Talk about the kidlit you're reading!

Finished The Luck Uglies. It was okay.

I've been reading the Last Apprentice series. I enjoy certain elements of the books, but there's something about them that falls just short. And the main character is always making the worst decisions. I know conflict is needed to propel the story, but it's a bit frustrating when it happens so frequently because of the main character making a poor decision.

Finished The Candy Mkers which was all right. Sort of wish it had been more about the contest and less about the interpersonal/fated relationships of the characters. It now needs to go back to the library!

I have a Moomin Troll book on my shelf I've been sitting on for a while and might read that next.

Been wanting to get some fun MG sci-fi novels. Any suggestions? All I've read before is Ender's Game.

I'm reading Moon Over Manifest.

playground said:

Been wanting to get some fun MG sci-fi novels. Any suggestions? All I've read before is Ender's Game.

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I really enjoyed The Search for WondLa series by Tony DiTerlizzi. Great story and illustrations. And a completed trilogy so no waiting for next books!

I also found Kenneth Oppel's Airborn series fun, but it's a little more steampunk at first than scifi.

If you find any other good ones, please share here as I'm always on the lookout for good MG fantasy and scifi too.

Finished Dr. Critchelore's Minion School by one of the writers here (I forget the username unfortunately, my apologies!). It was pretty fun. I am interested in the sequel when it gets released.

Reading the Land of Stories book written by that actor from Glee. Not really enjoying it but almost done with it. Don't plan on reading the second or third book unless there is a pretty big jump in quality/story.

playground said:

Been wanting to get some fun MG sci-fi novels. Any suggestions? All I've read before is Ender's Game.

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Ditto WondLa-- it's a great Sci-Fi trilogy.

Also: The City of Ember.

Just finished Shadow Scale, the sequel to Seraphina. I enjoyed parts of it, but I was really disappointed with a lot of elements and the ending. Pacing was a bit off, characters played against type, and there were inconsistencies.

My son and I are just finishing up Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It's a beautifully told story, and has prompted some good conversations about courage, friendship, and why some people react so poorly when confronted with difference.

Just finished 'Coraline' by Gaimen. Pretty good, but I think I like the movie better. The Other Mother in the film was more seductive. But the book was right to the point about the danger...

I love the Warriors saga, because, cats. Also reminds me of the Animals of Farthing Wood. Just don't like the glorification of totalitarian political systems and blind religiousness.

I'm almost finished reading the "Clementine" series. Really loving it. She's a funny, rambunctious little girl. Reminds me of the "Ramona" books by Beverly Cleary. Very cute. Her family and teacher and principal were very supportive adult characters. Love that.

Just finished reading A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, a short work but full of startling images and emotionally dense. He's the same author of the Chaos Walking series, which I just could not get into. Currently reading Flush by Carl Hiassan, who is always fun to read.

I just finished Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

Sheesh. What a depressing story. I loved the writing, the multi-layered story structure, and Phobe's story, but I thought the main storyline was too sad/depressing for me. I cried a few times, especially near the end. It's still good, and I did like most of it. Just, not something to read if you'r prone to depression, moodiness, etc, lol.

I also finished Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan. That one was more upbeat, and I enjoyed it. The villain was a little two-dimensional, I feel, but I don't mind too much. I like some straightforward stories with clear baddies and goodies. The brother with disablities particularly is something I can relate to, since I have relatives who have various levels of disabilities and special needs.

Funaek said:

I really enjoyed The Search for WondLa series by Tony DiTerlizzi. Great story and illustrations. And a completed trilogy so no waiting for next books!

I also found Kenneth Oppel's Airborn series fun, but it's a little more steampunk at first than scifi.

X
If you find any other good ones, please share here as I'm always on the lookout for good MG fantasy and scifi too.

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I found The Search for WondLa at the library. At first I wasn't sure if it was my cup of tea, but it drew me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Right now I am reading Pathfinder by Angie Sage. I loved her Septimus Heap series and when I saw this new one, I had to grab it. It is kind of a crossover from the previous series. So far, so good!

So I love reading MG and YA books. I always have. But since finding this site, reading crits and even having just 3 lines of my own book evaluated, I notice things now that I never did before. I am currently reading a MG book and in it, I have found tons of "no-no's". This book is by a seasoned MG author who is very successful, Angie Sage. However, I notice a lot of filtering in her book as well as shifting in the POV. I believe she uses ON, but also delves into multiple characters heads at the same time. SO I was wondering if in different genres, it is easier/more accepted to use those things. Also I have found TONS of cliches in her book. It is interesting because she is successful and has a 7 book series prior to this book. Just curious. I love her books and I am not complaining, but I never noticed these things before now. It's like a veil has been lifted from my eyes and I see it from both a reader and a writer's standpoint.

jenndoss said:

So I love reading MG and YA books. I always have. But since finding this site, reading crits and even having just 3 lines of my own book evaluated, I notice things now that I never did before. I am currently reading a MG book and in it, I have found tons of "no-no's". This book is by a seasoned MG author who is very successful, Angie Sage. However, I notice a lot of filtering in her book as well as shifting in the POV. I believe she uses ON, but also delves into multiple characters heads at the same time. SO I was wondering if in different genres, it is easier/more accepted to use those things. Also I have found TONS of cliches in her book. It is interesting because she is successful and has a 7 book series prior to this book. Just curious. I love her books and I am not complaining, but I never noticed these things before now. It's like a veil has been lifted from my eyes and I see it from both a reader and a writer's standpoint.

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Are you reading the Septimus Heap series? I couldn't finish them. Then again, it's hard for me lately to get engrossed by a book. The last time that happened was... damn, I honestly can't remember. It's been so long.

Writing can really get in the way of enjoying books. You get hyper critical. Just last week I read Young Houdini - Magician's Fire by Simon Nicholson (bc I love magicians). While it kept me reading, and he's an exquisite writer, I kept picking at it.... What's Harry's motivation? I don't know enough about the person he's trying to save so why should I care that Harry's saving him? His friends aren't strong enough characters to add anything to the story. What are the stakes?... Stuff like that.

Writers are beaten over the head by agents and publishers (and even other writers) about the importance of motivation, emotion, stakes, avoiding cliches, etc. In the end it's marvelous because it makes your book stand out, but sometimes I feel like it's made us (okay, maybe just me??) a bit jaded about books. I find myself getting aggravated at best, putting the book down at worst.

I think I'm going to go back to reading outside my market. Maybe some adult, or go back to reading scifi and fantasy. Anybody have advice on getting over this sort of thing?

DanielaTorre said:

Are you reading the Septimus Heap series? I couldn't finish them. Then again, it's hard for me lately to get engrossed by a book. The last time that happened was... damn, I honestly can't remember. It's been so long.

Writing can really get in the way of enjoying books. You get hyper critical. Just last week I read Young Houdini - Magician's Fire by Simon Nicholson (bc I love magicians). While it kept me reading, and he's an exquisite writer, I kept picking at it.... What's Harry's motivation? I don't know enough about the person he's trying to save so why should I care that Harry's saving him? His friends aren't strong enough characters to add anything to the story. What are the stakes?... Stuff like that.

Writers are beaten over the head by agents and publishers (and even other writers) about the importance of motivation, emotion, stakes, avoiding cliches, etc. In the end it's marvelous because it makes your book stand out, but sometimes I feel like it's made us (okay, maybe just me??) a bit jaded about books. I find myself getting aggravated at best, putting the book down at worst.

I think I'm going to go back to reading outside my market. Maybe some adult, or go back to reading scifi and fantasy. Anybody have advice on getting over this sort of thing?

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I already read the Septimus Heap series. I enjoyed it, but at the time I was just reading, I wasn't focused on the writing. I have a pretty decent ability to immerse myself into a story and overlook inconsistencies and such. However, right now, I am in writing mode and was kind of using this book, as I read, to keep me on track with imagery, dialogue, character development, because Angie Sage is a published author and people are buying and reading her books. Now, though, I am seeing the problems with her story. I wonder if I go back and reread the first in the Septimus Heap series if I would see the same problems or if because she has some books under her belt, she can lapse into the less strict forms of writing that agents and publishers are looking for in a new author.

Hi everyone! I've been reading lots of YA lately for some reason (great stuff, though - The Book Thief, Jandy Nelson, The Giver), but today played hooky from work and went to a real live bookstore. I picked up Cynthia Voight 's Mister Max, and Eddie Red Undercover for my daughter who loves mysteries. I also got some poetry books, including Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, which looks like it'll be really fun to read aloud.

I am currently on book #4 in The Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann. It is an excellent series.

I just finished reading Kwame Alexander's THE CROSSOVER, which recently won the Newbery Medal and it didn't disappoint. Very deserving. The voice was spot on and man did it make me laugh - and cry. I don't read a lot of verse novels, mostly because changes in form tend to distract me. But the use of space and font size really lent to the authenticity of voice. Every specific change had a purpose. I loved that the story explored different kinds of familial relationships: siblings, son + mother, son + father.

Definitely worth a read and because of its form, you'll get through it quick.

Just started The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove! I know a lot of people felt iffy about The Glass Sentence, which was the previous book in the trilogy, because of its questionable "upper MG" designation--but I personally loved it, and I'm excited for this one!

Just finished reading The Imaginary by A.F Harrold, which I thought was a nice take on the whole imaginary friend idea. Parts of the story, and a few of the illustrations, were quite frightening. I don't object to that necessarily, but some children might find it too overwhelming, while others will love the scare factor. What I really appreciated was the characterization of the kids, upper elementary age. They acted and spoke like kids that age would speak. Imagine that! I cannot stand kids books in which the characters are a collection of cliches that seem to speak only in lame wisecracks. Sure, there are those have made very successful careers spewing out such books, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

playground said:

Finished Dr. Critchelore's Minion School by one of the writers here (I forget the username unfortunately, my apologies!). It was pretty fun. I am interested in the sequel when it gets released.

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SheilaJG! She's awesome.