MG Fantasy (sometimes all MG fantasy seems woefully overlooked)
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby
Well-plotted and totally atmospheric story that will leave you shivering (no, really, it's very cold-inducing).
The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge
Deliciously complex with a setting so vivid you'll feel like you dropped into a volcano.
The Farwalker's Quest by Joni Sensel
Beautifully written with complicated characters and enough action to satisfy any.
Dreamdark books by Laini Taylor
Yes, that Laini Taylor - her Dreamdark books are just as well-written with a faerie world so real you'll weep when you return to ours.
Thornspell by Helen Lowe
A gorgeous, complex retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a fabulously real magic system.
YA fantasy/sci-fi
Plain Kate by Erin Bow
A dark fairy-tale-like story full of vivid details and atmosphere.
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
One of those stories and characters (Matt) that just stays with you...for years afterward.
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
A fairy tale retelling that made me like the Rumpelstiltskin story and love the miller's daughter.
YA realistic fiction
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
A story that came at just the right time for me - with a message that's stuck with me since.
Overlooked classic
Precious Bane by Mary Webb
Another book that came at just the right time and has stuck with me for nearly 10 years.
What books are you touting today?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Posts
I am ashamed to say I have had North of Beautiful on my shelf for quite a while now, and still haven't read it! I'll have to fix that. :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely give it a chance when you can - I was really affected.
DeleteGreat books! I haven't heard of most of them, so I will have to check them out! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteHope you get the opportunity to try at least one - thanks for stopping by!
Deletelove Hardinge and Taylor!--and I do wish they would get more attention--though I guess Taylor is getting some note with her Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I'd read Kirby's Clockwork 3 but Icefall does look exciting. some others I haven't heard but I will certainly make a note of them.
ReplyDelete~L (omphaloskepsis)
I need to read more of Hardinge's work too. This is the only one I've picked up. So many good books!
DeleteI guess I've overlooked these books as much as everyone else because I've only read ONE of them. Most of the others are on my TBR list, although there are a couple I've never even heard of. Thanks for the suggestions!
ReplyDeleteI tried to pick more obscure ones, as they really could use some more attention :)
DeleteDoes it make me a horrible person that I haven't read a single one of these books? Oh well, that means I have quite a TBR list now :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely NOT! It's impossible to read all the great books out there. Hopefully you'll get to try at least one :)
DeleteAmen to Precious Bane! I wish it was more well known and loved!
ReplyDeleteIt is such a fabulous book. So glad you guys read it for book club :)
DeleteLooks like I overlooked all these :-) Ill be checing out a few of the YA ones.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy them, when you get a chance :)
DeleteThree of those I helped shortlist for the Cybils (Icefall, Silksinger, and The Farwalker's Quest), so it's nice to see them here! And Icefall won the Edgar Award for best Juvenile, which I was awfully pleased about.
ReplyDeleteThey were all three my favorite picks for the Cybils those years too (though Icefall didn't win). You obviously have great taste in books :)
DeleteI've read several of these and really liked them. I've thought about reading the Dreadmark books but know that they are an incomplete series (with no future date as to when it will be complete). Do the two out stand alone enough that I won't hate myself for starting them? There are so many incomplete series in my life as it is...you know?
ReplyDeleteI don't remember them feeling very incomplete. I think they stand alone quite well. Definitely no cliff-hanger endings. I know how you feel about incomplete series, though. They make me crazy :)
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