YA: Not Just for Kids!

I must admit that sometimes I’d rather read a Young Adult book than an Adult book.  And it’s not just because they are often shorter, or because, deep down, I still think I am sixteen (although that may be true).  Sometimes you just want to read about teen angst and prom problems to distract you from the fact that you are living with someone who is smack dab in the middle of the terrible-twos (or is that just me?) 

Sometimes I pilfer galleys from RH Children’s books–I just finished reading the first novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth which is like a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and The Village, with a little I am Legend thrown in.  An amazing read that I tore through in about 2 days because I couldn’t put it down.  I HIGHLY recommend it if you don’t scare easily (I read parts of it with my hand over my eyes, not an easy thing to do!)

Luckily, the adult side publishes quite a few books with young narrators that fall into the YA category.  These are my recent reads that I’d definitely consider if I were a member of the ALEX award committee (hint, hint to any committee members reading this):  Submarine, The Good Thief, When We Were Romans, Gardens of Water, Tigerheart, and all of The Jessica Darling books (The fifth and final installment is coming out in April).  Although published for an adult audience, these books all helped me to get my YA fix.  I’ve chosen several of them as staff picks and you can read my reviews HERE.  Check them out and feel free to suggest some great YA reads that I haven’t discovered yet!

–Jen