ArmchairBEA: Children's/Young Adult Literature

Today's Topic:

Our final genre focuses on the younger crowd: children's picture books and young adult literature and everything in between. What are the top 5 (or more) books that every child should have on his shelf? If you are an adult who reads YA, why do you keep going back for more? If you are not a reader of these books, think back to your childhood and share your favorites from your younger years.

Young Adult:

I have been a big fan of Young Adult since R.L Stine books, remember Fear Street? My big sister and I use to read them together while home alone. These were such scary but addicting books that I didn't care if I couldn't sleep that night after reading it, I was going to finish that book.

If you have never read an R.L. Stine book I highly recommend them, not matter how long ago they came out, there still amazing. For the kiddos give them a goosebumps books because they are scary but good for the little ones to understand.

The cycle of Young Adult books is huge right now and my main reason for coming back to new YA titles is all about the authors. Some really fantastic authors are popping up and creating such amazing worlds, characters and their writing just pulls you in.

3 Favorites for Young Adult books:

(I have so many but I'll stick with 3)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In a world where people born with an extreme skill—called a Grace—are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Why? The world that Cashore created is phenomenal, I was sucked into this world of magic, suspense and romance with such wonderful characters.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Why? Because Who wouldn't want to fall in love in the City of Lights? I loved the romance, humor and wonderful characters. Perkins writes in a way that makes you fall for her characters and never want to put the book down.

Half-Blood by Jennifer Armentrout
The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Why? Because even though I have had enough vampire-ish type books this title took me by surprise. I loved the Greek mythology connection, the vampire type villains and of course I always look for characters that keep my interest and mix in some really great romance.