Some of my favorite fantasy falls into the "young adult" category.

McKillip and LeGuin come to mind. A lot of fantasy is ageless, appealing to all. As a teacher of pre-teens and teens, I read a lot of the fantasy written for them, as it's a favorite genre these days.

The biggest group of fantasy lovers among my students seems to be the intellectually gifted boys. I wonder why that is? Is it something about living a largely hidden "inner" life through the use of imagination? Escape from the realities of a less-than-perfect world?

Anyway, I find it interesting to note that the hottest book for pre-and teens these days is "Eragon." I read it once and thought it was ok; I can't remember all that much about it. Something about a boy who finds a dragon's egg, becomes a dragon rider, has to save the kingdom from the "evil" ruler and his "evil" dragon riders. I'm working from memory here; I haven't looked it up to see if I remember correctly.

The interesting thing about this book is that it was written by a gifted teenager; he left high school at 15 and wrote the book. I can see why it appeals so much to my students. I thought it was "ok." Not great. For a fantasy reader, it was obviously derivative. I haven't read book 2 in the trilogy, "Eldest," because I haven't found it in paperback yet. I can't afford to stock the classroom library with hardcovers.

This isn't one of my favorites; other ageless fantasy previously mentioned is more complex, more original, and better crafted. This one definitely targets a more specific audience. Perhaps I don't like it as well because I'm not a young man, lol.

Meanwhile, the movie comes out this month, and the boys are all hyped up about it. Anyone else read it, or planning to go see it?

What is on your list of "best fantasy lit for the young?"

My favorite is actually The Dark Is Rising, from that eponymous series.

And the Gregor the Overlander series is very well done, too.

Rich story, complex characters, with content appropriate for younger readers. I love giving them stories that engage them, draw them in, and keep them thinking!

I don't know the other one; I'll check it out.

I've loved that series since I was young. Of the series, my favorite book is probably The Grey King, followed closely by The Dark Is Rising.

was always homeschooled. He graduated at 15 through an accredited correspondence school.

My son (recently 13) LOVES Eragon. (He's ticked we didn't go to the midnight show last night. We're probably going this afternoon, though.)

I liked the book pretty well - though it was a bit tedious in places. Not bad for a kid, though.

Eldest is not as good. I didn't really like the tangents he went off on and definitely didn't like the changes in some of his characters. Though I'm thinking maybe he thought making them more "edgy" was a mature thing or something.

Nearly all of my son's friends really liked Eragon - girls as well as boys; they're all pretty bright kids.



As for other books, I too like a lot of "YA" books. I read a lot of the same books my son does. The fantasy ones are usually superior to the "real life" ones out there, imo. They're TOO "real life" - sex, drugs, drinking, cheating at school, stealing, etc.... while yeah it is going on in schools today, I don't want my son reading that and believing it's "normal". Which is what I think having them casually written into the books does. It "normalizes" the behaviour in some way.

An interesting one I just read is Floating Island by Elizabeth Haydon. (My son hasn't read it yet.)

I had to go check out the "H" section of my shelf to remember who Hayden is.

I have a handful of titles; not the one you mention. I liked her characters a great deal, and got tired of her plot. Too much like a romance novel in a fantasy setting; I would have preferred the plots to develop in a different direction.

You are right about Paolini; I should have said "finished," not "left."

I also agree with your observations about realistic fiction. I like fiction for young people to deal with larger, universal themes that will help them develop into evolved adults, not glorify the less than wonderful facets of human culture.

I'm about half-way through 'Eragon' right now. I started reading it while on vacation, just to see what all the fuss was about. Young Mr. Paolini has talent, no doubt, but he has a lot of growing to do as a writer before he can count himself among the truly skilled. This book is so obviously written by a kid, and even though I've not finished it, I've found many problems with plot, dialogue and character development-or lack thereof. Even so, I'm still enjoying the book and will most definitely finish it. I also plan on reading the next book in the series. I'm interested to see how Chris progresses as a writer the older and more experienced he gets. I think I'll skip the movie, though. It's been getting only so-so reviews.

except that I'll probably see the movie. My students will want to discuss it ad nauseum. :D

At the insistence of my grandson, lol. My son, his dad, asked me to come along. I warned him, but he wanted to see for himself. I couldn't loan him the book, it being checked out by one of my students right now.

The special effects were very well done, especially the dragon herself. The same plot/character development problems previously noted were there. My 27 yo son, on the way out of the theater, snorted and said "No original thought, and derivative of almost every fantasy author I've ever read; in some cases, skirting plagiarism." I thought that was a little strong; it's obviously not plagiarism.

It was the story of a girl who's mother was dying, her father was distant, and she meets this very blonde haired vampire who is tired of life on Earth. His little brother is still a child, yet a vampire, and he is going around killing people. They have to stop him together, and make her interested in living again. I can't remember who wrote it, but it was, is one of my favorite books I've probably ever read.
Duckie

John Christopher, and Lloyd Alexander were my favorites as a pre-teen/teenager...the Tripod trilogy was amazing...

did you read "The Prince in Waiting" series? I thought that was really well done with a very bittersweet ending..

Quick reads, compelling plots. My job is realy stressful, so easy reading to unwind is just the key.

My favorites from the last few years would include The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, and The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. Hmmm... actually, now that I think on it, these were both more sci-fi than fantasy, but I still recommend them. :)

Marketed as Young Adult, but eminently readable. Highly recommended!

...as the trilogy is collectively known (Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass) is utterly wonderful and breaks new ground in the genre. It's sold as "young adult" but is brilliant at any age. Read it before the movie comes out next year and ruins it.

Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen. Very interesting stuff. Lots of depth.

Tamora Pierce also has several series that are popular with girls, because they have strong female protagonists. The first book or two that she wrote are amateurish, but her writing certainly improved over time.

I also like Sharon Shinn's stuff, but I think only Summers at Castle Auburn could be classified as YA.

I thought the Alanna series was better than any of her other series as far as originality and depth. :shrug:

They are about Alanna's daughter, and they're very polished. I agree that the Alanna series grabbed me more than the Wild Mage set, but I suspect that was the characters. My comment was directed more at the writing itself than at the story. In the Alanna series, I really noticed the writing, whereas in Pierce's later books, there was nothing to distract from the story. Does that make any sense?

were pretty obvious as far as plot twists, and I also found it hard to keep track of who was who. I've only read them once, though.

Tamora Pierce. I think we'll all be getting more familiar with her stuff!

Frankly, I think Rowling's series is more Children's/Young Adult literature than Fantasy Literature. It's entirely sujective and a pointless exercize in semantics, but I think Rowling's intended audience is more "Young Adult" than "Fantasy."

The growth and development of the protagonist makes the earlier books accessible to the younger crowd, with enough novelty to engage readers. The more recent books are not as accessible. They can, and do, read them, but they don't "get" much of what they are reading. I can't think of any other series of books that deliberately intends to grow up with a target audience. I suspect that, regardless of how many years pass or how old Harry becomes in the "Deathly Hallows" book, it will still be a "young adult" novel. The obvious draw to younger readers will keep it rated G or PG.

The "fantasy" tag comes with the "magic." It is the magic that engages the typical young potter reader. The story itself, though, is less fantasy and more self-discovery, personal growth through challenge, from my pov.

audience is the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's been a long time since I've read them, but I definitely read somewhere that the reading level (and interest level) gets harder as the series progresses.

Anne McCaffrey - I love all of the Pern novels, but Dragonsinger, Dragonsong, and Dragondrums are the ones I think of as truly YA, the others for me are at best 'older' YA...because there is some sexuality that might not be appropriate for some YA, depending on their level of maturity.

****Robin McKinley: The Blue Sword & The Hero and the Crown - these are real favorites of mine. She's done other books, too, but those 2 are my favorites. If you haven't introduced those to your girls, you really should!

There are others I could suggest, if I could remember all the titles and authors...I'll have to check my bookshelf and my library lists!

although I don't remember the stories. That doesn't mean that they weren't good. I spent 12 years as a school librarian, and read all the fiction books on the shelf, as well as copious reviews. Somewhere along the line, my memory got full, and my files a little overloaded!

:hi:

I definitely second both of these nominations. I especially loved Dragonsinger, Dragonsong, and Dragondrums by McCaffrey. Unfortunately for me, these were among the ones water-damaged beyond repair while in storage between houses. :( Some of her best work!

IMO, it starts out strong and just keeps getting stronger. I loved The Thief, enjoyed The Queen of Attolia, but I've read The King of Attolia a dozen times now. By Megan Whalen Turner.

Also, the Bartimaeus trilogy. Also a very strong finisher.

I'll have to check them out. I have read the first Bartemaeus book, but never got to the rest. I wait for many books to be available through classroom book orders, as that's the cheapest way to stock a library.

Hands down. I've listened to each book in the series more than once over the past year and will probably do it again within the next couple years.

I've been a long-time DeLint fan, and saw this book on a table in the Young Adult section as I was passing through last week. The only reason that I can think of that it was filed there, is because the main characters are high school students.

Other than that, this is your typical DeLint 'urban fantasy' novel. By which I mean that it is an amazing, wonderful story with unforgettable characters and a page-turning plot.

The characters deal with cliques, bullies, family (natural and chosen), ghosts, hobs, and other things that go bump in the night. It also contains cameos from other wonderful DeLint characters who inhabit his fictional city of Newford, which is at the center of many of his best works.

I highly recommend this book to anyone of high school age or older. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

... L'Engle's Wrinkle In Time series was wonderful. Various Piers Anthony series were all great (Cluster and BattleCircle my favs). The Covenant series is the best I've read in the fantasy genre bar none.

Yah - the young adult stuff has a lot of gems.

EDIT: Forgot: The Feist Midkemia/Empire series, and Brooks' Shannara series were also wonderful.

EDIT EDIT: And going much younger: The Taran/Book of Three series kicked ass - but that's getting to single-digit ages. And Narnia, of course.

I wonder if fantasy just automatically gravitates towards that young adult age, when we feel immortal and the world is still our oyster. All things might be possible.

Are older fantasy readers hanging on to that young idealism, or are we just drawn by the age-old mythological themes?

... and *reality* seems magical to us. So it's not a stretch to get into fantasy, at that level of understanding - it's *all* magical.

After that age, a different, and almost certainly less complimentary analysis would have to be given.

:)

Starting with "Wee Free Men," then "A Hatful of Sky" and the third (and hopefully not last) "Wintersmith."

Not only are they great for kids, particularly young girls, but they are terrific for parents and grandparents. My wife and I both loved them.

Never understood why it was classified in the "young adult" category.

It's not wildly popular, but attracts a small core of readers every year.

Really good. It mixes Irish folk music and folk tales...I had to go get some CDs from the library after I read it.

Two other good series are The City of Ember and Gregor the Overlander. The Charlie Bone series is good on CD, too. The reader is wonderful.

Kate Thompson...doesn't ring a bell. How does it mix the music? I like both folk music and folk tales.

I've read the "city of ember." I also have the 3rd book in that series, but haven't read it yet because I couldn't find the 2nd.

Trying not to give away too much of the plot, he ends up visiting Tir Na Nog in search of something he and his community desperately need.

The aspect I found interesting was the value and importance placed on music in that community...maybe in Irish society in general. Music itself seems like a character in the story.

Here's someone who can review it better than I:

http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailBook.asp?idBooks=2139