Get Yer YA Recommendations Here!

wampuscat

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Going Too Far and Forget You by Jennifer Echols
Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle
Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill
Preloved by Shirley Marr
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Thanks!
 

ThatKnight64

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Some info about what I like...
I like both male & female leads. Heroes who have to train/practice to become better and save the day. If they start out already 'trained' that is okay too. Happy endings, a little romance and good world building. I like most fantasy, scifi & action adventure.


Looking for recommendations for:
* YA Second World Fantasy - Sword & Sorcery - Medieval (Examples: Anything by Tamora Pierce/Eragon)

*YA Fantasy Adventure/Realistic Fiction (Examples: Ranger's Apprentice/Brotherband Chronicles)

* YA Contemporary Fantasy - Action/Adventure/Humor (Examples: Percy Jackson, Young Wizard Series, Harry Potter, etc)

Thanks for any & all recommendations.
 

Yeasayer

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I thought it would be easier to find books that fit this trope, but so far I'm having trouble. Basically, I'm looking for contemporary YA that deals with an overachieving character (read: nerd, dork, geek) who transforms and develops a social life, makes friends, finds love, etc. It can be serious in tone or comedic. Something like Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride or Julie Halpern's Into the Wild Nerd Yonder.

Thanks :]
 

Windcutter

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Some info about what I like...
I like both male & female leads. Heroes who have to train/practice to become better and save the day. If they start out already 'trained' that is okay too. Happy endings, a little romance and good world building. I like most fantasy, scifi & action adventure.


Looking for recommendations for:
* YA Second World Fantasy - Sword & Sorcery - Medieval (Examples: Anything by Tamora Pierce/Eragon)
THRONE OF GLASS
GRACELING
Not precisely medieval, but maybe close enough in the sense of having a classic fantasy setting with kingdoms and magic. Heroines already trained and competent. Lots of adventures.
 

Windcutter

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I realized I want some recs myself.
I want YA Fantasy which is neither steampunk nor classic/medieval. By classic, I don't mean it's completely traditional in all ways, but that it has a somewhat traditional setting: horses, kings, magic, castles, etc.
Steampunk fantasy is also pretty recognizable with its turn-of-the-century styles and alternative England/Wild West locations and steamstuff.

SHADOW AND BONE is one of the examples of what I want. Its setting is roughly equal to early 19th century, there are mechanisms, including magic-based ones. MAGIC UNDER GLASS is gaslight fantasy at the core, but not as typically set, since it marries Victorian Gothic tropes and secondary world fairy kingdoms.
WHEN THE SEA IS RISING RED also feels somewhat Victorian, but I can't call it either historical fantasy or steampunk fantasy.
 

wampuscat

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Nope. I'm up to reading anything. I just need to get a feel of more male MCs. Dystopian, fantasy, contempt, LGBT, I like them all. :)

And thank you for the recs so far guys! Keep em coming c:

Anna Dressed in Blood if you want mild horror/ghost story. I Hunt Killers is boy POV. Also Something like Normal for contemp. Break and Gone, Gone, Gone by Hanna Moskowitz, who is an AWer. Several of the "dystopians" or sci fi have alternating POVs (Legend, The Matched series, Across the Universe, Glow).

There's a GoodReads list of Boy POV books released in 2012, but I haven't read many of them. http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17855.YA_Male_POV_2012

Hope you find what you're looking for!
 

ThatKnight64

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THRONE OF GLASS
GRACELING
Not precisely medieval, but maybe close enough in the sense of having a classic fantasy setting with kingdoms and magic. Heroines already trained and competent. Lots of adventures.

I realized I want some recs myself.
I want YA Fantasy which is neither steampunk nor classic/medieval. By classic, I don't mean it's completely traditional in all ways, but that it has a somewhat traditional setting: horses, kings, magic, castles, etc.
Steampunk fantasy is also pretty recognizable with its turn-of-the-century styles and alternative England/Wild West locations and steamstuff.

SHADOW AND BONE is one of the examples of what I want. Its setting is roughly equal to early 19th century, there are mechanisms, including magic-based ones. MAGIC UNDER GLASS is gaslight fantasy at the core, but not as typically set, since it marries Victorian Gothic tropes and secondary world fairy kingdoms.
WHEN THE SEA IS RISING RED also feels somewhat Victorian, but I can't call it either historical fantasy or steampunk fantasy.

Thanks for the suggestions! Medieval was just the best way I could describe 'Horses, Knights, Castles, etc.' I'm adding your examples in your second post as suggestions too, since they sound interesting. I haven't really read any 'steam punk' but I think it sounds interesting.
 
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missesdash

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I'd like some recs for some really good paranormals? Old is fine, just something that isn't too tropey or another The Book That Shall Not Be Named clone. I like dark, romance is totally fine

ETA: and horror! Scarier the better.
 

SomethingOrOther

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I'd like some recs for some really good paranormals? Old is fine, just something that isn't too tropey or another The Book That Shall Not Be Named clone. I like dark, romance is totally fine

ETA: and horror! Scarier the better.

Lately I've been studying this obscure, well-written paranormal that I don't feel gets the recognition it deserves.

I'm looking for some good SF and Fantasy in 1st person, either past or present. Suggestions?

(I'm barely an adult, so I couldn't resist.)

— a narrator who's capable of wit and humor
— dark and weird and character-driven
— no or very few scenes set in high schools, because I just read a few novels with lots of them
— the presence of commentary; prose that aspires to be 100% Show isn't my thing; of all authors, YA or otherwise, John Green's dramatization-commentary ratio is my favorite

Anyone? :(

As an aside, I suspect I'm bad at asking for the sort of recommendations people actually give.
 

KateSmash

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I'd like some recs for some really good paranormals? Old is fine, just something that isn't too tropey or another The Book That Shall Not Be Named clone. I like dark, romance is totally fine

ETA: and horror! Scarier the better.

Not personal recs (as I can't really get into paranormals that aren't funny for some reason) but people seem to really dig Wicked Lovely, Beautiful Creatures, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

I loved, loved, loved Gretchen McNeil's Possess. Not really all that dark, but it does break some troublesome paranormal tropes and has me terrified of antique dolls now.

I'm looking for some good SF and Fantasy in 1st person, either past or present. Suggestions?

That's pretty broad. Like, super duper broad. Anyway.

Girl of Fire and Thorns and Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
False Memory by Dan Krokos
Pretty much any dystopian or post-apocalyptic written in the last 3 years.

— a narrator who's capable of wit and humor
— dark and weird and character-driven
— no or very few scenes set in high schools, because I just read a few novels with lots of them
— the presence of commentary; prose that aspires to be 100% Show isn't my thing; of all authors, YA or otherwise, John Green's dramatization-commentary ratio is my favorite

Sorry, way too specific now.
 

SomethingOrOther

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Thanks for the first two (three, actually). With the last, I still have my doubts that such a huge % of a certain category of books are all good, but I've been surprised before. :)

How about:

I'm looking for some good SF and Fantasy in 1st person, either past or present, that is "— dark and weird and character-driven," with "— a narrator who's capable of wit and humor."​

That has to be somewhere between super-duper broad and way too specific now—or I'll eat my hat.
 
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eparadysz

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I'd like some recs for some really good paranormals? Old is fine, just something that isn't too tropey or another The Book That Shall Not Be Named clone. I like dark, romance is totally fine

ETA: and horror! Scarier the better.

Have you read The Replacement (Brenna Yovanoff)?
 

Windcutter

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I'd like some recs for some really good paranormals? Old is fine, just something that isn't too tropey or another The Book That Shall Not Be Named clone. I like dark, romance is totally fine

ETA: and horror! Scarier the better.
Anna Dressed in Blood - ghosts and a bit of gore. Really nice. Part of a series, though it has an ending that feels like one.
Also seconding Possess. Demons, a bit of mystery.
 

breaking_burgundy

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Looking for books where the protagonist has immigrant parent(s) (or where the protagonist moved to a new country at a very young age.)
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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Also THE HEALING WARS by Janice Hardy. The subject matter is a bit grim, but if she read Hunger Games, it's no problem.

I also have a request. I want YA thrillers but more of the suspense variety. I can't think of examples beyond Cyia's PREMEDITATED or maybe I HUNT KILLERS. No procedurals, no spy comedies, no Nancy Drew. HEIST SOCIETY, perhaps, though it's more lighthearted. CRUSHER is too much of a crime novel.

I dunno if it's too late to add this as a rec, but Holly Black's White Cat is quite suspenseful--male MC as well. Sort of modern noir with an alternate universe where magic is commonplace and linked with crime and power.

@missesdash: Rick Yancey's The Monstrumologist is literally the scariest YA I've ever (attempted) to read. Didn't finish it, not because it was "bad"--quite the opposite--but because it freaked me out that much. Another male MC, as it happens.
 

Fuchsia Groan

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Also looking for horror. I've read Anna; will check out Possess and The Monstrumologist.

More specifically, though, I'm interested in ghost and haunted house stories. I tried Am3er House, but it was a little stilted for me; I'm looking for stuff with a strong contemporary voice that's really scary.
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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The most recent YA haunted house story I read was House of Dark Shadows (first in The Dreamhouse Kings series) by Robert Liparulo. More suspenseful than scary, and sort of a portal-fantasy posing as a haunted house story. (Hidden passageways lead to alternate dimensions, bad things come in through them and take characters away.) Cliffhanger ending though, so be ready for that.

Also there's The Turning by Francine (Frances?) Prose, although you should know it's basically a retread of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw.
 

JustSarah

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Are there any good books about illegal immigration? I remember finding one, but I need to re look it up.
 

Jessica_312

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General recommendation for YA contemporary - just finished THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Seriously. If you haven't yet, Go. Read it. Now. Bring tissues.
 

Jessica_312

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I'd like some recs for some really good paranormals? Old is fine, just something that isn't too tropey or another The Book That Shall Not Be Named clone. I like dark, romance is totally fine

ETA: and horror! Scarier the better.

Do you mind vampire novels? Like, true, creepy, gross, scary vampire novels minus vampire love interests? If so, try The Hunt by Andrew Fukada. Totally different take on the genre.
 

missesdash

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Thanks for the recs! Going to check out Possess, Anna Dressed and Blood and perhaps White Cat.

Downloaded a sample of The replacement, so maybe that too.
 

nightowling

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Thanks for the recs! Going to check out Possess, Anna Dressed and Blood and perhaps White Cat.

Downloaded a sample of The replacement, so maybe that too.

White Cat is wonderful. I also liked Anna Dressed in Blood.

I also recommend The Diviners, I loved it. It has paranormal elements and the encounters with the killer are scary.