YA Fiction Enthusiasts Unite!

[hpsecrets99]

Hi all!

So I am fairly new to this website (just registered today, in fact!) but I am really looking forward to having some great conversations about books (my favorite subject) with you all. I noticed that there was no specific location within the forums for YA-related posts, so I thought I would start a thread for those with a YA interest to have a space to discuss some favorite books and series and share/request recommendations.

I'll start us off with some of my favorite YA books (which are, in my opinion, some of the all-time best) and also a request for recommendations!

On the favorite books side of things:

The Mortal Instruments series/The Infernal Devices Trilogy - Cassandra Clare
Divergent trilogy - Veronica Roth
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
The Paradise Diaries - Courtney Cole
The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Many many more that I am forgetting...

Now, on the recommendations side of things: I am a huge murder mystery fan, but so far I have been unable to find any murder mystery/thrillers that are also YA books. I realize that YA by definition focuses on teenage protagonists, and teenagers are generally not detectives, but murder mysteries also tend to be unnecessarily graphic or inappropriate, and I am looking for those that are not. I don't mind violence, but I still prefer "cleaner" books, which is why I gravitate to YA! So if anyone knows of anything that fits the murder mystery/thriller vein while still being YA appropriate, please share!

I should also note that I'm open to any recommendations at all, because I love reading and have a To-Read list a million miles long, so even if your favorites don't fit what I asked for above, please share anyway!

Happy Reading!

I have exactly the same problem! I love reading murder mysteries, but I rarely can find really good ones in the YA section. I know these are oldies, but have you read any Agatha Christie? She has an amazing talent for writing mysteries and I love all of her books, especially the Poirot ones. My all-time favorite of hers is Murder on The Orient Express. Also, The Diviners by Libba Bray, though that one has a bit of gore and it's a paranormal book.

[Gravy]

Hi all!

So I am fairly new to this website (just registered today, in fact!) but I am really looking forward to having some great conversations about books (my favorite subject) with you all. I noticed that there was no specific location within the forums for YA-related posts, so I thought I would start a thread for those with a YA interest to have a space to discuss some favorite books and series and share/request recommendations.

I'll start us off with some of my favorite YA books (which are, in my opinion, some of the all-time best) and also a request for recommendations!

On the favorite books side of things:

The Mortal Instruments series/The Infernal Devices Trilogy - Cassandra Clare
Divergent trilogy - Veronica Roth
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
The Paradise Diaries - Courtney Cole
The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Many many more that I am forgetting...

Now, on the recommendations side of things: I am a huge murder mystery fan, but so far I have been unable to find any murder mystery/thrillers that are also YA books. I realize that YA by definition focuses on teenage protagonists, and teenagers are generally not detectives, but murder mysteries also tend to be unnecessarily graphic or inappropriate, and I am looking for those that are not. I don't mind violence, but I still prefer "cleaner" books, which is why I gravitate to YA! So if anyone knows of anything that fits the murder mystery/thriller vein while still being YA appropriate, please share!

I should also note that I'm open to any recommendations at all, because I love reading and have a To-Read list a million miles long, so even if your favorites don't fit what I asked for above, please share anyway!

Happy Reading!

I have exactly the same problem! I love reading murder mysteries, but I rarely can find really good ones in the YA section. I know these are oldies, but have you read any Agatha Christie? She has an amazing talent for writing mysteries and I love all of her books, especially the Poirot ones. My all-time favorite of hers is Murder on The Orient Express. Also, The Diviners by Libba Bray, though that one has a bit of gore and it's a paranormal book.

Does it absolutely have to be "murder" mysteries?
Also, do you prefer character driven, or plot driven?
If you answer no to the former, and plot or doesn't matter to the latter, try Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam.
The characters were a bit one dimensional and it's not "great" but the premise was good and it has potential.

[ALynnPowers]

Does anyone else here in the YA world have a thing for stories about "demons"? I don't know what my deal is, but I seem to be really into them lately. Mostly they're books about girls fighting demons... I love them.

Have I mentioned this already here?

Does anyone have any suggestions for girl-fighting-demon books?

[Gravy]

Does anyone have any suggestions for girl-fighting-demon books?

Do you prefer ya, or does it not matter?
The only ya with demons I can think of that I've read is Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr. That's the main character though.

Also, has anyone out there read the Beautiful Dead series by Eden Maguire?

[ttaarraa]

Hi All
I am a middle school and high school teacher and really love reading YA novels both in and out of class. The Hunger Games series really got me hooked on YA again and the dystopian genre. Can't wait to get some great new books to read!!
Tara

[ALynnPowers]

Does anyone have any suggestions for girl-fighting-demon books?

Do you prefer ya, or does it not matter?
The only ya with demons I can think of that I've read is Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr. That's the main character though.

Also, has anyone out there read the Beautiful Dead series by Eden Maguire?

JUST NOW read this post! Thanks! More books to add to my list! But I do love me some girl fighting demon books!

[TLGabelman]

I'm just going to put this out there...I have read the first in the Fablehaven series and I am loving it as much as I did the Harry Potter series! I am currently searching for the rest of the series (I have a used book store that is only hope 3days a month and sells books for 1$ each). Anyone else make this literal comparison?

[sboykin]

In the mystery vein I don't know of any YA specific titles, but I do know of a rather "clean" one. The Hugo Marston series, but Mark Pryor... The Bookseller is the first of that series, and I believe he's on his fourth or fifth at the moment. They aren't graphic, and Mark has a knack for the genre.

-Scott

[jkclay1]

I love almost all the books you listed above! In fact I just got around to finished the prequel to the Immortal Series yesterday and I started the Immortal Instruments in high school! A lot of the YA fiction for me is well appropriate to read and I so enjoy the content! Thank you for starting this so I can read recommendations and talk to YA fiction lovers like me!

[dulciescott]

I love YA books too!

I love lots of the books on your lost, and have read almost all of them. Here are some that I recommend, that aren't on the list:
Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
Matched trilogy by Ally Condie
The perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Solitaire by Alice Oseman

And many others!

[ALynnPowers]

I just started reading a YA vampire book, which could go either way for me. It has mixed reviews, but so far I am loving it, which is way more than I expected.

[Gotta Book]

Hello, I am new here. I really relate to this YA thread so I thought I would put my first post here.

I would love any recommendations for YA books, especially dystopian. I do not really like the vampire or werewolf type books. Some of my favorite YA books have been:

Hunger Games Series (except for the 3rd book which pretty much ruined the first two for me)
Divergent Series
The Uglies/Pretties series
Matched Series
The Giver Series
And one I just finished, I just loved the Article 5 trilogy (Article 5, Breaking Point and Three).

I also just finished Wonder, which is definitely different from those above, but I loved it. Reminded me just a little bit of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime for some reason.

For those who like a good YA murder type mystery, Harlan Coben has a YA spin off of his Myron Bolitar books that feature Myron's teenage nephew Mickey. There are three in that series so far. (I also really like the adult Myron series). I think it is the last Myron book that introduces Mickey, so a person might want to read that one first, if I recall correctly. It's called Live Wire.

In my younger years I really liked 1984, Animal Farm, Ecotopia (excellent dystopian novel IMO). Though not YA, those books started my love for that genre. OMG I am showing my age here!

I do read a lot of adult fiction too, but lately I really prefer the YA books. They are so much more focused on the storyline than most adult fiction books.

I am glad I found this forum. I am running out of stuff to read and this seems a good place to find new ones!

[ALynnPowers]

Hello, I am new here. I really relate to this YA thread so I thought I would put my first post here.

I would love any recommendations for YA books, especially dystopian. I do not really like the vampire or werewolf type books. Some of my favorite YA books have been:

Hunger Games Series (except for the 3rd book which pretty much ruined the first two for me)
Divergent Series
The Uglies/Pretties series
Matched Series
The Giver Series
And one I just finished, I just loved the Article 5 trilogy (Article 5, Breaking Point and Three).

I also just finished Wonder, which is definitely different from those above, but I loved it. Reminded me just a little bit of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime for some reason.

For those who like a good YA murder type mystery, Harlan Coben has a YA spin off of his Myron Bolitar books that feature Myron's teenage nephew Mickey. There are three in that series so far. (I also really like the adult Myron series). I think it is the last Myron book that introduces Mickey, so a person might want to read that one first, if I recall correctly. It's called Live Wire.

In my younger years I really liked 1984, Animal Farm, Ecotopia (excellent dystopian novel IMO). Though not YA, those books started my love for that genre. OMG I am showing my age here!

I do read a lot of adult fiction too, but lately I really prefer the YA books. They are so much more focused on the storyline than most adult fiction books.

I am glad I found this forum. I am running out of stuff to read and this seems a good place to find new ones!

You will definitely find some recommendations here! My TBR list will never end at the rate I am going now!

[Gotta Book]

You will definitely find some recommendations here! My TBR list will never end at the rate I am going now!

You are certainly right about that! I have already made a huge list of new material, I am very happy about that!

[pdcyouthlibrary]

I love the Selection series by Kierra Cass, very excited about the Heir coming out soon as well! Great storyline along with fun characters!