So You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Author Bryan Bliss

This week's guest post comes to us from soon-to-be-published author Bryan Bliss.










Bryan Bliss is a young adult author. HarperCollins will publish his first novel, MEET ME HERE, next year. He lives in Oregon with a wife, children, and student loan payments. You can find him on Twitter @brainbliss and at www.boysdontread.com.

















I came home from a weekend away to find my wife reading Twilight. Actually, it was the third book in the series. The other two were thoughtlessly stacked on the end table. She didn’t even say hello to me. 





This is how young adult literature entered my life.





I have never read Twilight—this is neither a badge of honor or a loaded statement. I just didn’t pick it up and, now, can’t find a reason to work it into my already towering TBR pile. And in those early days, when young adult literature was new and exciting and every trip to the bookstore was a revelation, I was a slavering mess.





Because young adult literature changed my life.





Okay, maybe not my life. But my writing and reading were changed forever, and suddenly I was the creepy thirty-something guy in the bookstore gushing to shocked teenagers and suspicious moms about everything I was reading. Everything I thought they should read. And while I got my share of awkward looks, I like to think of myself as something of a young adult literature evangelist, standing on the street corner and barking out to anyone who will listen: These are the books you need to read.





These teenagers—their mothers—were not captive audiences. But you. Well, let’s just say I’m happy to be here.





The following four books are ones that I love dearly. So forgive the way I’ve creeped up next to you amongst the shelves. Excuse this goofy smile. Because these books. I really think they could change your life.













17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma





I don’t do scary. I’m still mentally broken over a childhood viewing of A Nightmare on Elm Street. So when I heard people describing this book as creepy, I was worried. First, because I’m a Nova Ren Suma fan (Imaginary Girls easily could’ve made this list). But I also like my sleep, my sanity. Like I said: conflicted. However, my desire to read more Nova books eventually won out and thank goodness for that. Let me just say it: I don’t know if I’ve read a more compelling young adult book in the past few years. This book was creepy, but the flawless writing and compelling story push it into a space few books achieve. Yes, I’m being vague, but only because I’d hate for you to not experience this book fresh. Let me simply say this: when you figure out what’s happening, it’s kind of like Boom. Mind, blown.



















Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff





I grew up playing in bands that practiced in basements and barns, none of which were as serious as we wanted them to be. So I’m a bit of a sucker for music books. And while music plays a huge part in Brooklyn, Burning, it’s not what the book is about. If I had to boil it down to one word, I’d say this is a book about love. Love of music. Love of Brooklyn. Love that isn’t contained to pronouns or biological parts.





Like his first book, The Absolute Value of -1, this one will make think about young adult literature in a different way, and that alone makes it a must read.



















Hold Still by Nina LaCour





So, this book. I read it in a day and at the end, when I finally exhaled, it was like, I feel like I just died. But in a good way. There are a multitude of books that deal with suicide, but few do it with such care and attention to avoid the slip into sentimentality. You will feel Caitlin’s loss. The treat, however, is the beauty and poignancy with which it is written. Like the other books I’ve chosen, it’s just a damn good writer at work. Hold Still is a beautiful story of what it means to heal after tragedy—whether that’s the death of a friend, or the daily tragedies none of us can ever seem to escape.



















Insignia by S.J. Kincaid





So there’s a book about video games and futuristic war and it’s hilarious and all the boy characters are spot on? Well, sign me up. Now, I’m a contemporary realistic fiction sort of guy, and I don’t stray very often. However, sometimes a piece of speculative fiction finds its way into my hands. And when the gods are smiling, when one of those books keeps me up all night reading, I remember how amazing it is to be transported to a new world. I don’t want to go all Reading Rainbow on you, but this is that sort of read. I literally couldn’t stop turning the pages. And like all great books, Insignia is about more than video games and the future of warfare. It reminds us what it’s like to be young and have friends and finally realize that you can do wonderful and miraculous things.




            Related StoriesSo You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post by Kate Testerman, Literary AgentSo You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from librarian/blogger Sarah Bean ThompsonSo You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Malinda Lo (author of Adaptation)