I Read YA Week is here!!!
Scholastic played a huge part in my love for reading growing up so I am really excited to spread the word about their campaign this week! I Read YA Week runs from July 10th-17th this year and the theme this time around is #YAStandsFor.
What does YA stand for to you? Which YA book has helped you find your voice? Who is your favorite YA literary hero? What’s a great YA friendship you think deserves some love? What’s a life lesson you’ve learned from a YA book and will always stick with you? What’s a YA book you believe should be required reading? What YA book can you not stop talking about? I Read YA Week is the perfect week to talk about all of these things! So, let’s dig in!
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YA stands for so many things for me but based on the graphic, what stands out for me is the ability to get to the emotional truths, to explore what it means to be human. Perspective. Being who you never knew you could be. That’s my favorite part of consuming art in any capacity and YA in particular does a stand up job of it – rightly so as this moment in our lives is when we are being sculpted and molded into so much more than we could have ever done without any influence. So thank you to all of the YA authors for contributing to such an important, impactful part of our lives…the very core of who we are.
The YA book that helped me find my voice was Delirium by Lauren Oliver. If you’ve been reading this blog for a minute, you’re no stranger to me bringing up this book. I actually dive into the answer to this question in my Love Lessons post which I’d love for you to read because this book really did a number on me and I hope you can find the book that does the same for you.
I can’t just pick one YA literary hero as my ultimate YA literary hero. That said, my default is and will always be Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by J.K Rowling. Yeah, Harry is the hero of the story but she’s the heroine as far as I’m concerned. This needs no explanation, especially if you’re like me and grew up with the books and read them overnight after each release and connected with Hermione on a deeply personal Gryffinclaw level. Hermione is a part of me and there’s really no other way to put it. That’s why she’s my default answer but I’d love to hear who your heroes are outside of this franchise.
As far as friendships go, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein comes to mind. I also think Neal Shusterman does a fantastic job bringing genuine friendship dynamics to all of his stories, as does Holly Black, David Levithan, Veronice Rossi, D.J. MacHale, and I could go on but then I’d get into the more twisted and destructive friendships, which actually is moreso what I gravitate towards ha ha so I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
The YA books that should be required reading? You’ve heard The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas a million times before by now, so in addition… Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley, How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon, and Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick come to mind.
The YA books that I can’t stop talking about? I will never stop talking about In the After by Demitria Lunetta, Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton, and And I Darken by Kiersten White. As for 2017 releases, you should definitely pick up the sequel to And I Darken as well as The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke, and Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. I myself cannot wait to read the upcoming When I Am Through with You by Stephanie Kuehn, Run by Kody Keplinger, and Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older.
So what about you?! I’d love to hear your answers to any or all of these questions in the comments or on Twitter! Happy I Read YA Week!
For more, be sure to follow I Read YA on Tumblr and #YAStandsFor on Twitter!