Top 25 YA Books/Series for I Read YA Week!

©Scholastic

It's that time again! Happy I read YA week! The blog I wrote for I read YA week last year is fitting this year as the theme is #YAStandsFor, and my blog was all about Why #IReadYA. The year before that, I listed ten YA books that people should be reading.

Now I'm going one step further. I'm going to list my top twenty-five YA stand-alone books and series. Every book/series on this list should be added to your TBR list immediately! They are phenomenal!

(In case you were wondering, they're alphabetical by author.)

1. The Reapers are the Angels - Alden Bell
2. Anna Dressed in Blood duology - Kendare Blake
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
4. The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins
5. Before I Die - Jenny Downham
6. Just One Day - Gayle Forman
7. Gone series - Michael Grant
8. Paper Towns - John Green
9. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
10. Unearthly trilogy - Cynthia Hand
11. Lorien Legacies series - Pittacus Lore
12. Warm Bodies series (including the prequel) - Isaac Marion
13. Chaos Walking trilogy - Patrick Ness
14. Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver
15. Divergent trilogy - Veronica Roth
16. Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
17. Daughter of Deep Silence - Carrie Ryan
18. The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy - Carrie Ryan
19. The Wolves of Mercy Falls series - Maggie Stiefvater
20. I am Not a Serial Killer series - Dan Wells
21. Rephaim series - Paula Weston
22. The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson
23. 5th Wave trilogy - Rick Yancey
24. Dustlands trilogy - Moira Young
25. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Now I'm not saying these are the top twenty-five ever; they're just my current top twenty-five. I know for a fact there are a few books on my TBR list that'll make it onto this list. That's one of the great things about YA. When you think it can't get any better, a book comes along that blows you apart, breaking you and fixing you all at once.

And that's why I read YA.



If there's a book that made you feel this way that I don't have on my list, please let me know! I live for that kind of YA!


Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

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Awesome Female Protagonists Written by Women! IWD 2017

As I've been doing these blogs for a few years, I was stuck for something to list. I love a list, don't you? I've already listed my favourite female characters and authors. But I realised I haven't listed my favourite books with strong female protagonists written by women. So that's what I'm doing!

I decided to do a top ten just to make it more difficult! So here they are (alphabetical by author):

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins

Unearthly trilogy - Cynthia Hand

Maybe One Day - Melissa Kantor

Divergent trilogy - Veronica Roth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy - Carrie Ryan

Daughter of Deep Silence - Carrie Ryan

The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater

Rephaim series - Paula Weston

Dustlands trilogy - Moira Young

What are your favourites?

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Instagram / Pinterest / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

Top 10 Stand-Alone YA Novels for World Book Day!

Last year I made a list of my top ten favourite book series. This year I'm celebrating the stand-alone novel!

Here are my top 10 stand-alone YAs (alphabetical by author):

Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard

The Reapers are the Angels - Alden Bell

Before I Die  - Jenny Downham

Paper Towns - John Green

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Daughter of Deep Silence - Carrie Ryan

The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

What are your favourite stand alone novels?

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Instagram / Pinterest / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

Why #IReadYA

It is no secret that I read YA. In fact, I read pretty much exclusively YA. There's something about YA that you just can't get in any other genre. I love the depth of the characters and their emotions and how many adventures you can go on in a YA book.

Last year for #IreadYA week I posted a blog about Books Nobody's Reading That Everyone Should Be Reading, celebrating some of my favourite YA books that for some reason other people aren't reading and shouting about! Since then, I can't say the list has changed that much so I won't be writing a new one. Instead, I'll do something different.

Here are a list of reasons to read YA;

• YA says things other genres are afraid of saying
• You can fall in love over and over again
• You can enter a world nothing like your own
• You can learn about real issues
• You make imaginary best friends
• You will laugh and cry--sometimes at the same time
• There are endless possibilities
• YA teaches you that you are not alone

There are thousands of reasons to read YA, but I think the most important one of all is:

YA is honest.

You want to know what it feels like to be heartbroken, bullied, trapped in an apocalypse, the chosen one? Whatever you want, it'll be there, ready for you.

YA is a world that anyone can escape to, not just the young adults the books are marketed to.

So pick up a YA. You might be a changed reader.

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo

Top 10 Book Series for World Book Day 2016

World Book Day is back! What better way to celebrate than to make a brilliant book list? Last year I created a YA imaginary literary tea party with my favourite characters and the year before I listed 40 awesome books/series.

But 40 is way too easy. Let's crack down on the list and go for just 10 series (it was way too difficult when including stand alone books too!) . . .

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
2. GONE Series - Michael Grant
3. Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore
4. Chaos Walking - Patrick Ness
5. Divergent Trilogy - Veronica Roth
6. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
7. The Forest of Hands and Teeth Trilogy - Carrie Ryan
8. John Cleaver Trilogy - Dan Wells
9. Rephiam Series - Paula Weston
10. Dustlands Trilogy - Moira Young

If you haven't read these books I suggest you go and read them right now! And yes, they're all YA, what else?

Happy World Book Day!

Molly Looby

Author / Editor in Chief at Molten Publishing / Freelance Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / Blogger / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly@moltenpublishing.co.uk

Visit me on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Movellas / NaNoWriMo