# What Young Adult literature did you/do you love? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 6, 2023, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237 "2023-04-06T06:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/1 "2023-04-06T06:32:57Z")
I admit it - one of the great joys of my son’s pre-teen and teen years was that I could shamelessly read YA literature, because after all, I was just keeping current with his reading choices and making it possible for us to discuss books we’d both read. Thus, I happily devoured the Akiko, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, His Dark Materials, and at least one other series whose name I can’t recall now (it was a kind of Matrix world, where everyone spent all their time hooked up to machines experiencing imagined realities). The books available when I was that age were far different. My influential favorites involved settings I could relate to - _The Chocolate Wars_ (still one of my all-time favorite books, and the sequel is almost as good), _A Separate Peace_, and the now-discredited _Good Times, Bad Times._ Why yes, I did attend a New England prep school, why do you ask? I also read and appreciated _The Outsiders_ and possibly other books by S.E. Hinton, but it didn’t reflect my life experience the same way as those other books did. _It’s Like This, Cat_ was also good, though also not overly reflective of my own circumstances. What books did you/do you love, either from your own YA years or that of your child’s/children’s? Are there any in particular you would recommend to adults? I’m not ashamed to read YA books as a grown up - sometimes I’m tired, and the relatively straightforward narratives/symbolism/messages are a welcome relief from more sophisticated books. James Joyce is all well and good, but I didn’t major in English, and if I’m exhausted and just want to curl up with an engaging book, I’d like something I can intellectually access without much brain strain, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/2 "2023-04-06T10:27:36Z")
I had four YA books between fifth grade and high school: Non-fiction: _ **Flying Aces of World War I** _ _ **The Great War: Stories of World War I** _ Fiction: _ **Combat! The Counterattack** _ _ **Star Trek: Mission to Horatius** _ My brother got this American Heritage book for Christmas 1966. I think I read it more than he did: _ **Air War against Hitler’s Germany** _ I also read all the Encyclopedia Brown and Alvin Fernald books I could find at the library, along with _ **Ten Beaver Road** _, _ **Andy Buckram’s Tin Men** _, _ **Project: Genius** _, and my absolute favorites _ **The Mad Scientists’ Club** _ and _ **The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists’ Club** _. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/3 "2023-04-06T10:53:00Z")
Remember the Landmark series of books? We had two that I remember: _ **Great Explorers and Explorations** _ and Roy Chapman Andrew’s classic _ **All About Dinosaurs** _ (my introduction to paleontology). I also remember reading the biographies of Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Dwight Eisenhower. I had another one about the Normandy Invasion (D-Day), but I don’t recall the exact title. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/4 "2023-04-06T11:00:30Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Why yes, I did attend a New England prep school, why do you ask? I also read and appreciated _The Outsiders_ and possibly other books by S.E. Hinton, but it didn’t reflect my life experience the same way as those other books did. _It’s Like This, Cat_ was also good, though also not overly reflective of my own circumstances. I’m a bit too old and my kids are too young to have gotten into the big YA (although I have seen most of the films). So “The Outsiders” is really one of the few YA books I can actually recall from my youth. That said, you kind of hit the nail on the head with the “New England prep school” (or Northeastern private college with a lot of fraternities) experience. All these YA series (Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Maze Runner, Enders Game, Divergent, etc) all seem to want to capture a sort of “institutionalized coming of age” story: - Children are sorted into clans or house of some kind, usually aligned to their personality - They are part of a class considered the “elite” of the larger world (or special and/or protected in some way) - The main character often is initially an outcast or atypical for their group - They more or less instantly bond with their house and form instant rivalries with the other houses - There’s a lot of working both with and against whatever authority figure oversees them - There is an outside antagonist of some kind that is unquestioningly malicious (supposed to represent the “real world” I suppose - The main character usually ends up as “The Chosen One” (as all kids are the center of their own universe - Parents are mostly absent ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/5 "2023-04-06T11:04:58Z")
YA is not my jam now, but when it was, I enjoyed David Eddings and Piers Anthony as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/6 "2023-04-06T11:07:24Z")
I think this leans more towards children’s literature than young adult but I loved the _CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE_ series created by Edward Packard. Also _Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH_ by Robert C. O’Brien, ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/7 "2023-04-06T11:07:44Z")
The first book I can remember reading was _ **I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson** _ then: _ **Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, Pitcairns Island - Nordhoff and Hall** _ \*\*\*All of Jules Verne \*\*\* _ **Bring em Back Alive, Fang and Claw, All in a Lifetime - Frank Buck** _ _ **Men of Iron - Howard Pyle** _ _ **Animal books by Montgomery** _ _ **Dog stories by Albert Payson Terhune** _ _ **Three Pals in the Desert - Sande Miles** _ ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/8 "2023-04-06T12:13:56Z")
John Green’s books. _The Fault in Our Stars_, _Paper Towns_, _Looking for Alaska_, and _Turtles All the Way Down_ were all great. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/9 "2023-04-06T12:16:00Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Why yes, I did attend a New England prep school, why do you ask? If you like New England prep school stories, you may enjoy [The Starboard Sea](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12151801-the-starboard-sea?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=PkwsjEMH5V&rank=1) by Amber Dermont. I did. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/10 "2023-04-06T12:27:31Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > John Green’s books. _The Fault in Our Stars_, _Paper Towns_, _Looking for Alaska_, and _Turtles All the Way Down_ were all great. You beat me to it, though I find his books kind of hit and miss. The Fault in Our Stars is pretty great, Paper Towns is positively thoughtful, An Abundance of Katherines is terrible, but then I have not yet read Looking for Alaska or Turtles All the Way Down. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/11 "2023-04-06T12:29:43Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > You beat me to it, though I find his books kind of hit and miss. The Fault in Our Stars is pretty great, Paper Towns is positively thoughtful, An Abundance of Katherines is terrible, but then I have not yet read Looking for Alaska or Turtles All the Way Down. _An Abundance of Katherines_ is the only miss I’ve encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/12 "2023-04-06T12:33:07Z")
A.A. Milne’s “When We Were Very Young” and “Now We Are Six.” I learned to read with those books, and I still enjoy them. The illustrations are great too. I’m also a big fan of the Bounty trilogy, mentioned above, and have read all of Nordhoff and Hall’s other books as well. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/13 "2023-04-06T12:40:21Z")
I never stopped reading YA. But as for what I was reading at that actual age that would fit the category…I would say any of the John Bellairs books, particularly The House With a Clock in It’s Walls. This book by Robert Arthur was one of my favorites: [Ghosts and More Ghosts](https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-More-Robert-Arthur/dp/0394811925/ref=sr_1_1?crid=X2BI6J8EJJEA&keywords=ghosts+and+more+ghosts+robert+arthur&qid=1680784034&sprefix=ghosts+and+more+ghos%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1). He also wrote The Three Investigators series, those were good. I read all the Nancy Drews and Judy Blumes as well. This book I loved also: [House of Stairs](https://www.amazon.com/House-Stairs-William-Sleator/dp/0140345809/ref=sr_1_1?crid=APXV7KB8993D&keywords=house+of+stairs+by+william+sleator&qid=1680784179&sprefix=house+of+stairs%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1), by William Sleator. He wrote lots of good YA, another I would recommend is [Singularity](https://www.amazon.com/Singularity-William-Sleator/dp/1439515352?ref_=ast_author_dp). The Chronicles of Narnia of course. Here’s a book I read several times that I don’t see talked about much: [The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian](https://www.amazon.com/Marvelous-Misadventures-Sebastian-Lloyd-Alexander/dp/0141308168/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PYQNVN2XE1D7&keywords=the+marvelous+misadventures+of+sebastian&qid=1680784479&s=books&sprefix=the+marvelous+misadventures+of+se%2Cstripbooks%2C88&sr=1-1) by Lloyd Alexander. Oh! Jane-Emily, by Patricia Clapp. A Candle in Her Room, by Ruth M. Arthur Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth; by E.L. Konigsburg The Active-enzyme, Lemon-freshened Junior High School Witch, by E.W. Hildick I think I could do this all day. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/14 "2023-04-06T12:56:10Z")
My grandson (who’s a YA) loves Jonathan Stroud (the Bartimaeus Series, the Lockwood & Co. series), as well as the Rick Riordan mythological heroes books. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/15 "2023-04-06T13:07:09Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Jonathan Stroud So much yes. 😁 Also wanted to add The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/16 "2023-04-06T13:09:01Z")
What’s the definition of “young adult”? 20s? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/17 "2023-04-06T13:16:25Z")
i went to school in the 80s so al the school approved ya was from the 50s-70s like se hinton robert cormier the chocolate war guy a lot of gritty inner city stuff like cooley high and the contender … some of the judy blume jr high stuff although one day I got a hold of one of her adult books …lol that’s when I learned I liked her adult books better … in the 8th grade, I had a nice discussion about my book report on Bret easton ellis’s less than zero … I was supposed to give it in front of the class … that did not happen and I had to get approval for books I did in class book reports on … ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/18 "2023-04-06T13:24:21Z")
The Tillerman Cycle by Cynthia Vogt; Homecoming (1981) Dicey’s Song (1982) A Solitary Blue (1983) The Runner (1985) Come a Stranger (1986)[1][2] Sons from Afar (1987) Seventeen Against the Dealer (1989) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/19 "2023-04-06T13:30:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > What’s the definition of “young adult”? 20s? Maybe it should mean that, but no. It’s a term of art. From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_fiction): > [@](#): > > **Young adult fiction** ( **YA** ) is a category of [fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiction) written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_fiction#cite_note-1)[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_fiction#cite_note-2) While the genre is primarily targeted at [adolescents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescent), approximately half of YA readers are adults.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_adult_fiction#cite_note-3) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237/20 "2023-04-06T13:38:51Z")
Jim Kjelgaard, Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-young-adult-literature-did-you-do-you-love/982237.md?page=2)