Middle Grade/Young Adult
Our final genre of discussion is one that we know is a popular one these days: books for the younger crowd, from middle grade to young adult. If you do not normally talk about this genre on your site, maybe you want to feature books that you remember impacting you during this stage in your life. If this is where you tend to gravitate, maybe you want to list your favorites, make recommendations based on genres, or feature some titles that you are excited to read coming later this year.
Wow. I am not even really 100% sure where to begin with this one, because I really enjoy young adult fiction. Maybe I could describe why I love young adult to start with, what draws me to it.
I know, I am a 30-something woman and thus, I am far from the “target demographic” for young adult fiction. You know what? I don’t care! I just love it. There is a certain amount of sweetness to it. I don’t know about you guys, but I read for an escape from reality, to not worry about all of my stress from the day and what I have to worry about come tomorrow. Did the kids get their homework done? Will the laundry be dry in time? Did I remember to pay that bill on time so that there isn’t going to be a late fee? Those are the day to day worries for most people my age, and I am no exception. So when I am reading, I don’t want to have to think about those things. Enter YA novels.
There is a certain innocence with young adult. It also encompasses a wide variety of genres. There is such a wide variety within the genre and many times, even within a single novel, you get so many different elements. It is never the same thing twice and that is what I love about it.
So, I thought maybe I could list my top 10 young adult authors. These are not in order of preference, by any means, but they are awesome authors who, if you have not read their stuff, you really need to check them out.
- Breeana Puttroff.
- Amanda Hocking
- Julie Kagawa
- Katie McGarry
- Sarah J. Maas
- Kiera Cass
- Maggie Stiefvater
- L. J. Smith
- Jennifer Nielsen
- Karen Ann Hopkins
These are all authors who, if they have series’ out, I have read every book in the series.
Breeana Puttroff’s Dusk Gate Chronicles is a series I have devoured the instant they have been available for purchase (and sometimes before.. I got to be a beta reader for the last one!)
Amanda Hocking’s Trylle trilogy is still my favorite of her works, and it was the first I ever read. I love everything she has written, but I will always go back to Trylle. I got to “interview” her last year as part of Authors are Rocktars. It was AMAZING.
Julie Kagawa’s Blood of Eden series is absolutely amazing, and brings us vampires as we have never seen them before! I cannot believe I haven’t read the third book yet, but I will be fixing this very soon! She is also very connected to her fans and is active on Twitter. I have chatted with her a time or two myself and it was awesome.
Katie McGarry‘s Pushing the Limits series will send you on a roller coaster ride the likes of which you have never seen before. Be prepared with the tissues, because this will toy with your emotions in ways you cannot imagine. I have also chatted with her very recently on Twitter, and she actually read my review of the newest book and thanked me for it on Twitter. I was on a fangirl high for hours.
Sarah J. Maas – Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight… Need I say more?
Kiera Cass’ The Selection Series was like a dystopian version of The Bachelor, only with…quite a few little twists that I cannot describe without giving too much away.
Maggie Stiefvater – I really cannot decide which I like more, The Raven Boys, or Scorpio Races. I adored both of them.
L. J. Smith – If you do not know who this is, you need to go fix that right now. This is the brain behind The Vampire Diaries. But I think if I had to choose, I actually preferred her Nightworld series better. So many different bits of supernatural, so little time.
Jennifer Nielsen – The Ascendance Trilogy was actually among my first books requested from the publisher. I really love my contact at Scholastic because this was an amazing read.
Karen Ann Hopkins – The Temptation Trilogy was such a surprisingly amazing read. I had no idea what to expect going in, and I honestly didn’t even realize it was a romance, with a cross-cultural element, but this was absolutely an amazing series and I am so glad I read it.
So there you go folks. Those are some of my favorites right now. Ask me in about 3 months and that list could change drastically. But that is how the mood strikes me right now.
But, sadly, most of those that I have listed I have read everything that is already out by them.
Who are some of your favorites? I am in need of a new read. Maybe there is a breakout debut author who I just have to hear about.. Well, comment and tell me and I will check them out!
Thanks for stopping by because I have absolutely loved getting to interact with every one of you this week. Keep on coming by, and I will try to make sure that I have awesome content for you.