the mood for, lol.

Heather wrote: "Hi, Heather here and my friend recommended Life As We Knew It about a month ago, and I liked it. She told me there were 2 more in the series and that the 3rd one ties the other two together. Questi..."

Hi Heather! I didn't like the second one because it wasn't as much going on as I would have liked, especially since it was supposed to have happened in the city. I kind of felt like they had it easier. I did like his "friend" though. I think the book would have been better from his point of view.

I didn't like Alex because he was kind of a jerk. An annoying, overbearing, my way is the highway kind of jerk. He kept trying to dump his sister in convents, he was kind of a jerk to his peers, I've no idea why they liked him or why they wanted to help him. At all.

The third book was just contrived. No action, just a whole lot of angst. I don't know how much you know about the third book (haven't read the back, so I don't know what's revealed), but it felt like it was just written that way, totally not natural.

You should check out my reviews on them where I trash them even more :) Sucks, because I loved the first one! (Sorry Susan if you are reading this!)

Heidi wrote: "Glad you liked it Laura. It is def. a book I NEVER would have read if not for Shannen :)"

I know! Shannen really got a lot of people reading something they wouldn't normally read. I've officially checked off that goal on my list.

And you know a book is good when you can endure Mac's yapping and still look forward to the next one!

Peep - Mac sure likes to yap doesn't she!

I love Mac, even with all of her yapping. :)

You would Shannen! (jk :)

I can't help it! But did you see that I gave Angel Star only 2 stars? See, I'm becoming more critical. What's funny is that I am SO critical in my every day life, just not in my reading life. ;)

Only two stars? That's on my tbr pile....

And you ladies have to read Never After, it's hilarious - language warning - but still hilarious.

Yap Mac. Mac the Yapper. Yappin' Mac....

Peep - I will add it to my pile! Mac is sooo annoying, yet I can't get enough of her.

Never After is already in my TBR pile. Just gotta get to it.

I thought Angel Star dragged on. It wasn't a bad book, it was just OK. You might think differently.

Peep - only 1 library out of ALL the libraries in my circuit has Never After! I just requested it.

I just finished Speak, which I think came as a recommendation from this group. It was beautiful, I couldn't put it down. I also finally finished Over Sea, Under Stone which I had a hard time getting into at first, but the ending really clenched it for me. I am excited to read the rest of that series.

I love the dark is rising series! Such good books.

Heidi, for me, I saw it is available at three libraries through ILL, but they were all hold books which means I'd never get them. I just got it from Amazon for me Kindle, argh (that's not frustration, that's me speaking in me pirate voice). And the author is just a kid. Well not a kid, but he wrote it while in college.

Just finished The Ruby in the Smoke, first book in the Sally Lockhart series by Philip Pullman. I found it pretty disappointing. It was interesting how the girl was a good accountant, but I can't say the use of opium served as a good vehicle for the story's revelations. Oh well, onto the next book!

Hey Peep, Heather here and I will be checking out your reviews. My friend is the one who turned me onto the series and she said that she thought she might check out the other two books. It was hard reading the first one; felt so depressed and kept wondering if I would be as smart as the mother. She just about broke my heart with everything she did for her kids..

I just finished "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater before turning to "Dead in the Family" (Sookie) on which I am at current. Think this will be finished today. Next will be "Lament" and "Ballad"...

Heather wrote: "Hey Peep, Heather here and I will be checking out your reviews. My friend is the one who turned me onto the series and she said that she thought she might check out the other two books. It was har..."

I know!! Like I said, I was an emotional mom when I read it. Made me wonder what sacrifices I would make in a situation like that. It also made me want to invest in some kerosene lamps.

Let me know if you decide to read the other two, I'd really like to know what you thought (if I haven't mentioned that already).

I'm reading CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins. Very exciting and suspenseful, and really hard to put down!

Sophia wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians are fabulous.

Has anyone read or heard anything of "The Last Apprentice" books by Joseph Delaney?"

Yeah. My teacher said it was pretty gruesome. Is..."

Sophia wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Percy Jackson and the Olympians are fabulous.

Has anyone read or heard anything of "The Last Apprentice" books by Joseph Delaney?"

Yeah. My teacher said it was pretty gruesome. Is..."

Hi There--new to the group, but a major lurker (I know that sounds bad), but I look forward to reading everyone's comments--and have read some great books thanks to your posts. I loved Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I like both both Peetah and Gale, so I am not on either team. I like them both--for such different reasons. Gale is probably more of a soul mate but Peetah gets points for loyalty, perseverance and simply doing whatever it takes to keep Katniss alive, no matter the cost (to himself).
I read the first three of The Last Apprentice series and really liked them. I like Delaney's simple writing style and his characters are all interesting and quite distinct. He keeps the reader dangling with the hint of a relationship with the apprentice and a would-be-witch. It can be scary, but not too scary.
Here are some of my favorites and if anyone can make a suggestion, I am looking for my next tbr (though I have a huge pile of books--nothing is appealing at the moment)--
The Hero and the Crown--Robin McKinley
The Blue Sword--Robin McKinley
Fire (more so than Graceling)--Kristin Cashore
Hunger Games, Catching Fire--Suzanne Collins
Anything Tamora Pierce
Didn't love Forest of Hands and Feet
Septimus Heap is okay, but not beloved
Vampire is not my thing (don't hate me)--but I liked the Darkangel series (at least the first two).
Any recommendations are welcome. Thanks.
Also, I love reading all your posts--especially the team Peetah vs. team Gale.

I've been listening to the Georgia Nicolson series on audiobook. I've loved them all, but I just made an awful discovery: the fantastic narrator from the first four books has been replaced by the author herself in the fifth book, Away Laughing on a Fast Camel: Even More Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. And she's terrible! Well, I suppose she reads it well, but she has such an old, rather deep voice. Has anyone else listened to this? I think it ruins it! And I just saw that the rest of the audiobooks in the series are also done by the author. I think I'll switch to the books in print!

Heidi - I know you were listening to the earlier books in this series--have you heard the fifth yet??

Laura - I am so upset!!! I just got the fourth book on audio today from the library. Now I will have to milk it out since it is the last good one. Why do author's insist on reading their own books! Neil Gaiman can, but everyone else -- hire someone! p.s. I speak from experience as I suffered through Lovely Bones read by the author and DO NOT recommend it.

Hey Peep, yeah, I guess as a Mom the book would mean something totally different. Did you find yourself reading like a comfort book due to the darkness of Life? I think I will read them and hopefully my library will have them.

Welcome to the group Beth! Some of my recommendations would be Daughter of the Forest and everything else written by Juliet Marillier who is currently my favorite author, Book of a Thousand Days and Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern series and Austenland which might be my favorite by her, The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, and if you like dragons, the Eragon series, which I have a love affair with (I've re-read them at least four times).

Becca wrote: "Welcome to the group Beth! Some of my recommendations would be Daughter of the Forest and everything else written by Juliet Marillier who is currently my favorite author, [book:Book of..."

I have Daughter of the Forest and that will be my next read. Thanks for the suggestion.

Beth wrote: "Hi There--new to the group, but a major lurker (I know that sounds bad), but I look forward to reading everyone's comments--and have read some great books thanks to your posts. I loved Hunger Game..."

I forgot the mention my three favorite series--
The Abhorsen Trilogy-Garth Nix
The book of Three-Lloyd Alexander (Taran Wanderer in particular)
The Dark is Rising-Susan Cooper

Jaime wrote: "I've just started reading Inkheart. It's good so far, about a little girl who loves to read books and her father who is a bookbinder. Starts off with great intrigue."
I loved Inkheart!! you should stick with it. i've actually read the first two and then stopped because the third wasn't out. but i think i'll pick it up

Already in the middle in of "Lament" and wishing there would be much more to read of Maggie Stiefvater than just "Ballad" and soon "Linger"... I really much like her writing style.

Not reading any YA novels right now but I am reading Benighted. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Um, can I just say...I LOVE Shiver!

Heather wrote: "Hey Peep, yeah, I guess as a Mom the book would mean something totally different. Did you find yourself reading like a comfort book due to the darkness of Life? I think I will read them and hopeful..."

I just checked and I read The Curse of the Blue Tattoo (Bloody Jack #2), The Graveyard Book, and If I have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? after I finished it so I must not have been too traumatized. Mostly I just worked on an escape plan, where we would travel to, what stores I'd have to loot, and how I'd carry my kids if we had to walk.

Looking for Alaska was good, but intense.

Ack! Is that a spoiler?

I just finished a novel called No and Me by Delphine de Vigan. It was translated from French and will be rereleased in August :). It deals with homelessness and I enjoyed it!

Now I'm finishing up Beautiful Creatures. This book is so HUGE.