[reading] Young Adult, New School

Because of my kind prompting, Sarah has blogged about her top three favorite "old school" young adult series from her youth: Young Adult: Old School by Sarah Canfield. In response, I am doing my top three five (I couldn't stop at three) beloved young adult authors who are currently publishing books.

Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is an author of young adult swords and sorcery fantasy absolutely full of amazing, smart, funny, creative, angry, determined, strong, gentle, fabulous female characters. (I could go on with the list of descriptors, but you get what I'm saying.) I've been reading her since I was young, starting with her Song of the Lioness quartet, but my absolute favorite of all her series is the Protector of the Small quartet.

The quartet follows the first known girl trying for her shield in more than a century, Kel, who has no magic (unlike the heroes of most of the other series), but is determined to win her shield and become a knight. Kel is amazing. She is protective and smart and determined, she works hard physically and mentally, she wants things to be fair, she pushes for change in a society that is often unjust -- she is my hero. I love Kel so, so much, and of all the stories Tammy Pierce has told that I have enjoyed (and there have been a lot), Kel's story is my absolute favorite.

Karen Healey

Karen Healey is an author of young adult novels and short stories in different genres. Her latest, When We Wake is a sci-fi Sleeping Beauty story, and it is fantastic, as is the forthcoming sequel, While We Run, but my absolute favorite of her books is The Shattering.

If you want to find out who murdered your brother, come with me.

Summerton is perfect. A town in the isolated and stunning West Coast region of New Zealand, it is blessed with gorgeous weather and hordes of tourists.

But Keri is immune to her hometown’s charms. Her older brother has just killed himself, without warning or explanation, and left Keri shattered with grief and too many unanswered questions. So when her childhood friend Janna and tourist Sione offer answers, Keri is keen to listen.

Janna and Sione’s own older brothers died in suspicious circumstances. Sunny Summerton has dark secrets. And as they investigate, the answers to their questions become more bizarre. Shattering the secrecy of Summerton may open the trio to dangers they never knew were possible.

Can they save Summerton’s next victim? Or will they become victims themselves?

Keri, one of the main characters of The Shattering, is the character of my heart. I love Keri and all that she is, obsessive and anxious and athletic and driven and just all over fantastic. It's a great story, filled with memorable and amazing characters, and I really, really love it. All of Karen's work is terrific, but this one is my favorite. I love the diversity of Karen's characters, and I strongly relate to Keri.

(Karen and I are friends, we're part of the same writing group, and The Shattering is dedicated to me, but I swear, I wouldn't list her in my top three young adult authors if I didn't absolutely love her work.)

Julie Anne Peters

Julie Anne Peters is the author of young adult contemporary novels mostly with QUILTBAG characters and stories. My favorite is Keeping You a Secret, but her characters always capture my heart. I love reading about character with whom I can relate, characters who are like my friends and me in different ways.

First time I saw her was in the mirror on my locker door. I'd kicked my swim gear onto the bottom shelf and was reaching to the top for my calc book when she opened her locker across the hall. She had a streaked blond ponytail dangling out the back of her baseball cap.... We slammed our lockers in unison and turned. Her eyes met mine. "Hi," she said, smiling. My stomach fluttered. "Hi," I answered automatically. She was new. Had to be. I would've noticed her. She sauntered away, but not before I caught a glimpse of her T-shirt. It said: IMRU? Am I what?

Love the characters and the romance in Keeping You a Secret so much.

Mayra Lazara Dole

Mayra Lazara Dole is the author of Latino/Hispanic/Mexican young adult and children's novels. My favorite is Down to the Bone.

What if you don't follow the rules and it radically alters the course of your life?

What if you get kicked out of the house and lose all your friends and everyone you love?

Will you turn the corner into a world filled with unusual friends and create a new kind of family or self-destruct?

Down to the Bone has so many things I love: queer characters, characters of color, created family, snarky girls, and romance I can relate to. It does have some biphobia and transphobia that I wish wasn't there, but I still love the story and reread it often and give it as gifts to my friends.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the author of young adult novels in a number of genres, but my favorites are her Raised by Wolves series about a human girl raised by werewolves. Raised by Wolves, Trial by Fire, and Taken by Storm are some of my favorite werewolf stories, ever, and I wish there was more to this series. Pack politics, awesome characters, werewolves who are fantastic and heartbreaking and wonderful -- such a great set of books.

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

I also really enjoy her The Squad series (Perfect Cover and Killer Spirit), a set of books about cheerleader spies that is full of awesome, fun adventures. (I like to call it D.E.B.S. plus cheerleading, but sadly minus the awesome queer characters.)

Bayport High operates like any other high school - jocks at the top, outsiders at the bottom, and everyone else in between. Bayport's varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled.

So there you have it, five young adult authors whose stories I love.

[writing] Project List, December 2013

Last project list of 2013. This year has simultaneously gone by terribly quickly and amazingly slow. It's been a strange, difficult year, and one of the best parts of it has been all the writing Sarah and I have been able to do. I'm so grateful for the writing, and for her friendship, and for the technology that allows us to so easily work together from separate countries.

My current active projects include:

( Project List, December 2013 )