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Any other YA Lit fans here?

aviastar

Brilliant_Rock
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Oct 5, 2010
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OK, finished Curse, and it was AWESOME! Thank you, Haven, for the recommendation! Going to add her Starcrossed to the list.

Anyone tried the Amaranth Enchantment, by Julie Berry? That one will be next for me, I think.
 

Haven

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Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed the book, Aviastar! Isn't she a beautiful writer?
Her dedication to her husband in that book is actually my favorite dedication of all time.

I'm going to add all of your suggestions to my GR To Read shelf right now!

I've been slogging through GAME OF THRONES for a while now. I love the series, so I want to read the books, but man oh man are they LONG!
 

aviastar

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Hi Haven, et all!

I agree- Curse was just wonderfully written, developed, and paced! I am adding all your suggestions to mine, too!

Finished Amaranth Enchantment- lovely quick read, nice twist on Cinderella, using elements of the story in a new way and focus.

Currently reading Among Others, by Jo Walton. I am about 20% in (I do wish Kindle files had page numbers), and very intrigued. There have been some moments of holding my breath as something is very delicately, but very truthfully, related. The format is one of journal entries, with some backstory yet to unfold, so my overall opinion of the book will have a lot to do with how this is handled by the end.

I have read the first 4 Game of Thrones books, and I have the newest on my to read list, but I keep putting it off. I'm sure when I pick it back up it will be engrossing again, but it's so...daunting to start it up again. Usually, I do not enjoy the super graphic sex, violence bothers me less, but I still find these books to contain a lot of each. I appreciate that it's handled in a matter of fact way and not a super gooey manner, but I still have to mentally prepare myself so I am not taken by surprise. Really, it is Arya and John's stories that I want to return to and that will eventually convince me to pick it up again.
 

StacylikesSparkles

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Hey everyone! I figured I might try to jump start this thread again! Library is DEAD and I happen to love to read (I try to do a book a week), so I'm hoping we can resurrect this place again.

I started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth on Saturday and I really like it! It's set in a place where the people are divided into different factions when they're 16 (they get to choose where they would like to be after taking a test to advise them where they should go based on personality traits) based on their core values. Candor values truth at all costs. Dauntless values bravery. Erudite values intelligence. Abnegation values selflessness. And Amity values kindness. For their first 16 years, they are raised in the faction of their parents and after the choosing ceremony, they get to go to a new faction or stay put, depending on what they value most. If they choose a different faction, their faction needs to come before blood and they basically do not get to see their families again. When doing the test to give a recommendation for the faction they should choose, they can also come up as Divergent, or having the personality/values to show they believe in many things all at once. This is basically treasonous and anyone who is divergent will be murdered.

I really like it thus far! I'm almost all the way through and really like the way that the main characters are growing and how the true nature of their society is coming out. Everything seems hunky-dory at first and then it sort of flips mid book. I like it and plan to pick up the next book as soon as I finish this one, which will probably happen tomorrow lol

Come on people, lets get this thing moving again! :twirl:
 

Aoife

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Another fan of A Curse Dark as Gold here. The heroine was a fully rounded, complex character, which, unfortunately, is not always the case in popular YA.

I read quite a bit of YA, and recently finished Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I really think it's one of the best books I've read recently in any genre, and it's certainly not what you'd expect in a YA book. My husband is reading it now, and said he was up last night until after 2AM. Anyone read it?
 

Aoife

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StacylikesSparkles|1339530253|3214766 said:
I started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth on Saturday and I really like it! It's set in a place where the people are divided into different factions when they're 16 (they get to choose where they would like to be after taking a test to advise them where they should go based on personality traits) based on their core values. Candor values truth at all costs. Dauntless values bravery. Erudite values intelligence. Abnegation values selflessness. And Amity values kindness. For their first 16 years, they are raised in the faction of their parents and after the choosing ceremony, they get to go to a new faction or stay put, depending on what they value most. If they choose a different faction, their faction needs to come before blood and they basically do not get to see their families again. When doing the test to give a recommendation for the faction they should choose, they can also come up as Divergent, or having the personality/values to show they believe in many things all at once. This is basically treasonous and anyone who is divergent will be murdered.

I really like it thus far! I'm almost all the way through and really like the way that the main characters are growing and how the true nature of their society is coming out. Everything seems hunky-dory at first and then it sort of flips mid book. I like it and plan to pick up the next book as soon as I finish this one, which will probably happen tomorrow lol

Come on people, lets get this thing moving again! :twirl:

I haven't read this yet. The first book (is that Divergent?) seems to have gotten really good reviews, but I've read mixed responses to the second in the series. I'll probably read them anyway, but I'm going to admit that I'm getting a little tired of the YA dystopian trend.
 

aviastar

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I just re-read Curse and loved it just as much the second time; I'll be adding Elizabeth C. Bunce's other books to my kindle shortly, I just enjoyed her writing so much.

I am also re-reading (I do that a lot) Goose Girl by Shannon Hale; the first in the Bayern book series, and the best of the series, in my opinion. A fairy tale re-telling, I love the main character and find her to be well developed, flawed, human, relateable, with a wonderful arc of growth throughout the book.
 

StacylikesSparkles

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Aoife|1339864637|3217723 said:
StacylikesSparkles|1339530253|3214766 said:
I started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth on Saturday and I really like it! It's set in a place where the people are divided into different factions when they're 16 (they get to choose where they would like to be after taking a test to advise them where they should go based on personality traits) based on their core values. Candor values truth at all costs. Dauntless values bravery. Erudite values intelligence. Abnegation values selflessness. And Amity values kindness. For their first 16 years, they are raised in the faction of their parents and after the choosing ceremony, they get to go to a new faction or stay put, depending on what they value most. If they choose a different faction, their faction needs to come before blood and they basically do not get to see their families again. When doing the test to give a recommendation for the faction they should choose, they can also come up as Divergent, or having the personality/values to show they believe in many things all at once. This is basically treasonous and anyone who is divergent will be murdered.

I really like it thus far! I'm almost all the way through and really like the way that the main characters are growing and how the true nature of their society is coming out. Everything seems hunky-dory at first and then it sort of flips mid book. I like it and plan to pick up the next book as soon as I finish this one, which will probably happen tomorrow lol

Come on people, lets get this thing moving again! :twirl:

I haven't read this yet. The first book (is that Divergent?) seems to have gotten really good reviews, but I've read mixed responses to the second in the series. I'll probably read them anyway, but I'm going to admit that I'm getting a little tired of the YA dystopian trend.

Yes, Divergent is the first book and I liked it. I kind of agree that the dystopian is getting a little played out. I would like a new thing to get hooked on!
 

Aoife

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I bought Divergent yesterday, and also picked up Finnikin of the Rock by the always awesome Melina Marchetta. The good news is that Finnikin doesn't appear to be dystopian... :bigsmile:
 

StacylikesSparkles

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Aoife|1340030582|3218679 said:
I bought Divergent yesterday, and also picked up Finnikin of the Rock by the always awesome Melina Marchetta. The good news is that Finnikin doesn't appear to be dystopian... :bigsmile:


Let me know what you think of Divergent! I just placed Finnikin on my 'books I want to read' list!
 

Aoife

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StacylikesSparkles|1340115280|3219339 said:
Aoife|1340030582|3218679 said:
I bought Divergent yesterday, and also picked up Finnikin of the Rock by the always awesome Melina Marchetta. The good news is that Finnikin doesn't appear to be dystopian... :bigsmile:


Let me know what you think of Divergent! I just placed Finnikin on my 'books I want to read' list!

I will as soon as I read it, it's up next after I finish Finnikin--which just grabbed me from the minute I started reading. I can see now what all the buzz was about.
 

StacylikesSparkles

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I just started reading Fallen by Lauren Kate. I'm not sure what I think just yet. I'm about 130 pages in and I'm just not clicking with the characters as much as I would have liked. It seems like (from the first chapter) that there may be some past life stuff, which I would dig, but it's just a bit slow going right now. I'm hoping it'll get better though!
 

aviastar

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I have finished up with StarCrossed and Liar's Moon this weekend, by Elizabeth C. Bunce. Both good, enjoyable reads; didn't love them as much as Curse, but there were lots of moments of wonderful imagery and just darn good writing, much like Curse. I especially enjoyed the main character's (Digger) voice. I thought the use of italics in her narration, metal and verbal, perfectly highlighted the delivery for me. I am an actor by training and trade, so I always think about lines said outloud and her voice, inflection, emphasis was perfectly captured for me in these books.

That said, there was some serious improbability occasionally that I wish had been tightened up. It was engrossing, but it could have been a bit quicker. And the second book, which I didn't not enjoy as much as the first, ended on such a cliffhanger that was totally unnecessary, in my opinion. Nicely wrapped up storyline and BAM on the very last page. And to make matters worse, the rumor is that the third book in the series hasn't been picked up because of low sales from the first two. Who ends a book that way without knowing if they will even get to publish the next one? Irritating!

But, I would recommend them, all the same. Now, on to my next read...I don't even know which recommendation to pick!
 

StacylikesSparkles

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I just finished Fallen and I really didn't like it. The author was too vague about what was really happening (and not in a suspenseful, I MUST read the next book kind of way) and I'm just annoyed.

I picked up another book last weekend but I forget the title. I'll update tomorrow :)
 

Amys Bling

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StacylikesSparkles said:
I just finished Fallen and I really didn't like it. The author was too vague about what was really happening (and not in a suspenseful, I MUST read the next book kind of way) and I'm just annoyed.

I picked up another book last weekend but I forget the title. I'll update tomorrow :)


I'm starting the last book in the fallen series, I'll see how it goes. I finally read the hunger games and loved it.
 

StacylikesSparkles

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Amys Bling|1340902056|3225188 said:
StacylikesSparkles said:
I just finished Fallen and I really didn't like it. The author was too vague about what was really happening (and not in a suspenseful, I MUST read the next book kind of way) and I'm just annoyed.

I picked up another book last weekend but I forget the title. I'll update tomorrow :)


I'm starting the last book in the fallen series, I'll see how it goes. I finally read the hunger games and loved it.

Definitely let me know what you think! I think that I was expecting more character development and just more
 
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