Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion
What are you reading now?
Oh I love Harry Potter. I have read the whole series so many times I have completely lost count. They are my favorite books ever.
#5 is my favorite. It's the longest, but I love all of it. I especially love how much I hate Umbridge. Only a truly great author can make you hate a fictional character THAT MUCH. and all the stuff with DA and the huge battle at the end! ooh I want to reread these now. :D
And they cast Umbridge PERFECTLY in the movies. I don't think hate is a stong enough word. That woman...pure evil.
I just finished
in audiobook. Gotta love it! I had to get the first 5 from the library. I love Zoey and Nala!
I am reading Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand and I am on page 354. I only have one more chapter to read in my Novel and than I am done with this book. This Novel is about the Stories behind the Movie Nanny McPhee. I dearly love this book. It is really good and a easy book to read.
I love the whole series, Sally, but a lot of people didn't. Each book is better than the last, IMO.. and I can't help it.. I'm absolutely in love with Jace. :D
Sally wrote: "okay, I'm really having a hard time getting through City of Bones - Clare Cassandra. I'm at about page 200. Is the series worth it? I'll probably stick to it..."Some people think Cassandra Clare "borrows" too much from pop culture. We had a conversation about it in the "What Works - You Tell Me" thread if you're curious.
I haven't read her for reasons dating back to her days as a fanfiction writer.
I just finished Catching Fire. (What a great book!) now I am reading "13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen". It's okay... I am excited to start reading "room" by Emma Donoghue. It's not really young-adult but from what i hear it's really good! I also read "My sister's Keeper" by Jodie Picoutlt. REALLY good but incredibly sad. HMM OH Neal Shusterman! Everything I've read by him has been awesome. Read "Unwind" It's a good story in every category, then read "downsiders" and then if you're up for a series start with "everlost". Good by all means. OK because I just can't stop recommending books if you are looking for a light book read "a dog's life" I read that a while ago but I loved it.
IN fact just check out my favorites list if you are interested in good books. I LOVE them ALL. OK
bye.
Sally wrote: "okay, I'm really having a hard time getting through City of Bones - Clare Cassandra. I'm at about page 200. Is the series worth it? I'll probably stick to it..."I would say not to, but people will shoot bullets at me. I only read 100 pages and wanted to throw it across the room.
C. you whole comment cracked me up! I can tell you love books :)
Linda wrote: "I am reading Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand and I am on page 354. I only have one more chapter to read in my Novel and than I am done with this book. This Novel is about the Stories behind th..."I loved Nanny McPhee (mostly because my man Colin was in it!)
Agrees with Heidi on Nanny McPhee, I only watched it for Colin Firth..LOL
I'm reading this book called true north its really good: )
I love the Pretty Little Liars series!!!! who agrees????
Molly wrote: "I'm half way through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'm one of those people who didn't read anything Harry Potter when they first came out. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for my YA..."I waited until the series was finished before I read the, i just don't like waiting for the next book to come out, so I do that with many of the series books.
Marie
Sally wrote: "okay, I'm really having a hard time getting through City of Bones - Clare Cassandra. I'm at about page 200. Is the series worth it? I'll probably stick to it..."I gave up around the two hundred mark too.
Just finished
and I plan to read
next.
Sally wrote: "okay, I'm really having a hard time getting through City of Bones - Clare Cassandra. I'm at about page 200. Is the series worth it? I'll probably stick to it..."I loved the whole series! Each one does get better as it goes on. If after CoB you feel a bit let down, then maybe its not for you. I say finish it, and then decide.
I am currently reading
. I am really enjoying it. It is an ARC. I hope to finish it today. I have just over 100 pages left. Guess I better get cracking. :)
COFA is the acronym for City of Fallen Angels, book four in the Mortal Instruments series. It will be out in April.
Marie wrote: "Molly wrote: "I'm half way through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'm one of those people who didn't read anything Harry Potter when they first came out. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's S..."Same here. Have watched and own all the movies and now I want to start reading the books. Also did that with Twilight...well read all the books after watching the first movie.
I finished
and I really don't understand the hype for this series. Clary and Jace are horrible characters and the plot was too much like Harry Potter for me. I did enjoy Simon and Magnus though; they were well written and had the best lines. I'm now reading
, but I'm only 4% in.
Tracy wrote: "I finished and I really don't understand the hype for this series. Clary and Jace are horrible characters and the plot was too much like Harry Potter for me. I did..."I've heard people say it's similar to Harry Potter, but I don't see how. Can you explain?
Emily wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I finished and I really don't understand the hype for this series. Clary and Jace are horrible characters and the plot was too much like Harry Potter..."Voldemort and Valentine set out to do the exact same thing; rid their world of the undesirables. While this isn't unique at all, I felt that in MI it was almost identical to how Voldemort did, right down to 3 mystical items (the mortal instruments and the deathly hallows). Whenever I read a scene with Valentine, I thought I was reading a scene with Voldemort, except Voldemort is scarier and well written. Also, Harry struggled with thinking he was just like Voldemort; Jace struggled with thinking he was just like Valentine. I think she tried to write Jace as angsty like Harry, but she failed horribly and just made him into a jerk. I felt like I was reading HP but with a female main character and no magic.
Cassandra Clare is known for borrowing from other universes; there was a huge scandal about her Harry Potter Fan Fiction trilogy before these books were published.
Clary is also a huge Mary Sue, but that's for another rant.
Tracy it is always comforting for me to hear others who did not like MI. I feel so outnumbered on here everyone tends to go on and on (and on) about it (especially Jace). I try not to say too much because in fairness I did not read the entire series, but after seeing you read them all and still didn't change your mind I feel secure in my decision.
Heidi I wrote: "Tracy it is always comforting for me to hear others who did not like MI. I feel so outnumbered on here everyone tends to go on and on (and on) about it (especially Jace). I try not to say too muc..."I didn't get the Jace appeal either. He's a jerk through most of the books! If I had a crush towards anyone in the books, it'd be Magnus, but he doesn't swing my way.
Magnus is bi. He had a female lover in Clockwork Angel.
Stacia *those aren't my eyes* wrote: "Magnus is bi. He had a female lover in Clockwork Angel."That's good to know because I wasn't going to read Clockwork Angel anytime soon. I don't think he'd make it into my top 10 list but maybe my top 25.
I'm a fan of the books and not ashamed of it, but I am not a huge Clary fan. Never was.
Cassandra Clare is a decisive figure in YA. Especially for those of us who read and wrote Harry Potter fanfiction. The thing about the Internet--you can't really escape your past.Just finished
which isn't young adult but it's nice to step outside of my normal genre. I actually really liked it too. I think I find identical twins interesting and the story has a touch of magical realism.About to talk
in honor of March Madness (and because I can't get enough basketball).
PS Thanks to Catie for helping me find a list of sports books! And a good number of basketball books to read. I'm curious how reading a sports book as a sports fan will be.
Just finished books 1-3 of the Gone series by Michael Grant. It is excellent. Cannot wait for book 4 on April 5th!
Tracy wrote: "Emily wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I finished and I really don't understand the hype for this series. Clary and Jace are horrible characters and the plot was too much lik..."While I really liked the MI series, your comparison has valid points. Cassandra Clare also got accused of plagiarism, but I don't know when or what the outcome was.
Emily wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Emily wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I finished and I really don't understand the hype for this series. Clary and Jace are horrible characters and the plot wa..."It was during her fanfiction days and fanfiction.net deleted her stories because they were deemed guilty of plagiarism. There's a link in the other thread that explains it all with evidence and everything. Very interesting stuff. She probably meant no harm but it was unethical either way. These are the type of mistakes that haunt you.
Emily wrote: "But isn't all fanfiction plagiarism?"She actually copied lines directly from other authors, not J.K. Rowling, and claimed they were hers.
I felt like with MI she wanted to create a really strong female lead, but instead created a whiny teenager. With Jace, I felt she wanted him to be angst ridden, but she made him a jerk instead.
She copied word for word from other sources without giving proper attribution. JK Rowling gave us her universe to play in. I wrote fanfiction back in the day and NEVER did I copy someone's words, not even Rowlings. There's just something very wrong about that. There are even ethics in fandom.
Sorry, I posted that comment before I clicked on the link, so I didn't see that she copied WORD for WORD.
Emily wrote: "Sorry, I posted that comment before I clicked on the link, so I didn't see that she copied WORD for WORD."It's okay. I think people who haven't been immersed in fanfiction probably think its plagiarism.
Sometimes I miss the good old days of fanfiction.
I couldn't stand Clary. I thought that Jace was cute and had some good one liners. I tend to like the badboy's, and he was definitely that. Still, sometimes they all felt flat. (I liked Magnus the best. Simon was almost exactly Harry Potter, even down to the scars on his forehead from being marked.)I recognize how she copied Buffy and Harry Potter, but it wasn't until after reading the scenes from her fanfic that were copied from other books, that I really got upset. (I feel played, in a sense.) Alot of authors will copy other books or tv shows, (Bones from Night Huntress is described almost exactly like Spike), but to steal whole scenes from something is completely unethical.
I hate finding stuff like this out about authors that I collect, it's so disappointing and I don't want to put my money towards that. So, I will read City of Fallen Angels, but I gave my copies of the series to my friend and I won't collect them. I'll read her's when she buys it, lol.
So I haven't read this series. But the way you guys talk about Jace reminds me of her Draco from Draco Veritas. I'm just curious how similar they are.In fanfiction Draco was always fun to write and read.
Catie wrote: "Cassi wrote: "PS Thanks to Catie for helping me find a list of sports books! And a good number of basketball books to read. I'm curious how reading a sports book as a sports fan will be."You're..."
Our electricity went out during UKs first tournament game. My dad and brother both kind of stared blankly at the TV. I told them to join me in the car if they wanted to hear the game on the radio. Eventually they quit hitting buttons on the remote and came outside.
I've watched so many basketball games this weekend. I love the 4 channels where I can watch every game. I'm almost basketball numb though. If it's not an interesting close game I zone out a little bit. Which is weird because I LOVE the sport.
Carmel wrote: "All I can say is that I have obviously had my head in the sand re this whole plagiarism issue for Cassie Clare, disppointed to hear all of this. Perhaps the fact that I haven't read HP & fan fic I'..."I think it's amazing that there hasn't been any real uproar over it. I don't think your head is in the sand. I was just reading her fanfiction when it all went down (and even so I only caught snippets at the time).
I don't read fanfic either. I wouldn't have known about it if the link hadn't been posted in another thread here. I'm glad it was though, I'd rather know. It's sad.
I've been slowly (very slowly) reading an encyclopedia of faerie and its fun to stumble across creatures from Harry Potter. I think there is fair borrowing. All fantasy probably owes something to Lord of the Rings. But what she did in her fanfiction crossed the line. She said she was a journalist (I studied journalism) and if she went to any kind of journalism program she should have better ethics than that. Sometimes I wonder about people's ethics/morals with what you see on the Internet nowadays. Maybe if she hadn't supposedly been a journalist (I haven't researched enough to know the truth) I would've given her more leeway. But basic J-school should have taught her better.
I agree with that completely, but I also think there is just a level of ethics that comes from common sense. We learn at a very young age, just writing papers for school reports, that you can't steal lines and paragraphs from other peoples works. It is illegal, lmao.That's the difference for me, I suppose. I feel like there are alot of authors out there that steal the core of a character, or a concept. But reading some of those scenes in that link and seeing whole conversations blatently copied... I've never had an ethics class, I'd just know better.
Young Adult Fiction for Adults
Books mentioned in this topic
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Timeline (other topics)
Mort (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Tom Clancy (other topics)Jocelyn Chen (other topics)
Jim Butcher (other topics)
Will Schmitz (other topics)
Robert Galbraith (other topics)
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I want it! It's not in e-book format so I'm going to check libraries before trying to buy a paperback. Selling your soul for basketball? So absurd. The other cover is kind of amazing (saw it on Amazon first)