(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best teen action & adventure books

Okay so, YA books are my jam, and I'll get to those in a second. But if you want a fun summer read you'll have trouble putting down, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is great. It's a really fun read, especially for people who like books. It's got mystery, humor, and you'll stay up way too late reading to figure out what's going to happen next. It's not the deepest or most challenging book in the world, but it's real fun and well paced.

For YA, anything by Laurie Halse-Anderson is amazing. I've read Speak more times than any other book. Her book Catalyst is also really awesome. And I just finished her book Twisted a few days ago, and it was a great, quick read. (I actually finished it in one lazy day!)

Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why is heartbreaking. If you liked Fault in Our Stars, I'm sure you'll love this. It's a great concept (girl who kills herself gives a series of tapes to a boy to explain why she did it), and it's just superbly well written. Along the same lines, Markus Zusak's I am the Messenger is also a great high-concept, all-the-feels read.

If you like the more fantasy-esque YA books, the best series I've found is Clive Barker's Abarat series. If you end up getting these, make sure to get the hardcover versions. The writing is great itself, but what really makes the series is that each book has over 300 paintings and illustrations done by the author himself. It's a great epic, and the third book of five just came out last year. The series gets darker as it goes, which is great.

And, finally, not a YA novel, but Adam Rapp's The Metal Children is an awesome play about a guy who wrote a YA book that's the focus of a censorship argument in a small town. It's got some great points in it, and is a fast, fun read.

Hope this helps! Sorry if I used the word 'great' too much. :P

Oh! I love reading books!

Sounds like fun! I'll have to do this later

1.) Something that is grey: Pelican Gray Nail Polish. (on private WL)

2.) Something reminiscent of rain: Shower Curtain is a barrier between the bathroom tiles and cascading, rain-like, waterfall that flows from the showerhead. (on dream WL)

3.) Something food related that is unusual: Candy Mold. Chocolate frogs, anyone? (on under $5 WL)

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!): Ice Cream Maker. No ice cream for me because I started keto last week. My friends and family would benefit from this when I make them some delicious ice cream. (on dream WL)

5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it!: The Knife of Never Letting Go. It's book one of the Chaos Walking trilogy, which has rave reviews. Apparently it's a dark, dystopian book full of suspense. (on high priority WL)

6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related!: Laser Finger Beams (not on WL)

7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...): Westside Warrior Nail Polish. Lions, which are really big cats, are warriors of the jungle. (on under $5 WL)

8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it: Origami Star Paper. I like folding these, but once I make them into stars, I literally have nothing to do with them. There's jars of them all across my house and all I can do is look at them (on under $5 WL)

9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why?: Song from Iron Man 3 Soundtrack. Everyone should see it because Iron Man + Tony Stark + RDJ = <3 (on digital WL)

10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain.: Spin-the-shot. If zombies attack, I would need to be drunk, so this would come in handy for some last minute fun before I turn into a brain eating zombie. Let's face it, I'm not surviving a zombie attack... (on $5-$10 WL)

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals: Coconut Oil. Everyone on the keto subreddit raves about this stuff. Being a newbie to this lifestyle, I feel that if so many people had great results using this oil, that it would help with my goals. (on $11-$25 WL)

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items: Anti-stress face mask (not surprisingly, found on my add-on WL)

13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why?: Globe Bar. I would feel like a super cool James Bond-esque spy who would have a secret room hidden behind a bookshelf. Plus I love alcohol and globes. (on dream WL)

14.) Something bigger than a bread box: Desk Easel. (on $11-25 WL)

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball: Earrings. (on private WL)

16.) Something that smells wonderful: Pink Punch Baby Lips (on add-ons WL)

17.) A (SFW) toy: Kindle. I would consider this a techie toy. (on dream WL)

18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school: Fun Colored Pens. (on add-on WL)

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be: Paints. My current obsession is painting! (on $11-25 WL)

20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand: Mug. I love love love this literature mug. I not only love the varying typography all over it, but I think that there are some really striking first lines of literature. (on $11-25 WL)

BONUS

1.) Real name: PM sent

2.) Made in Oregon: Handwarmer Mug

Edit: raffle phrase - fear cuts deeper than swords

This is going to seem like a really strange choice, but it's coming from another 16 year old. I recommend Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, as it is one of my absolute favorite books. It may only appeal to him if he likes science or engineering, but it's worth a shot regardless.

In a similar vein to the Chronicles of Narnia, may I recommend The Hobbit/ The Lord of the Rings? Both are great stories that he may like. Although they are not the best written books in terms of writing quality (in my opinion), the Inheritence Cycle by Christopher Paolini might appeal for entertainment value. Perhaps a lesser known author that I greatly enjoy is Megan Whalen Turner, author of The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia. I just became aware of this book and have thus never read it, but A Conspiracy of Kings by the same author is bound to be good.

Steering away from fantasy, he may also like science fiction. I recommend any Ray Bradbury. Most of his stories are short, so for someone who doesn't read often they are great. My favorite are the Martian Chronicles, but R is for Rocket is also a good compilation. All of the Artemis Fowl series are recommended as well.

If I think of any more, I will certainly edit this post.

In teen fiction or adult? I don't think I've read any adult books recently (published in last two years) that would be appropriate for a 13 year old.


Stardust: Quirky, fun and Neil Gaiman. His writing and stories are very strange so people either like them or they don't (I don't). However, my friends swear by this book.


Kingkiller: Badass hero, epic journey, epic story. Ultimately along the same difficulty as Sword of Shanara/LOTR and is probably super boring for a 13 year old.


Let me think: Game of Thrones is neither appropriate nor well written. Lackey is still amazing, but has strong homosexual and relationship themes. I think I waited to read her old stuff until I was 13, but her new stuff is just as -- well, her... Terry Brooks has a new series, but it is more political than Rothfuss. All the modern mystery/suspense is very sexual. I'm reading Abercombie right now, but don''t feel confident recommending it since I'm not done. Keyes reminds me of old-school high fantasy -- really, really dense and hard to digest for a 13 year old.

 

Popular

 

Divergent, as he already read, was quite good. Hunger Games and Maze Runner are in the same genre, but both are quite a bit darker than Divergent (stupid mind control and very Lord of the Flies-esque).

I think my best modern recommendation is:
Rick Riodran: Generally awesome teen male fiction. I've read the greek (percy) and egyptian series. They are fun and very similar to harry potter in tone.

Other

Throne of Glass: Not super popular, but definitely good! I haven't had the chance to read the sequels, but the first stuck with me.

Mistborn: water-downed Trudi Canarvan. Poor girl becomes a magician/assassin who totally kicks butt. Some almost-rape scenes (2 I think).

Intisar Khanani - I got a chance to read her newest book before it was released. She is the modern equivalent of Tamora Pierce and definitely someone to watch in the future. Great - Great author, but doesn't have an established series.

If he ends up liking the Dark Elf Trilogy -- The forgotten realms are STILL making books.

I'd say that Mortal Instruments (Girl meets demon hunter -- kind of a less cool version of Bleach), anything John Green writes (watered down Nicholas Sparks), Tiger's Curse (awesome epic adventure, but kinda creepy), and the Iron Fey series are too girly.

I recently read a free kindle book that would be awesome. It was a watered-down, less rape-y/fetishy version of The Sword of Truth. I can't find it. I'll have to get back to you on that. It had dragons and magic and bad-assery in a generic fantasy way. There was also another one with lots of dragons and he had power over them... hmmm... I might be losing my mind.

Oh how I looove reading. Reading is a passion that I want to share with all. To let them know the pure beauty of it all. My favorite story is Alice and Wonderland. It's a beautiful, imaginative story that fueled my love of reading. The scenery, the world. The characters! Oh and the quotes! Why is a raven like a writing desk? I believe Alice and Wonderland lives in us all. I hope you enjoy the end of your book. :) thank you for the contests and bringing up happy memories.


This would be amazing. I have the paperback, but if I got the hardcover I would send the paperback to a loving home!


Or the Percy Jackson would help me see a new world that /u/bookishgeek wants me to dive in!

Gonna Copy/Paste from another thread:

Teen Superheros:

Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts (Three children of superheros develop powers and accidently become supervillains. Good writing, very clever worldbuilding and characterization. Interesting love triangle You've probably seen it advertised as "What if Harry Potter were steampunk?" but underneath the obvious cashgrab advertising is a great book)

Sidekicks by Jack Ferraiolo (Two sidekicks-One of a superhero, another of a supervillian, learn that they go to the same school, and develop a romance. Excellent Writing, especially for a children's book. Cute romance, and realistic characterization of the main characters at the age they're at without being either condescending or simplistic, interesting twist on superhero/supervillian dynamics. Be careful, since the title's genericness means its possible to get the wrong book)

The Vindico by Wesley King. (5 children are kidnapped by a team of supervillains in an attempt to train apprentices. Generally sold as "The Breakfast Club meets X-Men", which it somewhat lives up to. Good plot, nice twist both on traditional super villain roles and "school for supers" idea)

Realistic Fiction:

The Theif Lord by Cornelia Funke. (Two Orphans run away to Venice and join a group of runaways taken care of by "The Thief Lord", a child master thief. Clever Plot, and the writing really takes you in)

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Written by 16 year old who really lived in similar conditions. Plot revolves around "Ponyboy", a member of a Greaser gang in the 60s, and his life after a gang fight goes wrong. You really care about people who would otherwise serve as hoodlums in another novel)

Sci-fi:

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix. (A Prince, one of a few million of the rulers of a galactic empire, becomes tangled in a web of plots and conspiracies. Good sci-fi with excellent world building. Watching the main character learn how dangerous his life has become and slowly adapt to it)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown (After the death of his wife, a member of the lowest Red caste is disguised and made into a member of the ruling Gold caste in order to infiltrate the ruling society. "Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow" was the quote that got me into this. Lives up to it. Reads like a more violent Hunger Games, and goes places the HG didn't. Excellent read, and the main character's intelligence make him more than just an angry revenger. Some slightly guessable "plot twists", but does a good job exploring the theme of unfairness and winning against a stacked deck.)

Levithan by Scott Westerfield. (Alternate World War One, where the allies use genetic manipulation to create huge beasts of burden and war, while the Central powers use huge steampunk machines. Plot follows a girl who dresses as a boy to join in the ranks of an air force, who meets an Austrian Prince on the run from the German Empire)

Fantasy/Horror:

The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delany (Seventh son gets appreticed to the local spook, a man who fights magical threats around the County. Does a unique job of showing its monsters and boogeymen, with a plot that builds over the course of the books.)

Cirque Du Freak (Boy becomes a half-vampire, traveling with a circus of freaks. Most action takes place away from the circus and towards the other vampires in the world. 12 books that are really 4 trilogies, which ought to be 4 books. Nice job of presenting unique vampires. Actual horror varies, although I've heard good things about the Demonata series by the same author, which I haven't read.)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. (First line: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." Plot is series of vignettes about boy being raised by a group of ghosts in a graveyard. Gaiman gets pretty good reviews overall, and for good reason.)

The Midnighters Series by Scott Westerfield (Girl moves to new town and discovers she is one of a very few who can access the "Secret Hour"- An extra hour when time is frozen at midnight, along with gaining new powers. Her and a few select others fight ancient beasts who were the last predators of ancient man.)

Hmmm... paranormal/supernatural tween reads with strong girl characters (not that Twilight had a strong female lead in it, but you may as well steer her in a better direction).

You really can't go wrong with the Hunger Games. Or you could get her the Japanese novel Battle Royale. It's also a dystopian novel about teenagers forced to battle each other to the death.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is worth checking out. It starts to lose some oomph towards the end, but is still a solid read with actual substance to the storyline. I'd get the hardback - the photography in it is just genius. Male lead, but there's a pretty cool chick who throws fireballs.

I enjoyed Anna Dressed in Blood. It's a bit like Supernatural, only with one male ghost hunter as the protaganist. He falls in love with a ghost, but she's a homicidal maniac.

The Rise of Renegade X - a boy raised by his evil supervillain mom discovers that he's the product of her one-night-stand with a superhero. That was pretty enjoyable...

Poison Study is a great book about a girl who's been sentenced to death and is offered a reprieve if she becomes the king's food taster. Her handler ends up subjecting her to a litany of poisons so that she can build up immunity. Didn't read the sequels, but the first book was pretty good.

Graceling is set in a world where certain people are born with random talents - the ability to hold their breath underwater for long periods of time, musical or dancing abilities, cooking the best food imaginable, etc. The main character is born with the talent to kill & becomes her uncle's assassin.

Stardust - Neil Gaiman... really nuff said, eh?

Howl's Moving Castle - A girl is turned into an old woman by an angry witch & takes refuge in the mysteriously moving castle of an "evil" wizard.

Okay. I'll stop now. :)

My favorite thing I have done in 2014 is come out of my shell. I decided I was going to try to not be so shy this year and I have made so many new friends (both in real life and on this subreddit). It has truly been a blessing and I feel a lot less alone! :)

I would love this book if I won. Thank you for the contest and welcome back!

The Tardis makes me really happy. I also really love fleece blankets. I ain't birthed no babies!

Also. [Happy Birfday.] (http://www.amazon.com/Across-the-Universe-ebook/dp/B00475ARSO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1376882087&sr=1-1&keywords=across+the+universe) I'm reading the third in the series right now and they're awesome. The website is also really bad ass.

Congrats on being an Aunt! I like the name, it's pretty. Have a great birthday!

>Where and when did you decide to become a novelist?

I have always loved writing. I have pictures of myself in first grade with my first "story" (about three sentences that told the story of the characters on my coloring sheet. For Career Day, I dressed as a secretary and carried around a typewriter because I didn't know you could have a career as author and I just wanted to do something where I typed. Everyone told me I needed a "day job" to be a writer--and they were right, I did need an income that was more regular until I could make it.

>Did you go to school to achieve your current status or did you take a different path?

No schooling. I took one creative writing class in college, and my professor--the head of the CW department--said on the first day that we could write anything for his class except sci fi and fantasy because he didn't want stories where you could wave a magic wand and everything's fine. Which is utterly stupid, because SFF isn't about that at all. I stuck it through that one class, and was so disillusioned by the elitism and snobbery of the literary wannabes that I noped out of there. Instead, I got my degree in English education, and worked as a high school teacher for six years before I could break through in publishing. I wrote ten novels over the course of a decade, submitted them all, and racked up about a thousand rejections from agents and publishers. It was basically like working a second job. My big breakthrough came with my first published novel, Across the Universe, which enabled me to quit my job and turn writing into my career.

>What is your advice for aspiring writers?

When given the choice between staying at home and writing all day or going out and having an adventure, choose the adventure. A life lived well and diversely will give you more and better stories than a life lived holed up. Of course there's a time when you need to put your butt in the chair and work, but don't do it at the expense of living.

Also, find your community. Writing is very solitary, but the writing community isn't. Reach out to other writers on your level, in your genre, etc. If you write YA, /r/YAWriters is a great resource (disclosure, I'm a mod there, but we are pretty awesome).

>And how does one become a writer for Lucasfilm?

Luck. They came to my agent and asked if I'd be interested and I tried not to freak out when she passed the offer to me.

Books were my best friends, growing up, and I developed a deep, abiding appreciation for what being a reader can do for a person. I read to both of my kids, even in utero, and they both became very avid readers. My daughter has developed a talent for writing, and a desire to be a doctor. She knows I am unlikely to be able to pay her tuition, so she's worked really hard. She's a straight-A student, and the only freshman at her school taking the advanced math and science classes.

She'll be taking AP Chemistry and Calculus, as a sophomore, next year, and she really wants to get a head start. She wants Wonderful Life With the Elements, which is on her wishlist, here. She doesn't really care if it's new or used, but it would need to be a hard copy, rather than an e-book.

My son still hasn't figured out what he wants to be, yet, but he's only almost-eleven. Right now, I think he's vacillating between engineering and video game design. :o)

He's seen me laughing at the Terry Pratchett Discworld series, and is dying to read Wee Free Men, also in hard-copy. His list is here.

Fantasy: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. The first book is good, but the second and third are fantastic.


Non-fiction: Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human by Richard Wrangham. Flat-out the most fascinating book I've ever read. About evolution and shit.

Literary Fiction: Orsinian Tales by Ursula K. Le Guin. The writing is so beautiful, moving, exquisite, all that good stuff. Le Guin's best work, imo.

Science Fiction: The High Crusade by Poul Anderson. Sooooo awesome. Has some elements of fantasy in it (the medieval part anyway.) Basically, knights vs. aliens.

(Context for anyone else reading this comment: Tuftybee sent me Divergent, by Veronica Roth.)

I definitely recommend it! The idea of this whole society built off what are essentially Hogwarts-like "houses" ("factions" in the book) is really interesting. The protagonist is always analyzing her actions as being part of one faction or another, and constantly trying to figure out where she really belongs. It's really, really interesting so far! If you get a chance, check it out. Thanks again! :) ♥

The Great Brain. AWESOME series , loved all of them at that age

The Great Brain https://www.amazon.com/dp/0803725906/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_kkb8ybEC2072M

I've read that The Thinking's Woman's Guide to Real Magic is like an adult oriented Harry Potter book.

The Night Circus is a fantasy romance novel involving magic and a circus. This is set in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Monstrumologist and its' sequels are really interesting monster hunting novels. This is set in the late 1800s.

Have you read the Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman yet?

Jonathan Strange & Mr.Norrell was a great read. It's another book about magic. I have a copy and I really like it.

That's a tricky one. Seems the majority of fantasy books with a female protagonist fall into either the ya or smut category

I would suggest:
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

These are technically ya but I wouldn't say the relationships are stereotypical of ya
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

If you don't mind smutty then my goto in Kresley Cole and her immortals after dark series. Always a nice light paranormal romance. Not every book is a hit in my opinion but there's some gems. Plus it's fine to read then out of order/skip some.

So, basically a movie on a police-state, with the defenders of free speech fighting for their freedom? Hrm, with themes from the Matrix, Cloverfield, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Little Brother (Haven't read it yet though), and possibly references to Monty Python, this movie would rock!

If it was done properly, I think that it could be propagated solely via word of mouth and the internet as its distributor. I know that I would watch it.


On the other hand, a novel would be better, as one would be able to see what one is thinking.


Whatever the case, this would be an interesting subject to see/read.

Well, there's /u/bethrevis' Across the Universe trilogy for starters. I didn't like the first book much, but loved the next two.

Cecil Castellucci's Tin Star is a standalone YA sci-fi with strong Titan A.E. vibes.

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game also fits, though it's a smaller focus, I think.

More adult than YA, but I'm currently reading Steven Erikson's Willful Child and it fits the easy reading notes. It's kind of Star Trek helmed by meta-William Shatner/Zapp Brannigan/Zaphod Beeblebrox, as narrated by Kurt Vonnegut.

I believe These Broken Stars would also fit the YA space opera label, though I haven't read it.

Edit: And if you don't mind spinoffs, I forgot about Star Wars' Young Jedi Knights series. Loved those as a kid. Not sure how they stand up, but that was the series fitting the YA niche instead of adult or MG.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is fantastic cereal! :D

I would LOVE this book. I was gifted the first book, Divergent, by someone here in RAOA and I ate it up in less than 24 hours, it was that good. I need to see where the story goes. :)

Boom! Roasted


My favorite character is Veronica Mars. I watched the show on a whim a couple episodes into the first season and loved it. Veronica is smart, vulnerable, witty, sarcastic, and cynical. All qualities I can truly appreciate.

My favorite quote is when Troy asks if she's always this persnickety?
and she replies "Sometimes I'm even persnicketier." For the simple use of the word persnickety.

The Dragonlance series and the Deathgate Cycle have already been recommended. Absolutely what you say you are looking for.

The War of the Blades books have elves - more in the second book than in the first - but no dwarves that I can recall. They also have fair numbers of fantasy creatures, both novel and more traditional. Dragons, of course, have a huge role.

The Inheritance Cycle might be something you'd like. Eragon is a pretty straight-forward clone of The Belgariad's plotline, but with the addition of dragons, elves, and dwarves.

ETA: Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies and his Tiffany Aching books have an interesting take on elves.

Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester, most definitely! Then you'd have to list all the stuff that's been based off that series, which is down the bottom of the wikipedia page.

And I know this is a bit out there for you, but you could call this supplementary - it's historical fiction with dragons. His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) by Naomi Novik.

For the girls, you could get them to read the stuff by Georgette Heyer. Heyer was a romance novelist whose research library for British period customs and clothing was fiercely fought over by museums and libraries when she died. She wrote things that are both engaging and truly capture the flavor of the timeframe; she didn't impose modern morals and anachronisms onto her fiction.

Sherlock Holmes? Pick a few of the classic stories and maybe analyze the differences between society then in Victorian England and today. As a companion, you could get them to read the bit in A Bloody Business: An Anecdotal History of Scotland Yard which discusses Arthur Conan Doyle and his contributions to social change in Victorian London.

Then there's the Mabinogi, which has inspired tons of other works, and you could pair that with Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising Series - there's only one book in there that really draws from/deals with Welsh myth, but it's a good one.

What a wonderful way to celebrate the end of Prime!

A book for under $4! I had to go dig around in my private wishlists because I didn't have any prime items that were around $5 >.>

Garth Nix is one of my favorite authors.

I've been looking that too, but just now I have too much to read both on my Kindle and outside it to start a completely new series before I've finished the last ones. You did like YA books? I could recommend this if you haven't read it yet :)

That being said, Graceling is one of the best books I have ever read. I don't know if you'd be interested, but so far everyone I've made read it has freaked out at how amazing it is. :)

Almost sounds like Shade's Children, by Garth Nix. But it's a boy.

>School Library Journal:
Gr 9 Up--One day, in the not-too-distant future, everyone over the age of 14 simply disappears. The remaining children are rounded up to live in dormitories. Once they reach their "Sad Birthday" they are sent to the "Meat Factory," where they are dismantled and used to make up the horrible half-human, half-mechanical creatures that fight the violent, ritualistic battles of the seven warlords who have taken over Earth. Some of the young people, however, develop psychic abilities that make escape from the dorms possible; they live underground, doing their best to avoid the creatures and certain death. An almost-sentient computer, Shade, uses teams of escapees to help him discover the secrets of the warlords so that he can return things to normal. When his best team completes a nearly impossible mission during which one of their own is captured, Shade refuses to authorize a rescue. It then becomes clear to the teens that he has no intention of letting things return to normal and that they are the last chance to save humanity from robotic servitude. Although this is a fast-paced, exciting, and often graphic story, it is pretty serious science fiction and its appeal will be limited to fans of the genre. Straight narrative chapters alternate with files from Shade's increasingly unbalanced memory, a device that works well in this context. A well-written and engaging book.--Carrie Schadle, New York Public Library

Red Rising is a great SF trilogy; it starts out with a definite YA feel, but becomes a more complex story, and I'd argue the second book is better than the first. It has been optioned.

Red Queen is popular, and I'm sure there are studios looking to option the series.


And studios would be stupid to not consider Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series.

I also think there is interest in An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, and Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

I haven't read that particular volume, but it sounds like a book from The Last Apprentice series.
Also, if you liked that book, I beg you to read this series, as well. Especially the second book. You'll find the exact same sort of content in this series, but, I believe, even creepier! >:]

I love the Abarat series by Clive Barker: Abarat, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War and Abarat: Absolute Midnight

They're YA (well as much as HDM is YA), teen protagonist exploring a different world. I'm not very good at blurb, but they are in the same vein as His Dark Materials, and are fantastic books as well.

You need to read Marc Cerasini's series of books. These are probably my favorite Godzilla stories of any that are out there. Seriously Godzilla 2000 is amazing...

In the first book they reference the reason why he's in Japan but never fully explain it. Paraphrasing how Marc put it, it's his home territory. We have to think of Godzilla as an animal controlling his area. I think it's the perfect story behind Godzilla's reason to be in Japan. Godzilla is a wolf and anything that enters his territory is gonna get it.

Also in Dark Horse, Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special they take it in a different direction. That story says there's an artifact that is drawing all of the monsters to Japan. It's a cool story but a very different one for the big G.

If you want something fantasy/sci-fi-ish, try Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves.

To quote the book description: "An astounding tale of adventure, danger, magic, science, friendship, spaceships, and, oh yeah, the battle to save all the people in all the worlds in all possible dimensions. Joey Harker isn't a hero. In fact, he's the kind of guy who gets lost in his own house. But one day, Joey gets really lost. He walks straight out of his world and into another dimension. Joey's walk between worlds makes him prey to armies of magic and science, both determined to harness Joey's power to travel between the dimensions. The only thing standing in their way is Joey—or, more precisely, an army of Joeys, all from different dimensions and all determined to save the worlds. Now Joey must make a choice: return to the life he knows or join the battle to the end."

Has anyone read Illuminae? It seems like it would be a pretty good book for this sub. I was gonna grab the Kindle version but the physical copy seems the better way to go because of all the pics and charts in the book.

Anyone read it?

Nemesis from what i've heard, is a pretty good Kaiju book
Also Godzilla 2000 is a personal favorite of mine, it has nothing to do with the Godzilla 2000 movie, they just have similar titles

• Divergent/Insurgent (First two in an unfinished trilogy)
  
• The Maze Runner (This is a trilogy)
  
• Battle Royale
  
• I've heard good things about The Knife of Never Letting Go (The first part of the Chaos Walking trilogy)
  
  To be honest, these are just some dystopia themed books I recommended because of Hunger Games. However, I could give better recommendations if you tell me more of what she wants. Young adult? Fantasy? Romantic aspect?

11-14

• Hatchet, about a boy stranded in the Canadian wilderness.
  
• Holes, about a boy cursed with bad luck who ends up in a prison camp
  
• Leviathan trilogy, a retelling of WWI where the Austro-Hungarians have mechas and the British have genetically-engineered whale blimps. This is evenly split between a male and female perspective (and a huge hit in a relative's special ed class for the same age group).
  
• The Ranger's Apprentice, introductory medieval fantasy about a boy training to be a ranger.
  
• Incarceron, about a steampunk labyrinth prison and the fake medieval world outside.
  
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, about mutant detectives in future Zimbabwe.
  
  15-18
  
  
• World War Z, about a zombie apocalypse and how different countries and people deal with it. Has a lot to say about geopolitics. (Not necessarily YA, but popular in that age group)
  
• Feed, where everyone has the internet in their heads from birth. While partying on the moon, boy meets girl who didn't get the feed until age 6.
  
• John Green's other books, like Looking for Alaska, etc all have male protagonists.
  
• Little Brother, about a teenage hacker swept up by the Department of Homeland Security after a terrorist attack on California.
  
• Legend trilogy, about a dystopian United States and a police prodigy trying to track down another 15-year old rebel. This is another one split between a male and female perspective.
  
• Kurt Vonnegut and Tim O'Brien are technically adult authors, but very accessible and popular in that age group.
  
  Would also second Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson, Ender's Game, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that other commentators mentioned.
  
  Also, you may be interested in /r/YAlit and /r/YAwriters.

That's so sick, it's like that book Little Brother I read as a kid, and still cool for anyone who's into this stuff.

But yeah, can anyone tell me how to do this haha. Like how to make a key and where the Soul Nexus people are.

Definitely Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.

The stories in the Steal the Network series are fiction wrapped around realistic computer security themes and exploits. They even include screenshots where applicable. I especially enjoyed the last one in the series.

Susan Cooper has a great series called "The Dark is Rising" It starts with "over sea and under stone" and continues from there. They sell the whole series. This was my absolute favorite series as a kid and actually was the book that started my love of reading. (i was not too big into reading before that.)

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rising-Boxed-Set-Greenwitch/dp/1416949968

Do not be confused with the horrible movie they made based on the second book. That just sucked.

There's the Godzilla: With Lights and Sound book for the new movie.

Godzilla vs Gigan and the Smog Monster picture book, obviously used is much cheaper.

[Godzilla on Monster Island] (http://www.amazon.com/Godzilla-Monster-Island-Pictureback-R/dp/0679880801/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412126648&sr=1-10&keywords=godzilla), Godzilla Likes to Roar, and Who's Afraid of Godzilla and great but pricey even used.

And I'm not sure of the reading level of your child but there are the Scott Ciencin books.

• Godzilla: King of the Monsters
  
• Godzilla Invades America
  
• Godzilla vs the Space Monsters
  
• Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island
  
  And there's the more advanced series by Marc Cerasini:
  
  
• Godzilla Returns
  
• Godzilla 2000
  
• Godzilla at World's End
  
• Godzilla vs the Robot Monsters
  
  

I want to suggest The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner and its sequels. These are some of my favorite books and I feel they are not popular enough for how good they are.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Thief-Queens-Book/dp/0060824972/

I honestly can't remember a lot of the details from it, so this may be way off base but are you talking about one of the Cirque du Freak books by Darren Shaun? Main character is named Darren, the old vampire is Mr. Crepsley.

Hopefully the link works. On mobile.

Graceling has a really original concept and a fearless lady protagonist.

Could it be The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper? There are five books in the series, all of them are excellent.

Some of my fondest book memories from around that age come from this series.

The Great Brain

Great Brain books

http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Brain-John-Fitzgerald/dp/0803725906

Right after I read Hunger Games I read Graceling by Kristin Cashore. The main character is another strong female. I'm not really good at explaining books so here is a link to Amazon to help you out.
http://www.amazon.com/Graceling-Kristin-Cashore/dp/015206396X

Perhaps you could write it in an epistolary format.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OEXJARS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Granted, this book is science-fiction, but there are certainly ways to write fantasy in a similar fashion.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. It's classed as Young Adult, but it's awesome for any age. No looking at the summaries for the next ones until you've read each one, though. Spoilers abound.

[Demonata] (http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Loss-Demonata-Book-ebook/dp/B000SEWISU/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1377297988&sr=8-1&keywords=demonata) and [Cirque Du Freak] (http://www.amazon.com/Cirque-Freak-Saga-Darren-ebook/dp/B000SESJ0Q/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1377297957&sr=8-1&keywords=cirque+du+freak) have some really interesting themes.

Terry Pratchett's "Tiffany" stories in Discworld. Not just female. Young too.

• The Wee Free Men, http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060012382/
  
• A Hat Full of Sky,http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060586621/
  
• Wintersmith, http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060890339/
  
• I Shall Wear Midnight, http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061433063

I was caught off guard by how much I liked the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow It is hard for me to put this book down once I start. If anyone knows of any books like this, please let me know.

the Abarat books by Clive Barker, make sure you get the illustrated editions!

The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman One of my all time favourites, the old translated editions weren't as good but a new version will be published in november.

The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

Across the Universe.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00475ARSO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Don't forget to flair this as solved using the instructions in the sidebar.

Is it InterWorld?

It's all about the karma. Mmm baby.

Is it this:
Throne of Glass
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1619630346/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1PT1xbJ9WF0KQ

Book

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

Book 5

Book 6

Book 7

Book 8

Book 9

Comes to about $91.

Shade's Children by Garth Nix (amazon link)
Targeted to teen/YA audience, but still readable for adults.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Second book comes out May 1.

Throne of Glass

That makes me think of the book Graceling.

In one of the novels Godzilla 2000 by Marc Cerasini >!He goes up against a tornado and "wins"!<

Take a look at Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series.

My boyfriend believes that this is it!

Godzilla 2000 - Marc Cerasini

http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/Godzilla_2000_(Book)

http://www.amazon.com/Godzilla-2000-Marc-Cerasini/dp/0679887512/ref=la_B000APE8A8_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396618106&sr=1-9

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765319853

I have The War of the Worlds and a collection of six Sherlock Holmes adventures, if either one interests you. I also have Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Witch and Wizard, and The Gift by James Patterson.

The Thief by Meghan Whalen Turner

Sorry, I should have been clearer. Tiffany Aching is the fictional protagonist in some of Pratchett's novels.

Here's the first in the series.

Divergent by Veronica Roth, or the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Both feature strong female protagonists; both have action galore; both were devoured by my fiance who denies he has the ability to read. I think Divergent's better, but all three Hunger Games books are out and the second in the Divergent series won't be out till May.. :'(

I set of books that I read right before The Hunger games that I kept drawing parallels to was the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. The first book is called The Knife of Never Letting Go.