Worst YA books

[Delia]

I never really cared for Gossip girl ... I just don't find it interesting and it's always the same in the end. People break up & get back together, and are backstabbing each other. Cool story, bro.

[Hweeps]

Delia wrote: "I never really cared for Gossip girl ... I just don't find it interesting and it's always the same in the end. People break up & get back together, and are backstabbing each other. Cool story, bro."

I really wanted to read Gossip Girls because it was that popular (kind of) but later I decided it just wasn't worth my time.

[Bella]

Vampire kisses!! was a totally waste of money and time and effort to read it. It was a huge disappointment.

[Bella]

Anne wrote: "I hate Twilight. It's basically a teenage love story being shoved down the throats of preteens. And it's just flat out bad. Terrible writing and editing."

Have you read it? Because I too can say shit about books but if I havent read them it is me being a hypocrite and going with the flow.... Just because twilight has raised many protests again it does not mean it is a bad book. Do not forget that it lead millions of teens to read more books something that other more well written books didn't accomplish. You should at least respect that.

[[deleted user]]

Wow Bella....calm down. There is no excuse to use the language you have used and to attack another person just because they don't have the same views as you.

What makes this country great is that not everybody thinks the same way, feels the same way, experiences things the same way. We are all unique and we are all entitled to our own opinions.....of course there are plenty of people who don't like that but those people belong in those heated one-sided political blogs/debates yelling hysterical rhetoric at each other and demonizing each other to the point that no one can have a simply conversation.....

But this is NOT one of those sites, this is a book DISCUSSION....a book CONVERSATION....and everyone should be able to express their own opinions without fear of having someone attack them.

[Tatiana]

Ok. This thread is explicitly called Worst YA Books. To me, it seems counterproductive to enter this thread just to defend one's favorite book and start fights and personal attacks. Isn't it much better to just state our dislikes and reasons for them? Or if you really feel strongly about your favorite listed here, to say why you liked it, without getting personal?

[☼Bookish]

Have you read it? Because I ..."

Yikes. One thing to keep in mind is that "all books aren't for all people". Some people hate Shakespeare for example. Others despise Hemingway, the Harry Potter series.... Well, you get the idea.

[Bella]

Brenda wrote: "Wow Bella....calm down. There is no excuse to use the language you have used and to attack another person just because they don't have the same views as you.

What makes this country great is tha..."

I was very polite to my fellow goodreader. Trust me I have said a lot worst to people that bash the books because of silly reasons. I know everyone entitles to an opinion. I only asked if she has read the books. As for me I adore Twilight Saga but to be honest the first book is almost below the average.

[Bella]

Tatiana wrote: "Ok. This thread is explicitly called Worst YA Books. To me, it seems counterproductive to enter this thread just to defend one's favorite book and start fights and personal attacks. Isn't it much b..."

I DID NOT START ANY PERSONAL ATTACK. I only asked her if she has read the book or not. That's it. The hypocrite part goes to people that bash the books just because Edward sparkles. Apparently I have remind everyone of a certain A.Rice vampire that prefered mice over humans?

[Bella]

Pam wrote: "Have you read it? Because I ..."

Yikes. One thing to keep in mind is that "all books aren't for all people". Some people hate Shakespeare for example. Others despise Hemingway, the Harry Potter..."

I did not say that everyone should like Twilight Saga. If someone hasn't read at least one book then he should never make his opinion public. For me it is wrong.

[Tatiana]

Glad to know you didn't mean anything by it, Bella. I guess your comment didn't read like it to us. I admit, I took it in a wrong way because you assumed Anne didn't read the book and said she would be a hypocrite if she disliked it without reading it. It seemed very personal to me. Nothing in Anne's comment indicated she never read it.

And what's wrong with disliking Twilight for sparkles? I hated books for less:) Book reading is very subjective.

Anyway, good we cleared it out and can continue venting our dislikes in peace.

[☼Bookish]

I did not say that everyone should like Twilight Saga. If someone hasn't read at least one book then he should never make his opinion public. For me it is wrong. "

BUT you did imply that everyone should like it or at least "respect" the series, else why would you have replied in the fashion you did -- replying that she was 'speaking shit' and being a 'hypocrit'.

Quote: "\Have you read it? Because I too can say shit about books but if I havent read them it is me being a hypocrite and going with the flow...."

============

But in any case, my point was if you like the series that's cool. If someone else despises the series and thinks its juvenile, then it shouldn't effect how you feel about it, right?

Time to mosey on. Peace :)

[☼Bookish]

Read two books in the "Emily the Strange" series. One was okay, but the second, Chairman of the bored was just awful.

[Bella]

Pam wrote: " I did not say that everyone should like Twilight Saga. If someone hasn't read at least one book then he should never make his opinion public. For me it is wrong. "

BUT you did imply that everyone..."

I was talkin generally. I have no idea what she has read or not. And I was suggesting you respect the FACT that it led millions of kids to read. Not the series ITSELF. I think you misunderstood.

[Julia]

Okay, I've just finished reading The Catcher in the Rye and when I was 15 I loved it. Now, not so much. I have a hard time reading novels with unlikeable unreliable narrators and Holden is pretty much the poster boy for unlikeable unreliable narrators. And it was pretty much the first YA book, too. I recognize that it's a "good" book, but it's not one I enjoyed reading.
Neither is it a worst book, most often it's on best lists, but for me, now, I didn't enjoy it.
And that's okay.

[[deleted user]]

Bella....it was your language that set the tone on your post. There is a time and a place for that and I don't believe it belongs here.

Julia - isn't it interesting how books (and movies) can change depending on our age and experiences. There are a lot of classical books that I liked in high school but now not so much. Then there are books that I never really "got" in high school but now absolutely love.

[Angela Sunshine]

I've read 3 or 4 of Sarah Dessen's books and am not super impressed. I guess they're not the worst books, but I can't see what everyone else sees. I love her on Twitter though. She's a crackup!!

[[deleted user]]

I agree AngelaSunshine but then again, I really am not that big of a fan of romance. However, Sarah Dessen books are some of the most popular books in my library.

Another author that I really don't understand why people adore her books is Lurlene McDaniel. I mean, after you read one or two, you pretty much know the stories in all of the other ones (boy or girl is popular at school, boy or girl finds out they have cancer, boy or girl falls in love with another person, boy or girl dies at the end....repeat)

[Tatiana]

LOL. I've never heard of Lurlene McDaniel, but this formula sounds awfully depressing:)

[Angela Sunshine]

I just looked Lurlene up, and all of her titles are so depressing!! LOL... I'll avoid her. Thanks for the heads up!

[Tatiana]

OMG, I just looked up the titles:

Don't Die, My Love
Six Months to Live
I Want to Live
Till Death Do Us Part
So Much to Live for

to name just a few. How morbid!

[Christina]

Jillian -always aspiring- wrote: "I have trouble labeling anything "worst books," but . . . well, here's a list of the books I just didn't like/care for (for various reasons) in no particular order:

*Nick and Norah's Infinite Pl..."

I agree with you. I started reading House of Night novels when they first came out and I really liked the story at the time. As the story progressed it just got very dull. Every time a new book came out, I couldn't understand what else they could possibly add to the already dying series. As for Vampire Kisses- it probably would have been more interesting had I been 13 when I started reading it. I have yet to finish either series. :/

[Polkweed]

Bella wrote:was talkin generally. I have no idea what she has read or not. And I was suggesting you respect the FACT that it led millions of kids to read.



so does putting text on the back of cereal boxes...

[Lisa]

I have to say that When You Reach Me was a complete disappointment. I still can't fathom how on earth it won the Newbery. And what was the purpose exactly, of the game show?

[Yaa]

Jodi Picoult books are just downright depressing...

[Carri]

oH, I totally agree. I decided this year I am done with Jodi Picoult, I just can't do it anymore!

[Terri]

They are often depressing but ALWAYS thought-provoking which is why I love them

[Carri]

The first few I read of hers, I was like "oh, big twist, I love it!". then I began to expect it, and then it felt like I already knew where she was going with the story, and if I knew i wasn't going to like where she was going with the story - it made it really hard to enjoy. Does that make sense?!? I have had a lot of time to think about this because the book club I am in likes to read every single Picoult book and they love them! So, I am making them read this year because it is so different from anything that we read as a group!

[Kellyflower]

Looking over the list of books some of you listed made me ask the question:
What makes a YA book the worst or even pretty bad?
For me there are several things:
*Poor editing, words that are misspelled. While this isn't the author's fault it still reflects badly on the book
*The actually story is several other books all mashed together. (and they didn't even do it well)
* very unrealistic (this of course does not include the paranormal, sci-fi books)
* the plot was so bad I don't even really know what it was.
* it's the last book in a series and they totally dropped the ball. The have three to four books building these characters then in the last book all these things we know is thrown out the window. It's like slapping the readers in the face.

One book that comes to mind, one that I would call a Bad YA Book/ Worst YA read for me is
another one I could barely get through was

[Rachel Alice]

I can't think of a single paranormal romance I like. Really the only romance books I like are the Eva Ibbotson ones, they're so beautifully written, with such well drawn characters.

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this one yet, but I really didn't like I Am Number Four. I didn't care about the characters at all, Sara;, who could have potentially been a strong and charismatic female character, was the human equivalent of a piece of dry toast. The rest weren't much, if any better. The plot felt really cliched too.

[Polkweed]

Kellyflower wrote: "* very unrealistic (this of course does not include the paranormal, sci-fi books)"

That's not exactly true.They may be farther from reality but even fantasy and science fiction need a certain plausibility to maintain the suspension of disbelief and the reader's immersion into that world. If Cinderella's carriage doesn't turn into a pumpkin at midnight then there needs to be an explanation, else it's just bad writing.

[Stormi (StormReads)]

I couldn't get into

[Kellyflower]

Stormi wrote: "I couldn't get into "

Thank God I wasn't the only one.

[Stephanie]

I'm always hesitant to trash a book b/c I feel bad critcising authors too badly... but I have to say I've enjoyed reading through this thread, and pleasantly surprised to see so many recommended books, or suggestions of who wrote something well in comparison to something that failed.

I just quit reading Nightshade, which is very much in the same writing style as Twilight, but with a far more mature edge. I just couldn't get past all the "eye widening" going on, which was at least 6 or 7 times in the first 4 chapters. Everything seemed so dramatic, even protagonist wearing a skirt was a HUGE DEAL. Just not for me, I guess.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of romance, so when I go into a book thinking it's about werewolves and witches, I don't really care about pages of looking back and forth between boys and body temperatures rising. It has its place, but I personally don't prefer that to be the central focus.

[Rose]

Stephanie wrote: "I don't really care about pages of looking back and forth between boys and body temperatures rising. It has its place, but I personally don't prefer that to be the central focus. "

I agree with you on that, in terms of books in the romance genre and beyond. I've come to realize that some of the books I like the best in romance have a blend of elements that go beyond just the physical attraction and actually have other elements that define it.

[Julia]

I'm reviving this thread, or attempting to, for my Least Favorite that I read in 2011 list:

[[deleted user]]

Just a question Julia but why did you not like Before I Fall or On the Jellicoe Road?

[Colby]

I'm in the minority here, but I couldn't even finish . It was just really stupid. Maybe I should have tried when I was younger. IDK.

[Julia]

Brenda,

I reoognize that my thoughts about these two books are unusual. I read 87 pages of Before I Fall and about 150 pages of On the Jellicoe Road. Basically, I couldn't stand the characters in the first book and the second book I couldn't even figure out what genre the book was, or what was going on, between who. I have reviewed every book I've read, so if you are interested, you'll see my thoughts here on goodreads.

[Julie]

Out of curiosity, I read Twilight and New Moon. I don't mean to start a flame war or anything since I know some people really like those books, but I was very disturbed by the relationship dynamic. I don't know if I can read any more of that series, so those would be my worst of 2011.

[Tatiana]

I hate when people tell me that I shouldn't have abandoned a book early on, but in the case of Jellicoe Road it does take awhile to piece everything together, and there is a great payoff in the end. I am sorry you didn't like it, Julia.

[Rose]

Jellicoe Road was difficult for me to get into at first, though I stuck with it until the end to see how it would turn out. I can understand if it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, because it did take some time for the elements to pull together and came across as confusing with the characters and multiple plot points, but I loved the payoff.

[Julia]

I get it that every book is not for every one, and that when one reads a book matters.

I read The Catcher in the Rye when I was fifteen and I loved it. I read it again this or last summer and I thought Holden was an insufferable whiny adolescent! (I'm now 3 1/2 times Holden's age.)

[Megan]

My least favorite books ever (actually, the only books I've read that I don't like) both happen to be YA, and they're both pretty popular, too. Wake and Evermore. Seriously....bleh.

[Michelle (Pink Polka Dot Books)]

I tried reading and I couldn't get into it either... I read 1/2 of it and skimmed the rest.. It was an interesting story and quite complicated, but I guess it just didn't click with me...
Anyhow here are my worst of 2011:

[Colby]

*Glares at Michelle for not liking It's Kind of a Funny Story*
I LOVE that book. Although guys seem to like that one more than girls do. I know a girl reccomended it to me, but she said it was only okay. I'm a total Ned Vizzini fanboy.

[Rachel Alice]

Jellicoe Road is definitely a book that rewards patience, personally I think it's one of the best books I've ever read, but I understand why some people might not like it as much as I did.

[Megan]

I'm surprised that so many people on here don't like Jellicoe Road. I haven't read it, but before this all I'd seen were great reviews for it.

[[deleted user]]

I thought was an incredibly shallow, pointless book. The characters were flat and the plot was virtually non-existent. I also didn't care for . It wasn't horrible, but I wasn't too enganged in it. It was kind of confusing, and some things happened that were totally unnecessary. The author, Leah Cypress, had an excellent opportunity to create a complex universe, but didn't take it.

[Courtney]

TERRIBLE!!!