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Palagrin

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Everything posted by Palagrin

  1. Definitely Red Rising - there isn't enough sci-fi/space opera in YA! (I hope it'll be the next big thing...)
  2. I've just finished this book this week and it is AMAZING. Literally one of the best YA/crossover titles I have ever read, it is just. so. good. And if that hasn't convinced you, maybe my review can
  3. I felt Insurgent wasn't great, either....and to be honest, I've fallen out of love with the series. Yes, it's interesting, but there are several other series that do a better job.
  4. I've just started Allegiant, I'm a little bored at the moment. To be honest, my hotness for these books have waned. I'm not looking forward to the film, to be honest, I doubt I'll see it in cinemas.
  5. Why should it be? Plot is important, but good writing won't do any damage...
  6. Insurgent was worse, to be honest. I have yet to read Allegiant but I hear mixed views.
  7. Tragedies aren'tr eally covered that much, and I do agree with you that they should be, to a certain extent. Clearly reading the wrong books
  8. Divergent is one of those books you read and think "this is pretty cool" and then 6 months later you think "actually, it wasn't that great". It's okay, but there are plenty of better books to spend your time with.
  9. Okay. Well, I think for a start (and I hear many authors say this) that young adult books need some sort of hopeful ending. Not necessarily a happy ending, but one that isn't completely bleak. I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to. If not, I can only assume you're reading the "wrong" stuff- have you tried TFIOS?
  10. ...I don't know what YA you're reading but the YA I read is pretty tough sometimes...
  11. I thought Looking for Alaska was pretty damn good. It certainly wasn't "dull" and the prose definitely wasn't "simple", whatever that means...
  12. At some point children grow up and become adults. To hide stuff from the adult world from teachers is unhelpful and patronising. So I'm fine with "mature content" as long it's justified.
  13. I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells - a trilogy of books about a sociopathic teenager who kills other serial killers. Department 19 by Will Hill - bringing vampires back to their gory roots and exploring the notion of a supernatural MI6 that deals with vampires etc and hides their existence from the public. I don't read THAT much horror so that's all I can think of at the moment.
  14. Romance is incredibly important during teenage years, so it's no surprise that it gets such coverage (though I'd argue it doesn't get any more coverage than romance in adult books). What IS problematic is the incessant overuse of the love triangle. I don't know why that's become such a big thing but I suspect that's a remnant of Twilight.
  15. Palagrin

    iOS7

    Surely if it goes over the word limit it just splits the text into several components? If you have unlimited texts that shouldn't be a problem.
  16. Oh yeah, it's a good film - but it's not comedic!
  17. Skulduggery Pleasant is an AWESOME series, and the best thing about it is that each book is better than the last. The first books are quite tame but as you said, it does get very dark. Very dark.
  18. Actually, YA authors are pretty much every generation of writers. Not all YA deals with sex. This tends to be more the case with genre-fiction, where romance though sometimes still important isn't as important as, say, staying alive. As soon as you move into more contemporary romance you tend to get more explicit material. ...I don't think that thought would cross most people's minds unless they were psychologically disturbed. I've never read a blurb where 16+ boys have been described as "young boys". Boys, certainly, but not "young" boys.
  19. I'm not sure Hugo is light-hearted - it's certainly not comedic, if the film is anything to go by! At least, not overtly.
  20. The Twilight wave is now largely over, actually. The "new" wave is the Hunger Games, though that's been around for a couple of years now too. If you need recommendations for more boysy YA books, I'm more than happy to help. I read a whole ton of books which aren't Twilighty. Though you're right - a lot of books are marketed at girls because they tend to read more. Don't let that put you off though; some of them aren't really girls books. Some of the best YA I've read has female protagonists.
  21. The funniest series I've ever read is Spud by John van de Ruit. It's effectively the South African equivalent of Adrian Mole, except it's set in an all-boys boarding school and it is seriously funny. It has 3 sequels which are just as good, if not better, too. (I've linked to my review, if you're intrigued by it) Have fun with those! I'd argue that's a reflection of the zeitgeist. We're living in a time where we don't know what our future is going to be like. Books are reflecting this existential crisis by painting a very dystopian picture of the world.
  22. I've mainly copied and pasted this from another thread where people were looking for YA, but these should apply to you too as I've listed some of my favourite (and extremely well written) series/books. You should have fun with them if you pick any of them up. The Pure Trilogy by Julianna Baggott ~ Seriously amazing & beautifully written post-apocalyptic trilogy. Blood Red Road by Moira Young ~ cross between a Western, dystopian & post-apocalyptic. First 50 pages slow but after that really good. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve ~ My favourite series of all time, light steampunk/sci-fi (not really though) about Cities eating Cities - the opening line: “It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.” And if that doesn't catch your imagination, nothing will Chronicles of the Icemark by Stuart Hill ~ excellent high fantasy with very large, well written battles and lots of original ideas (no dragons/elves/dwarves etc etc) also wonderful female protag Airman by Eoin Colfer ~ author of Artemis Fowl, Airman is in my opinion his best book. Historical, about flying machines. v. exciting Here Lies Arthur ~ highy original take on Arthurian legend, by Mortal Engines author. I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells ~ horror with some supernatural elements about a sociopath. Bit like Dexter. BZRK by Michael Greant ~ Great, highly original series about nanotech and biotech wars on/in humans. They're really pacy and quite edgy thrillers. As for Divergent - it's good but a little derivative, in my opinion. And the sequel isn't great.
  23. I'd argue that Harry Potter is children's. Why? There's very little about stuff that normally takes a forefront in YA - stuff like sex, romance etc etc All in all, HP is very family friendly and you could give them to an 8 year old without much trouble as it is very "safe" in terms of content (even if they do get darker).
  24. His first YA series, Chaos Walking, are critically acclaimed, though I haven't read them either.
  25. Palagrin

    iOS7

    Apparently some security holes have been unearthed. Not surprising - just be aware. I'm sure Apple will be pushing an upgrade (if it hasn't done so already)
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