Hi, I'm Polly and I'm 23 years old. I live in England and read lot in my free time. I love YA fiction, my favourites being Twilight, Wicked Lovely and Anita Blake. Looking forward to taking part in this group :)

1200 Members! YEAH!

Thanks Daisy :D

Welcome Miranda! And Happy Writing!

Hello, My name is Miranda and I am 18 years old. I have just finished High School and I want to write book. I probably own of 300 books because I am not good at returning books to the library so I buy nearly everything I read because in the end its cheaper than late fees (blushes)
I'm a big fan of Francesca Lia Block and Ellen Hopkins.

Kara wrote: "Hi, I'm Kara, and I'm 17 years old. (Well, I'll be 17 tomorrow, but still). I have no idea what I want to do with my life and high school is very confusing, and all I know is that I LOVE reading. S..."

Wow, you sound like me! I remember getting in trouble in Engish for reading during class. Now that's ridiculous :)

HI Kara! Welcome and Happy Birtday! This is a fun group and glad to hear you're a reading junkie! As far as addictions go, it's a good one to have!

Welcome!

Totally agree, I love A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. It's one of my favorite series!

Holly wrote: "Lisad wrote: "Hi my name is Lisa I am also a Children's Bookseller I am almost 35 and have three kids. I love YA books and favourites would be Phillip Pullman, Libba Bray, Celia Rees and many more...."

Holly, Great and Terrible Beauty would be a great one to start with because it is the first of the series, and it's a great fantasy. It's set in the Victorian age, with dark magical undertones and great passion... I loved it and I hope you do too!

Hi, I'm Kara, and I'm 17 years old. (Well, I'll be 17 tomorrow, but still). I have no idea what I want to do with my life and high school is very confusing, and all I know is that I LOVE reading. Sometimes, all I do is reading and I get in trouble. My parents have to ground me from reading if I don't do my homework or my chores. It's an addiction, and I don't care. I'm excited about this group because I get to discuss some of my favorites with people who have actually read them. My friends don't read as much as I do. Anyway, Hello to all! I'm excited! :)

Lisad wrote: "Hi my name is Lisa I am also a Children's Bookseller I am almost 35 and have three kids. I love YA books and favourites would be Phillip Pullman, Libba Bray, Celia Rees and many more. I loved Grace..."

Hi Lisa! Yes, Phillip Pullman is a genius, I'm always trying to explain to people that no, Northern Lights is nothing like the film, and yes, it is a truly excellent book that everyone should read.

I've never read any Libba Bray and I've always meant to. I only know Great and Terrible Beauty of hers, is that a good one to start with?

Welcome, Lisa!

Hi my name is Lisa I am also a Children's Bookseller I am almost 35 and have three kids. I love YA books and favourites would be Phillip Pullman, Libba Bray, Celia Rees and many more. I loved Graceling and her second book Fire and would highly recommend them.

Daisy wrote: "I finished SEA by Heidi R Kling, which comes out in June, and then I started Beautiful Creatures when it landed on my Kindle on Tues and it's really good so far. I also am tempted to read Catching ..."

Oooh, Beautiful Creatures is definitely on my list of things to read, so I'm glad to know it's good. I don't know SEA but I'll check it out when it's out in June.

I finished SEA by Heidi R Kling, which comes out in June, and then I started Beautiful Creatures when it landed on my Kindle on Tues and it's really good so far. I also am tempted to read Catching Fire, but since BC has my interest I may read all the way through knowing I have another fantastic book waiting on the other side! I haven't read Graceling but am thinking I should check it out

Daisy wrote: "And yes the countdown begins to Aug 24! Who do you buy books for? What are you reading now? "

A wonderful independent Australian bookstore called Readings, in Melbourne, and at the moment I'm reading Graceling by Kristin Cashore because I kept hearing from everyone how wonderful it was and everyone was right! How about you, what are you reading?

And yes the countdown begins to Aug 24! Who do you buy books for? What are you reading now?

Daisy wrote: "Holly wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Holly wrote: "Hello everyone! My name is Holly, I'm a children's bookseller. I adore YA and kids' books since they are clearly the most captivating and original books ou..."

Ha ha! Very good restraint indeed! We had one advance reading copy of Catching Fire to pass around seven kids buyers. I think I was about number 5 to get it so I was practically rabid by the time I did. You won't be disappointed, it's so fantastic, at least equally as good as the first!

Holly wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Holly wrote: "Hello everyone! My name is Holly, I'm a children's bookseller. I adore YA and kids' books since they are clearly the most captivating and original books out there!

My f..."
I totally felt the same way -- stayed up til 3 to finish it! I have Catching Fire next to my nightstand and am dying to read it, but I held off since I needed to finish a friend's book. Such restraint!

Daisy wrote: "Holly wrote: "Hello everyone! My name is Holly, I'm a children's bookseller. I adore YA and kids' books since they are clearly the most captivating and original books out there!

My favourite autho..."

Yes! I couldn't put Hunger Games down when I first started reading it, what a sleepless night that was. And the third one is out August 24, only eight months to go! Eeeeee!

Holly wrote: "Hello everyone! My name is Holly, I'm a children's bookseller. I adore YA and kids' books since they are clearly the most captivating and original books out there!

My favourite authors are Garth N..."

I love Suzanne Collins too! She is amazing. Glad to see you here! And I totally agree that YA books are the best out there!

Hello everyone! My name is Holly, I'm a children's bookseller. I adore YA and kids' books since they are clearly the most captivating and original books out there!

My favourite authors are Garth Nix, Phillip Pullman, Suzanne Collins and Patrick Ness.

Nikki wrote: "Hi, my name is Nikki and I'm a 21 year old college student. I just got my RN this past fall and I'll be looking for an actual nursing job over my Christmas break.

I've been an avid reader my whol..."

I love TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD! My YA novel, THE MOCKINGBIRDS, is inspired by it!

Hi. I am April. I began to enjoy YA literature after enrolling in children and YA literature courses in min library school. It's especially important for me to stay on top of YA trends as current middle and high school librarian.

Hi, my name is Nikki and I'm a 21 year old college student. I just got my RN this past fall and I'll be looking for an actual nursing job over my Christmas break.

I've been an avid reader my whole life and just started a book blog at the end of September. You can check that out here: http://ahauntofancientpeace.blogspot.com...

My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird.

Wow...that's amazing...especially the part about how to handle a challenge. Thanks for sharing -- it does sound like a ton of work, but very rewarding!

A YA class sounds totally fascinating! What is on the curriculum?

Daisy,
We have to read 6 books: Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", Viola Canales' "The Tequila Worm", Neil Gaiman's "Stardust", Angela Johnson's "The First Part Last", David LaRochelle's "Absolutely Positively Not", and Gene Yuen Luen Yang's "American Born Chinese". I had already read half of the books but not the Canales, Johnson and LaRochelle books (loved all but the last book, which was funny but I thought could've been better). Then we had to pick a frequently challenged book from a list of about 15, and I went with Chris Crutcher's "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes," and write a paper on how to handle a challenge if brought to the library. Our final project, which I'm still working on, you had to pick one SC Teen Book of the Year Nominee and I picked Mary Pearson's "The Adoration of Jenna Fox," and do programming around that (booktalks, teen displays etc). Then you have to pick 60 books, about 40 of which are award winners and 20 of which you have to read and review yourself (the others you have to find professional reviews) and compose a paper around a theme that all the books share. I picked teen self-perception. It's a good class, and I like the literature classes even if they are a whole lot of work.

Welcome everyone! Glad to have you in our group!

I love A Certain Slant of Light too! And you can't go wrong with The Great Gatsby...Best last line ever in a book!

Bonjour! I'm Cassie, and I'm fairly new to GoodReads, but I'm enjoying it here. This group looks perfect for me, so I decided to join.

I'm a 16 year old aspiring photographer, yearly NaNoWriMo participant, and my life semi-revolves around the band The Decemberists and the author Neil Gaiman.

My favorite books can be found in my "Favorites" bookshelf, but I guess I'll just say them right now:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (my all-time favorite book. It never gets old.)
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince, specifically, even though the entire series is the best.

So that's me!

I am in my second year as a library aide for a K-12 library in Kansas. I am hoping to get more familiar with YA books. A good story is a good story no matter who the audience is.

I just finished I Am the Messenger by Zusack. Loved it! And his book The Book Thief. Did read the Hunger Games last year. Waiting for our library to get Catching Fire along with a couple other kids. :) I have to say I liked The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger better than Catching Fire...

I'm probably going to be doing more reading of comments than adding my own--when I have time!

I just read the Hunger Games last night! Wow...Stayed up til 3 am to finish it and I can't stop thinking about how incredible it was. I'm off to get Catching Fire today! Good to find you here!

Hey, everyone! I'm Amy Beaman. I've been lurking for about 2 weeks and finally got around to inroducing myself. I'm 32 years old and have 4 children (ages 1, 4, 7, & 9). I read a lot when I was younger and then gave it up when life got busier. Then, a friend gave me Twilight to read during midnight feedings when I had my last baby. I was hooked! (Needless to say, life is still busy. And admittedly, my house isn't nearly as clean now that I am reading again!) I read all four books in about a week and a half. Then read all the Harry Potter books within a month. Since then, I have read a range of mediocre to brilliant books. I especially enjoy books in series and I have to say that the Hunger Games books are my absolute favorite. I just finished Graceling and thoroughly enjoyed it (although I could have done without the pg-13 love scene). I am always on the search for riviting, adventurous, clean reads (which most often tend to be YA).

Kay wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Kay wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Kay wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Kay, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now living in the US. Books are pretty much my life, I read them and make them...."

If you need any tips or just moral supporting when querying please let me know! (I have been through the process!)

Daisy wrote: "Kay wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Kay wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Kay, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now living in the US. Books are pretty much my life, I read them and make them. I'm an art di..."

I have an amazing editor working on it, clean it up. Next step I guess would be looking for an agent when that part of the process is done. I keep my fingers crossed.

Kay wrote: "Daisy wrote: "Kay wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Kay, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now living in the US. Books are pretty much my life, I read them and make them. I'm an art director for a..."

Good for you!! What's the next step?

Daisy wrote: "Kay wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Kay, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now living in the US. Books are pretty much my life, I read them and make them. I'm an art director for a publising hou..."

Yes! I just finished writing my first YA fiction novel! I'm working on book 2 right now. :)

Kay wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Kay, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now living in the US. Books are pretty much my life, I read them and make them. I'm an art director for a publising house in Minnea..."

Good to meet you! What are you writing? Are you writing YA?

Rachel wrote: "Hi, my name is Rachel and I am in grad school studying to be a Children/YA librarian. I am currently taking a YA class for school and really enjoying it. I read them a lot on my own, in my spare ti..."

A YA class sounds totally fascinating! What is on the curriculum?

Daisy

Hello everyone! I'm Kay, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now living in the US. Books are pretty much my life, I read them and make them. I'm an art director for a publising house in Minneapolis, MN, and I write on my spear time!
I'm glad to meet you all!!!

Jesse wrote: "Hello! My name is Jessica (Jesse) and YA is the genre that really got me interested in reading. I never read much as a child or teenager and not much more in college other than what was assigned to..."
What are some of your favorite series Jesse?

Hi everyone!

Hey there, I'm Sue, 24, future English teacher. ^_^ Glad to meetcha all. I look forward to reading and sharing with you all.

Hello! My name is Jessica (Jesse) and YA is the genre that really got me interested in reading. I never read much as a child or teenager and not much more in college other than what was assigned to me. I read the Twilight Saga in November 2008 by recommendation from my younger sister and that spurred me on because I had finally found something I couldn't put down. Since then I have bounced back and forth from adult and young adult fiction, but I've found some really great books in young adult this year that just make me excited to read! I'm addicted to reading series and there are some great ones out there in YA...I'm excited about this group and can't wait to read some of the anticipated 2010 releases along with whatever is chosen throughout the year for discussion here!

Welcome people!

I read her book and I second all that! It's fabulous!

Hi everyone! What a great group! My name's Amy Reed and I'm the author of the YA novel Beautiful, which was just released by Simon Pulse and has been described as a modern-day "Go Ask Alice." If you like edgy, realistic YA, or if you're a fan of Ellen Hopkins and Laurie Halse Anderson, I think you'd really like my book. Ellen Hopkins called it "stark, disquieting and, quite simply, riveting." You can find out more about me and Beautiful here on Goodreads, or at www.amyreedfiction.com or amyreed.wordpress.com.

Kim wrote: "Hello, my name is Kim. I'm 26 years old, and I work in a joint use public and high school library here in Australia. I love working with teens, and find that at heart I still am one! ;-) I love YA ..."

Hi Kim! Welcome. It's so fun to have a group where we can say "hey, we're not teens anymore, but we love teen lit." I feel the same way!

Hi Lexx! Your reading skills are amazing! You must read everything. What are your favorite YA books?


Lexx wrote: "Hi! Okay my name is Lexx hutton. Im 15 and I am a YA writer. I read ALOT! like not even kidding i read a book and a half a day and thats in between daily laundry, dog bath, work and homework! Its r..."