When I was a child my favorite books usually had an element of fantasy to them—stories that took me away to another place, time, or world. I was disappointed as a young adult in the late 80s and early 90s to find that most teen books at the time seemed to use topical issues as their plot points, e.g. high school/dating/divorced parents, etc. What. A. Drag. I pretty much had to skip over the teen area in the old Stillwater Public Library building to the adult science fiction/fantasy/and horror sections to find titles that appealed to me.
Lately though, there has been an explosion of great young adult fantasy fiction books following in the wake of “Harry Potter,” “The Inheritance Trilogy” by Christopher Paolini, and “The Hunger Games Trilogy” by Susanne Collins. Like a lot of other adult readers, I have made a return to the teen area.
If you are looking for more books like these, then you may want to try some of the books I have enjoyed recently:
· “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor-a girl in Prague
· “Divergent” by Veronica Roth-a future dystopian story clearly influenced by “The Hunger Games,” but a great read nonetheless.
· “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making” by Catherynne M. Valente-if you loved Andrew Lang’s “Fairy Books” as a child, you will love this grown up tale.
I am also looking forward to reading a few more promising titles like “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs, “Delirium” by Lauren Oliver, “Matched” by Ally Condie, “The City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare and “Legend” by Marie Lu.
So, if you love fantasy fiction, don’t be shy—drop by the YA section and pick up one of these great reads.
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