This week our YA Junkie is our very own contributor, Cara. We discovered our mutual love of Young Adult literature via Twitter, where we found ourselves discussing our shared love of “Harry Potter,” Kristin Cashore, and pretty much any teen-lit book or author the other mentioned. She’s gorgeous and funny and generally awesome, so we hope you’ll enjoy her Confessions!
Name, if you’re out about your addiction: Out and proud! Cara Blevins aka Carabee
Age: 37
How long have you been reading YA: I read “Nancy Drew” and “Sweet Valley” High as a tween but I abandoned the genre until Harry Potter captured my heart. I discovered the series shortly after the publication of the 2nd book about 12 years ago and have been gobbling up YA ever since.
Who are some of your “must-read-everything-they-write” authors: The list of authors who fall under this category is very, very short. I would put J.K. Rowling in there, as well as Neil Gaiman, who is not strictly a YA author but he has written books for a younger audience and I have LOVED everything of his. For the most part, I fall in love with stories, not authors, and rare is the writer who can capture me over and over again in the different worlds they create.
Favorite fictional boyfriend(s): I may be weird, but I don’t get literary crushes. Not in the long-term kind of way. They’re interesting to me while I’m reading the book, but I don’t hold on to them in my heart once I’m done with the book.
What’s the last YA book that blew you away and why? “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender. The book centers on a young woman with a very unusual ability. The way that ability plays on her relationships with all those around her is revealing and heartbreaking. With the abundance of supernatural YA books out there, and they are ubiquitous these days, I was engrossed by this book’s unique story. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some vampires and witches and zombies, but sometimes a girl needs more variety.
Which YA books will you forever keep on your bookshelves: The “Harry Potter” series will always have a place of honor on my bookshelves. In a few years, when she is old enough, I am so excited to introduce my daughter to Harry and Hermione and Ron and everyone else at Hogwarts.
If you could force Hollywood to adapt one YA book into a movie, which would it be? Ugh. Just one? Tough, tough, tough, because there are so many that I would love to see adapted. “Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan, “Incarceron” by Catherine Fisher, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, and “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman are just a few. {Editor’s Note: Good news, Cara! “Incarceron” IS being made into a movie, starring none other than Taylor –aka Jacob Black– Lautner as Finn!}
What’s at the top of your TBR pile? I just got “The Power of Six” by Pitticus Lore (aka James Frey) from the library, and I’m very interested to read it. I really enjoyed “I Am Number Four” (the book, NOT the movie), and I am eager to see where the story goes next!
I enjoy YA, though I don’t end up reading it as often as I’d like. I feel like I’m in touch with the world of books for adults and thus have some ideas of which books/authors will be worth a try. There is so much YA out there that I am unfamiliar with that I almost don’t have a starting point. I think the answer is to follow Cara’s lead! I am curious about the Pitticus Lore books as I read an article last year suggesting that James Frey was basically starting a YA factory with graduate student labor or something like that.
Mep – I hadn’t heard that about James Frey, so I did a little research. Interesting situation there. It sounds like it is a writing factory but I can’t quite bring myself to call it a bad thing. He’s giving young writers a chance at financial success, although they are bound by confidentiality agreements that prevent them from promoting their participation in the finished work. So, not ideal, but…
At any rate, I’m halfway through The Power of Six now and enjoying it, although I don’t think that I would highly recommend it. I have a dozen other YA books that I would suggest ahead of it, if you’re interested, including those listed above. Definitely check back in here, I’m sure there will be lots of great new YA books to enjoy!
The photo, oh the photo…,made me laugh. Hunger Games For The Win!
I wish I had time to read, I know I would love these books too