SO SICK of 13-18 year old protagonists! Help with this?

[Queenie]

I'm seriously just so sick of "YA" books. Some have such amazing stories to tell but all centered around unbelievable teens that never cease to irritate me to death to where I can't enjoy the amazing world that has been created.

Any suggestions for books that DO NOT involve an overpowered, bratty teen for the protagonist? =]

[Brandt]

Try to read any book not marked "Young Adult"..
problem solved :P

I can see you haven't read any of the Dresden Files, so that would probably not be a bad place to start..
It's considered by many, me included, to be the best Urban Fantasy ever written :) And there is like 14 of them out there now, so plenty of hours of entertainment to be had, if you end up liking them..

Other than that Ben Aaronovitch and Mike Shevdon have some great UF series..

If you want a female protagonist, Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series is pretty entertaining as well..

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ]

Mab wrote: "Try to read any book not marked "Young Adult"..

The problem is that some people tend to mark books as YA even if they are not.

[Brandt]

I'm sure there are ways to see through that..

[Matthew]

Anything by Clive Barker (except Thief of Always and Abarat) His books are amazing, though sometimes a bit grotesque, but there are incredible stories in each. I've yet to find one that I didn't enjoy thoroughly. Of course it all depends on your personal taste in genre.

[Alysses]

I would try the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne and The Just Breathe series by Kendall Grey.

[Tanjlisa]

I feel your pain. I'm reading City of Bones right now and have been ranting about my dislike for Clary.

Try James Rollins, he's not urban fantasy but his writing is fantastic and his books are not the least bit dull. Start with Sandstorm, the first book in the Sigma Series.

[Penumbra]

Glad you posted this because I've given up reading any YA books because of young, whiny, TSTL female protaganists. If a rare one comes up with a teenage male I sometimes check it out.

Actually one book I'm reading now has a male MC he's in high school. I don't think he's very whiny, but there is a lot of monologue and instructional dialogue of werewolf mythology the author created that's different from what I've read so far. It's this one:
I happen to love werewolf stories but it may not be to everyone's taste especially if they want something with more action and adventure.

[Geoffrey]

I know exactly how you feel. I AM a little bit of a hypocrit as I have enjoyed some YA novels, but I can't understand why there aren't more books with protagonists in their 20s and 30s. All of my novels have characters of these ages..I can never understand YA books where a) they're popular despite protogonists being whiny, or b) a 16 year old seems to have far too much expereince for their age.

Thanks for these book suggestions here. I'm going to look up the Dresden Files as they sound promising :D

[Susan]

Mab wrote: "Try to read any book not marked "Young Adult"..
problem solved :P

I can see you haven't read any of the Dresden Files, so that would probably not be a bad place to start..
It's considered by man..."

LOL

[Mike Briggs]

Tanjlisa wrote: "I feel your pain. I'm reading City of Bones right now and have been ranting about my dislike for Clary.

Try James Rollins, he's not urban fantasy but his writing is fantastic and his books are no..."

Rollins has even written 7 or 9 fantasy novels. Can't recall off hand how many. Two different series, though second only has 2 books in it. (just looked it up, 7 books of fantasy). Banned and Banished isn't Urban Fantasy, and I don't know what Godslayer Chronicles is other than "Fantasy".

---
Urban Fantasy I've enjoyed - the already mentioned Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, and the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Neither being young adult series.

Oh, and Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series is recommendable. Set in London, British cop. Urban Fantasy.

[Jalilah]

If you are used to YA you may find Dresden Files too violent.
Try the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. The first one is Moon Called
or The Jane Yellowrock Series by Faith Hunter Skinwalker
If you want something deeper but still fun and very magical try the Newford Series by Charles de Lint you do not have to read his books in order in fact I recommend starting with Someplace to Be Flying
Another good fantasy book where the story starts with the protagonist being a teen but is a coming of age story is Nina Kiriki Hofmann's A Fistful of Sky I just started and am loving it!

[Shehreyar]

You really ought to read Diana Rowland's and .

Also Jim Butcher's .

If you're into paranormal/victorian/steampunk then give Gail Carriger's a try.

Then there's Lish McBride's . Excellent book. There's a second one and a third is coming out soon.

After that, Ilona Andrews's and also Ben Aaronovitch's , which is a great book (really, really great).

I also liked Kalayna Price's and Darynda Jones's (extremely funny).

None of these are YA, btw.

[Tanjlisa]

Mike wrote: "Tanjlisa wrote: "I feel your pain. I'm reading City of Bones right now and have been ranting about my dislike for Clary.

Try James Rollins, he's not urban fantasy but his writing is fantastic and..."

Which of James Rollins' novels are considered fantasy? I only saw two from his kid collection...

[Mike Briggs]

Tanjlisa wrote: "Mike wrote: "Tanjlisa wrote: "I feel your pain. I'm reading City of Bones right now and have been ranting about my dislike for Clary.

Try James Rollins, he's not urban fantasy but his writing is ..."

hmm. huh. Odd. I recalled his author profile including a link to his other name. I know his other profile has a link to Rollins. hmm. Sorry about that. Thought the link was there.

Jim Czajkowski writes under two names: James Rollins and James Clemens. The fantasy books are under the James Clemens name.

---
edited to add: I recall a greater connection made on Rollins home page and Clemens home page about their connection to .. um . .one author. Looking at both websites again, just now, whatever I saw in the past is gone now. Though you can still see a connection if you look at Clemens FAQ section where he talks about writing Subterrean, EXCAVATION, and Deep Fathom.
http://www.jamesclemens.com/faq.htm
see specifically 12 & 13.

eta: as expected, the wiki article about him makes the connection as well, but I was attempting to find "official" sources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ro...

[~Thena~]

I agree with the Dresden Files, the Iron Druid Chronicles, and the Mercy Thompson books. I also recommend these:

Chicagoland Vampires--I found Merit a little annoying in the first book, but she actually grows throughout the series. Now it's one of my favorites.

Elemental Assassins--Gin is one of my favorite female protagonists ever! She's kick ass, doesn't take any crap, but still has feelings.

Night Huntress--another kick ass heroine with feelings who isn't TSTL. My favorite vampire books.

Jane Jameson--if you want funny and lighthearted.

Blood Singer--vampires, wizards, and sirens, oh my!

Cal Leandros--Cal + Niko = YUM!

Alex Craft

[Tanjlisa]

Mike wrote: "Jim Czajkowski writes under two names: James Rollins and James Clemens. The fantasy books are under the James Clemens name.
"

Thanks for clarifying! :-)

[Jalilah]

Penumbra wrote: "Glad you posted this because I've given up reading any YA books because of young, whiny, TSTL female protaganists. If a rare one comes up with a teenage male I sometimes check it out.

Actually one..."
2 good books with a teenage male protagonists who are NOT whiny are:


and

both books are great and no, I am not related to Charles De Lint! I just really like his writing!