Young Adult Books

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Anyone know of any good young adult books? This question is for Nichole who is finding having summer vacation after 2 yrs of school a bit boring. lol Especially at night when Aubrey is sleeping.

My kids never watched much tv growing up, and don't seem to have a huge interest in it as adults.

One stipulation, and I quote * no mushy mushy girly romance stuff* And she'd prefer it not to be 1000 pages. Her attention span isn't quite that long. lol

Oh, and she's already read the Twilight series and Harry Potter.

I have to get tickled cuz she's come to think of everyone here as her extended family.........And specifically asked me to post this for your advice. :D

Thanks
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I would recommend the Janet Evanovich "Stephanie Plum" series. They're a quick read, have a young female heroine, and are hilarious. No romantic yuckie stuff, but a few short, hot (and some very funny) adult scenes.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I keep recommending this - Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series. It's fantasy satire. Very funny, very clever & witty but if you don't get it all it doesn't matter. It has layers, you always get enough to enjoy a good story.

If she needs to start gently with a more children's story level, then "Wee Free Men" is a good one to begin with. But if she already is an avid reader then there are a number of places in which to insert herself into the series for enjoyment.
If she likes word play and the print media then "The Truth" is a good one. It also has a vampire in it - a vampire 'on the wagon' with a suicidal fascination for flash photography.
If it's undead in general (especially werewolves) as well as Scottish history, then she would enjoy "Fifth Elephant". Both of these are also murder mysteries with the same detective involved in the cases. However, he is more incidental in the first of these two books.
For a Christmas theme, try "Hogfather". For something more Egyptian/Greek, try "Pyramids". If she loves music (from rock to blues to jazz to anything) then "Soul Music" is great. (The main character keeps getting asked if he's really Elvish. And wearing bard's robes, someone comments that he looks druish, too.)

And many more.

There's something for everyone.

My kids swear by these books. easy child 2/difficult child 2 especially, who claims to be able to talk to a person briefly, find out their tastes and then recommend a book from the series that they will enjoy.

Marg
 

susiestar

Roll With It
There are quite a few books that might work for her. the bookstores all seem to have developed Teen sections or Young Adult sections that are packed with all sorts of books.

There are many many new books and series out about teenage witches, vampires, werewolves, etc... as well as tons of other series. I see more of the "supernatural" books because that is what Jessie likes to read. I always try to stay on top of what she is reading.

Jess also likes anything by Nora Roberts, the Stephanie Plum series (a belly laugh in the grocery aisle book series), Linda Howard, Elizabeth Lowell, Kelly Armstrong and so many many more. Kelley Armstrong has written adult books (women of the Otherworld series and a book about a Hit Woman - all were enjoyable for me) as well as a teen series that I have not read.

Mary Janice Davidson has some shorter books with that supernatural element. I love the books about Betsy, Queen of the Vampires. She also has some about werewolves, mermaids, and other things. These are ALL a LOT of fun. They are shorter than many books in these areas.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Christopher Paolini's Eragon series

Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeuus Trilogy (very amusing)

Conelia Funke...She has the Inkworld trilogy, plus several others.
 
M

ML

Guest
She might try Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The audience is young boys but it was written for adult men and I hear that a lot of girls enjoy it too.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
Susiestar mentioned MaryJanice Davidson...her books are good and she has a few different series out. MJ herself says that no book she writes will be really long because she just can't force a long book out of herself. Won't happen. But....she and her husband Anthony Alongi also co-author a YA series. The main character is Jennifer Scales and starts when she is about 14 or 15 and finds out she is half weredragon. Sounds odd but it's a really good series. Go to MaryJaniceDavidson.net and you can find a link to those books.

Also, I haven't read them but I've heard the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead is good.

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson is a good one also.


NON YA

Charlaine Harris has a vampire series out (Sookie Stackhouse books) that is the basis for an HBO show. The show is way more graphic on violence and sex than the books so if she's seen it, don't let that put her off. The books are good and she also has a couple of non-paranormal series out.


Dana Stabenow has a couple of series out but Nichole may like the Kate Shugak books. Kate is a very independent, stand up for herself type of gal.

JD Robb's books are good and also have a no nonsense main female character. There IS sex in these but it's not romance as Eve, the main character, is appalled and grossed out by mushy kind of stuff.


As with any series, please read these in order. Some of them you don't HAVE to...but if you do, the continuation makes much more sense.

If she likes any of these and wants more ideas....let me know. I have a much bigger list I could give! LOL
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
Oooh! THose are good too! Although, the last one I read almost seemed like it was written by another person.

That does remind me though. There is a series out that features some talking cats. The author is (and I'm not sure if I'm spelling this right) is Shirley Rousseau Murphy. I think they are listed as Joe Grey mysteries. They sound cutsie but they really are interesting. There is a whole legend in the books behind why these cats talk. (And it's not all cats, just a select few)
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I had heard rumors about a tv show based on the Sookie Stackhouse series written by Charlaine Harris. She also has a series about a woman who solves mysteries and another series I can't remember. They are each shorter than many of the books that are out now.

The Maximum Ride books are wonderful. Jessie likes them enough she buys them with her own $$$ - which is saying a LOT.

I have been getting a lot of ebooks lately. Mobipocket can be downloaded onto your computer or even a blackberry. It lets you buy the books and download them into the computer (or phone or whatever). There are a LOT of titles available. Just about any you could think up are available.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
I had heard rumors about a tv show based on the Sookie Stackhouse series written by Charlaine Harris. She also has a series about a woman who solves mysteries and another series I can't remember. They are each shorter than many of the books that are out now.

The Maximum Ride books are wonderful. Jessie likes them enough she buys them with her own $$$ - which is saying a LOT.

The tv show based on the Sookie books is called True Blood and it's on HBO on Sunday nights. If you've read the books and like them....two things to remember. The series is BASED on the books. It does not follow them exactly. (Non spoiler example...Tara in the books doesn't show up till book 2 or 3 and is the owner of a clothing store. Tara in the show was there from the first episode and is nothing like the one in the books.) Season 2 just started and is somewhat following book two. The other thing to remember....it's HBO. Where the books hint at or have a limited and fairly tame look at a sex scene....HBO does not. Anna Panquin (sp?) plays Sookie on the show and I do believe I've seen pretty much all there is to see of little Anna. As for Charlaine's other series....there are 3 off the top of my head. One is an older one and features a librarian by the name of Aurora Teagarden. Those are kind of the "cozy" mysteries. The second features Lily Bard, a house cleaner/handyman type of person who is kind of a PI. All of the titles of that series have Shakespere in the name. Her more recent series is about a young woman who, after being struck by lightening, can sense dead bodies and know what happened to them. One of the books is called An Ice Cold Grave....I think.

As for the Maximum Ride books....I've heard that there may be a movie based on all or one of the books. If that's true, I hope they do it well. Those could be really cool if they were done right.
 

SRL

Active Member
If she likes fantasy...

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Gregor the Overlander (series)

Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (my son and I both just read it--neither of us could put it down)

Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula LeGuin

My oldest just brought me up The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp and said I just HAVE to read it.

I read Ella Enchanted for the summer reading program (yes, we have a program at the library where adults get to read kids books!). It was fast, easy read--just perfect when you want to read something light.
 

DazedandConfused

Well-Known Member
I love YA novels.

Here's some suggestions.

GONE by Michael Grant

Terrific book-but dark. Long-about 550 pages. Imagine one day that everyone over the age of 15 suddenly disappears. What would happen? Fast paced and hard to put down.

Hunger: by Michael Grant.

The sequel to Gone. I just finished it. Also long-nearly 600 pages, but like Gone, a page turner and very hard to put down. The next one is suppose to be called LIES. Can't wait to get my paws on it.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian: By Sherman Alexie

Everyone should read this book! It won the National Book award in 2008. Poignant, shocking, and hysterical. If you have a heart, you will be touched by this book.

Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin.

Life with difficult child Mom from point of view of the her teenage son.

Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

Dating the most popular boy in school isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern

Depressed teen put in psychiatric hospital by parents. Being trapped in a loony bin isn't supposed to be about making friends, losing weight, and having a crush, is it?

Happy Reading!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Marked by easy child & Kristen Cast - The Cat Who... are great - and Chicken Soup for... whoever... is good too as it's short anecdotal stuff.

Also I like Diana Gabaldon, but they're pretty long.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
Those who like animals and The Cat Who books would probably also like the books by Rita Mae Brown with the talking cats and dog. Really cute mysteries.
Also, the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters are good; not belly laughs like Janet Evanovich but definitely a few good giggles.
And how about the Douglas Adams books (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and others)? Short and hilarious!
I've also been reading a lot of Diane Mott Davidson - she solves mysteries and has recipes too. And Joanne Fluke's books are similar.
Also, she might like the Sue Grafton mysteries.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Muttmeister - aside from the Amelia Peabody, you're describing my own must-read list...

If you like Diane Mott Davidson, also there is Nevada Barr. She's very, very good with her character Anna Pigeon. These are set in national parks, so they're neat that way too.
 
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