YA Novels You Should Be Reading…
This is a little bit of an introduction post to a series of blog posts that Strange Chemistry shall be writing and publishing over the next few weeks.
We’re aware that a number of the people who are now following Strange Chemistry (both through this website and through Twitter) are more accustomed to reading adult novels, and so might appreciate a guide to some of the recent trends that have appeared within YA, and which authors are writing YA novels.
The tentative list is as follows:
1) Vampires
2) Werewolves
3) Zombies
4) Angels
5) Fae
6) Dystopian
7) High School Paranormal
8) Historical
9) Fantasy
10) Steampunk
11) Contemporary
12) Timeless Authors
If there are any other genres within YA that you would be keen to see, then just drop us a note in the comments! Look out for the first post on Vampire YA Fiction soon…
Comments
How about a category for minority-based YA? So LGBT, protagonists of colour, etc?
I’d like to add a ditto to both of Kathryn’s suggestions and further suggest that the LGBT groups should each get a separate chance to make their cases. I know I’d like to see reading suggestions for YA books that cover bi and trans teens.
By the same token, I don’t think “POC” should be a single highlight list so much as a brief introduction post that leads to a series of individual lists for different ethnic groups. In this way, the lists don’t try to pack so much in that some good stories risk falling out of people’s attention range.
The problem with splitting up LGBT is that there’s not enough to really make up any decent list for the L, B or T sections. In my experience the gay (i.e. male) side of things makes up the majority, whether we’re talking serious YA books or romance-heavy books.
But I agree about your point with the ethnic groups. It’d help make it easier to find books with a certain ethnicity.
We think we’ve actually seen quite a few female gay leads recently – Malinda Lo, especially, is doing a brilliant job!
How about fairy tale retellings? I know I keep on about those, but they are common in YA!
They are becoming more prevalent at the moment, and we love them! Again, Malindo Lo, Jackson Pearce – authors like that are doing a brilliant job, and it would be great to see more like that!
I second this! I LOVE Fairy Tale retellings and there are some amazing ones out there right now!
A list on fairytale and/or Greek myth retellings would be awesome! I’m also looking forward to the list on steampunk novels.
I’ve heard YA scifi is coming back. Maybe a scifi list?
That is a good idea, but we’re struggling to come up with many outright sci-fi YA novels! There are plenty of dystopian and some steampunk coming through, but sci-fi seems thin on the ground right now. Of course, we would LOVE to change that!
Hope so. There is so much YA that is romance-focused and thus appeals to a majority female audience. Take a look at the sub-genre specific lists that have been posted recently. Almost all of them have a strong romantic theme.
I have no problem with that; there is a vibrant market for it, and I’m all in favour of providing what the readers want. I would like to see more material that has less of a focus on romance. SF tends to be more focused on the adventures. But again, it all comes down to the market. Is this a case of reader not being offered a choice because the existing formula works so well/is profitable enough?
I’ve a YA, SF novel coming out soon (no firm date yet, and I’ll say no more because this is SC’s site and I don’t want to poach or anything) and I’m going out on a limb with the content. I can’t wait to see what feedback I get – assuming anybody buys it :)
What about Greek mythology or just mythology since I see some Egyptian and Norse mythology coming out?
And are mermaids/sirens covered under fantasy because there are a lot of books about those?
Heather
Two wonderful suggestions, Heather, which shall be immediately added to our list! Thanks!
I will definitely be looking forward to the Dystopian and Contemporary days (and possibly a fairy tale addition? :) Pretty please?!) as those are my very most favorites! :)
Me too :)
What about a list of YA from other countries? I know it always delights me to see people not from my country (New Zealand) talk about our YA and I’m sure bloggers/writers from other countries besides the US/UK feel the same.