This YAmondAY features another dear friend, YA author Debra Kristi.
I’m honored to be included in Fabio’s new YAMondAY theme. Those who know me might expect me to share books about immortals, or something set in the paranormal spectrum because of my Immortal Monday Series. To guess that I read and love those kinds of books would be correct. But when Fabio approached me with his book share idea, I felt compelled to take a different route and share some books I’ve shied away from for personal reasons until recently. Today, let’s talk about a few that deal with deep personal and emotional issues. Let’s get real in a hard and ugly way. My picks are as follows:
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
A beautiful, page turning novel about a young girl trying to hold her life together while coping with the death of her father – a death she watched take place with her very eyes the year prior (I can relate. I was that girl). The young girl, Macy, wants to keep her life in a nice clean order. Narrowing it down to few interactions, that way she has less risk exposure. After all, she’s experienced enough pain and she’s trying to heal. Her unhappiness becomes a problem between her and her boyfriend, resulting in a “break.” Stepping away from her job at the library, Macy runs into the Wish Catering company she recognizes from her mother’s party. They’re hiring and she gets the job. That’s where she meets Wes, and he’s anything but what she expects. She learns that he, too, is on “a break” and lost a parent. Sarah Dessen says it best: This book is a wonderful “roller coaster of denial, grief, comfort and love as we watch a broken but resilient girl pick up the pieces of her life and fit them back together .”
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
What if you had only one day to live and you knew it? What would you do? How far would you go to change your fate? That’s what Samantha Kingston is faced with when she dies on February 12th (Both my father and grandmother died on that date, different years – curious, no?). Samantha was the high school snob. She and her three friends had their pick of anything and everything. When she dies, she finds she gets a second chance at her last day. Actually, she gets seven chances. Lucky number seven! I have to warn you, she’s a teen. When she discovers she can live a day without consequence, she does some things. There is language, heavy drinking and even a hook up with a teacher. Tisk, tisk. I know, I know, you’re saying this has been done. Ground Hogs Day, right? Yes, but here the author addresses the issue of bullying; a topic we can’t discuss enough. She explores the pernicious damage caused by bullying and how some can turn a blind eye to it. The event that takes place is bound to make a lasting impression. And bringing Samantha from an unlikable place in the beginning, adds a nice twist to the perspective. It’s real.
If I Stay by Gayle Formen
Trapped in limbo – a coma – left with the decision to slip away into death and join your family or carry on in life. This is where seventeen-year-old Mia lies after a disastrous snow day trip with her mother, father and little brother. Mia experiences an altered state, the ultimate out-of-body experience, and is able to watch the hospital room in which she rests, as well as the people who come and go. She struggles with the choice she must make and her memories help us get to know her family and loving boyfriend who waits for her at her hospital bedside. She can’t conceive going on without the people who have always been there, but if she chooses death, there’s no guarantee she’ll go the same place. Knowing that her parents would want her to go on living, doesn’t make the decision any easier. If you read this book or already have, I have heard great things about the sequel Where She Went.
Thirteen Reasons by Jay Asher
Gut wrenching to the core, this book takes a real hard look at the psyche of one who would make the unfortunate choice to end their life. The story follows Clay Jenson when he receives a package of thirteen tapes, each one made by Hannah Baker, a girl who recently committed suicide, and a girl he had a crush on. The tapes list thirteen reasons for her suicide and the people that lead to the unfortunate event. We learn that, yes, everything does affect everything, and in the end Hannah herself is not innocent in the events that lead up to her final actions. Hannah’s final message: “in the end, everything matters.”
O0o….o0O
Four books dealing with harsh realities. Have you read any of the above? Can you recommend any other YA books dealing with such difficult topics?
Debra Kristi writes fantasy and paranormal, pulling inspiration from her family, and collection of life experiences. The death of her sister marked the beginning of her career and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She is currently putting the finishing touches on her young adult fantasy trilogy.
Twitter > https://twitter.com/DebraKristi
Blog > http://debrakristi.wordpress.com/
Pinterest > http://pinterest.com/debrakristi/
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Thank you for having me, Fabio!
Thank you for accepting the invitation, Debra! I’ve read Thirteen Reasons Why and loved it. It’s a superb book, in my opinion. Adding the others to my tbr list on Goodreads
IF I Stay sounds great.
Doesn’t it? Won’t be able to get to it for a couple of months due to a long to-be-read list, though…
Thanks for stopping by, Emma!
Love the book jackets and the reviews! Ya mon!
Good point, Susie; even the covers look great!
Ok, I can already tell that this YAmondAY going to going to overload my TBR list of books. Such great picks, Debra.
Fabio, site looks fab. Love your banner and off to sign up for everything so I don’t miss a thing!
Thanks, Ginger. These YAmondAYs sure do pile on to our TBR lists, don’t they?
I have to re-think YAmondAY, because every week my TBR pile grows
Glad you liked the site, Ginger!
I love all of these books too Debra! The Hate List by Jennifer Brown is another YA story that deals with a lot of difficult emotions.
Fabio, your site looks great!
Thanks, Coleen! Not a bad website design–for an author, I mean
Loved Thirteen Reasons Why. If I Stay was a great read as well. I wasn’t as into the follow up to that thought. I recently read John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Chris Crutcher’s Deadline–also amazing realistic fiction reads.
I love, love John Green’s books! I went to the release of “The Fault In Our Stars” in Seatlle, and the line went around the block. He’s a rock star in so many ways
Thanks for dropping by, Kourtney!
So good to see you, Debra! We have similar taste in books. I very much enjoyed Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and If I Stay by Gayle Formen. Thirteen Reasons by Jay Asher is already on my TBR list
Good to see you, too! Love to hear your thoughts when you finish Thirteen Reasons. No hurry.
Thank you for these great recommendations, Debra. My YA reads have been mostly fantasy or paranormal so I’m happy to add something more contemporary to my TBR list.
I’m with you, Reetta. My list has so many fantasy/UF books. It’s refreshing to get some realistic YA in there
Same here – most of the time. But it’s good to expand one’s horizons. I played the avoidance card for a long time. I think familiarizing yourself with this stuff (especially if you don’t have actual experience) helps you as a writer.
“Let’s get real in a hard and ugly way”
Okay Debra, your tough. He, he, he. A very interesting pick of YA books. Death seems to be the theme here. Are these books gonna make me cry?
Have the tissue handy.
Wow, great picks, Debra. I’ve read The Truth About Forever (so sorry you were that girl who watched your father’s death). It’s a good read, for sure. I also read Thirteen Reason’s. ‘Gut wrenching’ sums it up perfectly. I definitely recommend this book.
The other two books sound great. I’ll have to put them on my TBR list.
Here are two more YA books I’d recommend, both by my blogger buddy C. Lee McKenzie:
Sliding on the Edge – A compelling read about Shawna Stone, a teen who cuts herself to deal with the pain of living in squalor with an alcoholic mother. She wakes up one morning to discover her mother has left with the new boyfriend. All she left for Shawna is the phone number of a grandmother she’s never known. She must decide whether to fend for herself on the streets of Las Vegas or go live with the grandmother on a horse ranch out in the middle of nowhere.
The Princess of Las Pulgas – I really LOVE this book. Here’s part of the inside flap: “After her slow death from cancer, Carlie’s mother is forced to sell their cherished oceanfront home and move the family to the other side of the tracks–to dreaded Las Pulgas. At her tough new urban high school, Carlie is nicknamed ‘Princess’ because of her aloof attitude. But what her classmates don’t know is that Carlie isn’t aloof; she’s in mourning for her father and almost everything else that mattered to her.”
This is a story I’ll never forget. I love how Carlie’s father’s voice speaks to her throughout, from advice he’d given her while he was alive. C. Lee McKenzie nails a teen angst and mourning, not to mention the difficulties of changing high schools, plus going from having everything to having nothing. Very well written.
Fabio, your new blog looks great. I think your YAmondAY series rocks! Am signing up to follow your new blog and your newsletter. Go Fabio go!
Lynn, adding that last one to my TBR. I know that one is going to be a tear jerker, but it’s a must. It sounds amazing! Thank you.
Thanks, Debra. I think you’ll be able to relate to it since you experienced the same thing. I can’t imagine a teen dealing with all those emotions.
Couldn’t believe it when I read this post. All the books you recommended, Debra, are great reads for realistic contemporary YA. Good choices indeed. And I understand why you had to shy away from them.
Then I almost fell over when I saw what Lynn K. had written. Thanks for the comment about my books. I really appreciate the shout outs.