{"id":13322,"date":"2014-06-13T08:30:18","date_gmt":"2014-06-13T12:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=13322"},"modified":"2014-06-13T08:30:18","modified_gmt":"2014-06-13T12:30:18","slug":"great-spoof-the-anti-anti-ya-book-list-compiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=13322","title":{"rendered":"Spoofy Brilliance + the Anti-Anti-YA Book List, Compiled"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Earlier this week, I posted a call to gather titles to counter one writer’s Slate article<\/a> dismissing YA books as not suitably literary or complex reading for adults. Suggestions poured in, and I’m posting the list of books below.
\nFirst, however, I wanted to share the first bit of my favorite response to the Ruth Graham article. Titled “A Young Adult Author\u2019s Fantastic Crusade to Defend Literature\u2019s Most Maligned Genre<\/a>,” it\u00a0was posted on Nerve.com by YA writer Kathleen Hale, and it begins this way:
\nLast week, I read Ruth Graham\u2019s article\u00a0\u201cAgainst YA.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0In it, Graham contends that adults should be embarrassed to read YA novels. Instead, grownups should focus their attention on serious, \u201cliterary fiction\u201d that grapples with \u201cbig ideas about time and space and science and love.\u201d<\/em>
\nAs\u00a0a YA writer<\/a>\u00a0myself, I was understandably offended. I\u2019m not some schlocky trash-peddler. I\u2019m a serious author, capable of far more than maudlin plot twists and clich\u00e9d dialogue. That\u2019s why I decided to confront Graham in person.<\/em>
\nI picked her up outside the graveyard before nightfall.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for you,\u201d she said, as we stepped into my father\u2019s beat up Chevy. We were going 70 miles an hour, two girls with different colored hair.<\/em>
\n\u201cWhy did you say that about YA?\u201d I asked, as tears streamed down my face like rain.<\/em>
\n\u201cBecause it\u2019s true!\u201d she hissed. And I saw in the moonlight that her anger made her beautiful. This was before the war, when the oceans still had water, and the moon was still visible in the sky.<\/em>
\nHale’s\u00a0post continues<\/a>, hilariously, in this vein. It is clever, spooftastic fun, but also a glorious, smart reply to the issues raised in Ruth Graham’s article.
\nAnd now for the Anti-Anti-YA Book List<\/strong><\/span> of complex, rewarding young adult reads no one should be ashamed of reading and enjoying. The aim was to include only realistic YA, but a few fantasy, alternative reality, and graphic novels sneaked in. Thanks to all of the ShelfTalker readers who contributed:
\n13 Reasons Why<\/i> by Jay Asher
\n17 and Gone<\/i> by Nova Ren Suma.
\n33 Snowfish<\/i> by Adam Rapp
\nThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian<\/i> by Sherman Alexie
\nAfterparty<\/i> by Ann Redisch Stampler
\nanything by Sarah Dessen
\nAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe<\/i> by Benjamin Alire Saenz
\nThe Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation<\/i>: The Pox Party<\/i> by M.T. Anderson
\nBeauty Queens<\/i> by Libba Bray
\nBelle Epoque<\/i> by Elizabeth Ross
\nBerlin Boxing Club<\/i> by Robert Sharenow
\nBetween Shades of Gray<\/i> by Ruta Sepetys
\nBitterblue<\/i> by Kristin Cashore
\nBlack Juice<\/i> by Margo Lanagan
\nBone Dance<\/i> by Martha Brooks
\nThe Book Thief<\/i> by Markus Zusak
\nBreathe My Name<\/i> by R.A. Nelson
\nCandy<\/i> by Kevin Brooks
\nThe Chocolate War<\/i> by Robert Cormier
\nCode Name Verity<\/i> by Elizabeth Wein
\nConfessions of a Hater<\/i> by Caprice Crane
\nCrossing Stones<\/i> by Helen Frost
\nThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time<\/i> by Mark Haddon
\nDark Dude<\/i> by Oscar Hijuelos
\nDeerskin<\/i> by Robin McKinley
\nThe Diviners<\/i> by Libba Bray
\nDownriver<\/i> by Will Hobbs
\nEleanor & Park<\/i> by Rainbow Rowell
\nEvery Day<\/i> by David Levithan
\nFangirl<\/i> by Rainbow Rowell
\nFat Angie<\/em> by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
\nFighting Ruben Wolfe<\/i> by Markus Zusak
\nFinninkin of the Rock<\/i> by Melina Marchetta
\nFor the Win<\/i> by Cory Doctorow
\nGil Marsh<\/i> by A.C.E. Bauer
\nGoing Bovine<\/i> by Libba Bray
\nGraceling<\/i> by Kristin Cashore
\nGrasshopper Jungle<\/i> by Andrew Smith
\nGrave Mercy<\/em> by R.L. LaFevers
\nGringolandia<\/i> by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
\nGuy in Real Life<\/i> by Steve Brezenoff
\nHard Love<\/i> by Ellen Wittlinger
\nHeart\u2019s Delight<\/i> by Per Nilsson
\nhow i live now<\/i> by Meg Rosoff
\nHow to Say Goodbye in Robot<\/i> by Natalie Standiford
\nHush<\/i> by Eishes Chayil
\nI Am J<\/i> by Cris Beam
\nI Am the Messenger<\/i> by Markus Zusak
\nI\u2019ll Be There<\/i> by Holly Goldberg Sloan
\nIf You Come Softly<\/i> by Jacqueline Woodson
\nIf You Could Be Mine<\/i> by Sara Farizan.
\nThe Impossible Knife of Memory<\/i> by Laurie Halse Anderson
\nIn Darkness<\/i> by Nick Lake
\nJellicoe Road<\/i> by Melina Marchetta
\nJumped<\/i> by Rita Williams-Garcia
\nKingdom of Little Wounds<\/i> by Susann Cokal
\nThe Kings Are Already Here<\/i> by Garret Freymann-Weyr
\nThe Knife of Never Letting Go<\/i> (Chaos Walking trilogy) by Patrick Ness
\nLast Night I Sang to the Monster<\/i> by Benjamin Alire Saenz
\nLessons from a Dead Girl<\/i> by Jo Knowles
\nLiar <\/i>by Justine Larbalestier
\nLife as We Knew It<\/i> (Mooncrash series) by Susan Beth Pfeffer
\nLife: An Exploded Diagram<\/i> by Mal Peet
\nLike the Red Panda<\/i> by Andrea Seigel
\nThe List<\/i> by Siobhan Vivian
\nLittle Women<\/i> by Louisa May Alcott
\nLooking for Alaska<\/i> by John Green
\nLove is the Higher Law<\/i> by David Levithan
\nLove Letters to the Dead<\/i> by Ava Dellaria
\nMe and Earl and the Dying Girl<\/i> by Jesse Andrews
\nMidwinterblood <\/i>by Marcus Sedgwick
\nA Monster Calls<\/i> by Patrick Ness
\nMy Book of Life by Angel<\/i> by Martine Leavitt
\nMy Soon-to-be Sex Life<\/i> by Judith Tewes
\nNo Safe Place<\/i> by Deborah Ellis
\nOnce Was Lost<\/i> by Sara Zarr
\nThe Opposite of Hallelujah<\/i> by Anna Jarzab
\nPaper Covers Rock<\/i> by Jenny Hubbard
\nthe perks of being a wallflower<\/em> by stephen chbosky
\nPersepolis<\/i> by Marjane Satrapi
\nThe Piper\u2019s Son<\/i> by Melina Marchetta
\nPlease Ignore Vera Dietz<\/i> by A.S. King
\nPointe<\/i> by Brandy Colbert
\nPostcards from No Man\u2019s Land<\/i> by Aidan Chambers
\nPrisoner of Night and Fog<\/i> by Anne Blankman
\nRevolver <\/i>by Marcus Sedgwick
\nRose Under Fire<\/i> by Elizabeth Wein
\nThe Scorpio Races<\/i> by Maggie Stiefvater
\nSean Griswold\u2019s Head<\/i> by Lindsey Leavitt
\nThe Secret Side of Empty<\/i> by Maria E. Andreu
\nSeraphina<\/i> by Rachel Hartman
\nServed Anytime<\/i> by Sarah Combs
\nShine<\/i> by Lauren Myracle
\nSince You Left Me<\/i> by Allen Zadoff
\nSister Mischief<\/i> by Laura Goode
\nSkim<\/i> by Mariko Tamaki (graphic novel)
\nSolace of the Road<\/i> by Siobhan Dowd
\nSomeday This Pain Will Be Useful to You<\/i> by Peter Cameron
\nSorta Like a Rockstar<\/i> by Matthew Quick
\nSpeak<\/i> by Laurie Halse Anderson
\nStick<\/i> by Andrew Smith
\nStoner and Spaz<\/i> by Ron Koertge
\nThe Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender<\/i> by Leslye Walton
\nSuckerpunch<\/i> by David Hernandez
\nTamar<\/i> by Mal Peet
\nTaste of Salt<\/i> by Frances Temple
\nTender Morsels <\/i>by Margo Lanagan
\nThe Thief<\/i> by Megan Whalen Turner
\nThis is How I Find Her<\/i> by Sara Polsky
\nToning the Sweep<\/i> by Angela Johnson
\nTwo Boys Kissing <\/i>by David Levithan
\nThe Tyrant\u2019s Daugher<\/i> by J. C. Carleson
\nUnder the Mesquite<\/i> by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
\nWe Were Liars<\/i> by E. Lockhart
\nWhale Talk<\/i> (and other novels) by Chris Crutcher
\nWhere Things Come Back<\/i> by John Corey Whaley
\nThe White Darkness<\/i> by Geraldine McCaughrean
\nWill Grayson, Will Grayson<\/i> by John Green and David Levithan
\nWinger<\/i> by Andrew Smith
\nWith or Without You<\/i> by Brian Farrey
\nYaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass<\/i> by Meg Medina<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 100 richly rewarding YA reads, plus Kathleen Hale’s delightful reply to Slate’s Anti-YA article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}