Maybe you will find it useful too.
Summer time.... and the readin' is easy.......
TEN ‘YOUNG ADULT’ (YA) TITLES THAT ‘NOT SO YOUNG ADULTS’ (NSYAs) SHOULD
READ THIS SUMMER
Some are well crafted and worthy of a place on anyone’s
reading list. Others are popular through
hype and the current trend for books where, “bad stuff happens to people”. One
or two on the list are suitable for younger readers and might just appear
because I liked them! All are available
in the LRC, many as digital eBooks or eAudiobooks. Jean
The
Fault in our Stars by John Green
‘Love Story’ for a new generation. THE most requested book
in the LRC with a long waiting list.
Students cry. Film just out.
‘Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has
bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final
chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus
Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to
be completely rewritten.’
Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
More teenage angst.
‘Clay Jensen returns home from school one day to find a box,
with his name on it, lying on the porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes
recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate, who committed suicide two weeks
earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are 13 reasons why she did what
she did, and Clay is one of them.’
The
Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks
The unputdownable winner of this
year’s Carnegie Medal. Kevin Brooks has a following here at chsg and that
following has grown since ‘Bunker’ hit the shelves. Reluctant Year 10
reader? Put this in their hand.
‘I can't believe I fell for it. It was still dark when I
woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was. A
low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete. There
are six little rooms along the main corridor. There are no windows. No doors.
The lift is the only way in or out. What's he going to do to me?’
The Hunger Games
Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Still popular. Destined to be a
classic. If you haven’t read it yet –
what’s stopping you? This did for
reluctant teen readers what Harry Potter did for pre teens reluctant
readers. More than that it is a crackin’
good read. Based on Greek mythology, oh yes... educational too, and the more
contemporary ‘Big Brother’, now relegated to Channel 5.
‘16-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death
sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger
Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death
before and survival, for her, is second nature.’
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
Intended for younger readers, so not
strictly YA. I listened to it on audio, using Audible, read by David Tennant.
What’s not to like? Dad loses the plot when he and mum split up after the death
of one of their children. The family
left behind, cope in different ways.
Heartbreaking. Well told by the
wonderful Mr Tennant. (Who is on a par with Colin Firth as Darcy.) (Just
saying).
‘Narrated by ten-year-old Jamie, this is a novel about the
tragedy that tears apart his family after a terrorist attack. As Jamie comes to
terms with his loss, he asks questions that he must answer for himself.’
Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
An author very popular with
students. Looking for JJ is one of those books once read – never
forgotten. The sequel, Finding Jennifer
Jones, has just been published after 10
years and is on my reading list.
‘A gripping and emotionally searing novel from a talented
author, 'Looking For JJ' explores the circumstances and motives behind the
murder of a child by her best friend. Six years later, JJ has now been
released, and has a new identity. But is there any way that she can lead a
'normal' life?’
A modern classic. I
am asked for this at least once a week and yet it was written in 2001. Most, if
not all students who borrow this, go on to read the sequels. Malorie Blackman
is a master, (or is it mistress?), of her art.
‘Sephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling
class. Callum is a nought - a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were
once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early
childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Against a background of prejudice,
distrust and mounting terrorist violence, a romance builds between Sephy and
Callum - a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger . . .’
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
A little gem, hidden on the LRC shelves, but one I often
recommend to students. The chapter about the baby and the bathwater
will break your heart. The book also
features a mobile library. (Random thought from me).
‘In a polygamous cult in the desert, Kyra, not yet
14-years-old, sees being chosen to be the seventh wife of her uncle just as
punishment for having read books and kissed a boy, in violation of Prophet
Childs' teachings, and is torn between facing her fate and running away from
all that she knows and loves.’
The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
Dystopian fiction is HOT right
now. Another popular series from across the pond. Now a major film. I hadn’t
heard of it until I found a few notes in the LRC suggestion box, asking me to
buy it. Hard copies and eBooks are
available. You do KNOW we have eBooks
and eAudiobooks don’t you? Contact me to sign up!
‘Society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to
the cultivation of a particular virtue, in the attempt to form a 'perfect
society'. On her Choosing Day, Beatrice Prior renames herself Tris, rejects her
family's Abnegation group, and chooses another faction.’
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
One for the psychologists as well as for those who want to
read about bad stuff happening. This book is rarely available to borrow – a
sign that students recommend it to each other. (This makes me happy).
‘Told in a moving letter to her captor, 16-year-old Gemma
relives her kidnapping from Bangkok airport while on holiday. Taken by Ty, her
troubled young stalker, to the wild and desolate Australian Outback she
reflects on a landscape from which there's no escape.’
