#young adult books

[septemberkisses]

the fact that i'm no longer the same age as the protagonists of novels and films i once connected to is so heartbreaking. there was a time when I looked forward to turning their age. i did. and i also outgrew them. i continue to age, but they don't; never will. the immortality of fiction is beautiful, but cruel.

[dora-papp]

Writers who can draw too

Those motherf*ckers

You don't have the faintest idea how lucky you are

You're awesome, keep it up

[headspace-hotel]

There is a type of plot that is prevalent in YA books and starting to get into general lit that I do not like. It is a similar trope to the MacGuffin, but instead of the plot being driven by an object, it is driven by the characters being in some sort of situation with formally fixed stakes.

Just as a MacGuffin is an object with no specific properties that affect its importance to the story, the identifying characteristic of this plot is that exact nature of the situation is irrelevant or at least not very important.

A very common example is when characters are involved in some sort of game or competition—for example, the first Throne of Glass book involves the protagonist competing to become the king's assassin, but the plot of the book would need to change very little if the competition was a beauty pageant.

"Gamified" plot lines like this often also include MacGuffins (to drive the "game"), confirming the tropes' similarity in my head.

The other common example is the "magic/superhero/assassin school" plot. The "school" is often just a device that brings the characters together and keeps them on a predetermined track, but there's nothing about what the characters are learning or even the school's specific identity as an educational institution that affects the plot.

[ramen-flavored]

He Deserved Better

[indigoreed1]

I wonder if VE Schwab knows that Kell’s outfit when he’s Kay in my mind is literally just Westley from The Princess Bride. I wonder if she knows how much it plagues me.

[oblivionsdream]

“Little dhampir”

My portrayal for Rose and Adrian’s first meeting in the second Vampire Academy book Frostbite.

I loved getting to work on this for the endpapers of a new German edition of this series 🥰

[cortanasdaisies]

there’s nothing cuter than percabeth in chalice of the gods because after being with them through tartarus and back, a little adventure and domestic moments with them just felt so right

[lets-get-lit]

If we don't have each other, we don't have anything. 

- S.E. Hinton , The Outsiders

[kitseaton]

Family game night with the woofs! 🎮

FULL SHIFT, a new YA graphic novel with Jennifer Dugan and @penguinteen, 2024

[hauntingfaerie]

𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔦 𝔞𝔪 𝔱𝔬𝔡𝔞𝔶 🕸️🖤

[reedreadsbooks]

Book Review: Dreadnought by April Daniels ✨🏙️⚡️

rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

(5/5)

After Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero, is killed in combat, closeted trans girl Danny Tozer inherits his powers and is transformed to have the body she’s always wanted to have. Now she has to deal with having superpowers and being an out trans woman, all the while hunting down the supervillain who murdered her predecessor.

This book was phenomenal, and I’m kind of at a loss for words to describe how much I liked it.

To start, I love the world of this book. This is such a classic superhero story. Daniels uses the conventions of the genre without making things feel like a parody and subverts tropes just enough to make the story distinct.

I also really love Dreadnought as a trans narrative. This book doesn’t shy away from transphobia. Between Danny’s parents, kids at her school, and other heroes she meets, we get a pretty broad and realistic representation of the types of abuse a young trans woman might face. There’s also so much trans joy in this book. It was really nice to see Danny come into herself, and it was cathartic to watch her realize that no one could take her transition away from her. This is the type of story that will give trans kids hope for the future.

I would recommend this book to literally everyone. In fact, I plan on recommending this book to literally everyone. But because that’s not helpful, I’ll be more specific and say I highly recommend this book to fans of Andrew Joseph White. Obviously, it’s very different from his work, genre-wise, but I think the themes are really similar. If you like Hell Followed with Us and The Spirit Bares It’s Teeth, I can definitely see you liking Dreadnought.

[thecrystalcompass]

The first 12 pages of my Graphic Novel "The Crystal Compass." Hope you guys dig it, you can help make this project real by backing us on Kickstarter https://inked.pub/thecrystalcompass

[dora-papp]

What do you call that stage of depression when you've been a published author for 13 years, but in the last year more and more bookstores have been scared to order your books, thanks to the new Hungarian anti-lgbt laws, and now you make less than you used to?

Always wanted to help with my stories. Never to hurt. And somehow I'm being punished because of these goddamn laws. Lucky to say that I have amazing readers. But still.

[purplebunnyreads]

👾Radio Silence👾 by Alice Oseman

“It’d take hours to explain,” I said.

“I’d listen to you for hours,” he said.

“Being friends with Aled made me feel like I’d never had a real friend before, ever.”

“I couldn’t quite believe how much i seriously loved Aled Last, even if it wasn’t in the ideal way that would make it socially acceptable for us to live together until we die.”

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“Because I’m an angel.”

“You are.” He stretched out his arm and patted me on the head. “And I’m platonically in love with you.”

Oh, to have a friendship like theirs.

Alice Oseman understands me on a fundamental level. Reading this book, especially the first half of it, felt like someone had invaded my soul and put it on paper. I related to Aled and Frances more than I’ve related to any characters possibly ever. Put them together so they are one person, and they are me. You wouldn’t be able to spot a difference.

Here are some quotes from the book that I especially related to:

“You’re an idiot,” said Mum, when I relayed to her the entire situation on Wednesday. “Not an unintelligent idiot, but a sort of naive idiot who manages to fall into a difficult situation and then can’t get out of it because she’s too awkward.”

“Yeah, he’s that sort of person.”

“What sort of person?”

“The sort of person who doesn’t speak spontaneously.” She folded her arms. “Who won’t say anything if you don’t ask.

“Honestly, I need to stop being scared of being a normal teenage girl.”

“Long ago, I was afflicted with a terrible predisposition to never say a word, and I honestly cannot understand why or how that happened.”

I love this book more than I can put to words. Even though I literally just reread it, I'm itching to read it again. I think it's my favorite of Alice Oseman's books. Maybe even one of my favorite books of all time. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would.

If you liked anything else Alice has written, if you are/grew up a weird, quiet, fandom-obsessed kid with a minimal amount of friends, or if you're tired of only seeing romance in the YA genre and are looking for a book that centers around a platonic relationship instead, then please, please, PLEASE read this book.

“Art reflects life,” said Carys. “Or… Maybe it’s the other way round.”

[indigoreed1]

Raven Cycle series, I love you. I adore you. But what do you mean Blue is half tree?

[rangerangel]

Day 29 - Search

It's hard when your mentor fully commits to the bit all the time, you know?