Armchair BEA 2013: YA Recommendations

This post is part of my week-long participation in Armchair BEA 2013.

YA Recommendations

I am, in fact, one of those people in my mid-20s who still reads YA. There may be so many reasons for that, but it can mostly be boiled down to the fact that YA is good! I love that YA is very character-focused, in that the books are about character journeys, whether it's about letting go of a toxic friendship, or fighting your way through ancient prophecies to protect your kingdom. As I touched upon in my Genre Fiction post, I love that there are so many different types of YA available.

I decided to be quite specific in my YA recommendations, to show how almost any type of reader can be satisfied reading YA. All of these recommendations are books that I gave 5 stars to:

If you're looking for a cute and romantic contemp that goes deeper than the typical rom-com, consider Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins or Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson.

If you want an incredibly smart girl-power book, check out The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.

If you're looking for a contemp with a slower-paced plot (but which still contains fabulous characters and a swoony love interest), I absolutely recommend Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.


If high fantasy with kick-ass princesses is more your scene, perhaps The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson or The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima will be to your liking.

If something stylistic is what you're after, you might enjoy the dialect writing in the post-apocalyptic Blood Red Road by Moira Young or the quiet but lyrical fantasy writing in The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

If you want a historical filled with political intrigue and the fantastical, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers may be the one for you (oh and did I mention the assassin nuns?).

If you'd like to try a mixture of sci-fi lite and fairy tale retellings, Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer will be great for you (ok, this is a pretty specific want, but trust me that these elements are a perfect pairing!).

If you're itching to read romantic tales that take place over 24 hours, look no further than Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley and Where She Went by Gayle Forman. Both of these books feature wonderful romances, but they're also about so much more.

If you think you hate vampires but want to check out a paranormal YA series, then I seriously think you should consider the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. These are vampire books for people who don't like vampires, I swear. Perhaps my spoiler-free series spotlight will convince you?

I seriously hope that you've found something to your liking in these recommendations, and I look forward to seeing which YA titles might be recommended to me in your posts today!