Can you even begin to believe that we've never posted about our favorite YA book? Well, we haven't, so we're going to now!
We have, actually, talked about the books I chose as my favorite YA books, though. I chose it as my favorite series and we each actually picked our favorites from the series.
There are two reasons I think this series makes the perfect example of YA fiction.
It grows. Most of the people I know who didn't grow up with the series, but rather were adults the whole time, have the same complaint about the movies: they started off sweet and cute but then they got dark. Well, yeah. Of course they did. They're following the life of an average (if magically inclined) adolescent boy. That's how life goes. You're a kid and things are innocent and can be taken at face value, and all of a sudden you're somewhere between kid and adult and things are confusing and scary and twisted and dark. Not to sound cynical, but to some degree, that should be true for most people. Adolescence is confusing, and the mood change in the early middle of the HP series perfectly encapsulates that.
Also, there's something for everybody. You're an awkward/outcast kid who wants a character to identify with: take your pick (Neville, Luna, Draco, even Harry at several points). You're a hopeless romantic: I can name twenty couples in this series you'll enjoy. You love a misunderstood "bad" guy: you'll go nuts over Snape. You prefer a classic epic tale with a traditional hero: hello, Harry. You enjoy humor in the form of bumbling nice guys: Hagrid's your man. You're seeking a book you can cry at because omg death: read the last one, you'll dissolve into a blubbering puddle of angst and emotional fulfillment.
We have, actually, talked about the books I chose as my favorite YA books, though. I chose it as my favorite series and we each actually picked our favorites from the series.
There are two reasons I think this series makes the perfect example of YA fiction.
It grows. Most of the people I know who didn't grow up with the series, but rather were adults the whole time, have the same complaint about the movies: they started off sweet and cute but then they got dark. Well, yeah. Of course they did. They're following the life of an average (if magically inclined) adolescent boy. That's how life goes. You're a kid and things are innocent and can be taken at face value, and all of a sudden you're somewhere between kid and adult and things are confusing and scary and twisted and dark. Not to sound cynical, but to some degree, that should be true for most people. Adolescence is confusing, and the mood change in the early middle of the HP series perfectly encapsulates that.
Also, there's something for everybody. You're an awkward/outcast kid who wants a character to identify with: take your pick (Neville, Luna, Draco, even Harry at several points). You're a hopeless romantic: I can name twenty couples in this series you'll enjoy. You love a misunderstood "bad" guy: you'll go nuts over Snape. You prefer a classic epic tale with a traditional hero: hello, Harry. You enjoy humor in the form of bumbling nice guys: Hagrid's your man. You're seeking a book you can cry at because omg death: read the last one, you'll dissolve into a blubbering puddle of angst and emotional fulfillment.
I am about to give you the most unsurprising answer of all time. And if you tell me you're surprised, I'm going to assume that you're new here.
Why do I love this book so much? Well, for one, it's not your typical vampire novel. There are no sparkles, not sickening romances, no "only can come out at night and watch out for that garlic!" vampires in this book. I love how incredibly biological and REASONABLE the whole thing is.
Also, it's funny. Cal is our main character, and 19, and so relatable I can't stand it. He's a punk and such a teenager in so many ways that you can't help but laugh at it!
Not to mention Westerfeld is an amazing writer. He knows how to drive a plot just right, to give and take and lead you in, in all the ways that a writer should know how to do. This is one of my favorites by him (actually, the Succession series is #1, but that's not YA, so I can't count it on this post.)
There's just something about this book, something that I think makes it stand out and be DIFFERENT, and it just makes me love it, every single time that I pick it up.
I'm so surprised by these choices. NOT!
ReplyDeleteI will have to agree with Alex and pick the Harry Potter series as my favorite YA book(s). In fact that series is one of my favorites across all genres.
We're getting to the point that, honestly, not a lot of our choices are surprising. I mean, if you've been reading us long enough, you can usually tell what we're going to pick for favorites.
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