Comments on: Getting Into the Habit

By: Kyle M.

Kyle M. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:21:38 +0000

You know, I read a YA book earlier this year called The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy that has a very Douglas Adams sensibility to it. So if humor, fantasy, and adventure interest you or your favorite YA reader, I’d recommend it. It’s one of the few books that had me actually laughing out loud on the subway to and from work.

By: dpomerico

dpomerico — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:24:36 +0000

Yeah, I realized that. But this started as a Twitter post, and characters were of the essence–and then I realized it’s kind of cumbersome anyway to not have a term that encompasses this level of reading. Ah well–I do appreciate the clarification.

By: stacy

stacy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:19:31 +0000

Just to clarify: for those of us who work in the children’s book industry, YA is a specific term that means “books for teens,” not a general catch-all term. Middle grade books aren’t YA.

By: dpomerico

dpomerico — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:56:36 +0000

You’re right–I haven’t heard of this! But I’m always open to read new things (especially YA, as I tend to be able to read them a lot quicker). It’s always amazing what captures our attention, whether it’s when we’re young, or even now.

By: kristi

kristi — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:53:16 +0000

My favorite YA SF was a book called Tomorrow’s Sphinx by Clare Bell. To date, I haven’t met anyone else who’s ever read it, much less anything else by Mrs. Bell. Sphinx features a black cheetah on a far-future earth who can mentally communicate with another black cheetah from the past. The other cheetah turns out to be a companion to King Tut, so the story has a wonderful parallel of ancient and future happenings. I still re-read it every couple of years, and continue to adore the story.

By: dpomerico

dpomerico — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:49:33 +0000

Christine–I love any and all things Connie Willis: I just wonder if that’s even YA? I think you might have been a lot smarter than me when you were a kid!
And as for the Hunger Games–it’s awesome (although I will say it’s a bit of a toned-down version of Battle Royale, which I love). And, apparently it’s going to be a movie: http://bit.ly/15YZPY. Teen-on-teen murder–that should go over well with parents groups!

By: TJ Erickson

TJ Erickson — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:32:11 +0000

Hmmmm. I think the first in-genre books I read were a trilogy by John Christopher. I can’t remember the names, but it was two kids, time traveling back to the Ancient Mayan Empire, and I think I remember some Chinese in there somehow as well.
But generally I read more fantasy in middle and high school. Lloyd Alexander, and Pat McKillip started it off, and are still favorites.

By: Kyle M.

Kyle M. — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:22:21 +0000

The Giver by Lois Lowery was (and still is) an amazing book. It was one of those books that I didn’t read until a few years ago and I was amazed that it’s technically a YA title. It had more depth and moral conundrums than some adult fiction I read BUT it never felt overwritten or dull. Just pitch perfect the whole way through to the much-debated ending. One of my favs.

By: Christine H

Christine H — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:16:19 +0000

Oh gosh I LOVED Phantom Tollbooth! Still love it. What about TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG by Connie Willis? Does that count as sci-fi?
Also I keep hearing about Suzanne Collins’ THE HUNGER GAMES – anyone else read that yet?