But readers in Y.A. don't care about rumination. They don't want you to pore over your sentences trying to find the perfect turn of phrase...Because, well...the thing is, I do pore over sentences. I do ruminate--and I'd like it if my works make other readers--YA or not--ruminate.
And I suspect many--I hope most--YA authors feel the same way. So, in honor of that, here's my list of YA books that are, quite simply, beautifully written. Since this is for the League, I'm sticking with SFF, but if you've got any other ideas of beautifully written YA (very different, please note, from beautiful YA), please leave your thoughts in the comments!
Because here's the thing: THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is about zombies and death and unrequited (?) love and it's terribly terribly dirty, but--it's beautiful. Stunningly beautifully written.
But here's the thing--with the exception of a handful of characters and scenes, everything in this book is creeptastically horrifying--and absolutely gorgeously written.
And it's just beautiful. Not just with the main character's inherent beauty, but beautiful on a word level. The turns of phrases are shockingly brilliant.
So, what about you: what are some truly beautifully written YA books that you can recommend for us?
9 comments:
I pore over every sentence I read, even my cereal box ingredients, no joke...I'm a READER, Slate, it's what we do, no matter what age range the book is targeted for!
Some YA reads I thought were beautifully written? Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking, Moira Young's Blood Red Road, Delirium by Lauren Oliver, and Plague by Michael Grant. Also, I follow all the League books, and love love love them!
What is it with people ragging on YA lately? I'm an adult who reads these books, and find they challenge me just as much, sometimes more, than the adult-age books out there. Is anyone writing about YA books actually READING them? Or has it become popular sport to pick on young adult books?
Anything by Shannon Hale, Laini Taylor, or Stephanie Perkins - they have bits in their stories that are so shiny they hurt.
I personally think Maggie Stievater writes some of the most poetically beautiful prose ever!
And... Lisa Schroeder.
I love NEVERMORE by Kelly Creagh. It is truly beautiful and poetic and origional.
Totally agree with you on The Replacement, and I'd add that Delirium by Lauren Oliver has these beautiful, quotable lines.
That Slate article was strange. I re-read to see if it was me whose brain was scattered or if the article didn't make sense. I don't think it was me.
We'll probably see more books dumped into YA b/c publishers want some authors to have a marketable book in YA as well as their own market. Outlining YA as some sort of easy market to cash in will probably flood the shelves with some less than stellar books. I think we all know there is great writing all over YA, whether it's contemporary or fantasy. Good writing is good writing. I don't think there is ever a short-cut to cheap and easy success. Especially with teens who can smell a rat when the see one. I think the writers who love the genre will stand out in the end.
YA readers and discerning and they DO appreciate how hard authors work to choose the best phrase & word. There are SO many beautifully written books out there!
I know I sweat over every word, every turn of phrase, every syllable, so reading that article really bothered me.
Was it a reaction to the WSJ Gurdon article, to make YA seem more "fun"? Because all it did was make YA authors seem like flightly asshats.
SKIN HUNGER by Kathleen Duey is beautiful, especially the chapters from Sadima. I also think THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX is clean and crisp and wonderfully written.
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