Favorites In Young Adult

Books Of Bayern Series, by Shannon Hale
The Goose Girl | Enna Burning | River Secrets | Forest Born

Sub-Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling

Goodreads | Audible

Why It's A Favorite: This is an excellent young adult series, in my opinion.  There are a number of young, strong female characters in these books (and free from teen angst, I might add), and the storyline is rather creative.  A smart book for young women that adults might enjoy too.

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Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Sub-Genre: Sci-fi/post-apocalyptic/space travel/alien invasion

Goodreads | Audible

Why It's A Favorite: I don't what it is about this story, whether it's the character development, the plot, or something about the writing, but every time I read this I get a little awestruck.  This is definitely one of Orson Scott Card's best works, and I look forward to eventually reading the other books in this series.

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The Graceling Realm Trilogy, by Kristin Cashore
Graceling | Fire | Bitterblue

Sub-Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads | Audible

Why It's A Favorite: When it comes to YA Fantasy, I try to seek out ones that include strong female characters, not the whiny, love-triangle kind you sometimes get, but independent young women who are capable of taking care of themselves and making responsible decisions.  This trilogy fulfills this requirement, in my opinion, and includes a very intriguing and creative world that you can enjoy reading about.

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The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games | Catching Fire | Mockingjay

Sub-Genre: Post-Apocalyptic dystopian

Goodreads | Audible

Why It's A Favorite: I admit, when this first came out and I read the first book, I was impressed, but not enough to continue the series.  It wasn't until later that I finally read the whole trilogy and discovered that I actually enjoyed this series.  It's a creative dystopian story with an interesting female protagonist.  This is also one of those rare times where I found I enjoyed the movies just as much as I enjoyed the books.

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The Inheritance Cycle Series, by Christopher Paolini
Eragon | Eldest | Brisingr | Inheritance

Sub-Genre: Epic Fantasy

Goodreads | Audible

Why It's A Favorite: I think what makes this series impressive, first off, is how young the author was when he first published this series.  Secondly, while the first two books borrow a number of ideas from other famous works, Paolini is still able to make this world his own, and, as his writing matured, he began to do things in unique and different ways, especially with the final two books.  It's definitely a creative and engaging series that involves dragons....which makes it awesome.

Favorite Spotlight