Get Yer YA Recommendations Here!

[Karen McCoy]

I'm looking for books that take place in WWII that have a fantasy element to them. Preferably YA, but if you can think of anything, whether it's adult fiction or MG, please let me know. Thank you.

It's not technically YA, but I loved THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak. It's set during WWII and told in a very unique point-of-view.

Some of my other favorites:

FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green
STORM (The Elemental Series) by Brigid Kemmerer
BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver

 

[Prodigy]

I am looking for a YA book(Dystopian Preferred but I can do different types of genres if they have like powers and/or magic)

with a compelling Antagonist......who

1. Is extremely devious, dark and evil yet you can't help but still like him.

2. Is a bad guy yet you can sense that he wants to be more than just the evil guy and later becomes an anti-hero type.

A book with multiple povs would be great but I can do all sorts.

 

[MaryLennox]

It's not technically YA, but I loved THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak. It's set during WWII and told in a very unique point-of-view.

Some of my other favorites:

FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green
STORM (The Elemental Series) by Brigid Kemmerer
BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver

Thanks Karen, I did recently read The Book Thief. I really enjoyed it and was wondering if there were any other WWII/fantasy-ish books out there.

 

[MaryLennox]

Hello everyone!

I'm currently seeking a YA book recommendation. I've been staying away from the bookshelves while writing my own YA fantasy novel, but now that it's done, I want to reward myself with catching up on some new reads!

Preferences: YA light-medium fantasy. I don't care much for sci-fi.
Would prefer a female POV; romance in the book would also be preferred.
I just started Under the Never Sky and though I'm not too far in, I'm worried it's a bit sci-fi-y for my taste. I will still keep reading though! Any and all recommendations are welcome

Have you read any books by Kristin Cashore? They're fantasy and I really enjoy them. She writes about strong female characters set in a fantasy world and there's usually a bit of romance.

If you're looking for something a bit more urban fantasy I also really enjoyed Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series (there's currently two). It's sort of about ghost hunting in modern day London, England. I'm also currently reading a book called Persephone by Kaitlin Bevis which is urban fantasy but with Greek mythology.

There was Libba Bray's fantasy series from a few years ago, the Gemma Doyle trilogy. The first one is called A Great and Terrible Beauty.

I also like Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms books. They're good if you like fairy tale fantasy and they usually have romance in them and are light and fun. Not entirely classified as YA, but the ones I read had fairly young characters (like early twenties).

Hope that helps!

 

[Karen McCoy]

Thanks Karen, I did recently read The Book Thief. I really enjoyed it and was wondering if there were any other WWII/fantasy-ish books out there.

Ah, that makes sense. If it helps, here's a list of books from Goodreads.

The only ones that look WWII related are THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS and WAR HORSE, but I think the rest are similar in theme. If you haven't joined Goodreads yet, I highly recommend it.

 

[Ellaroni]

I am looking for a YA book(Dystopian Preferred but I can do different types of genres if they have like powers and/or magic)

with a compelling Antagonist......who

1. Is extremely devious, dark and evil yet you can't help but still like him.

2. Is a bad guy yet you can sense that he wants to be more than just the evil guy and later becomes an anti-hero type.

A book with multiple povs would be great but I can do all sorts.

Have you read Tahereh Mafi's SHATTER ME trilogy? It definitely meets most of your requirements.

 

[MaryLennox]

Ah, that makes sense. If it helps, here's a list of books from Goodreads.

The only ones that look WWII related are THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS and WAR HORSE, but I think the rest are similar in theme. If you haven't joined Goodreads yet, I highly recommend it.

Thanks again Karen. Those are two books I've been meaning to check out but haven't yet.

I do have Goodreads, I really like. I'll check out that list.

Thanks!

 

[AlexHale]

Have you read any books by Kristin Cashore? They're fantasy and I really enjoy them. She writes about strong female characters set in a fantasy world and there's usually a bit of romance.

If you're looking for something a bit more urban fantasy I also really enjoyed Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series (there's currently two). It's sort of about ghost hunting in modern day London, England. I'm also currently reading a book called Persephone by Kaitlin Bevis which is urban fantasy but with Greek mythology.

There was Libba Bray's fantasy series from a few years ago, the Gemma Doyle trilogy. The first one is called A Great and Terrible Beauty.

I also like Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms books. They're good if you like fairy tale fantasy and they usually have romance in them and are light and fun. Not entirely classified as YA, but the ones I read had fairly young characters (like early twenties).

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the recommendations, MaryLennox! I will definitely look into Kristin Cashore, she seems right up my alley. Persephone sounds awesome too, I love Greek mythology! And I actually have done a complete 180 with the series I was griping about in my earlier post, so I'm currently in the middle of reading that

 

[Prodigy]

STILL LOOKING FOR RECOMMENDS

(Yes, i read Shatter me...hated the overall story but i am so team warner!)

I am looking for a YA book(Dystopian Preferred but I can do different types of genres if they have like powers and/or magic)

with a compelling Antagonist......who

1. Is extremely devious, dark and evil yet you can't help but still like him.

2. Is a bad guy yet you can sense that he wants to be more than just the evil guy and later becomes an anti-hero type.

A book with multiple povs would be great but I can do all sorts.

 

[eparadysz]

STILL LOOKING FOR RECOMMENDS

(Yes, i read Shatter me...hated the overall story but i am so team warner!)

I am looking for a YA book(Dystopian Preferred but I can do different types of genres if they have like powers and/or magic)

with a compelling Antagonist......who

1. Is extremely devious, dark and evil yet you can't help but still like him.

2. Is a bad guy yet you can sense that he wants to be more than just the evil guy and later becomes an anti-hero type.

A book with multiple povs would be great but I can do all sorts.

Have you read VICIOUS? Not YA exactly, though the author also writes YA. The protag is essentially the "villain", and he's bad, but the "hero" is worse. Excellent book.

 

[KateSmash]

I don't know if any of y'all are audiobook fans, but I fell into some Audible credits and am wondering if anyone could recommend a good audiobook. No genre preferences so long as the reader(s)/performer(s) do more than just read in monotone. Though the material itself being a good book is also kinda necessary.

 

[Prodigy]

I don't know if any of y'all are audiobook fans, but I fell into some Audible credits and am wondering if anyone could recommend a good audiobook. No genre preferences so long as the reader(s)/performer(s) do more than just read in monotone. Though the material itself being a good book is also kinda necessary.

No I am not much into audiobooks.

But check out

1. The Raven Boys(A favorite...but it works better at least for me reading both it and the sequel back to back)

2. the torchkeeper by Steven Dos Santos(Highly recommended)

3. Paladin Prophecy

4. Poison Princess

 

[Sage]

I don't know if any of y'all are audiobook fans, but I fell into some Audible credits and am wondering if anyone could recommend a good audiobook. No genre preferences so long as the reader(s)/performer(s) do more than just read in monotone. Though the material itself being a good book is also kinda necessary.

I find some readers to be awful at different voices, particularly of the opposite sex. So I always start by recommending Full Cast Audiobooks.

Full Cast:
- The Books of Bayern (starting with The Goose Girl) and A Book of A Hundred Days by Shannon Hale. Also Princess Academy, which is MG
- Also MG: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. I imagine Ella Enchanted is also good, but I have that in physical book form and I think it's pretty short.

Single (or double) reader:
- Code Name Verity - I think you miss some visual stuff but the readers, particularly the first, are *excellent*
- Paranormalcy series - the reader is perfect for the MC, a little hard on male voices

 

[Hellblazer]

If you've read my intro post, you'll have noticed that I'm currently writing a novel involving the subject of Human Cloning. Aside from one series that vaguely touches on the subject (James Patterson's Maximum Ride novels I believe one of the characters is a clone), I'm not really sure on how many books there are in the genre that deal with it as a subject.

So any recs would be great.

 

[Sage]

I'm not sure it's cloning exactly, but THE LOST GIRL by Sangu Mandanna is about a girl who is a copy and is meant to take over the original's life when she dies. I adored this book.

 

[Becca C.]

I don't know if any of y'all are audiobook fans, but I fell into some Audible credits and am wondering if anyone could recommend a good audiobook. No genre preferences so long as the reader(s)/performer(s) do more than just read in monotone. Though the material itself being a good book is also kinda necessary.

Hopefully not too late, KateSmash, but I'm listening to THE DISASTER ARTIST by Greg Sestero now, read by the author. I read it in print too, and it's a great story. It's about the making of the greatest bad movie of all time, The Room. Greg's voice is awesome, since it's his own memoir, and you can just hear him smiling at the funny parts. His impression of the director/madman behind The Room, Tommy Wiseau, is just impeccable. Really, really recommend it.

 

[casualrungal]

Hey guys... I went to the YA section of the library today and felt completely overwhelmed. I haven't read much YA recently or kept up with the most recent series, so there were all these new titles and I didn't know where to start/which ones stand out from the pack.

I'm looking for a new-ish YA fantasy series. Preferably light on the romance, high on the character development. The last couple YA books I read seemed like fairly generic riffs on the dystopia-lite trend (Lauren Destefano's Perfect Ruin, Kiera Cass's The Selection, and Marissa Meyer's Cinder come to mind). I'd like something a bit more substantial, with more of an emotional punch.

Ugh sorry that was really vague. But if anything came to mind for you, please let me know! Thanks

 

[Sage]

This one's a little older, and it certainly has romance, but very well-done romance, and lots of character development. Have you checked out The Girl of Fire and Thorns series?

I'm intrigued to see what recs you get in the way of fantasy with light romance.

Oh, I was assuming high fantasy, but were you interested in contemp fantasy too?

 

[Becca C.]

Hey guys... I went to the YA section of the library today and felt completely overwhelmed. I haven't read much YA recently or kept up with the most recent series, so there were all these new titles and I didn't know where to start/which ones stand out from the pack.

I'm looking for a new-ish YA fantasy series. Preferably light on the romance, high on the character development. The last couple YA books I read seemed like fairly generic riffs on the dystopia-lite trend (Lauren Destefano's Perfect Ruin, Kiera Cass's The Selection, and Marissa Meyer's Cinder come to mind). I'd like something a bit more substantial, with more of an emotional punch.

Ugh sorry that was really vague. But if anything came to mind for you, please let me know! Thanks

I just bought THE KINGDOM OF LITTLE WOUNDS by Susann Cokal. It won a Printz Honor this year and it looks great. I've heard it's very gritty and dark, which is right up my alley. I haven't read it yet, though. It's a very beautiful hardcover!

 

[casualrungal]

Thank you, Sage and Becca! Kingdom of Little Wounds sounds awesome, I will need to check if my library is carrying it.

Sage - I didn't have high fantasy in mind, but I'm not quite sure what I *did* have in mind. I'm working on a story set in a secondary world, but I still think it's more realistic fantasy or perhaps futuristic fantasy? I mean, not faux-medieval at all! There are cars and guns and other modern amenities. It's this weird grey area that I feel unsure about, so I was hoping to read more widely in the YA fantasy genre to see whether mine sort of fits or not.

Also, I did try reading Girl of Fire and Thorns awhile back. But I could not get over the strangeness of the crystal in her belly button. I mean, what was that all about?

 

[LLyan3]

Be the Death of Me by Rebecca Harris. Funny, and makes you think. New, but totally worth the read.

“It's funny. Looking back, none of it seems to matter now, those moments of yearning, craving to belong with people I thought mattered. They're nothing more than fragments of glass, pieces of a broken mirror you can't put back together and wouldn't want to even if you could.”

 

[ULTRAGOTHA]

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix.

The Darkangel series by Meredith Ann Pierce.

Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett.

Anything by Patricia McKilip or Diana Wynne Jones.

Not all of these are new, but all are very good.

 

[volxfox]

I am currently reading WHY WE BROKE UP, and I'll be done with it within the next few days, so I'll need a new book soon.

Recently, I'm in the mood for a gossipy, secrets-y, juicy novel or series with at least some depth. Something like my beloved BURN FOR BURN series.
Failing that, I'm also in the mood for a summer friendship or romance story, also with some depth, like my other beloved THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY trilogy, or SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS.

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[Becca C.]

For the gossipy, secrets-y book, I'd recommend The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen. So much fun to read.

For the summery friendship/romance book, I'd recommend OPEN ROAD SUMMER by Emery Lord, or anything by Sarah Dessen.

 

[Windcutter]

I would like to find some contemporary titles that read like the Mara Dyer series without the paranormal element. As in, a girl who moves to a new place, an eccentric rich boy, and a lot of mysterious stuff that they have to investigate while falling for each other.