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| Click here to see Let’s Talk! |
I’m so excited that Melissa at i swim for oceans likes discussion posts because sometimes I get chatty and have things to say. Melissa has opened her Let’s Talk event up to the rest of us and I’m excited to be a part of it. Thanks, Melissa!
According to Melissa:
“Let’s Talk will feature questions or prompts, which I will answer too. Love it or hate it, weigh in or don’t, it’s my hope that Let’s Talk will at least get you thinking…and maybe even get you discussing with the rest of us!”
This week’s question:
What do you want to see MORE of
in YA books?
Hmmm…where to start.
Cause this COULD get long.
No, I’ll keep it short…
cause I really DO love YA
the way it is.
Links in book titles take you to my
blog posts/reviews for each book.
1. World-Building. I love it when a world is built for me. That’s what world-building means, right? Creating a world….Anyway, I want to be able to visualize where my characters are, what things look like, the smell of the air, the way things sound. I read a ton of Fantasy/Sci-Fi and Dystopian/Apocalyptic books, so a great world is key. I can get by without a great world if I have to but man-oh-man if an author has built something spectacular for me to feast on, it just elevates the book exponentially to me. I can think of a ton of great examples of world-building, but here are a few that I’ve read lately that I’ve loved:
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
2. The Freshy-Freshy. I love it when an author takes a central idea – something already popular – and gives it his or her own spin. I don’t mind reading similar elements across a genre, but I really want to see something with an author’s own unique stamp. I think we all do, right? These aren’t all of them, but here are a few examples of recent books I’ve read with what I’m calling The Freshy-Freshy:
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows – awesome reincarnation story
Cinder by Marissa Meyer – super fun genre mash-up
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi – incredible use of writing style to illustrate a fragile mind: run-ons,
strikethroughs, no commas, repetitive phrases, poetic prose
Pure by Julianna Baggott – the most unique & disturbing
& thought-provoking apocalyptic story I’ve ever read
3. Illustrations. Just, more please! No explanations required.
** I want to see more people reading Indie/Self-Published Titles. **
I know, I know – everyone has their own opinions about why they will/will not read them. But you guys, some of the Indie stuff is AMAZING. Some of the Indie stuff is as good or better than the Traditionally published stuff. That’s all I’m going to say. There are lots of bad ones, there are lots of good ones. Here are some of the good ones I’ve read lately:
(review coming soon – link is to Goodreads)
(not technically YA, but there’s crossover appeal)
*****************************************************
Okay friends,
What sorts of things would
you like to see in your favorite genres?
OR…do you have opinions
on the books I have pictured here…
Let’s talk about this!
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
HECK YES to the Indie and self-pubs! I, too, am guilty of not reading enough of them, but I swear I try. I totally agree on world-building, too. I think the world of Wither is just phenomenal! 🙂
Great ideas, Asheley 🙂
I loved the world-building in Wither, but I thought it was mostly the world inside the mansion. With Fever, I thought the world-building was SO GOOD because it gave me a better feel for what the world was like outside of the mansion. Great in both cases, but also totally different. Great work by Lauren DeStefano. She's so talented.
World building is huge for me!
Before I started book blogging, I didn't really get self-publishing or indies. Blogging really opened me up to them. I know a lot of bloggers don't take indies or SPs for review but I think they're missing out on a lot of really good, unique stories.
Totally agree, Meg! That being said, I'm VERY SELECTIVE with them because the requests come in huge waves and I can't possibly read them all. I'm much more likely to stay within a tiny genre range with Indie/Self-Pubs than I am with Traditionals.
I really want to start reading more indie books. I have a few and I really enjoyed them, but I want to branch out more.
Great list. 😀
That's great Ashley…I've read some lately that have been just so, so great. Plus I LOVE how generally nice and interactive the Indie author community is.
I've temporarily sworn off self-pub altogether and indie somewhat but you may be able to talk me back into it. I won't get into the reasons why but I agree that there are probably some good ones out there but it seems like I have picked some not so good ones in the past. And yes, world building is huge for me too!
NC
Truly Bookish
I can only imagine what kind of scenarios would make me swear off self-pubs/indies! I myself have picked one or two that weren't really great a while back. But that's why I'm ridiculously selective with myself and the ones that I pick up. 😉
Definite yes to more indie books! I know they get a fairly bad rep sometimes, and in some cases it's deserved – but there are so many awesome ones out there!
And I agree totally with Fresh ideas! I loved that Cinder turned the typical fairytale re-write on it's head with cyborgs!
Yes, Cinder was great. There are a ton of great fresh ideas out there, but I loved almost everything about that book – just how new and un-done it was, on top of a very old story. I thought it was so exciting.
And oh yes to the indies. There are so many good ones!
ILLUSTRATIONS! You are so right there! 🙂
Nothing against Indie/Self-pubbed authors/titles, but it seems like every 1 book I like I have to read 4 bad ones…hopefully that makes sense. I'm just saying I've had to DNF a few of them recently. Usually it isn't the story itself or the characters, it's the writing style. BUT don't get me wrong, I have loved quite a few of them!
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