Tag: books logger

Which YA authors do bloggers prefer?

It is no secret that I have recently grown to love YA fiction books and so I started to wonder what sort of YA books other bloggers were reading. The YA genre came to light for me when I watched a few Netflix series which stemmed from YA stories. Now I am absolutely hooked on YA and can’t get enough of it. In fact, I even decided to write my latest novel in this brilliant genre.

My shelves are fast filling up with YA novels. These are not my shelves but you get the idea.

Putting my feelers out, I asked fellow bloggers for their thoughts on Young Adult books. I have discovered that these books certainly do not just appeal to teenagers and have a wide audience. In my opinion, this is due to their ability to relate to modern life, their clever use of dialogue and their quick pace.

The following are quotes by some of my favorite bloggers about YA authors that they adore:

Smelly Socks and Garden Peas was excited about Rick Riordan’s writing. She says…

“Rick Riordan’s books seem to appeal to a really broad age range, they stretch the literacy of 8 yr olds but satisfy the fantasies of teenagers. They also open the world of mythology (Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian) to younger minds who would doubtless find Sophocles rather dry. My 10 yr old knows more about those ancient gods than I ever have, and loves learning more.”

The Grumpy Olive sisters were keen to recommend Maggie Stiefvater, a writer I had never heard of but am now wanting to know more about. They say…

“One of my favourite YA authors must be Maggie Stiefvater. She has the ability to transport you from a world of werewolves to dreamers and ancient kings that feel so real and tangible.

I love how she takes time for details and describing, mostly locations, without getting too boring or lengthy on pages. And without omitting great and interesting character building.”

NotSoModernGirl is a wonderful all-round blogger and she enjoys the works of Amy Ewing. Eleanor says…

“My favourite YA author is Amy Ewing. I don’t normally read book series, but when I read her first book (‘The Jewel’) I couldn’t wait to read more. I really recommend checking out her books for a bit of dystopian fiction with a modern twist. I also got the chance to interview her for my blog a few years ago, which was amazing!”

Headphones and Thoughts Blog was also keen on Rick Riordan but has a place in her heart for a more traditional text which impacted her greatly.

“When I was in high school, I was required to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I loved the book so much that I ended up reading all her novels. I own all of them. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite out of all her novels. Jane Austen is truly an amazing writer.”

Karalee at Tales of Belle wanted to share enthusiasm for another YA author that I have yet to check out. Ransom Riggs definitely sounds intriguing…

“My favorite young adult author is Ransom Riggs. He wrote the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series, which has 6 books in the series as well as a collection of short stories. I absolutely love the series because it follows a group of children who have peculiar abilities and their fight against Wights who want to consume their souls, and there is also the added element of time loops and Riggs includes vintage found photographs in his books too.”

I was thrilled to read about these different YA authors and would like to thank these brilliant bloggers for collaborating with me in this article. I have definitely been persuaded to check out these recommendations.

My personal favourite YA author is Becky Albertalli although there are several others that I am becoming fond of. For a previous post I wrote about Becky, check out my Leah On The Offbeat review. For similar future posts, please consider following my blog.

Biography of a Legend – Book Review

Recently I have written about some of the popular fiction that has kept me busy reading throughout the past year. However, I haven’t spoken much about some of the incredible biographies that I have had the good fortune to read. It makes sense to start with one that had really stuck in my memory and made me admire the writer even more.

The book that I am talking about is called ‘Home: A Memoir of my Early Years’ and it is written by Hollywood legend Julie Andrews. It outlines her early life growing up in Walton-on-Thames in London and experiencing life on the road with her performing parents.

Julie writes about growing up as a singer and touring with her family.

Julie grew up with split parents and soon discovered that she had a really high range when she sang. Her step dad was a singer and incorporated her into his routine as well as arranging for some formal music lessons. After a while her involvement grew and she was taking part in summer seasons at places like Blackpool as well as on the radio.

She had the opportunity to sing ‘God Save the Queen’ to the Queen Mother at the Royal Variety Show and was soon invited to be in a star-studded panto at the London Palladium. After years of being on the road and dealing with a troublesome step dad, she eventually was offered a lead role in a new theatre production of the musical ‘The Boyfriend’. The fame that resulted meant that she was able to carry on with this play on Broadway and she has never looked back.

Her career went on to see her star in the amazing ‘Mary Poppins’ movie and ‘The Sound of Music’ but those experiences were actually left to be covered in her follow up biography, which I will mention another time.

Star of stage and radio, she soon took Hollywood by storm.

Everyone knows I am a massive Sound of Music fan and have visited Salzburg to tour all of the locations of the film. Therefore it is no surprise that I am fascinated by Julie Andrews’ career.

Trying not to be biased, her writing style is great, her recollections are insightful and this book is ‘practically perfect in every way’ (nod to Mary Poppins).

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