Not sure what the deal is lately, but I seem to have regressed back to my childhood. Evidence? I’m completely obsessed with young adult 
(YA) novels! Over half of what I’ve read in 2009 have fallen into the YA category.
I’ve read some really terrific YA authors lately…Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Linda Gerber (Death by Bikini), Daria Snadowsky (Anatomy of a Boyfriend), Elizabeth Scott (Bloom)…shall I go on? This would be a really long post if I did. Right now I’m really enjoying Revenge of the Homecoming Queen by Stephanie Hale.
All these books are very different. Revenge of the Homecoming Queen is snarky and fun. Wicked Lovely is a little dark and fantasy-like. Death by Bikini is a lighter mystery (took me back to my Trixie Belden days of youth!). Snadowsy and Scott’s books were more true-to-life stories about the angsty drama that comes with being a teen. All these books captured my attention for different reasons. And made me hungry for more. And made me want to write them myself!
So what’s going on? I’m perfectly happy being an adult, thank you very much. I’m not in any way, shape, or form longing for my teen years to return (reading about the angst is one thing…doesn’t mean I want to relive it!). So why am I drawn to YA novels? Why are you? And what are some of your favorites?
One last thing: If you’re not a reader of young adult novels, I challenge you to try one out. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, for instance. There’s buzz about that book for a reason…even people like my 40-yo brother-in-law (who doesn’t read!) and my 70-yo father (who doesn’t read teen books) got hooked on the Twilight series. And I think they’d both deny they were drawn to the books so they could find their inner 17-yo girl. 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Loved Wicked Lovely. Very dark, but very good read. And so excited to have you back blogging
I’ve always liked YA. I love that Twilight has inspired so many people to start reading! Some of my other favorite YAs are SABRIEL by Garth Nix, CROWN DUEL by Sherwood Smith and SORCERY AND CELIA by Patricia C. Wrede.
I’ll have to give those a try, Ciara! My son likes Garth Nix, though I don’t think he’s read that particular book. The others I don’t recognize, so I’ll be sure to look them up.