Recommended Young Adult Series

     The Young Adult genre has grown to include so many different sub-genres that it now encompasses almost any type of story.  Books containing elements of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Supernatural, Historical and many other genres can feature young characters and fall under the Young Adult umbrella.  And one of the greatest things about this genre is that if you find one book that you like, many times there will be an entire series of books that go along with it.

Trivia question: What real-life person connects Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Da Vinci Code?  Read to the bottom of this post for the answer. 

      In no particular order (and trying not to reveal too many details), here are some of my favorite YA series:

The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare

                                                    

     I’m listing this one first because it isn’t finished yet -- the final book of the series is due out in late May, 2014.  With some binge reading, you still have time to get through the first five volumes before then.   The plot involves angels, demons, vampires, werewolves and more.  In my opinion, readers at the higher end of the YA age spectrum are the best audience for this series. The first volume has already been released as a motion picture.

Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott

                                                   

      This underrated series may also have more appeal to the older end of the YA spectrum due to its complex plot.  The feature of this series that I enjoyed the most is how the author weaves mythical and historical characters into his story.

Leviathan trilogy, by Scott Westerfeld

                                     

     This three-book series tells an alternate world's version of World War I.  The German forces, called Clankers, live in a mechanical society and use machines to do their fighting.  The British faction, known as Darwinists, uses specially evolved organisms for both transport and battle.  This was my first time reading steampunk fiction and I don't think it will be my last.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan

                                  

     The original five-volume series tells an entertaining story of Greek gods and their offspring with humor and drama.  Riordan has also written The Kane Chronicles (concerning Egyptian gods) and Heroes of Olympus featuring many of the Percy Jackson characters plus additional characters based on Roman mythology. This is a perfect series for the younger end of the YA age group.  The first two books have been made into movies.

Alex Rider series, by Anthony Horowitz

                                                                

     Action, adventure, and villains worthy of James Bond are standard features in this series about teen spy Alex Rider.  Appropriate for all ages.  The first volume of the series, Stormbreaker, had been made into a movie.


Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins

                                               

     You're probably well aware of the popular movies based on the first two books in this series.  If you're into distopian worlds and heartless tyrants, then this is the series for you.


Answer to trivia question:  Nicholas Flamel owns the Sorcerer's Stone in the first Harry Potter book, and is one of the Grand Masters of the Priory of Sion in The Da Vinci Code.                                                             

"Well, How Did I Get Here?" - Part 3 of 3

     My initial attempt at writing the novel was back in 2008, but I ran into several problems.  I actually got several thousand words into the story, but wasn’t satisfied with how things were coming together.  I was struggling while writing in third person and couldn't get the dialogue just right.  A couple of months after starting, my laptop crashed and everything was lost.  I was back to square one, but didn't view that as complete loss.  It would take me a few years before I felt I was ready to try again.

     The good news is that during that time I still went for my daily walks, which is when I came up with some of my best ideas.  Over the next few years, my plot line expanded.  My one book had grown to a six-book series.  In retrospect, I think it may have been good to delay starting the book; it allowed me time to expand the storyline and strengthen the characters.

     I tried starting all over again in early 2011.  Writing again in third person, I got several paragraphs into the prologue but was still unsatisfied.  I put the book on hold again and began exploring other options to third person narrative. 

     In February 2012, I was ready to try again.  Armed with the Manuscript app for iPad, I was prepared to put in serious time and effort.  I decided to do the bulk of the story in first person – it would be easier for me that way.  There were sections of the book, including the prologue, that needed to be written in third person.  I would tackle those after getting more experience by writing the first person segments.  The strategy worked; midway through the book I was able to write the third person segments as they occurred in the flow of the story rather than waiting until everything else was finished.  

     I finished the 103,000 word first draft in August 2013 and began revisions a few weeks later.  As I write this in March 2014, the book is down to 89,000 words and still under revision.  It is currently in the hands of various readers for input on plot construction and character development.  After making changes based on their input, I anticipate another round of reader evaluation (including readers in my target market of 12- to 18-year-olds) and follow-up revision, followed by an intensive proofreading and grammar check.  At that point I hope to be ready to start querying agents to represent me to publishers, though I am also preparing a Plan B of self-publishing if that fails.

     It's been a long journey, and I know it's not done yet.

"Well, How Did I Get Here?" - Part 2 of 3

     It was spring of 2007, and like thousands of Harry Potter fans I was anticipating the release of the Deathly Hallows that summer.  I checked fan sites a few times a week looking for clues about what would happen as the series concluded.  It struck me what an awesome feeling J.K. Rowling must have experienced, having so many people so absorbed by something she'd created.  That was the moment when I decided to write a novel.

     As a fan of young adult fiction, I decided I was going to write in that genre.  Still needing a character and plot, I put my imagination to work and came up with some ideas.  There were a few ideas I initially discarded because I didn’t think I could create an entire book around them.  I kept on working at it, looking for some kind of spark to get things rolling.

     Then one day on my morning walk, this song came up on my iPod.  I hadn’t heard it in nearly 15 years, and it brought back some strong images.

                         

     Twilight by Electric Light Orchestra was the first song on their Time album, released in the summer of 1981.  Ever since then, it was one of my favorite songs.  The lyrics made me think of a young boy led astray by a beautiful girl; he was lied to and taken from his comfortable existence to an unfamiliar place beyond time.  Inspired by the song, I started fleshing out the characters of the boy and girl.

     Over the next year, I added more to the story.  I recycled a few characters from the stories I’d rejected earlier, found roles for them in the new plot and created back stories around them.  I was beginning to get excited about what I was doing, but knew there was a long way to go.

     Somewhere along the line, I became aware of the concept of the 'hero's journey' developed by the scholar Joseph Campbell and based on his analysis of the adventures of various heroes from cultures around the world.  George Lucas based Star Wars on the hero's journey; the Harry Potter series is also constructed along the same lines.  I had already started building my plot using a similar framework, and when I became more knowledgeable about it I found ways to put my own twist on it.

     I felt like I was on the right track.  My imagination was working overtime putting all of my plot elements and characters in place.  Putting the actual words together on paper was still ahead of me though, and would prove to be a greater challenge than I imagined.

     To be concluded in Part 3.