Any new YA recomendations?

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

I just read Incantation by Alice Hoffman and highly recommend it! It is a short book, but is incredibly powerful. Set in Spain in 1500, it deals with sexism, racism, and religious intolerance.

[Melissa]

This is somewhat random, but I'm adding a bookshelf to my profile for "Accelerated Reader" books. At my school, we're trying to get more of our students to read, and some teachers are using the Accelerated Reader program. The library has even labeled each book with colored dot stickers so students know which books are at various reading levels. Since I have introduced my students to Good Reads, I have gone through the list our librarian printed, and I'm adding all the Accelerated Reader books that have been published since 2005 (if I add all of them, I'll never get any teaching accomplished)! ha! Our school also uses a Positive Incentive Points program, and it's just been updated so students can earn points by reading books on the Accelerated Reader list. Not sure how many students will check it out, but just thought I'd share the info here - they're all books approved by the school since they're in the library :)

[Amy]

Jazlyn -
If you like the fantasy realm and are looking for anything, I'd recommend DR FRANKLIN'S ISLAND by ann halam - pretty Dr. Moreau meets Lost, but I like it and so do my junior high and high school students. Also, THE LOOKING GLASS WARS was good - some was a little cliche but I loved the use of imagination as a weapon and the more modern spin on Alyss's journey. I think someone also mentioned the Maximum Ride Series - loved it! There's also a 4th in that series coming out right now - I think our local bookstore said she'd have some this week.

Another one my niece recommends, though I haven't read it is IF YOU GIVE A BOY A GUN. Like I said, haven't read it, but she really liked it (oh, she's almost 16).

[Kim]

This is sort of random, but a teacher I work with at my school told me about a book called After...has anyone read it and would you recommend it? It looks really interesting...

[Ken]

Kim --

Not only can I not tell you anything about it, I can't find it by using goodread's search function.

After... what? Is there a word after After? Before after? (Or is it just After?) Hmn... this is an afterthought, but maybe I should've checked amazon.dot.calm before typing this.

Happily Ever...
NE

[Kim]

HI! You are cracking me up :-) I suppose that wasn't very helpful to just write, After. It's very ominous...sort of like the book. I just found the author: It's called After and it's by Francine Prose.

[C&C Library]

i read Francine Prose's After and, while entertaining, struck me as a bit thin.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/book...

[Ken]

I read and enjoyed Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer, but now that I've checked the link (thanks, Todd), I'll give After a wide berth.
For one, I'm usually on the look-out for classroom library books, and for two, the whole subject matter of school shootings in books for teens makes me a little queasy.

[Trina]

One of my seventh graders mentioned After to me a few months ago because she had already read it a few times (first when she was 8) and thought it was excellent.

Today, she mentioned it again (during lunch) and started telling me the entire plot of the story. I'm not sure she understands why I would prefer not to read about school shootings or why I don't want to stock books about them in my library.

[Amy]

Newengland,
re: blogging with students

One other option that I started last spring was a school wikispace (our school only has 30 kids)http://lmaconnections.wikispaces.com. Anyway, there are discussion boards for each page and I created a page for our reading classes. This year, there's quite a bit of discussion going on. Private accounts are free for educators and allow anyone on the internet to read what is there, but only members for that space can edit pages or post in discussions.

[Samantha]

I just finished Sherman Alexie's Diary of a Part Time Indian, and I loved it! The kid's sense of humor, plus the illustrations (cartoons that he draws) make this book one of my favorites!

[Jenna]

I like 'em 2!

[bjneary]

I agree- it is now a favorite of mine- one you pass on for others to enjoy!

[Nephyr]

I just read Jellico Road by Melina marchetta and it's hands down the best book I've read in ages. I can hardly stand it that everyone hasn't read this book. It will break your heart from the first sentence to the last but it's not the gloomy kind of dark. It's crazy beautiful. I wish I knew how to make clear just how good this book is.

[Paula]

Recently I've enjoyed "Gossamer" Lois Lowry and "The Graveyard Book" Neil Gaiman

[Tahleen]

I loved The Graveyard Book. I'm so glad Neil Gaiman won the Newbery Award for it--he totally deserved it.

[Paula]

I thought so too Tahleen. I'm not much for fantasy type books but this one really tugs at the heart strings.

[[deleted user]]

amber wrote: "have you tried scott westerfeld's uglies trilogy? those are very good if you like sci-fi/action. blood and chocolate is an excellent ya horror book. it was written several years ago but doesn't com..."


I'm suprised about the topic of this book. From the cover I figured it was a Gossip Girl type story which is cool, just not my thing. I'm so going to read it after reading your review of it! Thanks for the suggestion!

[Mark]

I just finished writing a YA novel called The Heroes of Nightingale. I am not sure how many of you are interested in YA with a Sci-Fi twist, but here is a link to a free preview

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13718442/Th...

[Emi B]

I just finished reading liar by justine larbalestier. It was an amazing read kept me up to all hours of the night reading it. I recommend it for people that like books that make them think.

[Megan]

My favorite books EVER are:

Twilight series (yeah, yeah, yeah...)
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (the sequel)
The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask And The Answer (the sequel)
The Host

Those books are all amazing! But they are all rather gory...

[Amy]

I know people have already recommended it but I have to say it again the The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I read this book and I could not stop thinking about it for days after reading it that I got the audio version so I could listen to it. I know everyone has read Twilight but some good alternatives are: The Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare, The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, Beastly by Alex Finn, and Evernight by Claudia Gray.

For those looking for a lighter side to YA I just finished reading Freaksville by Kitty Keswick, very cute. The Boyfriend League by Rachel Hawthorne. Anything by Meg Cabot is good YA read.

[Brian]

I liked The Hunger Games as well.

Someone just read The First Book of Dreams: Metropolis by my wife and I and pointed out that it would be a great YA book (no sex, action packed, imaginative, ...).

Metropolis is only available in eBook. Are eBook readers big in the YA world?

[Shel]

I loved garth nix's Abhorsen series (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen) Teen fantasy - A little dark at times, but very entertaining. I have also just read tribes by Arthur Slade, and highly recommend it if you like inner teenaged turmoil. I do.

[bjneary]

Just finished 2 great novels in verse: and ----2 very different stories byt definitely great YA books!

[Kurt]

TO ALL iPAD LOVERS ... my book is now available on iPad, via AmazonKindle!! Just download the Kindle app on your iPad, and find my book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Study-Train-Reu...

[Megan]

Another book I read recently was The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, and I enjoyed it a lot. :)

[Shayna]

http://bibliophilialovestory.wordpres...

[Tea]

Suzanne Collins is a great author also; Christpher Paolini, Anthony Horowitz, Bryan Davis, John Flanagan, J.K Rowling and Aprilynne Pike.