Candy discussed this topic at length in a rant about children’s books that are way better than the Harry Potter series, and a lot of you had some fantastic recommendations for YA and children’s novels that were better than HP and his division of children into four ranked groups (that’s the part of the HP series that bugs the hell out of me: “You’re lame and ineffectual, so you’re a Hufflepuff.” WTF?).
Candy requested good children’s novels and books to read aside from HP, and while I’m sure there will be some overlap, I wanted to send out the Bitchery Request for Recommendations – YA Romance.
Simon & Schuster is releasing YA Romance under SimonPulse. I’m sure other publication houses have similar intentions. So, if YA romance is having a surge of sorts, what YA romances do you recommend?
Also not a Romance Series, but Gordon Korman’s MacDonald Hall series KILLS me. It is so funny. How can you not love hero’s whose names are Bruno and Boots?
It’s a great series if you have boys who don’t like reading, because it keeps their interest. (Girls like it too).
Cheers,
Deb
Thank you, Deborah! I read those when I was a kid, and always loved them. When I started reading this thread those were the first books I thought of, but couldn’t remember the author’s name, just Bruno and Boots! Will have to look for a few used copies and revisit my youth…
VALIANT by Holly Black is a gorgeous YA romance and one of the best books I read in 2005. beats the pants off Twilight, IMO.
I have this one in my TBR pile. I’d heard it was very dark, which is why I bought it. What got my attention to your post however is your saying that it’s better than Twilight by Stephenie Meyer which was the best book I’d read last year. This is the incentive I needed to go ahead and read Valiant. Thanks.
To be honest, Keishon, I didn’t care for Twilight. Valiant is indeed very dark, but so moving and well written.
I read everything Gordon Korman growing up – my favourite was Don’t Care High. The weirdest, most eccentric kid in school is suddenly illogically popular, and all he wants is to be left alone.
I don’t even know if his books are in print anymore?
it’s already been mentioned, but i just want you guys to definitely consider stephanie meyer’s twilight. it was a fantastic read and a very touching romance.
Valiant is indeed very dark, but so moving and well written.
That sounds good to me! And thanks for mentioning this book. I’d heard great things about this author and her work for sometime now.
I just finished ADIOS TO MY OLD LIFE by Carridad Ferrer. She illustrates the clashes between a traditional Puerto Rican life with modern life through a Latin American version of American Idol.
As a teen I recommend:
Anything Meg Cabot, in particular All American Girl. Her YA historical romances are crap though, predictable sappy rubbish.
Tamora Pierce is brilliant, especially the Lioness series, and her other earlier stuff.
An earlier comment mentioned Katherine Applegate’s Making Out series; I read them a while ago, and they are very good, but they’re also out of print.
The His Dark Materials series is excellent, but if you’re looking for romance try his (Pullman’s) Sally Lockhart books, (starting with The Ruby in the Smoke). They’re more mystery than romance but really great.
And the number one books to read ever in YA romance are the Georgia Nicholson books, starting with Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal snogging. They are ridiculously funny but also romantic, particlularly the later books, (there are seven now, I think).
Well, girls, I thought you’d like to know that you’ve been collectively responsible for me spending $110* on Amazon this morning. I hope you’re proud 😉
* It’s not so bad, though – $110 for 26 books is really quite a deal.
I don’t usually post, but I just had to for this.
Philip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart Mysteries. Before Lyra there was Sally Lockhart a no nonsense girl who solved mysteries with her love interest Fredrick and friend Jim.
Gordon Korman’s Son of the Mob and Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle. Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, but girl’s father is the FBI agent trying to put boys father away for good.
LM Montgomery’s The Blue Castle. Forget long series like Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon, Shy and quiet Valiancy has only a year to live and it’s time for her to start living it up, and that includes marrying the town’s outside and presumed murderer.
Ann Rinaldi’s Books are very good. I especially recommend The Fifth of March, Time Enough for Drums, and A Break with Charity. Rinaldi has a gift for weaving fiction and history that made a book hater( at the time) like me want to read.
Elizabeth George Spears’ The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Free spirit Kit moves in with her only remaining family in their Puritan household. Out of place, Kit stirs things up as she accidently takes her cousins “man”, makes friends with a “witch”, unexpectantly falls for a ship’s captain, and arrested for Witchcraft.
Katherine Applegate’s Making Out is definently my favoite YA series. I don’t know if Christopher Stasheff would be considered YA, but I read it in Junior High and the stories have stayed with me. They have some really sweet romance on the side despite that they’re mostly SF.
“You’re lame and ineffectual, so you’re a Hufflepuff.â€
Not quite. A lot about the Harry Potter books is about subdivision, and groups that get picked on, but the ideas is that Hufflepuffs AREN’T a load of duffers. Cedric Diggory is a Hufflepuff, and the hero of “Goblet of Fire.”
Ellen Emerson White was mentioned, I love her ‘Romance is a wonderful thing’. Good girl/bad boy storyline.
I just thought of a few more…
Ruth Elwin Harris’s SISTERS OF THE QUANTOCK HILLS series is awesome. It’s about two families during WWI. I loved this series, though my favorite (JULIA’S STORY, the third one) I could only ever find on amazon, but I could find the other three at Borders.
I absolutely have to second NZ writer Margaret Mahy’s astonishing ‘The Changeover’, and add her ‘Tricksters’ which is a slightly more problematic story, but features three of the most splendid heroes and anti-heroes in Felix, Ovid and Hadfield.
Rosemary Sutcliff’s Mark of the Horselord, the Lantern Bearers, and the Shield Ring also deserve another mention. I will read that gorgeous final scene between Ness and Aquila in the Lantern Bearers over and over again.
I’m also going to add Annette Curtis Klause’s gorgeous and disturbing ‘Blood and Chocolate’ to the list, if I missed it already, along with Meg Rosoff’s wonderful ‘How I Live Now.’
Then there’s ‘I Capture the Castle’, of course, and Lorna Hill’s ‘Veronica at the Wells’ about a young ballet dancer who falls for the wildly temperamental Sebastian. Also in the old favourites category, a British writer, K.M.Peyton, does some lovely romances for young adults, and her historical stuff is especially good – for example, the superb Flambards quartet set in England during WWI, featuring brilliant, sensitive Will, sturdy, loyal Dick, and the wild, arrogant Mark. Most of my girlfriends can be divided by taste into one of those three camps – alas, I fall in the Mark camp.
K.M.Peyton – she writes good horses, too 🙂 . So far, I’ve read Blind Beauty, Dear Fred and Darkling, which were all the ones I could find in the library. I also have two of the Flambards books, but I think I have the first and the third; I haven’t read them yet.
I very much enjoyed the Darkangel trilogy. It’s not technically romance but it has enough romance to keep up the tension. It’s very alternate universe without the fairies and unicorns.
I only have two complaints:
1. The heroine is slightly cliche in that she can do no wrong.
2. Sometimes it feels like the author is trying to hammer what I thought were obvious plot twists into the readers head, as if she miscalculated the intelligence of her audience at times.
But if you have a wide imagination their great books to read, they’re still a few of my favorites.
P.S. The author is Meredith Ann Pierce I thinkm and the three books are, in this order: Darkangel, A Gathering of Gargoyles, and The Pearl of the Soul of the World.
P.S.S. I think someone mentioned the PRETTIES trilogy saying tha PRETTIES was the first book, actually I’m fairly sure it was UGLIES.
This is like a trip down memory lane! I loved the Class of ‘88 books which were written by Linda A. Cooney. There was also a class of ‘89, but not as good.
I also loved the Johnston “keeping days” series. I have the first four someplace, and I kick myself all the time that I didn’t buy the last two at the library discard sale, which were my favorites.
I wholeheartedly agree with the Margaret Mahy votes, but I have to mention “The Catalogue of the Universe.” Great book.
More recently I enjoyed the “Boston Jane” trilogy by Jennifer L. Holm. The most recent book that wowed me didn’t have a romance, but there was a really interesting relationship between the lead characters. It’s called Rules by Cynthia Lord, and worth checking out. There’s a cute and silly vamp romance called Vampire Kisses that I enjoyed, but I kept hoping the protagonist would end up with her preppy nemesis rather than the hero. Similar thing happened to me w/Cabot’s mediator series. I guess that’s one of the differences between reading as a teen and an adult.
The Samurai Girl series by Carrie Asai used to be published by Simon Pulse, but I think they stopped printing it.
It’s about a girl named Heaven who was the only survivor of a mysterious Japan Airlines crash. It was sexy, fun, adventurous (Ninjas!) and had excellent smartly done buffy-esque dialogue.
It’s such a shame because I thought it was one of the most well written YA series I’ve read. Even my husband read them, and that’s pretty good for a series aimed for adolescent girls
“I Stay Near You” by M.E. Kerr is the only romantic YA I can think of, and a great book. It’s a novel in three stories, the first story being my favourite.
(I lovelovelove Philip Pullman too, but I haven’t read the Sally Lockheart books yet.)
Also, not only is Gordon Korman still in print, a friend of mine feels betrayed that he kept writing after we “graduated” from his books. “The War with Mr. Wizzle” might be a bit dated now (old computer lino), but I loved it as a preteen.
I can’t believe no one mentioned The China Garden by Liz Berry! It has a hot-guy-on-motorcycle thing going for it, like Meg Cabot’s 1-800-Where-R-You series. The fifth book in the series, Missing You, is coming out at the end of the year, but whaddya mean, “Rob Wilkins, her ex”?!? Jess so introduced Rob as her boyfriend at the end of book 4! I’m still freaked out about this, but I’ll read the book anyway, since I figure it’s Cabot, so there’s gotta be a happy ending. And I want to find out what Rob’s on probation for.
I’ll also second the recommendations of the Megan Whalen Turner books, the first two Megan McCafferty books (don’t read Charmed Thirds if you really want to savor the Jessica/Marcus goodness), Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ Hawksong, and the two Libba Bray books out so far, A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. Sarah Dessen is always awesome. And Tithe by Holly Black rocks! Roiben. Swoon. But as much as I love Tithe (and really, it’s the book that turned me on to fantasy, and urban fantasy in particular), I have to admit that I couldn’t finish Valiant, which isn’t really a sequel to Tithe. The true sequel is Ironside, and it’s coming out next year. Regardless of my feelings toward Valiant, I am so there.
Other recs:
The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley is a romantic fantasy. If you liked Sherwood Smith’s Crown books, you may like this one.
Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart. Really, how can you not love a book about a girl who becomes a fly on on the wall of the boys’ locker room?
Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe is cute, though I was more intrigued by the relationship between Polly and Tom than Jas and whatshisface.
LoveSick by Jake Coburn. Maybe I’m twisted, but I really liked it.
The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle is another fantasy. Human girl and goblin king, anyone?
And there are so many more. I know I’m forgetting a ton of books. Oh, and when I was a teen reading YA, I loved L.J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle series.
Jeez, I just previewed this, and man do I ramble when I actually delurk.
I’m late to this particular party, but Simon & Schuster is also publishing YA under the MTV Books imprint and as a reader, I think they offer a tremendously broad spectrum. From a Judith Krantz-type of novel with teenagers (Kylie Adams’ Cruel Summer; Bling Addiction to light paranormal with Gena Showalter (Oh My Goth), suspense with Alex McAulay (Lost Summer) to one of the most beautiful, moving books I’ve read in ages in Tara Altebrando’s The Pursuit of Happiness.
In the interests of full disclosure, yes, I write for them too, as Caridad Ferrer, but when people ask me about my publisher, I do make a point of saying how proud I am to be part of MTV Books because of the wide range of titles they offer. Very something for everyone.
Barb
Oh Barbara, you can do better than THAT.
Adios To My Old Life by Caridad Ferrer has been described as “a book worth crying over.” In a GOOD way, folks. The story of Alegria Montero’s struggle to realize her dream as a performer through a Latin “American Idol”-type show blends humor, grit and pathos with a healthy dose of the real shit—what it’s like to be seventeen and stuck in what seems to be that endless space between “girl” and “woman.”
Ali’s fight for independence from beloved, well-intentioned father that raised her is heartbreaking. Her soaring victories will make your heart sing; her wrenching defeats will twist your insides.
No shit, folks. I’ve read it three times, and it hasn’t bored me yet. This is one YA novel that transcends the genre.
I live on YA lit as I am a YA librarian.
I have to second Meg Cabot (All American Girl is very funny), Libba Bray (called Buffy in Victorian times), Sarah Dessen, and Tamora Pierce.
Also read Blood Red Horse by KM Grant (Crusades and romance), all the Gerald Morris Camelot based books (light romanced tied in with fantasy),Katie Maxwell’s series that starts with Got Fangs? about a girl with a vampire boyfriend, Annette Clause’s Silver Kiss (another ampire book – I tend to stick to fantasy and paranormals).
Of course, my brain is blanking on the one title I had in my head when I first started writing this post. It’ll come to me at 3AM of course.
I echo the recommendation of Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty and its sequel, Rebel Angels.
Another great YA author is Deb Caletti, who wrote Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, Wild Roses, and The Queen of Everything. They’re well-written and engaging; more literary in style than the stream of consciousness writers like Meg Cabot.
In addition to the romantic stuff, I also love funny writers like Gordon Korman – he’s still publishing, although he’s branched out from sheer comedy (Who doesn’t love Bruno and Boots? My other favourite was Losing Joe’s Place) into more suspenseful stories – there are series about teens trapped on a deserted island, and climbing Everest. His new one is called Born to Rock, but I haven’t read it yet.
Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series is to me the standard for other magical/Arthurian/mythological series like Harry Potter.
Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series is also remarkable – differently paced and reliant on readers’ imaginations than most modern YA works, but We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea is a fantastic adventure story, particularly for anyone who loves boats and sailing.
Sue Bird’s Girl, 15, Charming But Insane and its sequels are truly charming and wacky. They’re manic and comic, like chick-lit, but truly funny and angsty rather than annoying as so many of the Helen Fielding knockoffs are.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is superior to the movie, based in a fairy-tale world, and is appropriate for smaller fry. It’s a Newbery Honor book, which is usually a sign of great quality.
An old favourite of mine is Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt, a beautiful coming of age story that sometimes gets forgotten among the YA powerhouses like Judy Blume. It won a Newbery award.
I think I have to stop, but I must mention L.M. Montgomery (especially Rilla of Ingleside), The Westing Game, Avi’s True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Megan McCafferty’s oft-ripped-off Jessica Darling novels, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (it really is good!). The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is mostly remarkable because of its realistic portrayal of modern female friendship – these girls aren’t stealing each other’s boyfriends or spreading gossip about each other – they are supportive and nurturing while everything in their lives is changing. The books are not as saccharine as the movie (the book is always better anyway!).
Thanks to everyone for their recommendations 🙂
How about Madeleine L’Engle? Not all of her books are YA romances, but most of them are YA and most of them have some romantic content. Probably the most appropriate for this list is AND BOTH WERE YOUNG, which is a sweet boarding-school romance. Other YAs with romantic elements: A WRINKLE IN TIME, CAMILLA, and A RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT.
For historical YA romance, I can’t think of anyone as prolific as Ann Rinaldi. Some of my favorites are A STITCH IN TIME (post-Revolutionary War), IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE (Civil War), TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS (Revolutionary War), and THE LAST SILK DRESS (ditto).
I’m going to have to throw in a vote for a favorite of mine that hasn’t been mentioned yet (and so many of my other favorites have). ‘The Goats’ by Brock Cole is a coming of age story with a romantic flavor. It’s hard to describe but it is definitely one of my comfort books I return to time and again.
Right now, I’m completely obsessing over New Moon (sequel to Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer), which should arrive at my house tomorrow!!! It’s going to be amazing, and I don’t even know what it’s about yet.
Alright, with that said, here are some of my favorites (this is going to be long (SORRY!!!):
*Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
*Anything by Meg Cabot—My favorites (in order from best to not-best) are:
-The Mediator series (Shadowland, Ninth Key, Reunion, Darkest Hour, Haunted, & Twilight)
-Teen Idol (I LOVE this book)
-The 1-800-Where-R-You series (5th and final book (Missing You) comes out December 24th! (The first four are: When Lightening Strikes, Code Name Cassandra, Safe House & Sanctuary.) These four books were originally published under the name Jenny Carroll (as were the first four Mediator books).
-Avalon High
-How To Be Popular
-All-American Girl & Ready Or Not (WARNING: Ready Or Not is ALL about SEX—the ENTIRE BOOK. Just so you know.)
-Princess Diaries (of which my favorites thus far are 3, 7, and 7 1/2)
-I also really love a lot of her adult fiction books, especially The Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Size 12 Is Not Fat.
*I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You by Ally Carter.
*A Great and Terrible Beauty & Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (I can’t wait for the 3rd & final book in Fall 2007!)
*Any of the Teen Romantic Comedies published by Simon Pulse. (There are 14 out so far and at least 2 more planned.) I’ve really liked all the ones I’ve read:
-How Not To Spend Your Senior Year by Cameron Dokey (probably my favorite)
-Royally Jacked by Niki Burnham
-Ripped At The Seams by Nancy Krulik
-Spin Control by Niki Burnham (sequel to Royally Jacked)
-She’s Got The Beat by Nancy Krulik
-A Novel Idea by Aimee Friedman (I think all you romance lovers would really get a kick out of this one, especially, as the main character is, herself, a lover of romance novels…)
-Scary Beautiful by Niki Burnham
-Getting To Third Date by Kelly McClymer
-Major Crush by Jennifer Echols (I haven’t read this yet, but I KNOW I will love it!)
*Ella Mental: And the Good Sense Guide by Amber Deckers (Simon Pulse Teen Fiction)
That’s probably good for now, but before I finish, a question… Is that series, the “Making Out” series by Katherine Applegate really good? Does the series have a good ending? Because I don’t trust K.A. as far as I could throw her. (I spent 5 years of my life reading her Animorphs series, only for the series to have the most horrendous ending known to man. Or children & teens, anyway.) I was going to read Sharing Sam (I love those Love Stories books), but I couldn’t. The thought of reading it made me physically ill.
Anyway, have fun reading! And if you haven’t yet, you HAVE to read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer! It’s the best book I’ve read in a LONG TIME! And I swear the vampires aren’t scary! I do NOT like scary.