Study Buddies discussion
General Discussion
>
Book Covers - YA Study books coming soon!
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
I'm glad Luna finally decided to put it out officially as a YA. I made a comment a few months ago that the Study series would be much bigger had it been published as a YA novel. I also read mostly YA, so now it'll be right next to some of my other favorites.
I have the US adult trade ones and I really like the YA ones better. Oh well. They're all lovely! It's very exciting to see the covers. And I agree - I like to see the faces too.
Mod
A great site for book covers: http://covers.fwis.com/
The Best (Worst) Sci-fi/fantasy covers ever: http://www.cracked.com/article_14790_...
A few thousand sci-fi covers: http://krazydad.com/visco/
Cool new sci-fi covers (UK only): http://wemadethis.typepad.com/we_made...
Maybe I can make a book cover for Alfonso so it looks like he's reading One Hundred Years of Solitude or something like that instead! ^_^
As an artists I enjoy the UK cover a lot better than the America version. I don't associate the figures in the cover with the characters in the book. Initially the covers are what draw me in at first glance. I am also someone who loves realism and impressionism so the covers are what I look for. I would love the book cover Alethea. Maybe I can have a book cover that looks like an art biography.
Mod
Due to the rape/other gory violence in the series, I hesitate to recommend the books to people younger than 16, but Jane recommended Poison Study to a mature 15-year-old friend, who enjoyed the series as long as she skimmed over those parts. I think actual Young Adults (as opposed those of us who continue to read YA even though we're long past our teens :) can still enjoy and appreciate at least the first 2 books.
I don't know about the third one. I even heard from some adults who had difficulty getting through Fire Study because of the seemingly endless plot weaving back and forth! (I enjoyed it, though--it wrapped the story up tightly for me.)
Mod
Maybe the will do some creative editing with some of the adult content. I don't know, but it seems to me that a lot of the young adult stuff has adult content or could be questionable for someone younger. There is a book called 13 Reasons Why that deals with someone who wrote a list of 13 reasons they wanted to commit suicide. I did not think that the first book was too bad, I don't know about the next two.
Mod
There's a string of violent murders in the second book, and probably my favorite pseudo-sex-scene writing in that one (talk to me after you read the book), but overall I think Poison has the strongest adult content. I went through all of the goodreads reviews and the few people who gave it 1 or 2 stars seem to be conservative readers who couldn't get past the disturbing part at all and didn't even finish the book.
Mod
I think Inside Out is to be YA. One of the linked articles under the "Interviews" post has more info on that.
That said, I think *some* YA readers will enjoy the series. I think it really depends on their mental/emotional age rather than their numerical age! Sadly there are quite a few of my over-18 customers whom I don't consider mature enough to read it!
Due to a series of unfortunate events (not ones written by Lemony Snicket), when I was 13 I had a much older mindset than other girls at that age. With people who don't know me well, I try to blame it on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (creepy as heck! read it when I was 10), but to tell the truth, personal experience made me that way.
If I had read Poison Study when I was that old, I like to think it would have inspired me to be strong and brave like Yelena. I got there eventually but I took a different and much longer (it seems to me) path.
In some of her interviews Maria mentions a young reader who wrote to her and said that reading Poison Study helped her make a choice between life and death. I admit it that was something I struggled with at that early age, too. And I seem to have made the right choice even without the book! But I hope that branching the series into a YA audience will help other young people in similar predicaments make that choice too.
I'm not sure if they should be YA, there are some strong scenes that I'm not sure I would like them to read, but then again if you see some of the other YA's this on is tame so I guess I can't really say much. As for the Covers, I love the Adult US cloth covers but I also like both the UK covers, In the YA one its dark so you really can't make out her face good (a little dark mystery) and I just think the Adult ones are really pretty.
I like the US adult paperback covers the most.
I like the US Adult paperback and the UK Adult paperback covers the best. I like each of them for different reason. I don't think I ever would have picked one the UK cloth covers off of the shelf to read unless someone has suggested it.While the series does have some serious topics in it, I don't think that they would be out of place on a YA shelf. I agree that 16+ (or so) would be an okay rating, but there are plenty of YA books out there that contain more mature issues. And I think Maria wrote the book is such a way that a mature youth could read it.
I have to say I agree with my father lol (fonzi!!!). I love the UK version! Damn british always up one on us yanks! Grrrrr *in an english accent*.
I enjoy the US trade covers better then the Hardcover ones--I like the HC ones, but that isn't Yelena for me. Just a pretty chick on the cover who attracted my eyes. The Trades have a sense of mystery and sort of 'why tease us with that particular view?'.I love the Henry UK ones the best however. They are GORGEOUS and I look forward to owning those (one day very soon). The new YA covers? Meh. Pretty standard nowadays I think.
Are the books okay for YA? What do you consider Young Adult age? I think anyone at least 14 or older would be fine reading the books. Unfortunately bookstores seem to put the YA with the Younger Teen books more often then not so I can easily see a 12/13 year old picking up the book and the parent being upset by the violence. Though given some of the BS in 'teen' books today I wonder about that.
Mod
I guess "technically" YA is anyone with a "teen" in their age--and of course all of us who have reached a "ty" or more but are still "young" in mind! ;) but I feel a little prudish when recommending certain books to younger readers. Like Anna Godberson's The Luxe--I thought it was going to be all chaste and Regency-like, and all sorts of canoodling happens! And we were *told* it would be ok for 14-year-olds. I'd barely give it to a 16-year-old! Maybe I'm just getting old and over-protective ^_^
I haven't read the sequel-- Rumours--yet, but I think I will eventually. I liked the first well enough.
I have similiar problems. My sister is 15 (9 years younger) and before I really understood the distinction between 'YA' and 'Adult' I let her read whatever she fancied on my bookshelf. The ratings ran anywhere from 'okay for all' (my georgette heyer romances) to steamy hot/violent (my anya bast novels and clive barkers). With her teachers being more vigilant for books that are 'inappropriate' for her age group at school we've had to be really careful. Gemma Doyle series, by Libba Bray, was not allowed as a book report material because it dealt with a girl cutting herself, 'drug like' states and girls killing their teachers (in self defense). Yet I'd say that's fine for a 14/15 year old to read. On the flip I think Gossip Girl is a bad rec for teens--its like Beverly Hills 90210 in book form!
ITs so much harder to rate books then movies or video games--since so much of it is left to the imagination what's scandalizing for one parent is chaste to another.
Mod
That's my stance on it honestly. From what I gather in my sister's friendship circle and classmates they are more intrigued by the whole thing then anything else. Once you take the mystery out of something the vasty majority of people back off. Plus set their standards too high for a suitable mate early on! That way if their boyfriend doesn't live up to expectations they'll be like 'whoa wait a minute. this isn't fun!' (i'm half-joking about this).
Sure you are, It does make since though if you look at it. It seems that the kids that know more about it don't go as far as fast.I am just thankful that I have boys and they are not at that age yet, when they get to that age then they can talk to there daddy about, and I can tell him if what he is telling them is good or not. (just joking, he probable wouldn't even let me know they talked)
Seriously, I've said it somewhere else, but I'll say it here to; I don't care what kids are reading as long as they are reading. If a parent has an issue, they should read the stories with their children and have a mutually respectful dicussion about what they've read. There are some intense things in this series, especially the stuff with Ferde but it's a good opener to talk about safety with girls who are just starting to date (remember how Gelsi lets Ferde convince her he's a good guy, until her ties her to the floor and "kills" her?). Sorry, I know that's a soapbox of mine, but it drives me nuts when I have parents (I work with jr. high and high school students) tell me that they haven't read something, but they won't let their kids read something because it's "inappropriate".
It drives me nuts too Tina. My mom is one of those parents (not with me, but with my sister now. my mom paid little attention to my habits growing up) and we're constantly battling over the fact I let Tegan (my sister who's 15) read manga like Death Note or Naruto b/c she's heard all about those kids in the media who take it a step too far. She wont' look at the books, won't even tolerate their prescence in her house, just arbitrailly says 'no way'.my dad in contrast, he won't read them, but he'll at least listen to why Tegan should be allowed to read them. He trusts me enough to know that I would never give her something I felt was truly 'bad' for her
But does your mom try and control the movies your sister watches? Because that's something I see alot at work, parents who won't let their kids read a book about witches, but they can see all the slasher flicks they want. This makes no sense to me, I'd rather my (non-existent) kids read "intense" books than see it all vivid in a movie. At least the book generally improves vocabulary, etc
Mod
I think it's so tricky to pinpoint the moment when responsibility passes from the parent to the child in the matter of deciding what is and isn't appropriate.
For example, I may think that raising my hypothetical future children with the movie of Frank Miller's 300 played over and over again next to their cribs, so that they can learn to fight with swords and proper battle formations, may be a right and proper thing to do; but someone else might be like, hey! There's nudity in that! Don't show that to babies!
Or, while to some degree I think it's inappropriate from very small children (let's say, about 5 years old) to be watching Family Guy or Robot Chicken, I will think my kids are mature enough to watch those shows if they can explain to me all the in-jokes and pop-culture references of any single FG or RC episode of their choice. Yes, they may use Google or whatever the popular method of research is in the near future. Yes, if they can do this when they are 5 years old, I will buy them the most complete box set available and let them watch them over and over!
And after they accomplish something like that, it's up to them to figure out what's ok and not ok to read/watch/listen to.
That's all I'm saying. I think some adults think that there's a set age when younger people are ready to begin reading a certain kind of book, and I don't agree with that. I think it all depends on maturity. Age really is just a number, maturity is a lot more than that.
Tina--my sister has the full digital cable package in her bedroom for her sole use. She watches True Blood religiously and thinks that Big Love is the best show ever. I admit my brother (who is 23) and I had Tegan grow up on slasher films (Sleepaway Camp, Freddy, Jason, etc) because we felt if she watched it young enough she wouldnt' grow up a prissy idiot like so many other girls afraid of a campy horror film. And it worked! My only concern when she was growing up was nudity. I would meticulously cover her eyes at any showing a topless girl or naked boy butt until she turned 11 and could scientifically name each organ and accurately relate what their primary functions were.
Alethea--that's pretty much how my dad gauged when we were old enough to start watching Simpsons. We weren't allowed to till close to the...6th season?I was about 10 so yeah about the 6th season. Once our knowledge outstriped HIS knowledge it was fair game.
Also, and I meant to say this before- Alethea, I love your idea about how to decide when kids can watch something like family guy. When you can explain it, you can watch it. Nice!
Mod
Sci-fi writers, feel free to steal that one. It's a giveaway.
lol I know. BD's sudden change in readership level made me go want to buy popcorn and watch all the crazy parents have a field day with it. At least in HP's case JKR gradually had the story grow more mature and darker, while still staying pretty much suitable for its intended audience. Breaking Dawn went from 'Hey PG!' to borderline R in some cases of graphic description.I would love to have a patch like that. Scientists take notice! Parents everywhere will either love you or hate you!
I'm not sure about the YA release, but if you look at series that are YA that push the line, they have a teenage undertone. I think that these books really don't speak to the regular YA audience and that it would be considered for some older, mature teenagers, but not all. I do agree with the Breaking Dawn comment above, but even in the first book there were underlying sexual tones.
I think the shock of it just...appearing suddenly is what made me go 'oh dear'. Especially after the interviews that SM gave. I suppose the circumstances had changed so it was different though. I definately think the older YA crowd would be more in tune with the Study books then the younger crowd. Many of the more popular YA books that reach that demographic seem to center around 'social' hierarchies, school drama and issues that all teens face (Gossip Girl, Vampire Academy, Morganville Vampires, A-List), which even Twilight-saga features.
Say what you will about the Study series Yelena would never be caught dead being angsty about some snotty b***h social queen telling her that her hair looked like a rat's nest. XD
There are definately younger teens who would enjoy it--my sister has been reading the series since she was 12 or so, but by in large this is an older teen interest series.
I guess that I wasn't shocked that it happened in Breaking Dawn as much as that she spent so much time on it and went into enough detail to know that there were some serious sexual experiences going on. I really thought she would glaze over it like most YA books, mention it and be done. But I think that Bella's obsession with it was a little over the top. By the end of the books, Bella pissed me off a little too much.. but that's the difference between the real YA world and a world like in the Study books.
True. I know that Bella was sort of interested all along--most teens are, but she was borderline nympho! Wanton is a good for her in Book 4. I read at the same time the Morganville Vampire books by Rachel Caine--mentions are made and then fade to black. Which is appropriate for a book that could be picked up by anyone aged 11 to beyond. If you market a book for the YA crowd don't insert adult themes and then get antsy because parents are like 'you betrayed!'MVS wasn't over the top with her portrayal at all--it was necessary to describe what happened because of Reyad so that the reader understood the true level of despair that Yelena had fallen into. Consequently later when Yelena is with Valek for the first time she is brief and conveys the fact that it was an enjoyable thing for Yelena because she welcomed it.
It is concerning when a YA books are more liberal with sexual themes and actually caused a lot of concern for school libraries. I know that the district I work in probably won't buy Breaking Dawn for the school because of that and we have all of the other books. It's a middle school library, but we're a conservative district and I'm sure a lot of problems have and are going to come up about the book - especially from parents. They're good, but I do think she strayed a little far from the YA realm with this book.MVS was perfect and as much as I don't mind some sexualness, it doesn't need to be BAM! in your face all of the time. I liked the way she approached Yelena and Valek's relationship in that sense.
::nods:: That was partially why I was willing to fight for my sister's right to read Poison Study for a summer book report when she was in 7th (going into 8th). The teacher said the adult material was not suitable, but I argued that MVS's depiction of Yelena's rape and her intimacy with Valek was handled in such a way as to be realistic. Knowing a few rape victims (from my time in peer mediation in college) the hardest thing for them was often overcoming their fear of ever being intimate again. One girl related to me how at first she was okay with her boyfriend and getting more intimate with him, but then suddenly her boyfriend whispered some little nothing in her ear and she freaked out and was brought back to the pain of her attacker. I eventually won that case and since no other teacher has questioned Tegan's choice of books.
Wow.. go you! I'm all about the right to choose what you read... especially in school.
Mod
I love that parent! I wish all parents were willing to read along with their kids like that. I get so frustrated hearing parents tell their kids no, because I've seen kids decide that they don't want to read because they aren't allowed to read what they want, and then they don't ever read for pleasure.
There needs to be more moms as open as her
Very cool! I totally want to be a mom who reads first to and then with her kids. (If I ever have kids...) It's a great way to discuss things and get to know what your kid thinks about issues without it being 100% personal or sounding like a lecture.Then again, I'm not sure that when I was a teen I would have wanted to read books with my mom, but maybe we would be closer if we had.
My younger sister (who is 13) is not really a reader and what she used to do is before bed she would read aloud to my mom. So in a way, it was like reading together. My mom and I are both librarians and so we sometimes pick up the same children's/YA series and we talk about the books. As a teenager I was more of a silent reader, but I did love when my mom read aloud to me when I was too sick to read.
My dad and I read some books together--we're both starting the first Dexter book soon (we love the show), we read all the Alien Nation novels together as well as the Jane Jenson Gabriel Knight books. He read Anne McCaffrey to me as a child and we're both into ancient history (he's more Roman, I'm more egyptian) so we trade academic books often.My mom reads Amy Tan, which I've read as well, but she doesn't read them so discussion never happens. My sister and I read 85% of the same books--she borrows all my books so when its a book we both REALLY liked we discuss it. Though more often then not we disagree (she doesn't like Ari and Janco, thinks they're too dorky, but loves Leif).
I think that if you are watching a mature movie with you children that does show nudity or a very gross scene that they should just shut there eyes until the part is over, but hey that is just me with my kids as for books I haven't actually go to that point yet because they are 5 and 8 but I do read stories to them, Like Harry Potter and they love them. I have just realized how long it takes to read a series when you are reading a chapter a night at bed time. Harry potter has 7 books and we are just know on the seventh and not even close to finishing it.
My dad used to read to my brother and I, just one chapter a night. That was my favorite part of the day, but I would get mad because I don't like not knowing what happens and my dad only read books he enjoyed so all seven Narnia books, the Lord of the Rings books (yup, my brother and I at 7 and 5 sat around listening to and loving The Lord of the Rings) and my dad had to hide the book because otherwise I would steal it and read it after my parents went to bed.
I hate the YA covers. The person doesn't even fit Yelena's description in the books.
Mod
YA versions are in the house!
You may have to order them at other locations but my store has a boatload now. Well, a canoe-load.
I have to say they are really growing on me. The cover girl is more tan than the graphics we see on the computer (though not by much) and the eyes are the right color. And the seaweed (or whatever the vegetation is) is shiny! Kind of cool.
Study Buddies
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fellowship of the Ring (other topics)Poison Study (other topics)
Breaking Dawn (other topics)
300 (other topics)
The Luxe (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Anna Godbersen (other topics)Agatha Christie (other topics)
I know my pal Jane feels pretty strongly about seeing faces assigned for characters on book covers--it messes with your imagination, especially if they didn't pick a good model, or you were already picturing yourself as the hero/heroine (which is what I tend to do :)
I think they're pretty but she doesn't look like Yelena to me! I like the US adult trade paperback cover art by Erin Craig best, myself. How about you?
US Adult Paperback Covers by Erin Craig
US Adult Cloth Covers
UK Adult Paperback Covers by Henry Steadman
UK Adult Paperback Covers
International Covers (Germany, Italy, Spain)
Also, how do you feel about these books being released as YA? Despite the violence & R-rated elements...