Showing posts with label young adult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label young adult. Show all posts
Book Review - Soldier
Labels:
book review,
dragons,
julie kagawa,
paranormal romance,
Soldier,
talon,
talon saga,
young adult
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble |
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4.5/5
I previously reviewed the first book in this series, and since I just finished the newest one, I wanted to talk about it.
Soldier continues the story from Talon and Rogue, following the group as they split up. Garret learns an earthshaking secret about the Order of St. George while in London and Ember and Riley continue to remain on the run from Talon while trying to protect their underground network from all sides.
MAJOR spoilers this time.
Soldier was a great read for a number of reasons. The series continues to feel more like a thriller than a young adult romance, especially considering who the publisher is. And boy is it a thriller - multiple, multiple scenes throughout this book are complete nail-biters, especially the climax and final duel between Garret and the Patriarch. The cliffhanger is not entirely welcome, (they never are) but drops some big ones on us for the next book - Garret is told his parents were operatives of Talon and then shot (though I'd be very surprised if Kagawa kills him off) and Dante meets the Elder Wyrm, who tells him she is his mother. That means she's Ember's mother too, and goes a long way towards explaining why Dante and Ember are supposedly so special. (I was starting to wonder if they were somehow half human or something).
Jade was a more than welcome addition. It's about time Eastern dragons appeared on the scene - I was starting to wonder if other cultures' concepts of dragons would make an appearance in this series. I hope we get to see more of her and her kind in later installments.
A few things still bother me that I've talked about before. I don't feel certain aspects of the story and world have been explained well enough, especially concerning why so many humans work for Talon and why there aren't any other rogue dragons (either in his network or from outside it) who have teamed up with or want to help Riley.
As for newer developments in this book: I liked the inclusion of the concept of Sallith'tahn, and especially its repression by Talon. Great concept and idea. I do, however, think having Cobalt, the only eligible male dragon Ember's had any contact with in her entire life, be her Sallith'tahn was more than a little contrived. I mean, what are the odds?
I feel the issues surrounding the Patriarch were not always given the moral questioning by the characters that they should. For example, several times during the book Ember gets very stressed and suffers guilt over killing, even though pretty much all of it is in justifiable self-defense. Garret laments once about whether or not fallen soldiers of St. George could have come around to the truth. But when they know deliberately exposing the Patriarch of St. George is likely to get him executed, no one bats an eye. And he's not a complete villain to boot - him falling in with Talon was far from entirely his fault, and the way the Order views the situation makes some semblance of sense. Talon and their operatives ARE horrible people, and very few dragons have escaped. How is St. George supposed to know that not all dragons are trying to take over the world and enslave humans or that they have human feelings, when Talon is deliberately trying to bury that information themselves? I'm not saying they were wrong to take the actions they did, but the choice wasn't given the debate it needed to have.
Another thing nobody seemed to take into account was how dangerous destabilizing and possibly destroying St. George could be. Because without them, Talon's powers will now be unchecked, and they can devote all their resources to hunting down the rogues. This will likely be addressed in the next book, given the closing line.
The Verdict: Another pulse-pounding addition to this series with great twists and turns and only some holes. The series continues to deliver more than your standard YA paranormal romance.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - The Novice
Labels:
book review,
fantasy,
taran matharu,
the novice,
the summoner trilogy,
YA,
young adult
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Taran Matharu
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5
I picked this one up on a whim because it sounded interesting, and I certainly was not disappointed. Not completely wowed, but certainly not disappointed.
The Novice tells the story of Fletcher, an orphan living in a small remote mountain town in the north of the empire of Hominum. On accident, he ends up summoning a demon, proving he has the ability to summon. On the run from a "crime he didn't commit," according to the book cover, but more like a possible murder in self-defense, he finds himself enrolled at the academy that trains adept summoners where he is bound to learn more about himself and the world around him.
Some spoilers.
The two biggest strengths of this book are the world building and the magic system. The entire system for summoning and keeping a demon is amazingly logical and thought out. The politics and players in them are likewise astonishingly well-detailed for a book like this, especially the relations between the races and the interesting cultural details about each one the author manages to squeeze into the narrative (like the dwarven women's customs being so similar to Islamic ones. It was nice to see a positive portrayal.) This book also had a rather fresh approach to elves, dwarves, and possibly even the orcs (as well as the somewhat unique inclusion of firearms), which I appreciated.
The plot is also pretty decent, especially the neat twist that even the reader doesn't know if Didric actually died or not. The opening third is the best part, but the book also ends on a high note with a cliffhanger of an ending that would bother me if it hadn't been built up. Unfortunately, while it does the school sections better than most, I have never been a big fan of magical school stories for precisely that reason. The school sections tend to be boring and drag. While they weren't as bad here because the magic system was so solid and the reader was learning along with the characters, these sections still felt tedious in places.
Most of the messages of the story are generic (don't discriminate against people based on their origin or race) but a small one near the end was noteworthy enough to be mentioned here: the dwarf Othello has a more radical twin brother named Atilla whom Othello regularly impersonated in order to keep his brother from harm. But near the end of the book, after Fletcher and co have rescued Atilla, Othello admits he was wrong because his brother rarely had a sense of consequence, and so his self-destructive behavior continued. While there's nothing wrong with protecting those you love, shielding them too much can, obviously, lead to problems and it was nice to see this book point that out.
There are some other issues. Namely, the sheer hatred everyone seems to have towards commoners being battlemages. It comes off as more shallow and stupid than usual. Medieval society or not, they are desperately fighting a war on two fronts and need everyone capable they can find. This leads to the order about not testing orphans for summoning ability because they could be bastard children of nobles (the ability is usually inherited) coming off as incredibly stupid. First, the vast majority of orphans are not going to be illegitimate nobles. Second, I'm sure plenty of those kids did end up with families who pretend to be their biological ones, so how is being an orphan such a big indicator? You're going to pass on a rare and powerful resource just because some of your nobles couldn't keep it in their pants and they don't want their honor tarnished? It was their fault in the first place! The racism towards the dwarves and the elves works a lot better, in spite of the fact that it's been done to death. But can we start exploring some other issues in our fantasy, please?
The characters are mostly hits with some misses. For being as many as there are, they all do have their places and are relatively well-developed. Fletcher, Captain Lovett, Othello, Sylva, Sereph, and to a lesser extent Atilla and Arcturus are all badasses. On the flip side, most of the other students at the academy don't get to do much (I was expecting both Genevieve and Rory to have more of a front and center role, and I think it was interesting that the author decided to have Sylva, Othello, and Fletcher be the power trio instead.) The villains, however, are downright irritating in their simplicity, especially Didric and Rook. At least Isadora and Tarquin have some sort of motivation, but it doesn't make them three-dimensional characters. All of the villainous characters' lack of any sort of depth or being anything other than obnoxious bullies is quite jarring compared to the excellent thought the author put into the world, the magic system, and the rest of the characters. Hell, it even looks like the orcs might not be everything they seem.
Last but not least, the book would have greatly benefited from a character list and world map.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Falling Kingdoms
Labels:
book review,
epic fantasy,
falling kingdoms,
fantasy,
high fantasy,
morgan rhodes,
young adult
·
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: March 11, 2014
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5
I'm pretty conflicted about this book. On the whole, it's a good story that, at least in this first volume, is a little superficial. The major characters are both likable and infuriating, which means they are most certainly not boring. Oh, yeah, and my favorite character dies. When I read it for the first time, I was so angry I didn't want to pick up the next one. But something about this world kept calling me to come back, and I'm honestly glad I did, because, putting my emotions aside, this really is a good book.
There are three kingdoms on the continent of Mythica: prosperous Auranos to the south, poor Paelsia in the center, and cold and strong Limeros in the north. The story is told from four perspectives: Cleo, the headstrong princess of Auranos who, though no fault of her own, sets off an international incident; Jonas, a young man in Paelsia, who, after being wronged, ends up becoming a budding rebel leader; Lucia, the princess of Limeros, who, unknown to except a few, is destined to become one of the most powerful sorceresses who ever lived; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who harbors a forbidden love for his sister and struggles to hide his true self from his tyrant father.
Some spoilers.
The action kicks off when a party including Cleo and her soon-to-be fiance Aron go to Paelsia to purchase some wine and are involved in an altercation where the wine-seller's son is killed. Cleo has nothing to do with this - Aron was trying to rip them off - but the incident becomes a rallying cry for the people of Paelsia. With the murdered man's brother out for revenge and the cruel king of the north seeking to take advantage of the tragedy, the powder keg finally explodes into all-out war. I like that a single isolated incident like this is enough to start a major war - after all, throughout history, a seemingly small event has set things in motion when tension has been boiling beneath the surface for years.
There are three kingdoms on the continent of Mythica: prosperous Auranos to the south, poor Paelsia in the center, and cold and strong Limeros in the north. The story is told from four perspectives: Cleo, the headstrong princess of Auranos who, though no fault of her own, sets off an international incident; Jonas, a young man in Paelsia, who, after being wronged, ends up becoming a budding rebel leader; Lucia, the princess of Limeros, who, unknown to except a few, is destined to become one of the most powerful sorceresses who ever lived; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who harbors a forbidden love for his sister and struggles to hide his true self from his tyrant father.
Some spoilers.
The action kicks off when a party including Cleo and her soon-to-be fiance Aron go to Paelsia to purchase some wine and are involved in an altercation where the wine-seller's son is killed. Cleo has nothing to do with this - Aron was trying to rip them off - but the incident becomes a rallying cry for the people of Paelsia. With the murdered man's brother out for revenge and the cruel king of the north seeking to take advantage of the tragedy, the powder keg finally explodes into all-out war. I like that a single isolated incident like this is enough to start a major war - after all, throughout history, a seemingly small event has set things in motion when tension has been boiling beneath the surface for years.
I think the biggest problem with this book is that the writing and narrative itself are a little superficial, which doesn't work well for high fantasy. There are no organic detours from the main plot, which I think detracts from what is otherwise a good story.
The characters swing from likable to nearly intolerable, which, whether you like them or not, means they invoke strong emotions, so the author is doing something right. On the likable side, you have Cleo, who, while she makes mistakes and bad decisions some of the time, is a rather fleshed out and believable character, given her age and status. I ship her hardcore with Theon. *Sob*
Jonas has the least development of the main characters (he also has the least amount of POV chapters, which I find a little odd). I'm not sure why the author gave him so much less to do than the other main characters, and, as a consequence, he's much flatter than the others. He also changes his opinion more or less at the drop of a hat, which is rather poor writing.
Lucia is naive and easily manipulatable, which gives some depth to her otherwise Purity Sue character, as these are some major character flaws that have terrible consequences towards the end of the story. Seeing where she's going to go from here will be interesting.
Magnus is a little harder to get behind because of what an ass he can be, but as the story goes along you do see why he is the kind of person he is. We'll see which road he chooses to take in the sequels.
The mythology of the Kindred and the Watchers is also pretty well thought-out and adds a lot of depth to the story. I always like it when worlds have their own mythology and stories that get told to the readers - it makes the story feel all the more real.
There are also some minor (Why did Jonas bother getting with Chief Basilius' daughter in order to gain an audience rather than request one directly as the brother of the man who was killed?) and not-so-minor logic flaws, namely, why Jonas was so obsessed with getting revenge on Cleo when she was clearly not comfortable with the situation (and even tried to get them all to leave!). Fixating on Aron would have made sense, and I understand people do stupid things when they're that upset, but it still feels contrived by the author to make the plot move along rather than something the character would logically think or do.
(And why did you have to kill Theon off? WHY?!)
The characters swing from likable to nearly intolerable, which, whether you like them or not, means they invoke strong emotions, so the author is doing something right. On the likable side, you have Cleo, who, while she makes mistakes and bad decisions some of the time, is a rather fleshed out and believable character, given her age and status. I ship her hardcore with Theon. *Sob*
Jonas has the least development of the main characters (he also has the least amount of POV chapters, which I find a little odd). I'm not sure why the author gave him so much less to do than the other main characters, and, as a consequence, he's much flatter than the others. He also changes his opinion more or less at the drop of a hat, which is rather poor writing.
Lucia is naive and easily manipulatable, which gives some depth to her otherwise Purity Sue character, as these are some major character flaws that have terrible consequences towards the end of the story. Seeing where she's going to go from here will be interesting.
Magnus is a little harder to get behind because of what an ass he can be, but as the story goes along you do see why he is the kind of person he is. We'll see which road he chooses to take in the sequels.
The mythology of the Kindred and the Watchers is also pretty well thought-out and adds a lot of depth to the story. I always like it when worlds have their own mythology and stories that get told to the readers - it makes the story feel all the more real.
There are also some minor (Why did Jonas bother getting with Chief Basilius' daughter in order to gain an audience rather than request one directly as the brother of the man who was killed?) and not-so-minor logic flaws, namely, why Jonas was so obsessed with getting revenge on Cleo when she was clearly not comfortable with the situation (and even tried to get them all to leave!). Fixating on Aron would have made sense, and I understand people do stupid things when they're that upset, but it still feels contrived by the author to make the plot move along rather than something the character would logically think or do.
(And why did you have to kill Theon off? WHY?!)
The Verdict: A more ambitious YA fantasy than most which falls short in some places but ultimately holds up.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Ink
Labels:
amanda sun,
book review,
fantasy,
ink,
paper gods,
paranormal romance,
romance,
the paper gods trilogy,
urban fantasy,
young adult
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| Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble |
Author: Amanda Sun
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Version I Read: Kindle
Rating: 3/5
I’ve been trying to get away from YA paranormal romance as of late, because it’s all just so boring and not very well written. Ink is only a partial exception to that, but I found myself picking it up anyway because the premise and setting intrigued me.
Ink follows the story of Katie Greene, an American teen having to go live with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, upon the death of her mother. Grieving for her mother, feeling like an outsider in a completely different culture halfway across the world, all she can think about is going to live with her grandparents in Canada instead. But when she meets mysterious Tomohiro and strange things begin happening around her involving ink, Katie realizes there’s more to Tomohiro than the rumors suggest.
For the most part, Ink is pretty typical for its genre. Mysterious boy in high school who turns out to be some kind of supernatural being, tries to push the girl away for her own protection, girl is “special” for some reason, boy loses girl for some dumbish reason, no real plot to speak of, yadda yadda yadda.
That being said, there are a few things that set Ink apart from the crowd:
The culture. Amanda Sun has clearly been to Japan, because I have too and I can vouch for nearly everything being precisely true. The accuracy of it truly makes the Japan of the book come alive, so kudos to the author on that front. The one odd exception to this is the Kami themselves, who don’t resemble mythological Japanese kami at all. That being said, her take on them is interesting.
The dialogue. The banter between Katie and Tomohiro feels real and makes them feel more like real people than typical protagonists in a paranormal YA novel. Fortunately, Tomohiro also escapes the “abusive boyfriend” problem that tends to crop up in YA because all of his “bad boy” attributes turn out to be complete accidents or lies, and, aside from his powers, he turns out to be a rather normal Japanese teenager.
The true natures of Ishikawa and Takahashi were also pretty well-done, with Ishikawa turning out not to be so bad a guy (adequately foreshadowed) and Jun being kind of a megalomaniac wanting to take over the world (not so adequately foreshadowed, but it worked because it was an interesting twist). Yuki and Tanaka don’t have much personality, but they do feel like normal high school students. I was interested in Shiori and wanted to learn more about her.
At first I rolled my eyes at the ending (Katie’s grandparents being able to take her in and Tomohiro encouraging her to leave so she won’t be hurt because of his power) but it was not too badly done because of the last few paragraphs, where Katie says screw it and doesn’t go. I also consider Katie herself to be a rather strong heroine, as she knows kendo and uses it when they’re captured by yakuza. Even without using her physical strength, she manages to be an imposing figure, not afraid to speak her mind or challenge others.
The Verdict: Not perfect by any means, especially compared to my sensibilities and standards, but if you’re still on the prowl for Twilight clones, you could do a lot worse than this one.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Talon
Labels:
book review,
dragons,
julie kagawa,
talon,
talon saga,
young adult
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| Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Version I Read: Audiobook
Rating: 4.5/5
I’ve always had a lot of respect for Julie Kagawa, ever since I first picked up The Iron King. She has always managed to do the whole typical “teen paranormal romance” while, you know, actually having an interesting plot. Since her publishing contract appears to be with Harlequin Teen, that alone is pretty impressive.
Because I really, really don’t like vampires and post-apocalyptic stories, however, I ultimately chose to take a pass on Blood of Eden. But when I heard she had a new series coming out about dragons, I was more than ready to give it a shot, and I was not disappointed.
Talon follows siblings Ember and Dante Hill, who are nearing the end of their training in the global dragon organization called Talon. They are dragons, who can shift into human form, and after years of lessons are now living amongst the human population for a summer as something of a final test. Once they complete integration, they will be assigned their positions in the organization. Ember, while happy to be experiencing something resembling freedom, has a rebellious streak that begins to blossom into full mutiny when she meets a rogue dragon, Cobalt, who tells her of Talon’s true nature. Meanwhile, the Order of St. George, a militant organization dedicated to killing all dragons, has gotten reports of a dragon imposter in the town Ember and Dante are living in, and they are going to send their best operatives to find the “sleeper” and kill it. But their “perfect soldier,” Garret, may get way more than he bargained for.
I listened to the audiobook, which is something I’ve tried to do more of as of late. (I can read more books that way!) I’m not as familiar with the medium as I am plain old books, but I thought the performances were pretty darn good. (And Chris Patton is a dragon! Awesome!)
Here there be spoilers!
The characters are pretty good, maybe not the most original, but likable and good nonetheless. I especially like how Ember actually is a badass who, for the most part, doesn’t need to be rescued. So often in YA paranormal romance, a spunky heroine turns into useless so the guy can save her. Not Ember. She does get help every now and again, but she kicks ass all the way. Dante keeps the reader guessing as to his true feelings and allegiance, before the ending, which is pretty heartbreaking for the reader as well as Ember. It’s interesting to see Garret’s inner thoughts and how both he and Ember begin the story as pretty convinced their side is right before changing their opinions throughout the story (while expected, I think it’s done well). Garret’s inner whining about how he can’t be with Ember even though she captivates him can get a little irritating at times, but nothing too serious. And Riley/Cobalt is a rebel with an attitude, trying to save young dragons from the organization. It’s hard not to like him, and Wes, the snarky hacker, for that matter. Even the human girls Ember hangs out with feel like people, and not just stereotypical blonde bimbos.
The plot really kicks into high gear near the end, with Ember and Garret discovering each other’s secrets and choosing to spare each other’s lives, Ember deciding to flee with Cobalt, and Dante choosing to remain with the organization rather than follow his sister. This sets up readers nicely for the next novel, with Garret captured and about to be executed by St. George for collaborating with a dragon, and Dante and Talon’s search for Ember. I came to realize just how much I liked these characters and cared about what was going to happen to them.
The biggest plot hole in this book (I even went back to the first chapter and listened to the first half of it again to make sure I wasn’t missing an explanation) is the human involvement with Talon. It’s never adequately explained in Talon, and in Rogue, it appears Kagawa might be handwaving it, which is a bit of a disappointment. I can understand if the humans they have working for them are being bought out, and that many of them don’t know the true nature of the organization, but given what I know about humanity, I have a hard time believing Talon could get too many humans (short of ones being raised by Talon, I guess) to think of themselves as a “lesser” species (we're not known for being humble). For that matter, I think she needs to go into more detail about how Talon operates in general, but she has more books for that, so I'll give it a pass for now. I also think the choice of having Ember discover and love surfing was a little “Californian surfer dude/dudette” cliche, but not too obnoxious.
The other thing I’m hoping Kagawa addresses in later books is Cobalt’s network of escaped hatchlings, its mechanics, and his plan for it. So far, it’s pretty clear that he and Wes are running this operation single-handedly, which I think is a tiny bit farfetched, mostly because a juvenile can’t be the only rogue dragon out there attempting to screw over Talon. I really hope we get to see more rogue dragons.
The Verdict: I’d say Talon gets off to a slower start than most, but I’m glad I stuck around, because the story seems to get more interesting the deeper you get into it.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
Book Review - Shadow and Bone
Labels:
book review,
fantasy,
leigh bardugo,
review,
shadow and bone,
young adult
·
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| Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble |
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Square Fish
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Version I Read: Paperback
Rating: 3.75/5
Shadow and Bone was one of those books I picked up on a whim while I was in a YA mood, and I found it to be much better than many of its brethren.
Shadow and Bone, the first novel in the Grisha trilogy, tells the story of Alina Starkov, a teenage girl who grew up an orphan. With her through it all was another orphan named Mal, whom she has always loved but never had the courage to tell. They live in the country of Ravka, which has been cut in two and devastated by a strange dark wasteland where monsters dwell, created by a rogue Grisha (magic user) hundreds of years ago. On a trip through the Fold, the convoy is attacked, and Alina discovers powers she never knew she had that change her life forever.
Here there be spoilers.
One aspect that I really liked about this novel is Alina’s relationship with her power. I know that sounds kind of odd, but because of her background as an orphan, she has spent her whole life feeling like nothing belonged to her. So when she discovers that she has this great power inside her, she rejoices because it is hers and hers alone. This makes the Darkling’s betrayal and attempt to control the one thing that is hers hurt all the more. It’s also interesting that she subconsciously suppressed it for so long so she could remain with Mal and not have to become Grisha. While we’ve seen characters hide who they truly are for the sake of fitting in before learning it’s better to be true to yourself many, many times in fiction, I think that theme felt right at home here.
I like the characters, too. Alina, while not the most unusual YA protagonist (first person, spunky heroine with special magical powers in love with a childhood friend), manages to be a relatable, sympathetic character audiences can root for. Mal seems to have some more layers to him, even though we only really get to see that in the last third of the book or so. The Darkling steals the show in how seductive he is, and when the book teetered on the edge of making him a flat-out megalomaniac trying to take over the world, I cringed a little, because this character is so much more than that. I hope future installments make him more gray/ambiguous and less pure black, because that is one of the best aspects of his character.
The biggest flaw of the book is that the sections where Alina is in the Little Palace drag, but fortunately the book picks up again by the end. I also feel Alina’s about-face of opinion in regards to the Darkling based only on what Baghra says happened a bit too quickly. I could also have used a bit more depth to this world, as I feel the worldbuilding was a bit simplistic. (In the book's defense, however, the focus is more on Alina's relationship with the Darkling. And I always appreciate more unusual settings in fiction, and a world inspired by Imperial Russia certainly fits the bill.) Actually, if anything, this book could have been longer, with more character development and more worldbuilding. The magic system was also relatively weak as not much time was given to explaining it or how it worked.
Verdict: Shadow and Bone is a good YA fantasy novel with a good focus on the psychological connection between the protagonist and the antagonist. Weak world building and magic system.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
On Young Adult
Labels:
fiction,
opinion,
young adult
·
Twilight really started it all. The two series I would classify as “blockbuster” that came before it were Harry Potter and the Inheritance Cycle, both of which are classified as Children’s. It was the popularity of Twilight that spawned a slew of imitators that seem to have jump-started the more commercial aspects of modern YA.
Next came The Hunger Games, which set off another wave in the YA world. Whereas Twilight had spawned a bunch of paranormal romance imitators, The Hunger Games made dystopian fiction the “in” thing. Some of its followers, including as a prominent example the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, went on to be extremely popular on their own.
Even more traditional YA literary fiction has seen growth, as evidenced by the success of The Fault in Our Stars, which doesn’t have vampires or dragons but instead is more literary fiction that deals with teenagers battling cancer.
As for what genre is going to be “in” next, I don’t know. Personally, I’m hoping it’s space opera or high fantasy, but I guess only time will tell.
YA is an interesting thing because it can be hard to classify. After all, what makes a YA book different from adult or children’s books? And what about that New Adult genre that publishers have been courting as of late? There’s also the fact that many, many adults love reading Young Adult books, and so there is definitely an audience outside the intended one.
As for me personally, I do enjoy the occasional Young Adult book every now and then. Imagine Someday was actually originally meant to BE a YA novel before I decided I wanted to take it in a more New Adult direction. However, as I’ve changed from a teenager to an adult I find most YA novels to be too simplistic for my tastes. I think part of this has to do with the fact that I no longer really relate to the problems teenagers do since I’m not a teenager anymore, but I don’t know. Either way, the genre isn’t my favorite, but it can still be a lot of fun.
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