(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best teen young adult literatue fiction books

I second the Tamora Pierce suggestion. Also definitely Gregor the Overlander! Suzanne Collin's lesser known series (she wrote Hunger Games). I recently finished reading (it's a 5-book series) and it was FANTASTIC. Just amazing. It's a YA series. The House of the Scorpion is also great, might be for your stronger readers. Eragon series is fun, and Dealing with Dragons is still one of my all-time favorite dragon books/series. Bruce Coville is a great author, and his work might be a little young but it's good to have a mix. I absolutely loved everything of his I have read, but especially Aliens Ate My Homework and the rest of that series. Most of these will appeal to the young men, hopefully.



When I was a young lady, I read pretty much anything, but I know a lot of boys like books with a boy main character. I really was a bit horse crazy, so here's some you might look into for your young ladies. The Saddle Club is a very long series about 3 girls and their horse-y adventures. It was really fun and it's great to find longer series because, if they like the first one, there's a lot to enjoy. (Oh a thought - you could always get the first one in a series, then just tell them to get the rest from the library or something, if there's budget concerns) I also liked the Thoroughbred Series and the wonderful Marguerite Henry horse books, especially the famous Misty of Chincoteague but really any of her books is a good read. My all time favorite horse series was and still is The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. Oh, how I loved that book.


There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom was fantastic the first time I read it, and I also like the "Wayside School" books which are both by Louis Sachar. Judy Blume is fun as is Beverly Cleary. Redwall gets a lot of kids into reading, you also might consider some high-level comics/graphic novels to reach a different audience. The Hobbit Graphic Novel has great illustration and I loved reading it so much when I found it one day in a store.


I found history pretty boring so avoided those books but I did enjoy The King's Swift Rider about Robert the Bruce and Scotland, might be the only vaguely historical book I remember reading around those ages. I tried to avoid mystery books more or less, but I loved Encyclopedia Brown (even though according to Amazon it's for younger ages). I enjoyed Harriet the Spy she was a pretty cool girl role-model at the time. My Side of the Mountain was absolutely fantastic and such a great adventure, though I enjoy everything Jean Craigshead George writes. I feel like Julie of the Wolves is pretty standard reading material, maybe not anymore, but what a great story. Oh my gosh, I just about forgot The Indian in the Cupboard, that was such a good story. Anything Roald Dahl is wonderful as is Jane Yolen, I especially recommend the Pit Dragon trilogy. The Golden Compass, So You Want to be A Wizard, Animorphs, Goosebumps, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Kiki Strike, Dinotopia, Song of the Gargoyle and The City of Ember.


I am sure that is way more than you need, but my mind started racing. It was hard to stop once I started -- thank you for that enjoyable tour through my past. Lots of great memories of time spent reading. Hope you find some of this helpful, at least.

I take it from Harry Potter and Divergent he likes strong, morally-white protagonists on journeys to save the world. I don't know his exact reading level or interests, so I will make the following suggestions by category. I ranked books in each category by difficulty.

 

Teen Fantasy:

 

Dealing with Dragons: Funny, easy to read, dragons, magic, and sarcasm.

The Lioness Series, Immortal Series, or The Magic Circle Series: Strong female leads and interesting to read with great stories (Think Mulan). My brother loved them.

Artemis Fowl: Strong, morally ambiguous but ultimately altruistic, sarcastic, and smart protagonist against the world.

User Unfriendly: Dudes get sucked into a video/rpg and try to get out without dying. Like Tron, but less sci-fi and more fantasy.

Halo: One of my brothers who HATES reading -- or at least is incredibly picky actually stayed up all night to finish four of Halo books. He also really likes the games. I don't know which one is the first or the best but this one had the best reviews. I dunno if it is dark either -- I haven't read it :'(.

The Dark Elf Trilogy: Darker than anything else I have on here (or can be) hero vs world type fantasy. Drizzit = my brothers' hero growing up. Kinda WOW-esque? Having played both, I understand how much of WOW is inspired by DnD. I personally didn't like this.

Redwall: Harder to read, talking animals save the world from other talking animals. I personally hated this series, but my brothers read every single book in the series at the time.

 


Adult Fantasy:

 

Magician: Magic, totally badass protagonist, BORING first couple chapters, but ultimately the most OP hero I have ever read. Amazing, truly amazing. I think it is two-three books in the first series.

Harper Hall: Dragons, music, strong, but lost protagonist. Deals with sexism and gender biased. The other books in the cycle range from sci-fi to political fantasy.

Dragonbone Chair: Strong, badass hero vs a dragon. What happens? He becomes more badass. It is a lighter verison of LOTR/Sword of Shanara (which is probably too much politics/genetics/enviromental commentary -- generally boring-- for him right now) --

An even lighter alternative, more teen book is Eragon. That being said, I absolutely DETESTED these books. I don't care if he was 16, he didn't coming up with any of his own material. But -- a lot of people really like it, so your brother might!

 

Sci-fi:

 

Ender's game: Amazing ending, especially if he likes videogames. I haven't seen the movie, but my Dad said it was "loosely inspired" from the book. All I know is the book was world-changing. It has some legitimately dark points (like gouging out a giants eye or drowning puppies).

Johnny Maxwell Trilogy: This dude is cool. I didn't know until I linked it that it is hard to get a copy >.<.

Dune: This, like LOTR, is VERY political and can be very easily boring. It might also be too adult or hard for him. There is mental illness and just crazy people in the later books.

 

Mature Humor:

 

He should be ready for some British humor, which is a little more mature than American humor (sorry) and much more sarcastic. You also have to be in the mood for it, especially if you aren't expecting it.

Sourcery: Really, really funny.

Hitchhiker's Guide: Also funny.

Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold: American. Funny take on fantasy books.

 

I kept away from darker books where the protagonist is morally grey (Artemis fowl and Drizzit being exceptions -- though they are both still definitely heros), sex, questionable themes, or general mental derangement.

I also stayed away from more modern books, which I have read a lot of if you would like recommendations for those instead. I read a lot in general, so if you have a questions about a book in particular, I can try to help.

Edit: Links

Adult Dystopian Recommendations:

• Oryx and Crake – Jimmy/Snowman coasts through life fueled mainly by ennui. His only rebellion is to be mediocre when his advantages in society (white, upper (maybe middle) class, Western male) have him poised for success. Glenn/Crake deliberately turns himself into the Big Bad in order to correct the wrongs he sees in society. Whether his main issue is with human nature, sucking the planet dry, socially stratified capitalist society, willful ignorance, or insatiety and curiosity is unclear. Oryx sees it all and accepts them all, knowing that she’s too unimportant to do anything except pick up the pieces and provide comfort in the meantime.
  
  
• The Year of the Flood – The world and especially capitalist society is stacked against you, but resourcefulness and an open mind will serve you well.
  
  
• The Handmaid’s Tale – Quiet rebellions like memory and record-keeping can be subversive also. But it’s only actions that set the stage for change. And the people you (maybe?) save will interpret everything differently from your intentions anyways.
  
  
• Never Let Me Go – Is it truly a dystopia when only a small group is affected? If you’re thinking of reading this, do not under any circumstances watch the movie trailer. The slow build to “something is not quite right” is part of the charm.
  
  
• Into the Forest – Literary fiction. More about acceptance and regression to a [“natural”](#s "and feminist, which apparently means incestuous but Deep! and Thematically! incestuous") state.
  
  
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Historical fiction about Chinese reeducation camps, but still pretty dystopian. Bourgeois teenage boy questions his educated, upper-class roots and teaches peasant love interest about Western literature. [She](#s "abandons him for a capitalist dream because the lesson she took from it was that love was worthless. Basically, they both take away the worst parts of each other’s starting philosophies and smash them together.")
  
  
• Wild Ginger – If historical fiction is happening, why not another Cultural Revolution one? If you keep your head down, you might just survive long enough to grow up and really see the hypocrisy – stuff even greater than what you saw as a kid.
  
  
• 1984 – Isn’t this more about how the system will break you and leave you a husk of your former self if you trust anyone completely? So you should be smart and skeptical and never assume things are in your best interest just because someone’s telling you so.
  
  
• Brave New World – Have to admit, at 12 this had me thinking that maybe fascism wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The despair and existential crisis aspects weren’t hitting me then: I just noticed how happy almost everyone else was.
  
  
• The Road – All about bleakness and futility and carrying on because the hope of family’s the only good thing left?
  
  
• Fahrenheit 451, where the people in charge are corrupt specifically concerning that thing you're fighting against.
  
  
• World War Z – I’m almost hesitant to call this dystopian, because even though it’s about a freaking zombie apocalypse, it’s uplifting to hear all the stories of human resourcefulness and ingenuity and the mental strength you didn’t think was there. Of course, some of the stories covered are “logical responses” gone bad.
  
  YA-ish Dystopian Recommendations:
  
  
• Feed – It doesn’t work out for the only [person](#s "(Violet)") who truly fought the system (she’s beaten down so horribly that it’s heartbreaking that even the reader wants to look away), but she does technically inspire one other person to at least notice what’s going on in the world, even if it’s probably too late.
  
  
• Hunger Games – Katniss is really only involved because she has nowhere else to go. Side characters have real motivations for being involved, but she really is a figurehead along for the ride and that’s OK. The story is about that and how she copes.
  
  
• The Selection – cough Popcorn cough. America is highly motivated by money (For her struggling family, of course). Ignoring the love triangle stuff, her ideal is to move from serfdom to literally any other [political system.](#s "And this never happens. The political buildup you see in The Selection and The Elite is stomped all over in the vapid cheesecake of the love hexagon finale.")
  
  
• Incarceron & Sapphique – Finn’s rebellion is that he just wants out to someplace that must be better. Claudia lives in artificial luxury and rebels mostly just for personal rebellion, not anyone else’s sake.
  
  
• The Giver – Probably more MG, but how did running away from one collective society automatically become “capitalism is best?” Jonah runs away because he’s learned enough to make his own moral decisions about one of the helpless members of his society (and artificial protection sounds socialist to me). I can’t remember reading the sequels.
  
  
• The Book Thief – Again, MG and historical fiction about a bombed out German town in WWII, but I think a setting like that qualifies it as dystopian. Technically, Liesl fights the system by stealing (possibly forbidden) books from the wealthy and by not reporting the Jew in the basement, but that last one is just showing loyalty to her new family. Her entire upbringing predisposed her to not trust the System, especially a War System, anyways.
  
  Other Dystopias:
  
  
• Matched and Delirium will be considered together because they are the same damn book, right down to the Boy-Who-Could-Have-Been-Chosen-If-Not-For-Rebellion! and the protagonist’s government-approved hobby. Delirium has better writing. Matched is easier to read and has more likable characters. We get it, teenagers should be allowed to date who they like and mommy and daddy non-biological guardians shouldn’t say no. Also, it sucks to have a guidance counselor Make A Schedule for you in order to prepare you for an office job equivalent that’s full of busywork but one of the few respectable positions left. The horror! Seriously, in what world is that rebelling against socialism? You know, that thing that promotes trade schools and equal rights for everyone, even the people you don’t personally like?
  
  
• Divergent – I’m going to let someone else handle that one because urgh. I know a lot of people like it, and it’s YA, so someone else, please support, qualify, or refute.
  
  I’d also be curious to hear what /u/bethrevis has to say about the societies on Godspeed and elsewhere and where they fit into this opinion piece.
  
  Guys, I think I just wrote an English essay. And probably put more work into it than I did in high school. And I won’t even get an A because it’s the internet and we deal solely in lolcats.
  
  But tl;dr: Adult dystopias (that I’ve read) tend to be about the futility of existence or the necessity of self-sacrifice to get a result. The YA dystopias I liked were a little more hopeful (usually) and didn’t support this opinion piece’s thesis. The ones I didn’t like made me understand the hate for dystopias.

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.

My best advice is make them feel welcome in the community. I’m not really sure how youth groups work but I know many of my friends who are both lgbt and Christian, it can be hard because of people who tell them they cannot be both. Let them know that they are loved and welcome.
As for there being a boys and girls side, I do agree that if at all possible you could remove the gendered sides. If there’s adult supervision in the lock-ins while they’re going to sleep it should be fine. If it’s not possible to remove the sides you can ask them where they’d prefer to sleep, and explain to them that there isn’t much you can do about removing the split sides.
A final thing I’d like to suggest is maybe reading the book “a quick and easy guide to they/them pronouns” it’s a short comic book that helps to explain non gendered pronouns to people who don’t know much about the topic but are willing to learn. It’s only about $8 (link to book)

I’d also like to say I’m glad you’re putting in the effort to make them feel welcome and safe. I’m sure they appreciate it

1. Cake or birthday related - For keeping my birthday suit clean
   
2. Simon Pegg - You've got red on you
   
3. A book you are eager to read - Anxiously awaiting its release
   
4. Eating Utensils - Emergency rations need no utensils!
   
5. Animal - Jacque Moosteau fits this!
   
6. Purple - Flameless Lavendar candle!
   
7. A game - I have a whole Tabletop list, but Catan will suffice
   
8. A guilty pleasure - Thai tea, yum
   
9. A Tool - Weights are a tool for a healthier me!
   
10. Something from your childhood - Darth vader sheet set... that I want... even though I'm 36.
    
11. An organizational item - Stackable pyrex dishes organize my food mess
    
12. Hobby - Yarn, for my crochet habit
    
13. Nerdy/ Geeky - I have a whole list, but this TARDIS Nyan cat shirt should suffice
    
14. Something Natural - Mmmm Good Earth tea
    
15. Green - Green lame for stripes for my Columbia shorts
    
16. Something you wear - Tap shoes! Again, for Columbia
    
17. Funny - This is funny if you've seen LOST
    
18. Beads, Bees or Beans - It's no longer available, but still on my list - this fabric reminds me of Bees!
    
19. Gardening - Mooquet came from the garden
    
20. Your absolute favorite item on your wish list no matter the price. - This is one small piece to a big Columbia puzzle for me, I can't wait until our October show!!
    
    Happy happy cake day!!!!
    
    I hope that this is what you'll be getting for yourself because mason jars are SUPER useful in tons of ways! :D

I've read and loved almost all of the recommendations already here (TAMORA PIERCE). But to add some that haven't been mentioned (and trying really hard to not overload you with 20 books at once), I read and reread Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown and its prequel so. many. TIMES. Maybe even more than I reread Tamora Pierce. Patricia McKillip, Maria Snyder, Patricia C. Wrede (Dealing with Dragons quartet), Althea Kontis, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray and Susan Fletcher (Dragon Chronicles) are similar authors to check out for awesome female-driven fantasy, with varying degrees of lightheartedness. Wrede, Fletcher, Snyder and Kontis all wrote books that lean a little less epic/serious, Block writes a lot in prose that's also a very quick (but more intense) read, McKillip tends to be more wordy but beautifully so, and Bray can kind of go either way depending on the series.

For more contemporary fiction, RACHEL COHN (of "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist"). Her Gingerbread series has content a good deal more mature than Angus, Thongs, etc., but her style is similarly irreverent and witty and really fun. Seriously, check her out. Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is like a much younger version of Cohn, still zingy and sweet. For a quieter modern-day read, Garret Freymann-Weyr writes realistic (more mature) young adult relationships, and introduced me to the idea of bisexuality in a sort of roundabout way.

Julia Alvarez relates stories about the Latina-American experience incredibly well, although I think the first book I read by her takes place solely in the Dominican Republic. According to my reading list, I guess young me got sick of reading about other white people, so I'll add Marjane Satrapi's hilarious graphic novel Persepolis and the more sedate Shabanu series by Suzanne Fisher Staples.

I'd also strongly second comments for Gail Carson Levine, E.L. Konigsberg, and did I mention Tamora Pierce?

(I tried to link a lot of authors to my faves from their work, but I won't be mad if you never look at any of them. Is your reading list long enough now? Also, I know you didn't ask for a ton of fantasy/historical fiction recs, but I think a lot of us defined our teenagerhood by and identified more strongly with one of those series or another.)

tl;dr my top three recs that haven't been mentioned yet are Rachel Cohn, Julia Alvarez, and that one duo by Robin McKinley.

I'm also going to start posting my book recommendations in these posts, since I write them out before recording anyway to stop them from being full of "um"s and "uh"s. If this seems too commercially and anyone finds it offputting, please let me know!

The Golden Compass is the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and it's hard to go into why I'm recommending it without massive spoilers. The series is amazing though, with great characters for every role, from heroes to antiheroes to villains to antivillains, and has one of the most unique multiverses I've ever read.

Just to mention what makes the first book great though, its main character is still my favorite female protagonist in a published novel, people in her world have sapient, shapeshifting familiars, and one of the nations is populated by TALKING ARMORED BEARS.

Seriously, it's awesome. If you like to listen to books as well as read them, then you can get a free audiobook when you sign up for a 30 day trial at audible.com. Just go to www.audibletrial.com/rational to get your book credit, and help support the podcast. Thanks for listening!

Yay! First ever contest!

I would gift /u/kickballa because she rocks! (seriously love her). I'd gift her Allegiant because it is a great book and she should have the pleasure of reading it!!

I really hope she wins! Thanks for the contest! :)

Funny. I've been avoiding the classics because they were written when conventions expected a heavier hand.

O.k. Try some stuff written within the last 20 years. I wish I could give you a more diverse list, but I've been playing catch up myself. That said, I've already read 20 books this year. The ones that weren't a waste were:

Equal Rites--Terry Pratchett He's a master at making a 4 level point with one sentence.

Good Omens- Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman This one is cool because a lot of people try to figure out who wrote what.

Besieged- Rowena Cory Daniels Kick-ass story. Great characterization. Descriptions snuck into the creases.

Wool-Hugh Howey O.k. I didn't read it this year, but it sucks you straight in. There's so much to learn about how Hugh made a fandom who demanded more material from him.

Another highly recommended book: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making This one has a strong, strong voice, but does a breath-taking job of describing imaginary things. Amazing stuff.

Sounds like you're the one in the closet, OP, and that sucks. It must be hard for you to hide who you are. Saying you don't want to look like a homo while you're actively dating someone from the LGBTQ+ community is pretty stupid, yeah. You're dating a trans person. On the positive side, you have a chance to be a hero here. You have a chance to be the ally your partner and everyone like them needs. Stay safe and don't out them, but don't talk about your love like it's shameful when it isn't. That doesn't make you cooler. Misgendering for your own comfort does make you kind of a dick.

​

Words you can use to describe them:
"My partner" instead of gf or bf
"They/them/theirs" pronouns if that's what your partner likes best. If they prefer he/him/his and they're public about it, don't stop using those pronouns just to make yourself feel better.

Books for how to explain they/them pronouns to other people:
A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns


Most importantly, DO TALK TO THEM. They deserve to know, and you don't want them finding out later that you misgendered them.

My experience with trans-related YA novels is rather limited (see below), but overall I would just like to see (eventual) acceptance. If it's a story about someone in (early) transition, I would like to see all the feels and doubts and hopes about everything, so that it can be cathartic for the trans reader and maybe invoke empathy from the cis reader. If it's a story about someone who is post-transition, then please make them successful at the end, because frankly we need more positive stories.

The only trans-related YA book I've read is "Being Emily" by Rachel Gold:

https://www.amazon.com/Being-Emily-Rachel-Gold/dp/1594932832

I loved this book, and not just because of the title. I've "known" that I was trans in one sense or another since just before puberty, but I didn't accept myself until I was 44 years old. However, even if I had accepted myself when I was in high school, there is no way I could have successfully transitioned in mid 1980s Memphis, TN. So reading this book allowed me to reclaim a small part of my adolescence, and provide some closure. And yes, I cried several times while reading it.

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. :)

This would really depend on your tastes.

I like to recommend The Dresden Files. The link goes to the first book in the series, and the first chapter is available on that page to see if it is something you might enjoy.

Also I liked The Golden Compass. Don't dismiss this book because it is for young readers anymore than you would dismiss a pixar movie. They are still enjoyable for adults, a good story is a good story.

If the fantasy stories aren't your thing, Hunt for the Red October is a fun read. It is also the gateway to a bunch of other novels from Tom Clancy. These are more suspenseful/action driven stories.

My preferences are mostly in the direction of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, so if you would like more things along that path I'd be happy to offer more suggestions.

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.

How good do you want them to be? These aren't highbrow by any means, but they are some of my favorites:

• Firestorm by David Klass
  
  
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green or pretty much anything by John Green because he is amazing!
  
  
• The Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper although to be fair, I read these when I was like 12, so they might not be as good as I remember.
  
  That's all I can remember offhand. I'll think on it and add more if I have a chance.

Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria books. He has a free short story, *The Viscount and the Witch that you can try to see if you'll like them.

The Shanarra series by Terry Brooks

J.D. Hallowell's War of the Blades books were a lot of fun. From looking at the Amazon page, it looks like the first book might be on sale right now.

If you haven't read the Dragonlance books by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman, you might want to give them a shot.

If you haven't read them yet, Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword are great takes on the heroic fantasy tradition.

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.

It might be from Deadline, by Chris Clutcher.

>
>
>“But God knows, right?”
“Nope again.”
“God doesn’t know how things turn out?”
“It knows that things turn out. Listen, Ben, I could
spend a whole bunch of human time telling you how things
are. But if your doctor’s right, you’ll know soon enough,
okay? Let me satisfy your curiosity for now, and then let’s
stop talking about all this and live your life. God isn’t a guy.
God isn’t a girl. God is a force. You have all these people try-
ing to figure out whether to believe in God or the big bang.
Well, God is the big bang. God is the ultimate scientist. If
God relegated his thinking to human cognition, it would
never get anything done. I mean, look how slow you think,
and you’re probably the smartest kid in your class. Just know
that everything started as one, everything still is one, and it
will end up as one.

​

Matched and Delirium seem to be popular among that crowd, but I wouldn't get her both as they are the same damn book premise, right down to the MC's government-approved hobby. Delirium has better writing. Matched is easier to read and has more likable characters. Divergent is also popular, but it's awful.

On the other hand, Feed and Uglies, which were already mentioned, are excellent. I didn't care much for the Uglies sequels, but Feed is one of my favorite books.

If the theme is media in particular, Feed is the most relevant of those above. Little Brother is another dystopia that relies heavily on media involvement and should possibly be required reading, but it doesn't scream John Green to me.

Happy birthday Chica! I hope you have a wonderful time!

The Selection looks like a pretty good book! Hopefully it's not a mix of The Hunger Games and Twilight, though

As /u/dandyissues pointed out Nevada was surprisingly good for the internal bits of experience. Also Being Emily by Rachel Gold was good in that it included sections from the POV of the trans character, whereas a lot of YA fiction centered around trans issues doesn't feature trans POV characters. The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff is also interesting as its a fictionalised account of the life of Lili Elbe.


(Additionally to that I really don't think Seasonal Velocities gets nearly enough love, its an amazing collection of short written pieces set against four seasons, well recommended, its not really fiction but an unusually awesome account of transness related through all sorts of means)

I'd recommend The Blue Sword and The Hero and The Crown by Robin McKinley. I think I read them first in Grade 2 or 3, and I still love them and reread them often. The Blue Sword is about an orphan girl who is kidnapped by a desert king and trained as a warrior to save his nation, and The Hero and The Crown is a prequel about an ancient hero who fought dragons.

She writes a lot of other books that might be acceptable, often retellings of fairy tales. However, absolutely do not let him read Deerskin at this age. It has very disturbing themes, even for adults.

Books are awesome I was gifted a kindle that came today too! :D So many books to choose from! I picked this one to show, cause its the first part of a series. I love series when it comes to books, more time to let a story pan out. This one seemed like it could be promising.

And that case is sooo pretty! You're one talented person :D

Rad Kindle Case

He might like the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Start with this original series of 5 books - there is another series of 5 books that come after this one called The Heroes of Olympus, same world and a few overlap characters but not as good as the first series. Riordan also has the Kane Chronicles trilogy.

I would maybe suggest A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (which is currently being made into a movie). It's about a 12-year-old boy trying to emotionally deal with his mother's terminal illness, who is visited by a monster at night that helps teach him valuable life lessons. Ness is an excellent writer but his other books are probably a bit too advanced for him still.

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins (same author as Hunger Games)

Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. Book 1 is called The Screaming Staircase, Book 2 is called The Whispering Skull.

His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman

Chronicles of Narnia series maybe?

EDIT: The Iron Trial book has been getting a lot of push from bookstores as well this fall. Looks interesting but many people are just calling it a rip-off of Harry Potter.

These are fairly popular/obvious choices, so forgive me if you're aware of them, but I thought they deserved a mention since you just recently read Harry Potter. I have personally read all of these books and loved them. They're all currently being made into movies so that is a hint about how engaging/accessible they are for teens.

• The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
  
  
• Divergent series by Veronica Roth.
  
  They are both dystopian novels. Divergent is particularly interesting because it's set in a future Chicago and it's interesting to see how the author plays around with that setting. Fair warning about Divergent: the third book in the series has not yet been released (I think it comes out this fall) so you may want to wait on these until next summer when all of the books are out.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone) by Laini Taylor http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QX076Y/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_lKjrtb1QR0S0B

This book is so good. It is part of a trilogy and I'm currently on the final book and it's just as awesome as the first two. The writing is amazing and the story is original and enthralling. The characters are well done and the story had me emotionally invested all the way through.

Thanks for the contest!

34172

A used paperback of The Monstrumologist would be awesome if I win. Thanks for holding the contest! :)

"Science Fiction" is a pretty big umbrella -- The Giver is actually sci-fi, if it's the first one in the search results! Doesn't have to be all spaceships and technology to qualify. You might find The Electric Church interesting; the blurb doesn't really do it justice.

Easy reads, hmm. Dragonsong is very readable as straight fantasy, and if you like it there're a lot of books in the series. You might like Pollotta's Bureau 13 series; light, fast-paced action adventure with supernatural and magic elements. Or Elrod's Vampire Files -- the adventures of an undead detective in the thirties.

For straight action-mysteries, I'm going to suggest Travis McGee because one, I love it, and two, it gets progressively more difficult as you go through the series. You could also try Rex Stout.

For non-fiction, Why People Believe Weird Things.

As far as developing reading as a hobby, well, I think the key is to be as eclectic as possible. Read a book. Read a book by an author who has a blurb on the cover of the first book. Read a book you see linked to at the bottom of the page on the second author's book's Amazon page. Hit used bookstores and spend $10 on a bunch of books out of the quarter pile. The only rule is "you don't have to finish it, but at least try it".

At least that's how I grew my collection into what it is today.

(Edit to fix a link and add one)

Yes, it's definitely The Dark Is Rising - so, so good. The rest of the books in the series are pretty fab as well - taught me everything I know about Arthurian legend.

Anne McCaffrey wrote a YA trilogy set in her world Pern that might be a good fit.

The book is actually about a girl who lives in a somewhat misogynist society (the setting is like medieval setting in outer space in the far future, with dragons) with leaders who are trying to help society grow. She is skilled in, and wants to do a job that is traditionally male, but her family finds this shameful, is verbally abusive and ends up accidentally-on-purpose maiming her (age appropriate for E, despite how this sounds) to quash her dreams.

She runs away, then is found by people who show her that her gift is a good thing and help her to live up to her potential. The first two books are called Dragonsong and Dragonsinger.

The third book is about someone else and i don't recommend it.

These are my 3 fav books I love them and if i do win could you do a pokemon painting? Also how big will it be.

The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey is another good fiction series.

For non fiction it's not quiet crypto but it is ghosts: Ghost Hunter- Hans Holzer. It's a collection of sorts about early paranormal investigation.

Another series I like that's fiction is The Newsflesh series by Mira Grant. It's zombies (I know, over done) but a really cool universe of post apocalypse society.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: Deadline


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Spain|www.amazon.es||
|France|www.amazon.fr||
|Germany|www.amazon.de||
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||
|Italy|www.amazon.it||
|India|www.amazon.in||
|China|www.amazon.cn||




To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.

This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.

It's funny, because we definitely had tons of gameboys/games and all that, but my mother being a teacher also encouraged us to read. On that note, I remember reading The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm in one car trip.

I have no idea where we went, or how long it took, but I do know that book is fucking amazing.

The His Dark Materials Triology is really great. Great for both adults and teens. http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Compass-Dark-Materials/dp/0440418321

I highly recommend "His dark materials" for you to read. It has to be one of the better books I read and it is a series!

All 3 books (tangible copies)

All 3 books (Kindle)

It has coming of age, strong female protagonist, science fiction, and survival story all rolled into one.

If you liked harry potter, there is a good chance you will like this book series. (They tried to make a movie about it but adapted it horribly.. do not judge the book by the movie)

I really loved the Wise Child trilogy, The Hero and the Crown/The Blue Sword, and the Sally Lockhart series (and all of Phillip Pullman's books) as a kid.

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.

make me a cake

I had a friend who believed herself to be a very good cook (she wasn't). One year, she gave us all homemade spice mixes. She was very proud of them. They were unusable. Things like cinnamon, dill, and mustard seed. Like, what the hell did I ever do to her?

Item

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

Read The Golden Compass!

My favorite book series EVER.

Thanks for the contest!

/u/Morthy you shall be now dubbed Dr. Morthy-o. Let's play a pill version of Tetris.

Also Dawkins' Children's Lectures are wonderful. But as for books the Golden Compass (Fiction) is a great one fro kids her age.

http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Trilogy-Golden-Compass-Spyglass/dp/0375842381/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330737562&sr=8-2-spell

Oh man, I have so many used books on my wishlists. Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America, Flowers for Algernon, A Clockwork Orange, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making are some of my most-wanted from my Under $6 wishlist :D I also have an entire books wishlist! Any of the books except for the children's books are great used! (I don't like used children's books just because they take a beating quickly)

One of my favorite books recently is Gone Girl. I love the multiple perspectives and the twists.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Here are some ideas for young adult fantasy, with a few science-fiction books thrown in. Look them up and see if they look like something you might like:

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville (Mievile is a rising star of of SF/F, and this is his only novel so far written for young adults. Two British girls are pulled into a bizarre alternate London and must foil an evil plot)

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (scifi in futuristic Africa, three mutant detectives trying to rescue kidnapped children of a famous general)

Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes (near-future SF, robots do all the work, so what is there for new high school graduates to do?)

There are plenty of SF/F Choose Your Own Adventure books, which are a nice change of pace from third- and first-person narratives.

The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper. The first book is Over Sea, Under Stone, but you might want to start with The Dark is Rising.

Incidentally, I do NOT, under ANY circumstances, recommend Eragon.

You could say that you came out two summers ago and you feel like they're trying to ignore you whenever you try to share this part of you. Proper framing helps this sort of stuff so just sort of putting it across as trying to help them understand where you're coming from and not wanting to lose ties to them might help? Alternatively, approaching one before the other and saying that you don't think the other wants to understand you? Might sound a bit manipulative but this sort of thing is basically already gonna be a struggle in trying to get someone to get you.

​

Another option is going to be dropping an article on their lap or sticking something on the telly with a nonbinary character in it that'll help them understand it a bit without it seeming "forced" or giving them a chance to argue about it. If you watch films with your parents or anything, "Upgrade" is a 2018 Science Fiction film with a one scene nonbinary hacker formerly named Jamie and that was a life saver for me as far as something silly and dumb to put on that raised the talking point.

​

A mate of mine recommended THIS ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Easy-Guide-They-Pronouns/dp/1620104997 ) to me. Life saver and a half. My dad borrowed it for a weekend, started making an effort thereafter. Its not the most complex of books but its got the general gist that someone completely new might need.


And maybe avoid the polycule for a bit unless there's a natural opening for it. For some reason the idea of multiple partners seems to spook people more than "I'm not the gender you think I am."

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
  
  

Ooh and I've heard awesome things about The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (plus the other books in that trilogy). I need to start this one myself.

If you haven't watched The Man in the High Castle on Amazon, or even if you have, you might enjoy the book by Philip K. Dick.

Sorry for my constant additions!

The main character is younger than what you requested but the themes and writing are tailored to adults. It's not really childish at all but very fantastical, think Alice in Wonderland: Fairyland series by Catherynne M. Valente.

First book is The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making Amazon link

Stardust by Neil Gaiman. http://www.amazon.com/Stardust-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060934719

His Dark Materials Trilogy is good, though the movie was bad. http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Trilogy-Golden-Compass-Spyglass/dp/0375842381/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334109041&sr=1-2

Piers Anthony writes funny fantasy. I enjoyed the first dozen or so of his Xanth novels. http://www.amazon.com/Spell-Chameleon-Xanth-Book/dp/0345347536/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334109146&sr=1-1

Try:

• Fever series by Karen Marie Moning
  
• Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger
  
• Others series by Anne Bishop, only one book out but it was really good
  
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor

There's Dragonsong/the Harper's Hall books... I think I liked it better than other McCaffrey works I've tried (which I rather dislike).

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 highly recommend Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone (2011). It had me at "cheek-chew of bitterness." I still say that in my head. What I would do to come up with stuff like that!

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns https://www.amazon.com/dp/1620104997/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AkhZDbXKJHZKN

Not exactly a self help book but it’s good at explaining things

Sure would, and it's a good book. I loved the boxcar children but that may be too young.

My friend's 8-10 year old is huge into hunger games, and The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland

Still pretty sure this is Feed by M. T. Anderson.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003KVKW9U/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

I just don't think that there are THAT many well-known books for young adults with this premise.

My old stand-by: His Dark Materials Omnibus by Philip Pullman.

I just finished The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and I'm still all in my feelings over it and suspect I will be for quite some time....I'm perfectly ok with that.

FOUND IT! The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm. Awesome.

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

I love the His Dark Materials trilogy. If this helps, Amazon has the trilogy as a single volume.

FEED MY BRAIN WITH THIS BOOK Show this gift some love

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman are absolutely wonderful for an older child or 'tween. (skip the movie). - http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Omnibus-Golden-Compass-Spyglass/dp/0375847227

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.

The His Dark Materials series. If you want to teach them to be a critical reader and thinker and inspire them to think independently, without feeling like you forced them to think any certain way, give them these three books. They're age appropriate, they're subtle, and they're almost a perfect foil for the Chronicles of Narnia series; this series is the secular Narnia series.

Reminds me of the spiral stairs in The Hero and the Crown.

Why yes... yes I have!

In the last month I have read the Hunger games books and the Lightbringer series books.

My item! Coupon time.

My favorite sandwich I guess... veggies on sourdough, with mustard.

Long shot but the first part sounds like Dragonsong from Anne McCaffery? https://www.amazon.com/Dragonsong-Harper-Hall-Trilogy-Book/dp/0689860080

I got this book for my dad, he said it was really helpful for him to understand how to use pronouns correctly https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Easy-Guide-They-Pronouns/dp/1620104997/ref=nodl_

I was reading His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman when I was 9.

They're still some of my favorite books.

Link in the blog is a referral link, FYI. Here is a non-referral link:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunger-Games-Trilogy-Boxed/dp/0545265355/

I thin you will like The monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey

Yes. There are sequels as well, two I think.

While not directly related, you may also enjoy Feed by M. T. Anderson

I constantly see references that remind me of this book years later (e.g. Google Glass, lab-grown meat, outsourcing schools, individual ad targeting, etc). One of those odd books that just sticks with you.

Well now you can!

His Dark Materials trilogy? (The Golden Compass, etc)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0440418321/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

It's all about the karma. Mmm baby.

To all the other suggestion so far, definitely add Deadline by Chris Crutcher.

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

Deadline

It is.

I was never into reading before I was given The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm for christmas. Completely changed my life after that.

Meg from A Wrinkle in Time, and Menolly from Dragonsong.

Coming in June 2018. Preorder yours because it's the current year!

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

Have you tried the His Dark Materials trilogy?

The Selection books

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003KVKW9U/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman?

Hunger games

Does this count as a match?

Not the Kindle versions, but I have all three paperbacks on my wishlist. (Three separate links.)

If not well...snooble!

Allegiant

Something to read $6.99 from his Books list and Hand wrap mesh wash bag from his boxing list. $3.99

The Monstrumologist

http://www.amazon.com/The-Monstrumologist-Rick-Yancey/dp/1416984496

And Anne McCaffrey (for kids): Dragon Song, etc.

The Anthropophagi in The Monstrumologist were pretty wicked!!

Maybe [The Monstrumologist] ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Monstrumologist-Rick-Yancey/dp/1416984496) by Rick Yancey? It's about monster hunting - I really enjoyed it. It has more of a science/anthropology bent than pure magic but it is still very much fantasy. It's also set in a similar time period, no modern technology.

Full disclosure, I haven't played Bloodborne but am familiar with the general themes from reviews.

The Thief by Meghan Whalen Turner

Sorry my Bad.
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Compass-His-Dark-Materials/dp/0440418321/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=golden+Compass+paperback&qid=1558388276&s=gateway&sr=8-1.https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Knife-His-Dark-Materials/dp/044041833X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=the+subtle+knife+paperback&qid=1558388191&s=gateway&sprefix=The+subtle+knife+paper&sr=8-1.https://www.amazon.com/Amber-Spyglass-His-Dark-Materials/dp/0440418569/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=amber+spyglass+paperback&qid=1558388245&s=gateway&sr=8-1
You can go to Amazon and choose.