10 Things I Like About YA, Part I

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Mash-Up is a random feature located here at Paranormal Indulgence where I spotlight some book-related points of interest depending on the theme of the post.

#10

10 Things I Like About YA is going to be a ten-part series of bookish mash-up posts that display ten reasons on why I like the young adult genre so freaking much. I will rank my reasons descending in chronological order, starting with my tenth reason working my way up to my number one and most important reason. And if this starts to come off as rant-ish and seemingly therapeutic for me, don't mind that. Just check out all the books I mention ;)

10th reason: I can resonate best with Young Adult books.

See, the adult books I read are generally romance-orientated, and they're there more for fantasizing and dreaming about. But, I can connect and relate more with teens in YA books, probably due to the fact that I'm a teen myself.

I often feel trapped in my life. Like I'm not allowed to go out there and be who I want to be. I'm practically confined to my home, forever living off my books, my television, and my computer. When will I ever get to try something new? This makes me feel close to Evie, from PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White. While I may not have the problem of having to fight off paranormals and detain them for PCA collection, we do feel imprisoned in our own lives, so it's easy for me to sympathize with her and understand her.

"Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal."

And because I feel trapped, I'm constantly thinking of different ways to escape, and get out and see the world. Travel. Meet new people, hopefully much different than me. I like to look at maps - especially of places that I've read about - and pretend I'm off to some great new place, much like Ethan from BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - always craving something new and fresh and exciting. I also feel a bit scared if I don't conform, if I do the opposite of fitting in. So, he and I see eye to eye.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

I think of myself as pretty weird and eccentric, in my ways, my personality, and my interests. While I'm not as strange as Lily from DASH & LILY'S BOOK OF DARES by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, I feel myself slipping into her shoes - though, hopefully matching ones - and I come off to a lot of people as quirky. Then, there's Dash, and I see myself in him as well, mostly on my moody days though. We both share similar scars and heart-wounds, and it's always nice to read about someone who's going through similar situations as you.

"“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own."

And speaking of heart-scars, Auden and I share a lot of the same ones. In ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen, Auden is a child of divorce. No one tries to really see her. Her parents don't pay too much attention to her, either. My parents aren't as bad. But, the aftershocks of my parents' divorce were the worst. I didn't mind that they split up, it just bothered me that for awhile they didn't seem to notice me. And I was like Auden - steadily working hard at school and at home, hoping to for them to see me. ALONG FOR THE RIDE really packed a punch, for me. And it made me hope for my own happily ever after, eventually finding someone who gets it.

"It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect."

But, beneath everything, I'm as shy and as inexperienced in life and love as Shay was in CRAVE by Melinda Metz and Laura J. Burns. And just as thirsty to experience it all, even in dangerous doses. Which might not be a good thing. Shay is definitely is a facet of myself, and in reading about her, and in reading this book, I learned a lot: how to deal with the big questions, how to endure the rough times, and to take pleasure in the smallest things that life offers... I love it when a book becomes my teacher.

"Shay has had a rare blood disorder since she was born. In fact, her mother married one of Shay’s doctors, Martin, who left his world-renowned leukemia research to try and figure out exactly what the disorder is and how to cure it. When she turns seventeen, Martin begins to give her new blood transfusions that make her feel the strongest she has ever felt. But she also has odd visions where she sees through the eyes of a vampire."

I have to say, out of all of these, I am Biance Piper. Or most like her.

"Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone."

We think nearly the same way. We are fiercely loyal to our best of friends. And we react to guys that we even remotely like the exact same way. Though, Bianca is much quicker on her feet. I have to give her that. We cuss a lot like the horrible young girls that we are. We typically have short-fuses. Both of us can be/act insecure, and most of all, our emotions run so deep that we fight to protect ourselves and lash-out so that we don't come off as vulnerable or 'messed up'.

"'Spanish, huh?' [Wesley] said, glancing down at the scattered papers as he grabbed them. 'Can you say something interesting[,Bianca]?'

'El tono de tu voz hace que me quiera estrangularme.' I stood up and waited for him to hand over my papers.

'That sounds sexy,' he said, getting to his feet and handing me the stack of Spanish work he'd swept together. 'What's it mean?'

'The sound of your voice makes me want to strangle myself.'

'Kinky.'" (17-18)

Someone I wish I was more like would be Phe Archer from SHADOW HILLS by Anastasia Hopcus, which will be featured in my next reason for 10 Things I Like About YA. Keep an eye out for part dos.

And thanks for reading!