Back when I was a teenager, (a million years ago) I didn't read YA books. I preferred to read books that I thought made me look smart. Yeah, I know how that goes. When I began doing the YA programming, I also began reading YA fiction.
I tend to read quirky books, and I want to share them.
My faves: (in no particular order)
Playing with Matches by Brian Katcher
Leon Sanders is not hot, a huge nerd, and has a mad crush on popular Amy Green. He admires her from afar, and begins a friendship with Melody Hennon, who was badly burned in a childhood accident. They become close, then Leon gets his wish. He saves Amy from getting detention, and he gets a date with her. What's a guy to do? Katcher's writing is witty, intelligent, and wonderful.
Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley
Mina Hamilton's parents are vampires, and she must decide if she would like to become a vampire as well. Mina must take vampire classes with crotchety old Mrs Wolfington, and makes some very attractive friends along the way. There are no sparkly vampires in the fab read!
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Having Cancer is a way of life for 16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster. She's chronically depressed, and is forced by her parents to attend Cancer Kid Support Group. Her life changes when she meets Augustus Waters, who survived "a touch of" cancer.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
After 16 year old Jacob's grandfather dies, he is given a letter which brings him to a remote Welsh island. It is there he meets the Peculiar Children who were often the subjects of his late grandfather's stories. Bonus - creepy photographs!
