This is another young adult book that I think adults will love, too. I certainly did. It’s about a girl, Ash, who can see the fae (who are all around us). However she’s spent her life pretending she can’t see them, because of the possible (dangerous) consequences. Then one of the faeries, Keenan*, starts to court her.Keenan is the Summer King and he’s been looking for his Summer Queen for centuries. He thinks Ash is the one and he’s not going to take no for an answer. Throw in Ash’s sexy outsider boyfriend, Keenan’s chilling mother, and Donia, the last (unsuccesful) candidate for Summer Queen, and you’ve got a deliciously dark story. Link to author's website.
From memory, I’ve read three books or series I consider YA this year (PC & Kristin Cast’s “House of Night” books, Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” and this one), and it’s a departure for me – I don’t think I’ve read that much any other year. Is it because YA is changing, or is it because YA has always had intriguing stories but now some books are making it big, making us pay attention? What do you guys think?
*Hey, I have a Keenan in my books, too!
8 comments :
I read Twilight and loved it, and I had heard about Wicked Lovely, and I think I will go buy it now. :)
YA has certainly changed I think. Seven or eight years ago, there were some offerings in fantasy, but most were basically teen dramas with a few faeries thrown in. The new crop of offerings I think stems from the growing credibility fantasy/sci-fi YA is getting.
I am utterly in love with the Twilight series. I'm currently savoring Eclipse, since it's the last one until she publishes next year. But this sounds like it might just do the trick to tide me over.
Twilight was the first YA I'd read in ages, and I've loved it.
On another genre, have you read Lord of the Fading Lands by CL Wilson yet? It's utterly extraordinary.
I discovered YA paranormal/fantasy novels a couple years ago and have loved many of them, including WICKED LOVELY and the Stephenie Meyer "Twilight" series. I would also highly recommend A GREAT & TERRIBLE BEAUTY & the sequel by Libba Bray and ELSEWHERE by Gabrielle Zevin. I'm also enjoying the "Morganville Vampires" series by Rachel Caine, and THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak is one of the best books I've *ever* read, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I've found a lot of the "young adult" novels better than the "adult" ones lately!
I've always had a thing for YA books. I do think they have gotten alot better and alot more sci-fi oriented in the past 4 or 5 years. I read the first in the Twilight series and was hooked. I bought the next two HB without thought or even reading the backs. I've also read the House of Night series and those books were instant buys too. My favorite YA however is still Blood and Chcolate by Annette Curtis Klause. I read it for the first time about 5 years ago and since then have read it honestly about 15 times or so. Holly Black's Tithe series is also a great sci-fi/fey series.
I just never get tired of YA.
I've always loved YA. I have the Casts books in my TBR pile (I'll read anything by PC Cast, so I didn't necessarily buy it because it was YA). I love the Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing, Cameron Dokey's books, and the Once Upon a Time books are also ones I'll buy on impulse.
Maybe it's because the Harry Potter series spotlighted that adults can enjoy YA books... whereas no paid attention before assuming that YA had no books in depth?
Personally I enjoy YA books; a lot of them have qualities that seem missing in adult fiction. Although I am not a fan of the Twilight series I like Holly Black’s novels… as well as Tamora Pierce’s new Beka Cooper series.
Sylvia
I agree with Sylvia. I think with the great popularity of Harry Potter, more YA books are being read.
You might want to check out Phillip Pullman's His Dark Matter series (The Golden Compass - movie coming out in Dec., The Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass). I thought they were great and really power.
Thanks for the recommendation, Nalini! I loved it :) I picked Wicked Lovely up not long after reading your post and ended up reading it in about a day. YA sure has changed since I was that age . . .
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