Friday, January 22, 2010

The Best YA You Haven't Read

When I saw this post via Bookshelves of Doom, I thought of 2009's How to Say Goodbye in Robot and Destroy All Cars, both of which I've previously praised. But I thought most of this book:

Very Far Away from Anywhere Else
, by Ursula K. LeGuin. It's the story of Owen, a smart seventeen-year-old who's slowly being forced toward a grown-up life that he's not sure he wants; and his relationship with Natalie, an equally smart girl who knows exactly what she wants -- to be a composer -- and is working hard to get there. It's a slim little book (fewer than 1o0 pages) about soulmates, the difference between friendship and love, the transition from childhood to adulthood, feeling different, losing and finding hope, those rare and perfect moments that make everything worthwhile. I love this book so much that when it was out of print, I went to the New York Public Library and copied every spread on the copy machine just so I'd have the text for myself. There's very little story to it, and it's not for everyone, certainly, but if you were a "sensitive" teenager who loved reading and thinking and felt a little out of step with everyone else, THIS IS THE BOOK. It's criminally underknown, but Michael Stearns, bless him, brought it back into print while he was at Harcourt, so it's still available in stores. Read it and give it to any thoughtful teens you know.

Then, because I can't resist the opportunity to talk about my books, here are eight I worked on and wish people knew better:

  • Crossing to Paradise by Kevin Crossley-Holland -- The three books of Kevin's Arthur trilogy were on the indie Top Ten list, ALA Best Books et al., and highly praised by Philip Pullman and Karen Cushman. This pendant novel stands alone in its story of another character's pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but it also rounds out Arthur's story; and the writing in it is so, so gorgeous and poetic. . . . It's a wonderful gift for any reader interested in the Middle Ages, Jerusalem, pure faith, or again, lovely writing.
  • The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer, translated by John Nieuwenhuizen -- the only atheistic children's novel I can name is also one of the most joyous, rich, and strange books I've ever read, a book that literally changed my life with its protagonist's simple answer to the question of what he wants to be when he grows up: "Happy." Because that's what it's all about, isn't it?
  • The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley (Who Tried to Live an Unusual Life) by Martine Murray -- Seven years after we published this, I still think about its definition of love, its delicate and original imagery, its wonderful main character and her quirky family, and give copies only to people who I deem worthy to know it. . . . This one is truly a Book of my Heart.
  • Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano -- Every copy bought of one of these increases the chance that I might get to publish and edit Book III and find out for myself what happens next to Balsa. So here's my totally unsubtle request here: Please buy them! If you read these books and saw their incredibly fresh fantasy world and their incredibly wonderful female main character, Balsa, you'd have the same wish. They're just awesome, and now the only book + sequel to win Batchelder honors in consecutive years, I believe. (Someday I'd love to see the kidlitosphere do a Translation Reading Challenge to bring attention to the many, many highly original and underread books from other countries, because they could use the love and exposure far more than many U.S.-originated books, whose authors are here to promote them. But it's not like I'm biased on this subject or anything...)
  • The Singer of All Songs and its two sequels (The Waterless Sea and The Tenth Power) by Kate Constable -- The first of these came out in 2004, I think, right in the middle of the early-00s YA fantasy glut, and I think they just got overlooked. Which is an enormous pity, as they're beautifully written, highly original fantasies that are perfect for any fans of Tamora Pierce (who blurbed them), Robin McKinley, or Elizabeth C. Bunce.
  • Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee -- I daresay this was the best food YA novel of 2009 AND the best Los Angeles YA novel of 2009, a testament to Lisa's love of the city and really great tacos. It's also a great coming-of-age story with a terrific supporting cast.
Thanks for reading! And now -- go read the books!

20 comments:

  1. I've heard of none of these before, but you've sold me on ALL of them.

    I went ahead and linked your post at the big mama Unsung YA Heroes post so others can get to it easily.

    So glad you're participating in this little project!

    btw, I will be at the Austin conference in a week so maybe we'll run into each other there. :)

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  2. I had totally forgotten about the food element in Absolutely, Maybe. Thanks for the reminder!

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  3. I love Cedar B Hartley! (is it 'planned', though, rather than 'tried', in the title? Or perhaps this is a US/Aus edition thing?).

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  4. No, Meg, you're right -- it's "planned." I was writing this late at night without double-checking the title really . . .

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  5. Cheryl, i have both Morbito books here, I just have to find time to read them! I also have Absolutely, Maybe by Lisa Yee here as well.. Didn't realize you edited them! I will definitely check them out ASAP! :)

    um, Ihesser??? ;) (my word verification)

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  6. YES.

    The Le Guin is a beautiful, beautiful book. Love. (And I only discovered it when it was reprinted.)

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  7. I can't believe I haven't heard of some of these! Will rectify and read!

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  8. These are all new to me! LeGuin's novel sounds fantastic. I still consider myself a very sensitive, thoughtful 24-year-old, haha, and love reading YA with that slant. Thanks for sharing your picks!

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  9. I used to teach Very Far Away from Everything Else in my YA literature class, in the unit called Romance Romance. I stopped because students didn't seem to get it much, but I may bring it back. It's so perfect, and has, as TheInfomancer says, the best last line ever.

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  10. Sigh. More books to add to my room of to-be-read books. I absolutely agree about the Moribito books. I want so much to read Moribito III!!! I have both in hardback and I'm never ever giving them up.

    Your idea for a translation reading challenge really tempts me and I never do reading challenges!

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  11. That's the second recommendation I've received for Morbito. I guess I need to take a hint and check it out. Thanks for making these suggestions, I know I'm always looking for something new to read.

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  12. I've heard of some of these. I would love to see a Translation Reading Challenge, although I was/am under the impression that it's hard to find translated books.

    My goal is to read all of Ursula LeGuin's books asap. i'll start with this one =)

    Hooray for Marcelo and Morbito for winning their respective awards! Marcelo was such a beautiful, powerful book. *gushes* I need to read Morbito. The Book of Everthing sounds interesting and I just won Absolutely, Maybe so I'm eager to see what I think of it. I really liked Singer of All Songs.

    You've worked on some amazing books!

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  13. I loved The Book of Everything and Cedar B. Hartley wholeheartedly as well. May be time for some re-reading...

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  14. I have to second the Kate Constable books, not least because they are the books that led me to Cheryl! Truly lovely traditional fantasy with a unique and wonderful world. My favorite of the trilogy was actually the second, THE WATERLESS SEA.
    ~ecb

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  15. Crossing to Paradise is one of my favorite books EVER, and I am sure at some point people will back away whenever I show up for fear of getting another glowing recommendation of it.

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  16. I absolutely loved the Arthur trilogy by Kevin Crossley-Holland, and I have Crossing to Paradise out from the library-- I just need to read it!

    Great list. :D

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  17. I hope that Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit will be available at the Austin SCBWI conference book store, even though the author will (probably?) not be present. It sounds intriguing. If not, I'll have to order it because it is not available locally.

    See you there!

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  18. Fantastic list! I love this project!

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  19. Moribitio keeps coming up and I had a copy of Absolutely Maybe. Don't know if it's in our library or I've given it away already. Drats.

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  20. As I visit all of these new websites during the Comment Challenge, my book list is growing to enormous lengths. It is going to take me years to read all of these books, but I can't wait! Thanks for the recommendations.

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