New YA Books

As I grow into my new job as Youth Services Librarian, one of my new assignments is book ordering!  Which means I get to choose what children, middle grade, and young adult books get added to the library collection.  So much power.  So much love!  I am especially excited to add to the young adult section, because that is the genre of my heart.  How can I not adore the category that gave me Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, White Cat, Uglies, etc etc?

This part of my job fills me with happy.  Most parts of my job fill me with happy, really.  But this especially!  Of course, it does nothing for me to add books to our collection if you, the library patrons, do not read them!  So come young, come old, and enjoy these new YA books I have purchased for you.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
     A post-apocalyptic zombie book!  I have been wanting to read this ever since the rave reviews came rolling in before it was even published.  And in fact, I took it upon myself to be the first person to check it out, and I am currently halfway through.  Will review soon.

Reckless by Cornelia Funke
     I've read Funke's The Thief Lord, which was excellent, so I am itching to see more of her work.  Reckless is about a pair of brothers traveling to Mirrorworld, and naturally, hijinks and adventures ensue.  I'm sold.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
     I actually interlibrary loaned this book a couple months ago.  I enjoyed Clare's City Of series, and this is a prequel of sorts, though you don't have to have read anything to understand what's going on.  How much do I love the world of Shadowhunters and the Enclave?  So much.  How much do I love the incessant YA love triangle genre?  Not so much.  But if it's your thing, you will love Clockwork Angel.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
     Sequel to Shiver, a love story between a girl and a wolf!  Who is really a boy.  It's werewolves, kind of, but without most of our pop culture connotations.  I enjoyed the first book, and will definitely read this when I get the chance.  I'm curious, actually, because I felt the first book ended quite nicely.  I guess Stiefvater had a few more tricks up her authorial sleeve.

Torment by Lauren Kate
     Sequel to Fallen, which I have not read.  But I want to, because the covers are both gorgeous.  I am easily won over.  In a genre of vampires and werewolves, why not throw in a little angel love?  Can't say much as I haven't read either of Kate's books, but I intend to change that asap.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
     Enough with the supernatural romances, amiright?  Going Bovine sounds absolutely fantastic, as it is a story about a young man with Creutzfeldt-Jacob (more commonly known as mad cow disease, hence the title) who goes on a possibly hallucinatory quest a la Don Quixote.  How can that not be awesome?

Pegasus by Robin McKinley
     One of my great failings as a reader is my so-far non-relationship with Robin McKinley.  My favorite friends love her, and my favorite authors love her, but somehow I have not gotten around to reading any of her books.  I plan to correct this failing asap, and it looks like Pegasus is an excellent place to start as an epic fantasy about the adventures that a girl and a pegasus (not of the love relationship variety, thank goodness) embark upon. 

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
     I never knew I liked AU (alternate universe) stories until I picked this up.  Westerfeld creates his own version of the WWI era, in which the Germanic countries are Clankers who fight with machines, and the British allied countries are Darwinists who fight with fabricated beasties.  Add in the fleeing son of Archduke Ferdinand and a British airman who is really an airwoman, and brilliance ensues.  Check out my review of Leviathan's sequel Behemoth here.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
     I admit, my knowledge of this story comes only from the Studio Ghibli anime production.  Which was excellent, so I would imagine the source material is similarly excellent.  Plus, one of my favorite authors fangirls Diana Wynne Jones like nothing else, so I have confidence that this is an awesome book.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
     Reading this book was an odd experience.  I could not point to anything in particular that made it amazing, and as I read I wondered what was so great about it, but I could not stop reading.  And then the end came, and there was a massive twist that made my brain explode, and I immediately had to read it again, after which I shoved it in all my friends' faces and made them read it.  Suffice it to say, I would shove it in your face as well, if we weren't blocked by the interwebs.

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
     Sequel to The Thief.  Once again with the awesome.  More political intrigue, hands being cut off, and a little romance thrown in.  I can't say much without giving away spoilers, but you must read this series.

The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
     The third in Turner's series.  Although it is told from a completely new character's POV (which made me shake the book angrily, because why wasn't Gen front and center?), it quickly became my favorite of the three.  Turner spins stories in a very unique and understated way, and the Attolia series is one of my favorites.