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Lycoplax

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Literary YA sounds almost like an oxymoron to me, because, IMO, literary fiction seems like it would bore the YA demographic. Granted, I really don't care much for literary fiction as a genre, personally. So there is a bias there. But, Old Hack has cited examples, so there must be a market for it.
 

willietheshakes

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I guess this butts up against a few questions, by way of definitions: what makes YA YA? Is it approach? Subject matter? Audience (actual audience, or intended audience)? Etc, etc. Then, what makes "literary" "literary"?

Cue rabbit-hole.

Take Salinger, though. Catcher is probably one of THE classic YA novels. Except... it's not. It wasn't written for a YA audience, the category didn't exist at the time of the writing, etc. So it's an adult novel adopted by younger readers...
 

mccardey

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Literary YA sounds almost like an oxymoron to me, because, IMO, literary fiction seems like it would bore the YA demographic..

God, that's depressing. Thank heavens it's not true. ;)
 

Smish

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Literary YA sounds almost like an oxymoron to me, because, IMO, literary fiction seems like it would bore the YA demographic.

Right. Because all teens are the same. You must not remember high school. :rolleyes:

There are several threads about literary YA in the YA room. I'd suggest doing a search there.

The thing about literary YA is that it's not a designated category, so it's incredibly subective. Though everyone will have different opinons, there is a lot of literary YA out there.

Some books I'd consider literary YA, off the top of my head: The Book Thief and I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak; Some Girls Are, by Courtney Summers; Looking for Alaska, by John Green; Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi; Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson; Feed, by M.T. Anderson; The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson; Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr; Raw Blue, by Kristy Eagar; Fat Kid Rules the World, by KL Going.
 

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I thought Hannah Moskowitz's Invincible Summer could be described as literary YA. Having said that, I don't read an awful lot of YA or literary fiction.
 

Smish

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I thought Hannah Moskowitz's Invincible Summer could be described as literary YA. Having said that, I don't read an awful lot of YA or literary fiction.

Sure, Hannah's book could be considered literary YA. And it's so good I read it twice. :)
 

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As a teacher I'm realized that most literary fiction, even if it's historically taught to middle or high schoolers, does not hold their interest. Many of the kids I get in the classroom have never enjoyed a book before they come to me, and if it takes Hunger Games rather than Catcher in the Rye to awaken a love for reading, I'll do it. There's nothing like force-feeding the classics to make kids fear and despise reading.


Students who are more advanced can handle and find value in literary-type novels, but my struggling readers often shut down and get frustrated with vocabulary and concepts that are beyond their level of comprehension. I love Shakespeare, but try teaching Romeo and Juliet to the tenth grader with a 2nd grade reading level I had last year.
 

mccardey

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As a teacher I'm realized that most literary fiction, even if it's historically taught to middle or high schoolers, does not hold their interest. Many of the kids I get in the classroom have never enjoyed a book before they come to me, and if it takes Hunger Games rather than Catcher in the Rye to awaken a love for reading, I'll do it. There's nothing like force-feeding the classics to make kids fear and despise reading.


Students who are more advanced can handle and find value in literary-type novels, but my struggling readers often shut down and get frustrated with vocabulary and concepts that are beyond their level of comprehension. I love Shakespeare, but try teaching Romeo and Juliet to the tenth grader with a 2nd grade reading level I had last year.

Yes, but that's not quite the same thing as
literary fiction seems like it would bore the YA demographic.
For starters, we can assume that the YA demographic consists of young adults who enjoy reading. And believe me, there are plenty of that group who like reading literary.
 

Sage

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Moving to YA. Then the recommendations thread.

And then I will suggest On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
 

Lycoplax

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Right. Because all teens are the same. You must not remember high school. :rolleyes:

I was homeschooled, so no, I don't remember high school in the typical sense. :) But I did say I was biased against literary fiction. So I thought that literary YA must be boring. Old Hack provided evidence of otherwise. I can be wrong. I can't learn new things if I think I'm always right. I might even give the suggestions a try. :)

I had a college professor who championed what must have been the worst in literary fiction, while stating her narrow-minded opinion as hard facts in writing. All I took from her class was that the reading was as boring as she was incompetent. (She wrote poetry. That somehow qualified her to teach a Fiction course. I'm still scratching my head on that one.) To this day, literary fiction reminds me of her, which I know isn't very fair to the literary fiction community. That experience chafed me in a seriously bad way, and I'm still getting over it.
 

missesdash

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I don't get this idea that adults are all sitting around reading literary classics when the NYT best sellers list indicates the exact opposite.
 

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More YA thrillers, please. Mara Dyer style--that is to say, not realistic, crime-based, etc--but mindbending and mysterious, with a dash of paranormal or SF.
 

Yeasayer

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Can anyone think of contemporary YA books with dual POV where the two narrators are love interests for each other?

So far I know of:

First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky
The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Cohn/Levithan
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Cohn/Levithan
 

Cai

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Perfect Chemistry, Rules of Attraction and Chain Reaction (all by Simone Elkeles) have dual POVs.
 

breaking_burgundy

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Can anyone think of contemporary YA books with dual POV where the two narrators are love interests for each other?

I'm reading one right now: THE BOY RECESSION, by Flynn Meaney. It comes out August 7th, I think.

Stuff I like: It's a cute, sweet romance, and the dialogue is occasionally hilarious.

Stuff I don't like: The concept is kind of silly, and it relies too much on stereotypes. Also, it sometimes feels like the author's trying too hard to sound like a teenager, and it lacks subtlety.
 

Becca C.

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Can anyone think of contemporary YA books with dual POV where the two narrators are love interests for each other?

So far I know of:

First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky
The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Cohn/Levithan
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Cohn/Levithan

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. It's awesome.
 

bethany

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Can anyone think of contemporary YA books with dual POV where the two narrators are love interests for each other?

So far I know of:

First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky
The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Cohn/Levithan
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Cohn/Levithan

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry--comes out in two weeks?
 

Aslera

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I'm looking for other YA fantasy like what Tamora Pierce wrote or possibly NA fantasy along the same veins? Suggestions?
 

Windcutter

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I'm looking for other YA fantasy like what Tamora Pierce wrote or possibly NA fantasy along the same veins? Suggestions?
GRACELING maybe? It struck me as having the same girl-power thing going.
* * *
I have a new request. :) I would like to read some books that are
1) recent (2011 and up)
2) very hyped
I.e. books that had big deals, famous since the moment of contract, lots of buzz.
Like LEGEND, THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER, or SHADOW AND BONE.
 

Aslera

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GRACELING maybe? It struck me as having the same girl-power thing going.
* * *
I have a new request. :) I would like to read some books that are
1) recent (2011 and up)
2) very hyped
I.e. books that had big deals, famous since the moment of contract, lots of buzz.
Like LEGEND, THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER, or SHADOW AND BONE.

I read Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue :) Loved the first two. Bitterblue was weak, to me.

My rec to you: Have you read Divergent/Insurgent by Veronica Roth?

I'm not sure on the hype but Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi is in the same vein.
 

Becca C.

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GRACELING maybe? It struck me as having the same girl-power thing going.
* * *
I have a new request. :) I would like to read some books that are
1) recent (2011 and up)
2) very hyped
I.e. books that had big deals, famous since the moment of contract, lots of buzz.
Like LEGEND, THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER, or SHADOW AND BONE.

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi and THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass. And, yes, DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.
 

Windcutter

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I read Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue :) Loved the first two. Bitterblue was weak, to me.

My rec to you: Have you read Divergent/Insurgent by Veronica Roth?

I'm not sure on the hype but Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi is in the same vein.
And I remembered another rec for you :) HUNTRESS by Malinda Lo.

Yes, I have, but thanks.

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi and THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass. And, yes, DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.
Thanks! I'm reading SHATTER ME bit by bit. I wonder why it got the hype. I don't mean to say it's not good enough, but it doesn't strike me as a mainstream, summer blockbuster type of book at all. It seems more... literary and experimental.
 

Periwinkle

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I have a new request. :) I would like to read some books that are
1) recent (2011 and up)
2) very hyped
I.e. books that had big deals, famous since the moment of contract, lots of buzz.
Like LEGEND, THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER, or SHADOW AND BONE.

Have you read CINDER by Marissa Meyer?