Thank you–I am that lazy that I didn’t google for them.
Second for It’s Like This, Cat. I remember that being deeply affecting.
I’d recommend Wildside by Steven Gould.
Some great books have already been mentioned, so I’ll try to stick mostly with ones that haven’t yet.
A lot of the YA series fiction I’ve read lately has a good start and then I don’t really like further books. Examples:
City of Ember
Poison Study
The Mediator
Magic or Madness
Wuthering High
Stand alones and series that I would rate much higher (these are things I’ve read in 2007 or 2008):
The Hounds of the Morrigan
Book of a Thousand Days
Protector of the Small (series)
Percy Jackson (series)
Montmorency: Thief Liar Gentleman?
The Name of this Book is Secret
Gregor the Overlander (series)
Septimus Heap (series)
Shadow Children (series)
I’ve recently read Neil Gaiman’s *Coraline *and The Graveyard Book. Very fun, both of them. And ever so slightly twisted.
A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds. It’s not YA, but could be.
jsgoddess - I’m glad you mentioned two of my favorites, that I had forgotten: Septimus Heap and Book of A Thousand Days.
Also, about The Giver. I just pretend those “sequels” don’t exist. I liked the ambiguous ending of Lowry’s brilliant book. I’m not a successful writer like her or anything, but I think she should have left well enough alone.
A Solitary Blue is the third book in Voigt’s “Tillerman Cycle.” It’s not exactly a series, because only the first, second and last books are in chronological order. I read the first book, Homecoming, when I was nine or 10 and it’s one of a dozen or so artistic works that has made the biggest impact on my life. My mom was taking a young adult literature as part of her masters degree and we read most of the books on the syllabus together. Even just reading the synopsis on Wikipedia brought back vivid memories. Despite having read the book nearly 15 years ago, I remember exact phrases from the book that were quoted in the article. All of the books are mature in a sophisticated that no other YA literature I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot), but Homecoming was the most poignant for me. I’ll have to reread them all over Christmas break - Seventeen Against the Dealer (the final book in the cycle) was published years after I had read all the others, so that will be a whole new experience.
Mmmm love me some YA…
*The Golden Compass *by Philip Pullman is amazing. The second book in the series is OK, the third is meh. But zomg TGC is…yeah.
I loved John Christopher’s Tripods & Prince in Waiting series (serieses?) as a kid. I’ve been trying to find them again but I can only find one book at a time it seems, and I can’t remember if the one that I happen to have found this time is one of the ones I already have, or not.
Susan Cooper’sDark is Rising cycle was a huge influence on my life. I can still recite the prophecy poem from The Dark Is Rising. And of course everything by Tamora Pierce, especially the Songs of the Lioness quartet. I just bought a new Tamora Pierce book the day before yesterday!
Edited to add: Why yes, I do read a great deal of fantasy/SF, why do you ask?
Edited again to say: Almost forgot Heinlein juveniles, especially *Orphans of the Sky *(my first RAH experience), and also O’Brien’s Z for Zachariah. Can’t forget that!
ALL of Paul Zindel’s books!
This is a favorite of mine.
Another good one is The Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell. Or is it Miriam? I’ve forgotten.