Young Adult Fiction

[GOLLUM]

Hi all!

My recent correpsondence with some of the users on this forum has brought up an important issue for me anyway.

Whilst there are theads on some specific authors in Sci Fi and Fantasy for yuong adult readers I couldn't see any specific thread like thre one I'm now posting.

I'm sure everyone can post something on some series they currently or in the past enjoyed that are directed more towards young adult readers that they can recommend to others.

I'm not an expert these days on young adult fiction (Sci Fi/Fantasy) but I know there's plenty of you out there that have read or are reading these works.

Actually some of the others I'll feature in my Classic Fantasy Pre 1980s thread wrote for young adult audiences.

Bye for now..

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

I enjoyed the "Young Legionary" series by Douglas Hill
Also the "Blade of the Poisoner & Master of Fiends" duo by the same author.
It started my love of sci-fi & fantasy much more than LoTR - which is a nightmare to read when you're younger IMO.

 

[GOLLUM]

I enjoyed the "Young Legionary" series by Douglas Hill
Also the "Blade of the Poisoner & Master of Fiends" duo by the same author.
It started my love of sci-fi & fantasy much more than LoTR - which is a nightmare to read when you're younger IMO.

Hi there!

Can you provide some more info on Douglass Hill and the books you have mentioned?

I’ll add the following. Anyone want to add extra information on those listed as well as any other young adult authors?

*NB Some of these will also feature in my classic fantasy authors list.

The Hobbit JRR Tolkien A prelude to LOTR, great stuff!

Harry Potter J K Rowling Classics in the making.

A Series Of Unfortunate Events by the alias Lemony Snickett

The Narnia Chronicles C.S. Lewis, a pure classic.

Phillip Pullman Creator of the cult series His Dark Materials (Think I saw a thread on him somewhere)

Ursula K LeGuin A wizard of Earthsea (thread exists for this) one of the greats of the genre, my first fantasy series I ever read way back in the mid 1970s

Alice In wonderland – Lewis Carroll, another classic.

Peter S Beagle (1939 – current) – The Last Unicorn among other stories. Tad Williams quotes him as “a wonderful writer”. HMM..He may be one to add to the classic fantasy authors list.

Lloyd Alexander (1924-current) Writer of many teenage fantasy books including 1954 classic The Black Cauldron UMM.. another one to add to the classic list perhaps.

Abhorsen Trilogy by aussie author Garth Nix YEH!!

Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer

Bye ya'll

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper is very good. The Owl Service by Alan Garner. Wise Child by Monica Furlong. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle. East by Edith Pattou. The Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce. Piratica by the Notorious Tanith Lee (that's what it says on the title page). I just finished reading Piratica and enjoyed it very much. Numerous titles by Andre Norton.

There are several other books I might recommend off the top of my head, except that I suspect many readers would regard them as Juveniles rather than YA.

 

[GOLLUM]

The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper is very good. The Owl Service by Alan Garner. Wise Child by Monica Furlong. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle. East by Edith Pattou. The Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce. Piratica by the Notorious Tanith Lee (that's what it says on the title page). I just finished reading Piratica and enjoyed it very much. Numerous titles by Andre Norton.

There are several other books I might recommend off the top of my head, except that I suspect many readers would regard them as Juveniles rather than YA.

Thanks for that Kelpie!

Do you have any further info on these authors/series?

UM.. almost forgot to add Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Ciao for now.

 

[Ailanna]

I love Piratica! (Yet another instance in which the British cover, with its look of a battered old leather journal, is much cooler than the American.) I'm surprised no one's mentioned Diana Wynne Jones yet. I love her books, particularly Howl's Moving Castle, Fire and Hemlock, and Hexwood. They're brilliantly plotted and peopled and I find her work consistently delightful. Lloyd Alexander is another of my old favorites. The Prydain Chronicles got me into fantasy when I was about seven or eight, and his tone in anything he writes is so warm and friendly and wise.

I'm quite fond of Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Not terribly deep, but lots of fun spoofing fairy tales. Vivian Vande Velde is another one of of my favorites; very snappy, often sarcastic, with these wonderful, perfect, bittersweet endings. (It could just be me, but I love her endings-- never quite conventionally happy, but just happy enough.) Heir Apparent is my newest favorite of hers, although I also like Dragon's Bait, A Well-Timed Enchantment, and A Hidden Magic.

Just read the third Artemis Fowl book over break. They are rather fun, aren't they? I loved Colfer's Wish List when I read it. Lemony Snicket, however, rocks my world. I don't really care about the next Harry Potter book, but I want book 12 of A Series of Unfortunate Events now!

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

Young Legionary series - the only survivor of the Planet Moros; Keill Randor hunts down the mysterious Warlord and his lieutenants who ordered his planet's destruction, with the help of his telepathic alien friend Glr. A great read for children.

"Blade of the Poisoner & Master of Fiends" - slightly more adult themed. The world is ruled by the "Demon-Driver" an evil wizard who. The only ones who stand up to him are a rogue wizard called Cryltaur Tabbetang & his group of "Talents", Scythe, Archer & Mandra.
Jarral, an ordinary farm-boy is thrust into this world of magic & danger when he discovers he too has a "Talent".....for summoning elementals, the one force which Demons cannot endure.

Though somewhat simplistic in comparision to established adult Fantasy authors, these books (along with the Huntsman trilogy & Colsec Trilogy he wrote) are extremely good examples of good young fantasy/sci-fi and had some moments of genuine "peril" and so are maybe not suitable for under 10yrs of age

I have the urge to re-read these now!

 

[PurpleDragon]

I've just launched a thread on 'Younger than Young Adult Fiction' then found this one too...

One of the first Young Adult Fiction books I read in the Fantasy Genre was 'The Song Of The Lioness Quartet.' by Tamora Pierce. Been around for ages but recently re-printed with a horrid contemporary cover design.

Basic story is along these lines: ( As taken from back cover of books )
In a time when girls are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be knight of the realm of Tortall. So she finds a way to switch places with her brother, Thom. Disguised as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page at the palace of King Roald. The road to knighthood, as she discovers, is not an easy one. Alanna must master weapons, combat, magic -- and also polite behavior, her temper, and even her own heart. With stubbornness, skill, and daring, she wins the admiration of all around her, and the friendship of Prince Jonathan of Tortall himself. But she also makes an enemy of the prince's uncle, the powerful and charming Duke Roger....

It's a kind of Robin Hobb for teenage girls.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Gollum, you asked for more info on the books I mentioned above. While this will, I fear, burn up some brain cells which probably ought to be sacrified in the service of my own writing instead, I'll give it a go (with some parts heavily plagiarized from the back cover copy of the books themselves).

(Excuse the all caps book names, but for some reason the italics function isn't working for me today.)

THE DARK IS RISING sequence, by Susan Cooper -- Young Will Stanton was born on Midwinter's Day. On his eleventh birthday, magic comes into his life, along with the revelation that he is the last born of the Old Ones -- immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil. Will is instantly drawn into a quest to find six magical Signs which are supposed to aid the Old Ones in the final battle between Dark and Light. He pursues this quest through the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising. Throughout the rest of the series, the struggle between the opposing powers continues. These books draw heavily on British folklore and seasonal rituals, and particularly on those of the Celtic countries. King Arthur and other familiar figures make brief appearances. The first book THE DARK IS RISING was a Newberry Honor Book, and the third THE GREY KING, won the Newberry Medal, which ought to give an idea of the quality of the writing.

THE OWL SERVICE, by Alan Garner -- When Alison hears a mysterious scratching in the attic above her bedroom, she and Gwyn, the housekeeper's son, decide to investigate, and unearth a set of old dinner plates covered in grime. After Alison cleans one of the plates she discovers an abstract pattern which first appears to be made up of stylized flowers -- however, when the pattern is traced and parts of it are fitted together it forms a picture of an owl. Before long, Gwyn, Alison, and her step-brother Roger are pulled into a dangerous confrontation with the supernatural. The power of a tragic Welsh legend (by the motif of the owl and the flowers those who are familiar with Welsh folklore may guess which one) which has repeated itself in the valley for generations, forces the young people to act out a fatal drama of ancient jealousies. This book won the Carnegie Medal.

If we are going to be including books for younger readers (and it seems that we are, with Lloyd Alexander and C. S. Lewis mentioned above), I should also probably say something about two of Alan Garner's other books, THE WEIRDSTONE OF BRISINGAMEN, and THE MOON OF GOMRATH. These two books combine Celtic and Norse mythology in a way that is vaguely reminiscent of Tolkien, though intended for younger readers, and more swiftly and simply plotted. There's a review of these books by Tsujigiri over in the Reviews forum, so I won't go into detail. I'll just say that Andre Norton loved THE WEIRDSTONE so much that she wrote a preface to the edition that I have on my shelf.)

THE HOLLOW KINGDOM, by Clare Dunkle -- A Victorian teenager and her younger sister, Emily, are kidnapped by goblins and taken below to the Hollow Kingdom, where the older girl, Kate is fated to become the wife of the Goblin King. Kate's introduction to the underground realm, her gradual if somewhat difficult acclimitization, and her growing fondness for her unpredictable and often ruthless (but always charming) spouse forms most of the story. Along the way, she learns something about her own supernatural heritage, as well as other family secrets.

EAST, by Edith Pattou -- A retelling of the old folktale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," alternately told by the girl who becomes the bear's bride, the bear himself, and the troll princess who covets the affections of the enchanted prince. I personally prefer Andre's Norton's freely adapted version of the fairy tale, THE YEAR OF THE UNICORN, but this one is good, too, closer to the original, and in my opinion much better than Dennis McKiernan's version, ONCE UPON A WINTER'S NIGHT.

THE TREASURE AT THE HEART OF THE TANGLEWOOD, by Meredith Ann Pierce -- Brown Hannah lives on the edge of the Tanglewood with a few talkative animals as her only companions. She never ages, and she has no memory of her past before she came to her present home. When she challenges the wizard who is responsible for her strange existence and is forced to go on a long journey, she begins to undergo a series of amazing transformations, which in time reveal her true (and even more amazing) identity and destiny. Beautiful prose (as you might expect from the author of the DARKANGEL TRILOGY), a detailed setting, and an interesting treatment of seasonal myths.

(you can probably tell by now that I'm a sucker for the old seasonal myths)

PIRATICA, by Tanith Lee -- A rather bizarre tale in which a young girl runs away to sea to become a swashbuckling pirate queen, following in the footsteps (as she believes) of her mother, Molly Faith, the "Piratica" of the title. Only tenuously fits as fantasy because of its alternate history background (the French Revolution happened in England instead) and the fact that Lee wrote it, but some of the ideas (like the parrot code) are so deliciously improbable that they might as well be magical. Written in Lee's incomparable style.

WISE CHILD, by Monica Furlong -- In a remote Scottish village during some undefined Dark Age or Early Medieval epoch, a young girl named Wise Child is left without a parent or guardian when her grandmother dies (mother has disappeared, father is a sea captain on a long voyage, other relatives too poor to take her in) and "auctioned off" by the parish to Juniper, the village healer and reputed witch. At first the child is terrified by the prospect, but she soon learns to love and respect the kind but firm Juniper, and to enjoy her lessons in reading, herb lore, and the beginnings of magic. When Wise Child's real mother, the evil and enchanting Maeve, reappears, offering her daughter a more luxurious but also more sinister lifestyle, the girl is forced to examine her true loyalties and come to terms with her growing supernatural powers. The magic in this story has a period flavor, is generally rather subtle, involving herbs and rituals rather than special effects (except for one hallucinatory journey using a "flying ointment"), and feels quite authentic. This was another award winner -- an American Library Association Notable Book.

 

[GOLLUM]

Kelpie,

WOW thanks a lot for that detailed an interesting update on YA writers. I remember reading Brimingstone by Aslan Garner when I was a teenager and enjoying it at the time.

I'm glad I started up this thread, looks like it's sparked a bit of interest and thanks to everyone whose so far contributed!!

Bye for now..

 

[dwndrgn]

In addition to some others already mentioned, I'll add Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. I enjoyed them a lot - even though I read them when I was in my mid 20's.

I also liked 'The Edge Chronicles' which I reviewed over in the review section when I got two of them for free a while back. Good stories and wonderful illustrations.

I'm surprised that Brian Jaques hasn't been mentioned - Redwall is a very well-written series with fun and interesting characters and good stories to go along with them.

Cornelia Funke is another good author though I've only read Inkheart. I plan on reading some others as soon as I can get copies from somewhere. My library has a very poor YA section

Thanks for starting this thread Gollum, I now have more authors added to my 'to read list'

I have to admit though that I wasn't terribly impressed with Lemony Snicket's stories or the Artemis Foul ones. I'm not sure why but from what I recall the former was too repetitive and the latter I just couldn't like the main character enough to continue.

 

[Alia]

Now this is my kind of thread! Thanks Gollum!
Having a few kids, I have a few kid books and that's mostly what I've read in the past.
Here is a short list my favorites:

Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time Series. There are five books in all, A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, A Wind in the Door, Many Water (a personal fav) and An Acceptable Time (the worse book I have read to date, but that's my opinion). It is not a plot continueing series, but the characters continue. She has other books out, but I haven't read them as of yet.

Robin McKinley The Hero and The Crown and The Blue Sword both John Newbery Medal winners.
Gail Carson Levine, she has several books out, two I have read are The Two Princess of Bamarre and Ella Enchant very cute books.
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series. I think everyone has heard of them.
Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog. I read this story years ago to my children and realized as I was making this list, I have forgotten the story entirely. I will have to go back and reread it. This is just one of his many books, but it is the only one I have.

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, I actually haven't read this book yet, but it's on the book shelf. I should read it this week... hmmm... my reading list is growing.
E.B White's Charolette's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little, to add some classics
We have a few of Tamora Peirce books and we like them.
Also, I've read the first book in the Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper and like it.
I have all of Lemony Snickets Series of Unfortunate Events and love them. Very simple reading, very very quick reading. I can finish a book in an hour with a billion distractions. There is lots of humor too. He makes it very clear not to stick a fork in an electrical outlet!

Dwndrgn, I agree with the Artemis Foul books. I didn't care for them at all. I read the first one finished it, not liking it at all. Started the second one and couldn't finish it and I didn't even start the third. A friend loved them though.

I can go younger too if you want a list of books for 0 to 5 years old. But I didn't think that is what your looking for... lol
As my kids grow so does the library and what's in it. Right now my oldest, 13 is into training horses and reads college manuels on the subject. All you Aussies will love it, she's into Endurance racing. Anyways... She told me just the other day that I needed to read more serious books, nonfiction type and that I needed to put aside my 'fiction reading ways'. I laughed at her and made her read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, good book by the way. I haven't heard a peep from her since.
My eight year old is into Yugi-oh and Dragonball Z books. A new kind of comic book reading. I have to pick him up a new one every week or so. He loves them, but I have only glanced at them as of yet.
The last child doesn't even talk yet, he just naws on the books...
I'll have to search the old memory bank for more or ask the kids later what books they liked.

Alia

 

[rune]

I have read a few young adult fiction books, though I prefer the more mature ones than the very young adult books.


However, I can recommend -

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix

 

[ravenus]

What does young adult fiction mean? How is it different from books for schoolkids? Or is this again one of those annoying PC terms?

 

[rune]

What does young adult fiction mean? How is it different from books for schoolkids? Or is this again one of those annoying PC terms?

There seems to be two types of young adult fantasy fiction. Children and Teens.

The children books are for very young adults and I think a few of the books in this thread for into that bracket.

Teens on the other hand are more mature young adult books, Lian Hearn's Otori series falls under that label. It's a more mature story for very young children, but doesnt go into the detail that an adult book would

 

[ravenus]

But does not the term adult mean grown-up? Young adult sounds like an oxymoron to me.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

It's a term used by publishers and booksellers so that people will know where to shelf the books in bookstores and libraries, ravenus. It's defined pretty loosely, these days, particularly by people like us who are neither publishers nor booksellers, and particularly since a lot of sf/fantasy books that were not published as YA when they first came out are being repackaged and sold that way.

So, loosely speaking, it means books written for young teenagers and bright pre-teens. Since kids typically like to read about characters a few years older than themselves (exploring the next stage in their life as it were) the theory would be that older teens have passed on to more adult fare, and wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near the children's section anyway. (Once we are old enough to pass ourselves off as parents or teachers, those of us with a taste for these books venture boldly forth in search of them again.) The protagonists in YA fiction are young and the books are usually (but not always) shorter than books written for adult readers (therefore the plotting less complex) but the writing and the literary quality can be quite high, because aimed at the teachers and librarians who form a large part of the market.

 

[Alia]

There seems to be two types of young adult fantasy fiction. Children and Teens.

The children books are for very young adults and I think a few of the books in this thread for into that bracket.

Teens on the other hand are more mature young adult books, Lian Hearn's Otori series falls under that label. It's a more mature story for very young children, but doesnt go into the detail that an adult book would

I know that Teen and Children books are kept in two different places in the book store. Tamora Pierce, Madeleine L'engie and Robin McKinley are all in the teen sections while Gail Carson Levine and Susan Cooper where found in the children's section. (I have to make a note though that on Cooper's book it says Teen Fantasy, but I did bought it in the children's section)

I'm sorry about that, it was the first thought that jumped into my head.

Besides the difference in where you buy them in the store there is also how they are written. Gail and Susan's books are very simple reading. There isn't much thought process to figuring things out. They aren't too envolved with emotion, nor do they make situations to scary or complex for the young reader. The books are also smaller too in size. I would think that Lemony Snicket's Series fall under this category. Very simple despite all the orphans face.

Also, in a children's book they use small easy words and explain things several times. In Lemony Snicket's books when he uses a 'big' word he also tells the reader what it means it's his trade mark in all of his books. As a reader grows so does the complexity of their stories. The situations and emotions get more involved. In a Teen book the words become more challenging along with situations, but you won't find the content in them that are in adult books.
I read children and teen books with my kids. Since my kids are into thier own little projects lately I have more time to read adult books. I feel that I'm always behind in my reading.

 

[ravenus]

Thanks for the explanation
When I was in school the most I read in fiction other than comics was Hardy Boys...and then all those Stephen King and assorted other horror books from the local paperback library :evil:

 

[GOLLUM]

GODAMMIT I've started a monster here, didn't know there were so many mental giants lurking around these boards HE HE..

NO seriously everyone, I'm glad I started this thread, it's been a real education, especially the current discussion on YA classification!

Certainly an education for an old timer like me.

Have a great day Y'all!!