All-Time Favorite YAs

Choosing my all-time favorite YA novels was a bit daunting. I tend to fall in love with different genres at different times–as I suspect we all do–and end up with favorites across the board.

It’s very rare that I read a book more than once. Even the ones on my keeper shelf. For my list here, I tried to narrow it down to the books I would go back and read a second time (or a third or a tenth!) because they’re seriously THAT GOOD.

GRACELING
by Kristin Cashore

Katsa is the strongest, smartest, toughest, most compelling YA heroine ever, in my opinion. Katsa has such a great heart beneath that tough exterior, even though she never lets people see that in the beginning.

I also love how compelling all of the other characters are: Po, Bitterblue, Oll, Raffin. (And King Leck gave me the heebies!) I got caught up in each of their lives, wondering how it would work out in the end. And after reading FIRE, I’m even more eagerly anticipating the third book in Cashore’s world, BITTERBLUE. A definite auto-buy for me.

I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU
by Ally Carter

I love the entire Gallagher Girls series, but book one is still my favorite. Cammie is the quintessential chick lit heroine: smart, wise (nope, these aren’t the same thing), but fundamentally flawed in a way you absolutely want to root for.

The academy is so brilliantly developed, and the dual conflicts of her spy training and boy training so intriguing, that I read this book almost entirely in one sitting. It’s still my favorite example of contemporary world-building ever.

And so, SO fun.

LIFE AS WE KNEW IT
by Susan Beth Pfeffer

First, a caveat… for a long time, I used to read books solely to be entertained and to escape from the real world for a while. Escaping, for me, did not mean diving into the depths of someone else’s horrible issues. But every once in a while, my friends (or my agent) would try to get me to read something outside my comfort zone. My friend, Tera Lynn Childs, was the one who convinced me I really needed to read this book. So I finally bucked up and took her advice.

Best advice ever.

Even though it made me walk around feeling like I had to stockpile emergency supplies for weeks afterward, this book was utterly amazing. Sue’s ability to draw you in and make you care deeply about these characters against the backdrop of catastrophe is really extraordinary. It opened up a whole new genre for me as I discovered that I love (love love LOVE) survival fiction.

The third book of the trilogy came out a few weeks before THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, and I kept joking that I was almost more excited for hers than I was for mine. (Almost, mind you. I hadn’t completely lost my senses.)

THE HUNGER GAMES
by Suzanne Collins

This was another book I initially could not imagine reading. Kids killing kids on a reality TV show? That sounded absolutely horrifying to me! But this time, it was my agent who insisted it was not at all what I thought it was. Or, it was, but what was so compelling about the book was that despite everything, Katniss never lost her sense of humanity.

Thank goodness I took my agent’s word for it. THE HUNGER GAMES changed everything I thought I knew about storytelling. Katniss is one of my favorite heroines because of her inner strength and her resolve not to lose sight of who she was, even in the face of atrocity.

And for the record? I was Team Gale in book one. Not so in book three.

NIGHTSHADE
by Andrea Cremer

This is hands down one of my favorite YA paranormals ever. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of it, and it completely knocked my socks off. I’m not usually a big werewolf/wolf reader, but the mythos was so fresh and the characters so vibrant and compelling that it had me from the word Go.

Calla is one of my all-time favorite heroines: smart, strong (are you sensing a recurring theme with my favorite heroines?), and independent… but with tremendous heart.

The only problem is that I can’t decide if I’m Team Ren or Team Shay! I recently read book two in the trilogy, WOLFSBANE, and I still can’t seem to pick a side. I asked Andrea if she would be willing to clone Calla so she can have them both. So far, I’ve been unable to convince her, but I vow to keep trying.

BAD KITTY
by Michele Jaffe

Oh. My. GOSH.

This book is totally brilliant in both dialogue and comic irony. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book (and its sequel, KITTY KITTY) that I almost woke my husband who was sleeping on the other side of the house. Seriously, the BeDazzler escapades alone are worth the price of this book.

Michele is, in my opinion, the funniest YA writer on the planet.