Get Yer YA Recommendations Here!

Nicole River said:

Can anyone think of books with autistic characters? Main, secondary, doesn't matter as long as they're more or less prominent (at least a few scenes).

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Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz (recent)
The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna (2013 Printz Honor)
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (teen MC, published as adult)
Sorta Like a Rockstar by Matthew Quick (secondary character)

Nicole River said:

Hi guys,
I'm addressing the collective mind again. Can anyone think of books with autistic characters? Main, secondary, doesn't matter as long as they're more or less prominent (at least a few scenes). Can be paranormal, SFF, whatever. The more recent the better. Thanks!

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Laura Jarratt's new YA contemporary, By Any Other Name, is about a family in witness protection and the narrator's younger sister is autistic - a brilliant book and she's a great character.

This request is difficult to describe, so please bear with me while I'm trying.

I'm looking for contemporary YA books that evoke the following feelings/impressions:
- passionate
- intense
- dramatic
- sleek
- confident
- dark-ish, but not in a way that would turn them into issue novels
- high concept-ish (-ish because it's not really necessary but desirable)
- with a happy ending

I can't even bring up examples, because I haven't read anything like that yet. I just hope it exists.

Windcutter said:

This request is difficult to describe, so please bear with me while I'm trying.

I'm looking for contemporary YA books that evoke the following feelings/impressions:
- passionate
- intense
- dramatic
- sleek
- confident
- dark-ish, but not in a way that would turn them into issue novels
- high concept-ish (-ish because it's not really necessary but desirable)
- with a happy ending

I can't even bring up examples, because I haven't read anything like that yet. I just hope it exists.

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Can't think of anything to rec (Holly Black's Curse Workers series hits most of those points for me, but not contemp), but can someone please invent a search engine that can find books this way?!

I'd strongly recommend a YA book called PRECIOUS BONES by Mika Ashley-Hollinger. It's a first novel, a stand-alone, about a pivotal year (1948) in the life of 10-year-old girl named Bones, who lives with her family in the Florida swamplands. The world described in the novel is gone now, developed out of existence, but preserved forever in the pages of this wonderfully written, charming novel. It's a tired old comparison, but Bones really did remind me of Scout in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD; the world is seen through the prism of her innocence. The book's not just for kids--I loved it myself. Hope you'll discover and enjoy it.

totopink said:

YA horror recommendations??
I'm looking for some bone chilling creepy tails that leave you feeling really uncomfortable after reading.

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UNREST by Michelle Harrison I HIGHLY recommend! It's about a 17-yr-old boy who has been experiencing sleep paralysis and out of body experiences ever since a car accident he was in, and he's seeing ghosts in his room, crawling up his bed, everywhere. So he goes to work at a 'haunted' tourist attraction to see whether he's going mad or if he can actually see ghosts... It's so creepy and brilliant, full of characters with secrets and creepy buildings and a twist at the end that made me say "Oh my GOD!" really loudly on the bus and get funny looks because it was that unexpected and chilling.

Another one is THE BUNKER DIARY by Kevin Brooks. It left me chilled and depressed for ages, but it was very well written - dark, intense, and horrible. But if you like horror...

Dagrami said:

Anybody happen to know of any YA set in Scotland? Or something heavily Scotland based. Can be contemp/historical/fantasy.

I know there's a lot of cheesy highlander romances/erotica for adults out there, but not heard of any YA...

I'm looking for a present for my Scotland-obsessed sister! Not sure I'd feel right giving her a book where some woman gets ravaged by a randy laird. Although that could be pretty funny...

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I'm really late here, but AMELIA O'DONOGHUE IS SO NOT A VIRGIN by Helen Fitzgerald.

Windcutter said:

This request is difficult to describe, so please bear with me while I'm trying.

I'm looking for contemporary YA books that evoke the following feelings/impressions:
- passionate
- intense
- dramatic
- sleek
- confident
- dark-ish, but not in a way that would turn them into issue novels
- high concept-ish (-ish because it's not really necessary but desirable)
- with a happy ending

I can't even bring up examples, because I haven't read anything like that yet. I just hope it exists.

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Anything by Jaclyn Moriarty
VIRTUOSITY by Jessica Martinez
LIAR by Justine Larbalestier

Books I haven't read (so not sure on the ending point) but hear this about:
Anything by Melina Marchetta
Margo Lanagan
ALL I EVER WANTED by Vikki Wakefield
SALTWATER VAMPIRES by Kirsty Eagar

Dagrami said:

Anybody happen to know of any YA set in Scotland? Or something heavily Scotland based. Can be contemp/historical/fantasy.

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Tierney.Clement said:

Does anyone have suggestions for YA books about an apocalypse?

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I'll mention Julie Bertagna here, who is a Glaswegian YA writer. Her trilogy Exodus, Zenith and Aurora takes place in a post-global warming world with much of Britain, including Scotland, underwater. She's also written contemporaries set in Scotland, including the one of hers I've read, The Opposite of Chocolate. I did like it, just haven't got round to reading others by her.

Windcutter said:

This request is difficult to describe, so please bear with me while I'm trying.

I'm looking for contemporary YA books that evoke the following feelings/impressions:
- passionate
- intense
- dramatic
- sleek
- confident
- dark-ish, but not in a way that would turn them into issue novels
- high concept-ish (-ish because it's not really necessary but desirable)
- with a happy ending

I can't even bring up examples, because I haven't read anything like that yet. I just hope it exists.

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Hmm... How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford hits most of those points for me. But I'd call the ending bittersweet. But it was still an absolutely amazing book.

Oooh! Also I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Ticks all those boxes. One of my top 5 books of all time.

Hi guys! I'm going on vacation soon and the flight is three hours each way. So I need a book or two that is SO GOOD, I will want to read for four or more hours straight (ugh about having to be at the airport early).

I love fantasy.
I love Asia and Asian inspired anything. (I majored in Japanese but anything Asia is great)
I like romance, but I do not like when it is the only part of the main plot.

Can you guys help a lady out?

Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo have you covered on all bases, I think. Both happen to be super fantasy writers with a touch of romance. Bonus LGBT goodness with Malinda Lo.

I hear good things about Stormdancer, but I also hear its a bit problematic.

I have to recommend Cinder to everyone, though its more SF than fantasy, but is so so good. Ditto The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers, though those are more Spanish and North African/Middle Eastern inspired, but are so awesome.

hello hello

I would like recs for a contemp novel from a male POV. saw a thread on something similar and it made me think i haven't read enough - but the thread only recommended authors and not specific books

thanking you kindly

Cjiadon said:

Hi guys! I'm going on vacation soon and the flight is three hours each way. So I need a book or two that is SO GOOD, I will want to read for four or more hours straight (ugh about having to be at the airport early).

I love fantasy.
I love Asia and Asian inspired anything. (I majored in Japanese but anything Asia is great)
I like romance, but I do not like when it is the only part of the main plot.

Can you guys help a lady out?

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You might try THROWAWAY DAUGHTER by Ting-xing Ye. I rediscovered it when I was clearing out some books. Doesn't particularly tick the fantasy or romance boxes but provides a really great picture of Chinese history for a YA novel.

Story revolves around Grace, a Canadian teen and victim of China's one child policy who discovers her parents discarded solely because she was female, and features the POVs of the people who made her who she is. That means her adoptive mother, her ancient ancestors, her birth mother, her half-brother in China.

Creates a good internal debate about China's one child policy.

ellio said:

hello hello

I would like recs for a contemp novel from a male POV. saw a thread on something similar and it made me think i haven't read enough - but the thread only recommended authors and not specific books

thanking you kindly

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Hannah Moskowitz has a couple great books in male POV (Invincible Summer, Break, and Gone, Gone, Gone). Her book Teeth is also amazing but definitely creeps more towards magical realism than contemporary.

Cjiadon said:

Hi guys! I'm going on vacation soon and the flight is three hours each way. So I need a book or two that is SO GOOD, I will want to read for four or more hours straight (ugh about having to be at the airport early).

I love fantasy.
I love Asia and Asian inspired anything. (I majored in Japanese but anything Asia is great)
I like romance, but I do not like when it is the only part of the main plot.

Can you guys help a lady out?

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STORMDANCER by Jay Kristoff

INK is apparently based on something from Japanese folklore. Don't know how seriously it's taken, though.

ellio said:

hello hello

I would like recs for a contemp novel from a male POV. saw a thread on something similar and it made me think i haven't read enough - but the thread only recommended authors and not specific books

thanking you kindly

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Seconding the recommendations for BREAK and INVINCIBLE SUMMER by Hannah Moskowitz
ANGRY YOUNG MAN by Chris Lynch
SINS OF THE FATHERS by Chris Lynch
I AM THE MESSENGER by Markus Zusak

Others that people have recommended but I haven't read-
LOOKING FOR ALASKA, PAPER TOWNS and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green
BOY TOY by Barry Lyga
BURNING BLUE by Paul Griffin

ellio said:

hello hello

I would like recs for a contemp novel from a male POV. saw a thread on something similar and it made me think i haven't read enough - but the thread only recommended authors and not specific books

thanking you kindly

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Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron
The Disenchanments by Nina LaCour
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (okay, half a male POV but a great one)
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
Split by Swati Avashti

I need some recs myself!

(1) Contemporary YA books where the main character falls in love with someone famous. Or, conversely, the MC is famous and falls in love with a non-famous person. A recent example is This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith.

(2) Contemporary YA books that have light plots, take place during the summer, could be called 'beach reads,' but have a surprising depth to them. Examples: Sarah Dessen books, Invincible Summer, or My Life Next Door.

ellio said:

hello hello

I would like recs for a contemp novel from a male POV. saw a thread on something similar and it made me think i haven't read enough - but the thread only recommended authors and not specific books

thanking you kindly

Click to expand...

SWIM THE FLY, BEAT THE BAND and CALL THE SHOTS by Don Calame.
GEEKHOOD: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE GIRL KIND and GEEKHOOD: MISSION IMPROBABLE by Andy Robb.
ONE SERIOUSLY MESSED UP WEEK IN THE OTHERWISE MUNDANE AND UNEVENTFUL LIFE OF JACK SAMSONITE and ONE SERIOUSLY MESSED UP WEEK-END IN THE OTHERWISE UN-MESSED UP LIFE OF JACK SAMSONITE by Tom Clempson.

Yeasayer said:

I need some recs myself!

(1) Contemporary YA books where the main character falls in love with someone famous. Or, conversely, the MC is famous and falls in love with a non-famous person. A recent example is This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith.

(2) Contemporary YA books that have light plots, take place during the summer, could be called 'beach reads,' but have a surprising depth to them. Examples: Sarah Dessen books, Invincible Summer, or My Life Next Door.

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1. The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot is addictively fun, especially because she becomes more famous as the series goes on. The LI, Michael Moskovitz, is one of my favourite LIs of ALL TIME. A couple other books have recently come out with themes like this. I haven't read them, but there's Fangirl by Ken Baker and Rockoholic by C. J. Skuse, which both look like a lot of fun.

2. These are pretty much my favourite kinds of books. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson is great. Haven't read it yet, but Second Chance Summer also by Morgan Matson seems to fit that description, too.

I'm just picking up My Life Next Door right now, finally, after wanting to read it for aaaaages. The first chapter is delightful.

Becca C. said:

2. These are pretty much my favourite kinds of books. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson is great. Haven't read it yet, but Second Chance Summer also by Morgan Matson seems to fit that description, too.

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Having cried my eyes out for most of the second half of Second Chance Summer, I wouldn't describe it as a light plot personally...

The Anti-Prom by Abby McDonald - three girls seeking revenge on people on prom night - and Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - girl and boy spend a night trying to track down a mysterious graffiti artist - would both fit the bill as 'beach reads' with depth for me.

Hey guys,

Looking for any YA/ Upper MG books that are priced under $5. Self published or whatever. I need to figure out a way to get my reading fix a bit cheaper

Print books or ebooks?

I know on the ebook front, you can find a lot of cheapies. A few of the Harper Collins YA imprints will put a batch of books on sale for .99 - 2.99 every month. Their EpicReads twitter/FB/tumblr will usually announce them. Some will even go free in the weeks leading up to a sequel being released. Of course, all of this supposes you don't mind using Amazon and such deals are available outside the US.

Hmm, I should probably have double checked that.

e-books and yeah, the outside the U.S thing is a problem

I've been able to find quite a few in my price range, the problem seems to be finding things that are decent quality I was hoping people might have stumbled across things worth reading that they could suggest.