Happy Teen Read Week!
I'll begin with a paragraph about myself, a paragraph about the blog, and then we'll get to the post about YA books.
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My name is Katelyn Marie Shear, and I turned 14 years old last week. I'm the eldest of 7 children. I'm a Christian writer, and I write Christian, Historical, Romance, YA, Fantasy, Dystopian, etc. I'm currently focusing on my first novel "Endangered", which is halfway to the word count goal. I love reading and writing more than anything else.
I suppose that's enough about me.
This blog is for writers and readers, and I share all about my writing experiences. The normal posts are about my writing progress and adventures, with an occasional personal achievement and/or story. I try to stay away from the debatable topics on my blog, but will address my beliefs should they be attacked. Hopefully, in the near future, the blog name will be changed from "Teen Writer" to "Teen Author".
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Okay, so I'm going to start off by explaining the YA genre. YA stands for Young Adult. So, logically, this genre would be for young adults. This genre is also known as Juvenile Fiction. Now, the cool thing about Young Adult fiction is there are so many different ways to write it. There are endless possibilities with sub-genres. A few famous YA authors are listed below (In no specific order):
Sarah Dessen ~ Author of "The Truth About Forever" and "Dreamland", and many more (also one of my best friends' favorite authors.)
Marcus Zusak ~ Author of "The Book Thief."
James Patterson ~ Author of too many books to list (Yes, he writes YA as well. Much to my surprise)
Katherine Paterson ~ Author of "Lyddie" and "Jacob Have I Loved" (I have read both books. They are good)
Lois Lowry ~ Author of "Number the Stars" and more (I have also read that book, if I remember correctly. Another very good book.)
Shannon Hale ~ Author of "Princess Academy".
Meg Cabot ~ Author of "The Princess Diaries" (Who has not at least watched the movies?)
There are so many more, but I don't have time to list them all. So, now I'll just list my favorite YA authors. Oh, there are so many on that list too. But, I'll just list a few. *wink*
So, my favorite YA authors are listed below (In no specific order):
Jill Williamson ~ Author of "Replication" and "The New Recruit" and more. (LOVE her. Her books are AWESOME.)
Betsy St. Amant ~ Author of "Addison Blakely - Confessions of a PK". (SO good.)
Suzanne Collins ~ Author of "The Hunger Games" trilogy (AS WE ALL KNOW)
These are only a few authors, but it would take me forever to list them all.
Now, YA goes along with anything. Romance, fantasy (especially Fantasy), dystopian, etc. The three authors I've listed above are an example of that.
"Addison Blakely - Confessions of a PK" is a Christian YA Romance. Here's the back cover: "Sixteen-year-old Addison Blakely has tireless played the role of PK—preacher’s kid—her entire life. But after Wes Keegan revs his motorcycle into town and into her heart, Addison begins to wonder how much of her faith is her own and how much has been handed to her. She isn’t so sure she wants to be the good girl anymore. Join Addison Blakely as she attempts to separate love from lust, facts from faith, and keep her head above water in her murky, fishbowl existence."
"Replication" is a Christian YA Fantasy (of sorts). Here's the back cover: "When Your Life Is Not Your Own . . . Martyr---otherwise known as Jason 3:3---is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. Told that he has been created to save humanity, Martyr has just one wish before he is scheduled to 'expire' in less than a month. To see the sky. Abby Goyer may have just moved to Alaska, but she has a feeling something strange is going on at the farm where her father works. But even this smart, confident girl could never have imagined what lies beneath a simple barn. Or what would happen when a mysterious boy shows up at her door, asking about the stars. As the reality of the Jason Experiment comes to light, Martyr is caught between two futures---the one for which he was produced and the one Abby believes God created him to have. Time is running out, and Martyr must decide if a life with Abby is worth leaving everything he's ever known." As you can tell, it has some romance elements, but it doesn't overpower the storyline.
"The New Recruit" is a Christian YA Adventure-Action story. Here's the back cover: "
Forced to choose between military school and a Christian spy organization, skeptic Spencer Garmond signs on with the Bible geeks. But before he even boards the plane for Moscow, Spencer realizes this is no Bible club.
These guys mean business.
Stumbling onto a case involving a gang of homeless boys, a chilling tattoo, and the always beautiful Anya Vseveloda, Spencer struggles to find the faith needed to save the Mission League from enemy infiltration." I wrote a review on this book a few days ago, and you can view it here. Anyway, this book was amazing.
Now, "The Hunger Games". Um . . . okay. Here's an overall summary (taken from Wikipedia): "A young-adult dystopian adventure series written by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The first two books were each The New York Times best sellers, and the third book, Mockingjay, topped all US bestseller lists upon its release." This trilogy made me cry and I'm still depressed. But it was amazing.
As you can see, YA is pretty popular, even among people who aren't considered young *wink, wink*. As a teen, this is a genre that you should read during National Teen Read Week. So, go out to your public library, visit the YA shelf, and pick a good book (Emphasis on good). I don't consider Twilight a good book/series (I doubt many do), so . . . skip that one. *grin*
I hope you enjoyed this post! Make sure to visit the other blogs on this blog tour!
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