Friday, December 16, 2011

Let It Snow III

My shopping excursion today included a stop at my local Books-a-Million, where I did some widget and teenager shopping. BAM has all the best widgety stuff for readers and writers, and a nice buy-2-get-1-free sale going on YA books.

I love buying books for kids of any age, but teens can be tough. Just as I was getting comfortable with my daughter's Twilight obsession, she outgrew the books, told me she was done with Team Edward and Team Jacob, and moved on to reading (cough) classic literature. I'm bracing myself for the day she comes home and asks, "Mom, did you read this Salinger book?" and I have to discuss that damn story with her like a rational parent should.

I don't try to think like a teenager when it comes to picking out books for them; my mindset is the same as when I'm looking for an adult. I rely primarily on authors I know are talented and can tell a great story, but now and then I'll also try new-to-me writers at random (I always buy myself a copy first to test-drive it before I give the book as a gift.) I also talk to teenagers and see what they're currently reading, what they like and don't like in a story, and what books their friends are talking about lately. They can really surprise you, too.

Once I had amassed my pile of YA gifts, I went in search of widgets. I love BAM's widgets and I always find something new whenever I'm gift hunting. On this trip I discovered a cool pen and two interesting reinventions of the bookmark:

1. Seltergoods.com's Seven Year Pen, which is Swiss made, boasts a jumbo ink supply, and has a long-life tip ($7.99, which works out to a dollar a year if it lasts as long as the manufacturer claims. According to the package, a portion of the purchase price will be donated to environmental causes)

2. The Electronic Dictionary Bookmark, which not only keeps your place but provides over 38K definitions for words you may not recognize while you're reading ($29.95, and yes, I thought that was quite pricey, but worth it for someone who is vocabulary-challenged like my intended recipient)

3. A cat-shaped iMark magnetic bookmark by Thinking Gifts, the tail of which keeps your place as you read ($4.99, handy and exceptionally cute.)

Btw, I also found a single version of the three boxed pop-up Snow Globe greeting cards I found at B&N yesterday; one small size was $6.95 and one large size (not quite as cute as the small size) was $8.95. So if you just want one instead of three, check your local BAM for it.

Today I'm adding to the Let It Snow tote a trade paperback copy of my YA novel After Midnight and an iMark cat bookmark to help the winner keep their place while reading it. As for the mystery addition, it's a new hardcover YA novel by a debut author. This one has gorgeous cover art that caught my eye, and the premise of the story sounded quite interesting, so much so that I bought two copies so I could add one to my own holiday TBR (look carefully at today's tote pic to spot the hint.)

If you'd like a chance to win this giveaway, in comments to this post tell us which YA book or author you think a teenager would really enjoy (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the hat.) I will draw one name at random from everyone who participates by commenting on this or any of my other Let It Snow giveaway posts from now until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, and send the winner the tote with all the contents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

55 comments:

  1. I enjoyed Lili St.Crow's YA series, though I still need to pick up the last book to finish off the series.

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  2. Suzanne Collins would be my pick.

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  3. Kristen Cashore. I would have loved her books as a teen. They're in a lot of ways like Tamora Pierce, but have their own special flair to them!

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  4. Fran Kane4:25 AM

    I love the cat bookmark. In my opinion you can never have enough bookmarks. I'm not an expert on YA literature as I have no-one in this age group to buy for as my boys never read anything except the sports page!

    Having said that, however, Sherrilyn Kenyon's Chronicles of Nick are, I think, YA and are an excellent read for both sexes. I read these because I love the Dark Hunters. Similarly, Deborah Cooke's Dragon Diaries, following on from her Dragonfire series, are aimed at YA and I really enjoyed the first book, Flying Blind. I'm eagerly looking forward to Winging It, book 2.

    So that's all I have to offer on YA.

    On a side note, I love reading everyone's posts and have picked up so many interesting new things - many thanks to you all x

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  5. I rarely read YA, but recently I read and really enjoyed Jennifer Estep's 'Frost' series.

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  6. Scott Westerfeld is great for his steampunk Leviathan series and Rachel Caine's Morganville vampires is also top notch.

    Marcus Sedgewick is a great pick for boys too... creepy books that aren't too long.

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  7. Sheila6:55 AM

    I haven't a clue as to who would be a good author for a teen so I'll just toss my name into the hat.

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  8. love the wicked lovely series by melissa marr and the oh so funny skullduggery pleasant series by mark landy.

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  9. You can always rely on Meg cabot to throw out an amazing YA story. I think i own almost every one of her books.

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  10. Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series for any teen who likes vamps or just a good urban fantasy story. Quality writing, characters with depth, and zero similarities to Twilight. Love it!

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  11. *G* Yours. My daughter really likes the new version of Little Red Riding Hood, too...although I think it's called Red Riding Hood. I'm thinking I need to let her do the Melissa Marr books, soon and I know she loved Beastly.

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  12. Anonymous8:23 AM

    Lynn,
    Well, I have read (and own) the entire Vampire Academy series and now I have started the spin-off series Bloodlines. Believe it or not, I am not crazy about Richelle Mead's adult books, but I love her YA series. The two series are completely different and it almost seems like two different authors have wrote them! I have loaned these books onto friends who passed them onto their teens. So far, no one I know has complained and several friends have stalked BAM to purchase them.
    Tami
    Jacksonville

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  13. I am reading Shift right now by Jeri Smith-Ready, and enjoying it!

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  14. I'm not familiar with YA authors, though I've seen although Twilight movies and enjoyed immensely despite my husband laughter.

    I did notice Beastly and I am Four in your pic which I am dying to see on dvd.

    have a good weekend

    reese

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  15. I recently enjoyed Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally. It was about a female high school quarterback. Really good story.

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  16. I'm not really into YA books much, so can't recommend any authors, but I want to say I think you have the right thinking about choosing books for teens. When I was a teenager, it seemed for a while that every book I got was about teenagers discovering love and sex, teen pregnancies, heartbreak and learning to love again. I hated each and every one and just wanted to be given the latest Agatha Christie or Mary Stewart (a new book by both got translated into Icelandic every year when I was in my teens), which is what I would have gotten if the adults who gave me books had a) considered my tastes and b) sampled the books.

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  17. Right now I'm reading a really awesome YA by CJ Hill called Slayers. Modern day teenage descendants of dragon-hunting knights get trained to do battle with the newly awakening species. It rocks hard. =o)

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  18. Anonymous10:10 AM

    Patricia Wrede

    Cris

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  19. Maggie Stiefvater or Andrea Cremer. :)

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  20. I really like Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series for just a fun read. For a thoroughly enjoyable and more complex read, the Hunger Games series is my current recommendation. In fact, I think that series would be great for adults as well (since I am one myself). The concepts are universally haunting and thought-provoking.

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  21. Christopher Pike is always my go-to YA author. REMEMBER ME has to be one of my all-time favorite series in any genre.

    Oddly enough, though, that's not what I gave my niece. I started her paranormal reading habit with Kelley Armstrong's YA series, lol. She's since moved on to Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers. I'm not sure she could take Pike's oddities. : )

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  22. I'd say Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrison's YA series would be a good choice for paranormal.

    And for relationship and friendship I'd go with Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.
    And for 'older' teens Simone Elkeles' books.

    pattepoilue(at)gmail(dot)com

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  23. jennifer Donnelly is a wonderful author which most would appreciate.

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  24. Someone who I felt was unique and talented was Lauren DeStefano.

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  25. I always say I am going to write down all of these YA recommendations and then forget. Silly. I loved After Midnight, there will be more, riiiiight? :-)

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  26. YA books I loved as a teen (and recently reread) is M. E. Kerr. She deals with contemporary issues as has done a few historicals as well.

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  27. Love Scott Westerfeld -- in fact, introduced my son (at age 9) to Westerfeld via the Leviathan series, though I don't think he's ready for Uglies or Peeps yet.

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  28. Anne V.1:35 PM

    I just tore through Kathleen Duey's Skin Hunger and Sacred Scars. I am now rabidly waiting for the 3rd one. I also liked Cynthia Leitich Smith's Eternal, which ended in a way that made me tear up.
    I want to read one called Skyship Academy, which I ran across in the bookstore and haven't learned much about as of yet.

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  29. Tamora Pierce or Mercedes Lackey, I always enjoy books by these two.

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  30. Rachel Caine and her Morganville Vampires series.

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  31. Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton and Born at Midnight and Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter. Both write adult books under other names (Kelly Gay and Christie Craig respectively-LOVE Kelly Gay's series) but I think they did a great job with YA.

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  32. I've been hearing so much about Suzanne Collins' books.

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  33. Shannon B5:28 PM

    Christopher Paolini is a favorite of my brother - high praise for someone who would rather be in front of his computer.

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  34. L.J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries might appeal to teens. I love the interactions between the characters.

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  35. My son showed me a series called The Tapestry by Henry Neff. It's a terrific little series that I feel anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter would enjoy. I can't wait for three next one to come out myself

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  36. Wish I had a BAM close by, but my closest is an hour away. I'd love to wander through one.

    My YA's who are no longer YA's always read up for some reason, so I don't have any suggestions.

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  37. Both Kim Harrison and Kelley Armstrong write great YA books.

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  38. My teenage son just fell into Hunger Games and he inhaled it...which is awesome b/c he doesn't like to read!

    After Midnight! On my Christmas wish list! My husband has only heard it a thousand times now LOL!

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  39. I've been reading Jennifer Estep's YA series about the Mythos Academy and I think teens would like it

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  40. It has been a while since I was looking for YA books but I loved the Wheetzie Bat books by Francisca Lia Block. Also the Castle Waiting graphic novels by Linda Medley and the Fables series by Bill Willingham. The Fables series (graphic novels) is wonderful and has some really good art work by different artists. A twist on fairy tales - all the fairy tale characters are real and many of them are now refugees in NYC as their dimension is being torn apart by a war. Both the Fables books and Castle Waiting are regularily pulled from my shelves by teen guests.

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  41. I think teenagers who like paranormal stories will like L.J. Smith's The Secret Circle trilogy. I first read it when it was originally published and really enjoy it. I still teens will still today.

    If they like mysteries with a smart heroine, I recommend Nancy Drew. Timeless :)

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  42. The Hunger Games series is quite good..

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  43. SHIPBREAKER by Paulo Bacigalupi is my teen son's current favorite. I read it and loved it too!

    We're donating a copy to his English teacher hoping she'll keep it in her classroom for all the kids to enjoy.

    Yes, it's that good.

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  44. GayLee10:51 AM

    As a kid, I loved Robert Heinlein's YA science fiction stories. Ate those up with a spoon. I wonder if kids would find them dated now, but at the time they were wondrous.

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  45. I would recommend Anne MCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, J R R Tolkien, Kirsten Cashore, Rachel Vincent, Brian Jacques, Richard Adams, Holy Black, Eoin Colfe, Ursula K Le Guin,Jane Yolen, J K Rowling, Tamora Pierce,Piers Anthony, Christopher Paolini, Carolyn Keene and C S Lewis.

    All of them are authors who my own teens or I loved to read.

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  46. Shizuka2:54 PM

    Recent YA novels I loved are Shelter by Harlan Coben, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (a modern day slightly paranormal mystery that takes place in London), and Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly.

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  47. my 15 yr old son loved Kelley Armstrongs, Sherrilyn Kenyon's nick series, and the series that has city of glass in it. Can't think of the author name. He loved to read and does so alot. i can't keep him in books. Couldn't afford to lol.
    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

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  48. Shannon D.9:13 AM

    My daughter is into the Spirit Walker series.

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  49. I'll have to toss my name in the hat for this one. I haven't read much YA, to be honest, though I do have a few that have crawled onto my wishlist.

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  50. Helen9:59 AM

    So many books so little time!
    Loved the following-
    Blood Red Road Moira Young
    Chime by Billingsley
    All of Kimberly Dertings books (the new one Pledge as well as her body finder series)
    The Space Between by Yovanoff
    Legend by Marie Lu
    Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
    I have so many more I could add it isn't funny! I've been on a YA kick this year.

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  51. Athena W.6:16 PM

    I think that a perfect YA gift would be any of the Strange Angels books by Lili St. Crow

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  52. LaurieF10:08 PM

    Probably the Hunger Games Trilogy, books by Suzanne Collins. Also authors Sarah Dessen and Jennifer Echols.

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  53. I don't read much YA's but here's some I would recommend:

    1. The Chronicles of Nick series by Sherrilyn Kenyon

    2. Aden Stone series by Gena Showalter

    3. Teen Alien Huntress series also by Gena Showalter

    4. The Unbecoming of Mara Dryer

    5. The Madison Avery series by Kim Harrison

    6. The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong

    7. Darkness Rising series also by Kelley Armstrong

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  54. It's been so long since I've read YA that I can't answer this question. So, I'm just going to throw my name into the hat.

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