To begin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Monday 17 February 2014

Young Adult Book Series

Dear Reader,

I'm back!
But I'll forego any lengthy explanations and jump right into the reason for this blog post: Young Adult (YA) book series. 

I've lately noticed that the majority of the books I've most enjoyed reading in the past few years fall into this category. So I thought I might define the genre for myself and for my readers. (This is my own definition for my own personal reference and by no means a definition that you, as a reader, have to agree with.)  
A Young Adult Book Series, in my opinion, is where the main protagonist(s) is/are in their mid-to-late teens and the plot discusses grandiose themes, as well as exploring what it means or what it takes to transition from child/teen to adult. For it to be classified as a series, the central story arc must also span more than two books.
While the thought of reading yet another book series is enough to give some, even me sometimes, a headache, (because waiting an entire year or more for the next book to be released is not the easiest thing for an impatient book lover like me) I rather like reading trilogies, quartets, quintets, sextets etc. It gives me more time to explore their world and get to know the characters. And if it's a particularly well written series, the characters can even become friends I want to keep going back to visit.        

So for you, dear Reader, I have compiled a list of my Top 10 Favourites YA book series.
  1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (I've included this series because the last 3 books definitely fit my definition of YA)
  2. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare 
  3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer 
  4. The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Roirdan (I haven't included the prequel series Percy Jackson & the Olympians since the main characters are little more than 15 by the end of it) 
  5. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  6. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
  7. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
  8. Graceling Realm Trilogy by Kristin Cashore 
  9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
  10. The Sally Lockhart Mysteries by Philip Pullman

I know I said Top 10 but here's 5 more that didn't make it onto the list but I still think deserve a mention. 

(This list does not contain some very wonderful and popular stand alone books. I will dedicate an entire blog post to them in the up coming months, Inshallah.)  

I have compiled a list of the Top 10 YA book series I am most looking forward to reading.
  1. Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi
  2. Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  3. Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver
  4. Legend Trilogy by Maria Lu
  5. Shades of London by Maureen Johnson
  6. Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
  7. The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan 
  8. UnWind Series by Neal Shusterman
  9. Angel Fall Trilogy by Susan Ee
  10. Across the Universe Trilogy by Beth Revis
Let me know if you've already read any of the books I've mentioned about and what you thought of them. Take care and keep reading.
Nida