Books I Should Read For Matric

[Courtney]

So in Matric I have to read 7 books of different genres...
Any tips as to what I should read? I normally read YA and obviously I can't for these...

[Lauren]

I'd suggest broadening your horizons beyond YA, but at the same time, YA isn't necessarily a genre per se, so you could read YA in seven different genres, e.g. science fiction, fantasy, historical, romance, mystery, steampunk, horror, LGBTQ, etc. And of course there are subgenres of those genres, e.g. epic fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, fairytale, etc.

Otherwise, what sort of YA do you like to read? If you favour a particular type, we could give you recommendations for non-YA titles in those genres.

[Courtney]

I pretty much read anything. Historical fiction, dystopian, fairytales, paranormal, contemporary, mystery, etc. But I think I need Biographies Autobiographies and non-fiction as well. All I've been told is 7 different genres.

[Janice]

You could try starting off with our current book of the months ;)

That's already 4 different genres!

* Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - Non-fiction memoir
* Zodiac by Sam Wilson - Mystery/thriller (with a bit of sci-fi thrown in)
* Poison City by Paul Crilley - Urban fantasy
* Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - YA science fiction (or start off with Illuminae, the first in the series).

Our book of the months have been varied in their genres so check out our previous reads for inspiration:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

[Lauren]

Maybe clarify it with your teacher? I mean, I would consider YA sci fi, YA fantasy and YA historical to be three different genres already, but your teacher might not see it that way and might not have thought about what different genres means, especially if they don't read widely. A lot people think fantasy and sci fi are the same thing, for example.

Some random suggestions off the top of my head:
Fairytales: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Fantasy: Crooks and Straights by Masha du Toit
Post-apocalyptic/zombie: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Mystery: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
I seldom take an interest in bios, but these are on my tbr list:
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

Other genres to consider:
A graphic novel (these are generally short enough to read in one sitting in a bookshop or library)
A collection of short stories (one of your favourite authors might have one)
Non-fiction on science, history, art or travel. This doesn't have to be boring; there are loads of books that are really entertaining and often funny. Just browse around for a topic that interests you.

[Courtney]

Okay, I will check with my teacher. Thank you both for the suggestions!!