YA books for you to read.

If you're writing YA, you should be reading YA. Sounds obvious, right?  (I might have mentioned this before, ahem.)

To answer a few questions that came up in week one's classes, I went back to Doug Solter:

Me: Suggestions for YA books that might be along the lines of Harry Potter?

Doug: "The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann: Harry Potter meets Hunger Games."

[From Amazon] Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret--behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime. In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation. But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Me: Suggestions for high school settings, non-sff?


Doug: "I would recommend anything by Courtney Summers, John Green, and Amy Lynn Reed. Good Contemporary YA stuff to start with. If they want to write stuff that's contemporary high school they need to look for the sub-genre 'contemporary YA.'  Ellen Hopkins comes to mind too. Check her out also."


There. That should get you started! (Me, too. I'm going to look into The Unwanteds, myself.)