It has been a while since we’ve featured a fellow YA lover, so we’re taking today to highlight a writer from one of our favorite YA book blogs, We Heart YA, on Confessions of a YA Junkie. I thought we had already featured Ingrid, but since we hadn’t, we’re excited for you to get to know her better — especially since it’s likely we’ll be reading HER book one of these days! Ingrid’s responses are dear to our hearts, especially because I just read “My Life Next Door” last week and am now a huge Jase Garrett fan.
Name, if you’re out about your addiction: Ingrid
Age: Thirtysomething
What you do: I write and edit magazine articles, take care of my kiddos, and stay up late working on my manuscripts. I’ve just started querying my contemporary young adult novel.
How long have you been reading YA: Since I was about 11. As a teenager, my favorite authors were S.E. Hinton and Cynthia Voigt. In my twenties I read a lot of women’s fiction, travel essay, and parenting magazines. I got back into YA around 2005. It’s wonderful to see how this genre has expanded over the years.
Who are some of your “must-read-everything-they-write” authors: Melina Marchetta, Gayle Forman, Sarah Dessen, and Laini Taylor. I haven’t read everything they’ve written (yet), but I have never been disappointed by these authors. In adult fiction: Pat Conroy.
Favorite fictional boyfriends: There are so many introspective and complex guy characters in YA lit today. Some favorites are Jonah Griggs (“Jellicoe Road”), Augustus Waters (“The Fault in Our Stars”), Owen Armstrong (“Just Listen”), and Jase Garrett (“My Life Next Door”).
Favorite kick-ass heroine? Katniss Everdeen, for sure! After that it’s a tie between Karou from “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” and Evanjalin from “Finnikin of the Rock. All three are survivors at heart. I love heroines who aren’t “warriors”in the traditional sense but who kick ass in quieter, more subtle ways.
What’s the last YA book that blew you away and why? “Jellicoe Road” by Melina Marchetta. It’s one of those books you keep thinking about long after you’ve finished reading it.
Which YA books will you forever keep on your bookshelves: I keep all my YA books!
What’s at the top of your TBR pile? It’s a long list and not in any particular order. But right now I have “Flash Burnout” on loan from the library and “Scorpio Races” on my Kindle, so those two will be next.
Which literary YA couple’s love story do you think is the most swoon-worthy? Augustus and Hazel Grace from “The Fault in Our Stars.” Even though their story is heartbreakingly tragic, they seize each moment together and live it to the fullest.
Yay for Ingrid!! She’s the beating heart of our group. <3
It’s funny, because I *just* read My Life Next Door at the prompting of three other bloggers, so I can see why Ingrid considers Jase her literary crush!