YA Summer Reading

The only "adult fiction" I read are mystery novels. I'm a huge Dick Francis fan and, thankfully, so are a lot of other mystery readers, so I can usually find the books at yard sales and our annual book sale in town (where I always spend too much money). 

I love Young Adult fiction. There's been a lot of debate lately over it being too dark, but if we raise kids to think the world is all sunshine and berries, they'll get hustled as soon as they move out of their parent's house. Plus, you don't have to read the dark stuff. The last "disturbing" YA book I read was Wonder When You'll Miss Me in 11th grade. I've been reading a lot of YA since I graduated and now I have time to read what I want. For some reason, I've been solely attracted to book series.






Here's what I've read since graduation:

L.A. Candy series by Lauren Conrad (other books:
Sweet Little Lies and Sugar & Spice)

I actually bought L.A. Candy in April before my trip to Paris, planning to read it on the plane. But after reading the first couple of lines, I wasn't impressed and decided to wait. It took a while for the first one to get interested, but once it did, I devoured all three books in a matter of days. The prose isn't the best I've ever read, but the plot is compelling and the characters are interesting.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

(other books: Catching Fire and Mockingjay)

 A Wall Street Journal article called it "hyper-violent," but I venture to think young adults would refer to it as "action-packed." It's a really page-turner from the beginning of the series until the end, partly because Collins creates a futuristic society that's controlled by a central government. I'm looking forward to the films, but I'm not happy with their casting of Peeta. The guy they cast is not tall enough for the role.

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
(other book: Summer in the City)

 I've been trying to run away to New York since I could walk, so I enjoyed seeing how Carrie went from a small town girl with all the normal high school drama, in addition to a deceased mother, into a celebrated columnist. The answer is very complicated and totally unexpected. I loved Bushnell's attention to detail. I almost died of admiration when she wrote that a character "intoned."

Although, I've enjoyed my jaunt back into YA fiction, I'm putting it on hold to start reading some journalistic non-fiction books. I've been working my way through How Race is Lived in America, a collection of articles by correspondents of The New York Times, very slowly and I'd like to finish it without interrupting my reading with a fiction book. I've also been meaning to read Zoo Story by Tom French. I saw him speak twice during my three years at UF. Both times, he started telling us the stories in the book and both times he left them unfinished (which we didn't mind because, uh, he's Tom French!). If I ever want to know what happens, I need to read the book.