Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion
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Worst YA books
Sheesh. You all think WAY too much when it comes to YA books. If I overanalyzed everything i read, reading wouldn't be enjoyable.
Shannen wrote: "Sheesh. You all think WAY too much when it comes to YA books. If I overanalyzed everything i read, reading wouldn't be enjoyable."I don't think I over-analyze YA too much, I just refuse to support or pay money for pure garbage. There are tons of excellent, well written YA novels that do not just recycle deadbeat bad boy/mary sue scenarios sprinkled with soft-core love scenes (as Jillian rightfully noted). Of course, there is plenty of fans of such literature and in no way I am going to judge them for their tastes, but I am an avid reader and always look for the next original, skillfully done story.
Tatiana wrote: "Shannen wrote: "Sheesh. You all think WAY too much when it comes to YA books. If I overanalyzed everything i read, reading wouldn't be enjoyable."I don't think I over-analyze YA too much, I jus..."
ha ha I love that the idea of questioning what you read is a bad thing that's hilarious, that concept would be the dreamchild of every author and publisher out there!
Nope for me it really is the hype about the books, I don't have a problem with the fans (the only 'problem' I have there is that they don't expect more from the books they read, and succeed in elevating some pretty ordinary novels to the stuff of literary rock stardom!)It isn't over analysing, it's just analysing - which is kind of part and parcel of avid reading.
This also isn't an attack on popular fiction, I enjoy popular fiction, but I also think it's a good idea to accept that some of these literary vehicles have a few kinks in the machinery instead of trying to pretend that all these run down volkswagons are shiny new porsches, as fans of YA sometimes have a tendancy to do(I have no idea where the car analogy came from, but you get my drift). Stopping to say 'What the??' is not a bad thing folks.
Ari wrote: "Do you guys really hate some of these books or do you hate the fact that the books have generated so much hype?I admit Twilight wasn't the best written book but it wasn't horrible. It's just that..."
Yh! OK, a lot of books have generated WAY too much hype, but that doesn't make it bad. And maybe some elements of CoB might be in others, coincidentally, but the plot is still original, and I loved the writing. And yes, I agree, Twilight has generated a million times more hype then it deserves, but it's not horrible! And why does everyone say writing is bad in certain books? I mean, sur, it could be better, but it WASN'T BAD!
I didn't mean that questioning a book is a bad thing. Not at all. Just that when one can write a short essay on a book they didn't like, maybe they are overanalyzing. :)
I also don't understand not liking a book just because it gets a lot of hype or has a huge fan base. Either you liked the book or you didn't. What does its popularity have to do with anything?
And how many original ideas can there be for the YA paranormal romance genre?
I think maybe I'm just too laid back of a reader. I gave up reading heavy books years ago and read YA and paranormal romance because they are fun, relaxing and adventurous.
I also don't understand not liking a book just because it gets a lot of hype or has a huge fan base. Either you liked the book or you didn't. What does its popularity have to do with anything?
And how many original ideas can there be for the YA paranormal romance genre?
I think maybe I'm just too laid back of a reader. I gave up reading heavy books years ago and read YA and paranormal romance because they are fun, relaxing and adventurous.
Most def. the Twilight series. I understand why it got so much publicity, but I wish that I would never have wasted that time of my life to read all four of the books.
I agree with you once again, Jillian:) I do read fluff from time to time, but mostly I look for books that take me somewhere new emotionally or thematically.
As for fluff-no-substance YA romances, I have come to a conclusion that I should accept the genre just as I have accepted adult bodice-rippers - it's the same story recycled over and over again, accompanied by often atrocious writing. I just wish these books had a better message instead of promoting unrealistic and often disturbing relationships to teens.
Shannen wrote: "I didn't mean that questioning a book is a bad thing. Not at all. Just that when one can write a short essay on a book they didn't like, maybe they are overanalyzing. :)I also don't understan..."
ITA... I think anybody can point out the flaws from Twilight and City of Bones, but a book doesn't have to be flawless in order for me to enjoy it. If a book captures my attention and entertains me, then that's all that matters.
I can't say there is a "worst book" out there. I realize that I'm not going to like every book I come across. Just because I think it's horrible, doesn't mean the same book can't be on someone else's "favorite book" list. I will categorize a book as being bad if it hasn't captured my attention by page 100. The ones I couldn't finish are:
Little Women
Once Dead, Twice Shy
Middlesex
Jillian wrote: "There's nothing wrong with being a laid-back reader. You probably get more enjoyment out of the books that way, and there's nothing wrong with that either. :)(On the popularity point, here is ..."
Jillian I was with you until you mentioned Harry Potter haha
And we're back on the same train again! hahaYes I agree with Malfoy beef, although I guess for the purpose of some general consistency, too huge a turn around for someone who had been spoon fed evil while in diapers might have been expecting too much ;)
Breaking Dawn is the only book I've ever hated. I'm one of those people who did overanalyze what I hated about it, but I like being a critical reader. I like to enjoy literature on all levels: writing style, plot, characterization, everything, to see how the layers of a truly well-written book make novel magic. It didn't hate Breaking Dawn because of the fandom (I read Twilight before most people had heard of it and liked it for what it was), but the fans do affect my bad taste. I agree with what Bess said: it elevates mediocre books. It's hard for me to see such obsession for something that I don't think is good lit, has poor role model sold as good ones, is full of plot holes and bad characterization, and is teaching girls how to read what I call crack fiction. After Twilight, they have trouble getting through classics because they aren't exciting enough for them; they don't have the patience for a well-developed story. The writing in Twilight really is that bad. I tried to reread the beginning a few months ago and couldn't get through it. IMO, the standard for good literature has gone down since Twilight hit it big. I don't think authors are necessarily writing stuff they don't believe in. I think they are trying to recreate the romance in Twilight and not focusing on plot or characterization because it's not important to them. If authors were trying to recreate a better-written book with good plot twists and great characterization, that is what they would copycat.I also really didn't like Fire, more for the message that I overtook the plot. It's the flip side of Breaking Dawn, where both authors imposed their beliefs, views, feelings, what have you on the story instead of letting the characters breathe into the story. Plus, I have issues with Cashore's punctuation. People learn how to be good writers from what they read. You take something like Meyer's works where you repeat the same thing over and over or something like Cashore's where the punctuation is all wrong and people think that's what good writing is because they like the story. But that's a whole different complaint about the lack of editing in modern fiction. I can't even count how many books I've picked up lately with typos and plot errors that editors should be picking up. It's very rare that you find someone who can both write in a way that the literature moves you and tell a exciting, creative story. Story telling and writing are two completely different talents and modern fiction only values story telling. There are good YA writers out there, but they don't usually hit it big.
@Jillian,
I was disappointed with Malfoy too (that the same thing after HBP), but not necessarily with JKR. I can see how she wanted him to be a gray character. He didn't want to give Harry away, but he was afraid of his aunt. He realized Voldemort's side wasn't good, but his whole family is tied up in it so to turn against it is to betray them. Plus, he's weak and he's going to look out for himself whether that hurts people or not. There are people like that in the world who don't see beyond themselves and don't grow.
Annalisa wrote: "Breaking Dawn is the only book I've ever hated. I'm one of those people who did overanalyze what I hated about it, but I like being a critical reader. I like to enjoy literature on all levels: writ..."Can you just give an example about how Fire's punctuation was bad?
Worst book I've ever read:
Ashes.
Mimi,I got Graceling from the library so I don't have the book in front of me, but Cashore doesn't follow any punctuation rules. You use an em dash as an interruption, ellipsis for omission, what's after a colon explains or expands what's before a colon, semicolons are only to be used of both sides are a complete sentence with connecting thoughts, and you have to use a comma if you start a sentence with a clause or connect two thoughts with a conjunction and a million other reasons. Cashore broke every rule. It's okay to break rules sometimes, throw in fragments for effect (which Collins does a little too much in Hunger Games in my opinion), but when every sentence uses incorrect punctuation, it makes me think she didn't know how to punctuate so she just picked.
Jillian,
Fire actually does want to get married and have kids, but the use of casual sex and multiple sleeping partners is more widespread than it is in Graceling. I was seeing a little too much Cashore in her characters--and Meyer in Bella in Breaking Dawn :). When I read Twilight I wasn't as critical of writing and I didn't have all these issues with the series yet, so in my case, the struggle to reread it was definitely both. You read a lot differently as a writer than you do as just a reader, but I don't think that's a bad thing. It makes it harder to enjoy fluffy reads at that level, but you also understand better why a book works or doesn't. I agree about Draco: I would have given him redemption too :).
That I can Think of only three books I couldnt finish. The one that I will not even give a second chance I dont think is The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong it was soooo slow half way through the book and nothing has happened plus the charcter was so annoying to me.The Next would be house of night because I own this book i will eventually start trying to finish it but I got to chapter 3 and my head was hurting so bad my eyes were trying to close from the heaviness.
Another would be Evernight by Claudia Gray I tried to like it and actually might give it another chance but I really didnt get the charcters.
Although I said Three I now realize there are a few more like Glass Houses by Rachielle Cane so slow and the charcter was so stupid I mean people are out to kill her and she is worried about her books and classes she would rather loose her life just to go to class I dont think so.
Some books I def loved would be the mortal instruments I love the world and Magnus Bane. Honestly all writers get parts of their writing from their fav authors, if u ask anyone they will tell you you learn to write from reading,so I dont see why the fact she started as a HP fanfic writer as a big deal. Its actually a great way to begin learning the right ways to write a book how to set up charcters IMO.
I do agree with everyone about the Hype theory, I am just now getting into the HP series I refused to read it when everyone else was because it was just annoying to me. I am now on the third book.
Chakara wrote: "That I can Think of only three books I couldnt finish. The one that I will not even give a second chance I dont think is The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong it was soooo slow half way through the book..."I agree with you about everyone borrowing ideas from their inspirations. Also, so many of the things in literature that people complain are "copied" from something else are found all over the place. They're called tropes. Someone before was complaining about CoB modeling Valentine after Darth Vader and Voldemort. It's the 'overcome the father figure' trope. (Yes, Voldemort is a 'father figure' - Harry 'inherits' traits from him, worries he'll grow to be like him. I could go on, but I won't.) It's been in literature forever, especially, ESPECIALLY YA literature. It's part of the coming of age plot..overcome/defeat/rebel against the parents, then go become who you are supposed to be. It's not like George Lucas or J.K. Rowling invented the whole battle your daddy thing.
Look at how many people complain that every book in the fantasy genre is copying Lord of the Rings. But even Tolkien got his ideas from Norse mythologies.
"There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt." --Audre Lorde ("Poetry Is Not a Luxury" Chrysalis)
Jenny wrote: "Chakara wrote: "That I can Think of only three books I couldnt finish. The one that I will not even give a second chance I dont think is The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong it was soooo slow half way ..."Agreed,Thank you
Chakara wrote: "There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt." --Audre Lorde ("Poetry Is Not a Luxury" Chrysalis) So true - it is about repacking "life lessons" in a way that resonates with each new generation...
Also I like wings although I only have 90 pages in the book and it seems its taking on the story of a whole nother book in another direction. I overall like the story and the main charcter Laurel is so far not as Fae-ish in the sense of not caring and all that faerie stuff.I also am reading the Goose Girl. I feel she has done a wonderful remake of the brothers grimm fairy tale and she is completely under rated.
I will then be moving on to frostbite. Ive read the first few chapters and it draws you in from the begining many people have told me this is their fav of the series.
I liked Wake because I have never read a book about someone who could venture into others dreams. It was a unique idea and I wanted to see how it played out.
I liked the lion the which and the wardrobe and have the whole Narnia on hold at the library.
I loved the Wrinkle in Time series and read it in middle school although I cant remember many details.
I hated the Nancy Drew books..she sucks lol thats my reason why lol.
I loved the babysitters club.
You liked Wrinkle in Time? I couldn't even finish it...
Mimi wrote: "You liked Wrinkle in Time? I couldn't even finish it..."I liked it and recently re-read it it was still good but it was alot better as a child. I prob honestly wouldnt have read it if it wasnt required when i was in middle school.
I read it when I was in the fifth grade, and I still didn't like it. In fact, no one in my grade did.
Mimi wrote: "You liked Wrinkle in Time? I couldn't even finish it..."I loved Wrinkle in Time when I was young! But I tried to re-read it last year, and didn't find it so enjoyable... I still gave it five stars for sentimental reasons. :-)
AngelaSunshine wrote: "Mimi wrote: "You liked Wrinkle in Time? I couldn't even finish it..."I loved Wrinkle in Time when I was young! But I tried to re-read it last year, and didn't find it so enjoyable... I still gave..."
Same here lol
Emily wrote: "I love a Wrinkle in Time. So sweet. I'm still struggling to finish The Sweet Far Thing. It's so hard to read it, so boring, nothing is happening."Im reading a great and terrible beauty and its pretty good.
Im a deffinate non fan of breaking dawn, I couldnt get into it i read it twice and didnt get anymore involved wtf is with vampire spawn?Didnt much like new moon either... but i love the series as a whole hahaha I know im nuts. but it was the first books I had read since I was 10 lol
But I did love thw host and wicked lovely.. anyone read tithe? i think miss black read it its on my next book to read im starting it tonight. read the prologe it seems very dark!
I loved Wrinkle in Time when I was younger and granted it's been a fair few years since I've reread it, it still ranks pretty highly in my favourite children/YA fiction options. As another example of a retold fairytale (following on from someone talking about Goose Girl), I think Beauty by Robin McKinley is great (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast obviously) and is probably one of the better fairytale revisions I've read in a number of years (including some of Robin McKinley's other attempts).
OoooO have you read sunshine lol its another vampire and other spooky stuff but i really got into that i must read beauty thought...its on the list lol
I love fairytale re-tellings! I've got about 6 books that I'm borrowing from friends or the library, but Beauty is the first one I plan on reading after those. Right now I'm reading The Storyteller's Daughter and it's hooked me. I'm now going to have to read the entire Once Upon a Time series. As for the YA books I didn't like: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (the main character reminded me of a 10 year old more than a naive freshmen) and An Abundance of Katherines (I don't know why I hated this one, I just did). I also have a love-hate relationship with the Gemma Doyle trilogy, especially The Sweet Far Thing. It's taking me months to finish it.
Denise wrote: "I love fairytale re-tellings! I've got about 6 books that I'm borrowing from friends or the library, but Beauty is the first one I plan on reading after those. Right now I'm reading The Story..."</i>I thought [book:Beastly was actually kinda cute for a retelling. And I am with you on not liking The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I haven't read An Abundance of Katherines yet, but I didn't really care for John Green's Looking for Alaska either. I read A Great and Terrible Beauty last year and hated it. I only finished because I was waiting for something good to happen. I won't bother with the rest of the series.
Do you think I should try rereading a Wrinkle in Time? Maybe if I do, I'l like it. Then again, I might dislike it even more...So who would suggest I read the Gemma Doyle seres? Some people say it's good, but others say it's not.
AngelaSunshine wrote: "I thought Beastly was actually kinda cute for a retelling..."I'll have to check that out. I've also got The Princess and the Hound waiting to be read. Hmmm, I think I should make a fairytale bookshelf. It'll help me keep track of them better.
Mimi--I started out liking the idea of them, but I don't like that it's written in the present tense. I don't like any of the friends either (or Gemma, really), but the endings hooked me, which is why I kept reading instead of giving up after the first book. The Sweet Far Thing is sooo long though! There was one point where Gemma reads a book and complains that the author wrote such a long story that could have been compressed, and I was thinking "Oh! Like this book I'm reading right now!" Agh. I've still got 400 pages to go, too. :(
Mod
how was hush hush anything like twilight?I didnt like twilight overly much but its storyline was at least a bit interesting... unlike these which was even more painful to read that i wanted to stab my eyes out and rip my hair out:
-Evernight (the title says enough.....worst book ever.. i havent even been able to bring myself to finish it yet)
-House of Night (These are just horrible the main character has about 20 love interests and it grows every book... and she just loooves them all)
-Shiver (Im reading it atm and its quite horrible)
-Fallen (it was slightly more tolerable but id still put it beneath twilight... which means something.. cause twilight was pretty horrible)
-Elphames Choice (had to force myself to finish this)
thats all i can remember for now.
No offense to everyone... I love paranormal fiction it being YA or not but i hate how a lot of people compare every paranormal book's to twilight, it wasnt the first paranormal book out there so not everyone is trying to copy it.. I will admit that there are some that decided to at least ride the twilight craze wave, but not every single paranormal book YA or not is 'OMG A COPY OF TWILIGHT!!!' *insert enraged screams and squeals here*
this isnt really directed to anyone in this group, althought Tatiana did say Hush Hush was a rip off, which I'm interested to see how she thought so. I've just been annoyed with the general opinion and stupidity of a lot of girls out there with the twilight craze for a while now, and my rant exploded :D
On another note i see a lot of good things about The Iron King, I bought that today so I hope that it will be good, I was a bit uncertain about it because the last fairy books i read which was Ink Exchange, although i enjoyed it i didnt think it was overly impressive.
Kate wrote: "how was hush hush anything like twilight?I didnt like twilight overly much but its storyline was at least a bit interesting... unlike these which was even more painful to read that i wanted to sta..."
I loved Shiver! :-(
AngelaSunshine wrote: "I loved Shiver! :-(
"
I loved it too, Angela! :)
"
I loved it too, Angela! :)
I just finished Deadly Little Secret, which was another paranormal romance/suspense story. I liked Twilight, despite the flaws and haven't read many of the other paranormal books discussed here, but Deadly Little Secret REALLY reminded me of Twilight. Which is a bummer, because the story had a chance to be interesting, but just seemed to copy some Twilight scenarios. Anyone else read it? Feel the same?
I liked Shiver too, but have to agree with Jillian about Grace. I've heard bad things about Fallen and Beautiful Creatures, and they're still the next books I'm going to read. It's that writer in me that has to see no matter how bad it is. I'm still holding out against Mortal Instruments though.
Mod
It's 480 pages, which I guess was the average length of the Twilight books so maybe that's not considered especially long, but Going Bovine isn't a ro..."
I better get started!
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I didn't care for Shiver either and won't be reading Linger.
Jillian wrote: "No, I haven't . . . though now I think I might read it somewhere down the line . . .(I may not like all the Twilight-like books out there, but some of them ARE enjoyable in their own ways . . ...."
I agree Jillian- the similarities in Deadly Little Secrets didn't annoy me as much because the characters are so different. It is when the characters start to become the same that I get annoyed.
Emily wrote: "Aw, I really enjoyed Beautiful Creatures! Don't let some bad reviews shoot it down. You might like it."
Again, I really liked this one too. :) I think Emily and I are the queens of worst YA books. ;)
Again, I really liked this one too. :) I think Emily and I are the queens of worst YA books. ;)
Kate wrote: "how was hush hush anything like twilight?I didnt like twilight overly much but its storyline was at least a bit interesting... unlike these which was even more painful to read that i wanted to sta..."
Good points! I agree 100% that all of those are pretty baaaad. Of all that you listed I can safely say only HUSH HUSH and THE IRON KING are good. Well HUSH HUSH is just okay but THE IRON KING is really good; all those glowing reviews don't lie!
I think some people dislike SHIVER because there wasn't any plot nor action. It was just...love story. And that put some people off, me included. I like books with intriguing plots and twists and turns and action and suspense...none of which SHIVER really had much of, if any.
Jillian wrote: "Annalisa wrote: "I liked Shiver too, but have to agree with Jillian about Grace. I've heard bad things about Fallen and Beautiful Creatures, and they're still the next books I'm going to read. It's..."lol i do the exact same thing, which i why im reading shiver even though wheni read the synopsis i knew that it wouldnt please me much. And I have Beautiful Creatures sitting on my shelf, the synopsis interested me but it seems not many people like it so it should be an interesting read... hopefully.
Im glad im not the only one that couldnt stand Elphames choice Jillian, Im not surprised you couldnt finish it... actually finishing it was painful, Im just glad that i bought it on sale and sad that i bought Brighid's Quest as well.. I havent even attempted that yet and not sure that i will.
Amy wrote: Good points! I agree 100% that all of those are pretty baaaad. Of all that you listed I can safely say only HUSH HUSH and THE IRON KING are good. Well HUSH HUSH is just okay but THE IRON KING is really good; all those glowing reviews don't lie!...."
Well Im glad that the Iron King is getting praised and am looking forward to reading it! one thing that made me go ahead and buy it was well it was on sale.. lol and the fact that from the synopsis the heroine doesnt seem like she'll be just another pushover? please tell me she's not! haha
and another thing.. in shiver Grace willinging sniffed Sams armpit... what girl does that even if shes in love!
Kate wrote: "and another thing.. in shiver Grace willinging sniffed Sams armpit... what girl does that even if shes in love! "
I would glady sniff Edward Cullen's armpit! LOL!
I would glady sniff Edward Cullen's armpit! LOL!
Shannen wrote: "Kate wrote: "and another thing.. in shiver Grace willinging sniffed Sams armpit... what girl does that even if shes in love! "I would glady sniff Edward Cullen's armpit! LOL!"
since hes dead i doubt it would smell like anything... except maybe corpse...
I hate that everybook is compared to Twilight im not a twilight hater and am glad that i read the books although i started to do a re-read but then thought about how i really didnt want to go thru the books a second time. Even Twilight is almost exactly like the Vampire Diaries which contrary to the beleifs of the new decade were written 10+ years before twilight. I really wish people would stop using that as a reason why someone should or shouldnt read abook ive actually seen and read bookreviews which describe another authors work as being TWILIGHTY or what ever and if I was that author I would be highly upset. Sure Twilight is huge and brings in millions but my work is mine and no one elses. As Ive said before in this post every idea comes from a privous idea more than one person can have the same idea its the way u choose to carry it out and trust if the books were all the same as Twilight then these people would be getting sued and none of us would be able to read the books at all because they would be told to rip all the books off the shelves. :)
Chakara wrote: "I hate that everybook is compared to Twilight im not a twilight hater and am glad that i read the books although i started to do a re-read but then thought about how i really didnt want to go thru ..."You have a very valid point Chakara and one that I agree with, a lot of people read a YA romance book and if it has a love triangle its instantly a copy of twilight in a lot of their opinions! Its something that annoys me to no end, love triangles, and every other romance context has been used long before twilight exisited, yet a lot of people scream copycat.
I highly doubt anyones opinions will change soon either, i think paranormal YA books are doomed to be compared to twilight for a long time, or until the next big thing... which upsets me.
Kate wrote: "Chakara wrote: "I hate that everybook is compared to Twilight im not a twilight hater and am glad that i read the books although i started to do a re-read but then thought about how i really didnt ..."Thanx
YA books I didn't care for:Twilight-- after the first one.
Hush Hush
Beautiful Creatures
Fallen
Need
The Forest of Hands and Teeth (or whatever.)
Young Adult Book Reading Challenges
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Incarceron (other topics)Sapphique (other topics)
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Matched (other topics)
Crossed (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Emma Bull (other topics)Terri Windling (other topics)
Charles de Lint (other topics)
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I do, however, enjoy Crispin: The Cross of Lead. I teach in an inner city middle school and that book is one of the favorites of my sixth graders every year.