Top 10 Young Adult Reads

I have been getting into more and more Young Adult reads lately, more so this year than previous ones, and loving them.  Not that I didn't enjoy YA books before, but I seemed to be stuck in a particular groove of books for a while.  And this year so many amazing YA books have been released.  I've acquired so many TO read.  So one of the Top 10 lists is Young Adult books.

I'm so glad a friend book blogger has agreed to join in the fun of sharing her top 10 with us.  And in doing this, I get a glimpse of additional books on her shelves... which I need to go visit... I'm thrilled to first turn the post over to Melissa from Books & Things to share her Top 10 YA Reads.  Take it away Melissa...

Melissa's Top 10 YA Reads:
I'd like to thank Melissa (GREAT name, btw) for inviting me here to talk a bit about my favorite YA books.  I have to admit that I do have YA books on my tbr waiting to be read (like the Hunger Games, rest of the Shiver series… etc) so this is by no means a complete list just because of that.  However, I looked back into what I had reviewed in the past 2 years and this is the list I came up with. In no particular order:

Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Oh this one took me by surprise. I think it is so far one of the best YA books I have read it a while. It has a bit of everything. Adventure, romance, kick-ass heroine. I just loved it. It did take a bit to get used to the narrative style as well as the language, but after that it was a brilly book.

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton. Both Melissa and I enjoyed this book (look for her review here). It was several types of fae stories melded into one great adventure. Again, the heroine was smart and at the center to a great mystery. The sequel is coming out this year. I can't wait!!

The Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. This was a book I won and didn't know much about. The hard back cover is beautiful (not as much as the paperback) and it is a story of a young girl who escapes her fate of marriage to a bad man and goes on a mythical journey. I just loved it. I also loved that it was set in a culture not often seen in YA.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. This is a book I hope gets banned. Why? Because it is an important book for YA and adults alike and usually important books like this get banned. ;) It is a story about what happened to a Lithuanian families under Soviet rule. Not many know about this story that really happened. Ruta brings this story to life through the heroine's eyes that we follow. It's a must read.

The Iron Fae Series by Julie Kagawa. Oh I just loved this whole series. I felt that the books got better and better as we went along with the story. Oh and I know people took sides of either Team Ash or Team Puck (if you don't know what I'm talking about get this series… another must!), however, I am total Team Grim! ;D Oh and don't forget to check out Melissa's reviews here on these books!

Luminous by Dawn Metcalf. I really enjoyed the world that was created in this book. It was confusing, but the world was supposed to be that way. So, in this rare case it made total sense. I also loved the introduction to Dia de Los Muertos.

Hold Me Closer Necromancer by Lish McBride. Hey! Finally a male protagonist! This one was also very funny and also for older teens. This one had a lot of snark and I just loved snark. Usually the female gets that coveted role, but in this book… it was mostly the males that got that honor.

Virals by Kathy Reichs. The author of the Bones series on tv and the series books. This is the introduction to her YA series and I just loved the first book. Great adventure and characters. I hope that her next book coming up this year even rocks more.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan. You don't get many dragon books in YA so I was interested immediately. Not all questions were answered in the first book and I can't wait for the next book, Vanish, which I cannot wait to read. I have a feeling those that I will understand so much more about this world in this series.

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black. The fae, a young feisty heroine was the fun part, but what made me love this book was the alcoholic mother. Not that I loved her character but that it brought up such an important subject within this YA novel. I think it was done so well.

Now of course I feel like this list is so incomplete. I wanted to showcase books
that were known and books that may have slipped the radar. I have a lot on my
personal tbr I have yet to read so I may be adding to this list in the near future.


Oh, Melissa.  You have just reminded me of soooo many great books I want to get to. *sigh* You are tormenting me once again with amazing books I do desperately need.  Did you mention your books shelves... hmm.... I think it's time for a road trip!

My Top 5 YA Reads:

(again as it's so hard to pick, there is no particular order to my list.  And since I've just started getting really into YA reads, I'm limiting my list to 5.)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - This really is one trilogy that should be read.  I enjoyed this one as it puts a new spin on the Hunger Games and the Distracts too.

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton - This one won me over as I loved the celtic folklore feel to the story and the time spent on the journey.  Great characters and world.

City of Bones by Cassandra Claire - Aaaa, this one I started not knowing if I would love like everyone else.  And boy, did Cassandra sucker punch me.  I was sucked right into this wonderful world of Shadowhunters and demons and loved it.

City of Glass by Cassandra Claire - This one is my favorite of the beginning trilogy.  I love all the action and movement here along with the protective wards used by the Shadow hunters.

Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa - To me this was the best book of this beginning trilogy.  Wonderful!  Meghan has grown so much to this point.  And wonderful action here.


Do you have any to add to my stack?  I have many here, but always looking to add more to the stacks. :)  What do you think?