Some of my all time favourite books are surrounded and anchored in my youthful memories. Ever since my mother bought me a book instead of a magazine in a supermarket - it was her opinion it would last longer - my reading experience has grown and developed. Books we connect with at a young age can provide a foundation for a lifetime of reading habits and influence our tastes into adulthood.
It is therefore that I suggest some of the following books from my awkward youthful years. See if you can spot some common themes.
(The book didn't last any longer than the magazine would have, by the way. I practically ate the thing)
My experience of Celia Rees novels was rather that of a split personality. On one side, wonderfully rich historical fiction and on the other terrifying, sweat producing horror and thriller. Both thoroughly enjoyed but the latter side was probably only encountered as I completely bought into her as an author and subsequently bought everything she had written.
So many thanks to her for cracking open my view point and letting a little horror in.
His Dark Materials is the benchmark for all children's fantasy and most adult fantasy in my opinion. Something I think was confirmed when The Amber Spyglass won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year prize (now the Costa). The first book from the Children's Literature Category to ever do so.
My favourite of the three is The Subtle Knife, possibly because I accidently started the trilogy on this one, but also because I really enjoyed Wills character and storyline. The knife as a key focal point was great, I loved the entire concept of cuting windows into other worlds; and I think Oxford was a little obsessed with finding the one between the two Hornbeam trees (it's on Sunderland Avenue - but I didn't tell you).
This trilogy contains some fantastic concepts; daemons being one of the best. Having a part of you on the outside that settles into an animal reflecting who you are is truly wonderful. But I also loved that it meant the main characters (excluding Will for some time) were never alone and so dialogue was always running, which is a great way of keeping the reader engaged. One of the other overarching concepts was the plot to kill God. I find it amazing that while Harry Potter was being roasted on a spit by many religious peoples for containing witchcraft, Phillip Pullman was coasting by with a series of books climaxing in a religious war... go figure.
These books deal with some complex topics, characters and relationships that span across many parellell worlds and it is done with such effortlessness that I would take many hats off to Phillip Pullman. But I also think it serves to underline that scope and possiblity of what young readers are able to read, identify and understand. I hope that in the future the publishing industry continues to deliver books of this quality into the hands of kids.
This trilogy contains some fantastic concepts; daemons being one of the best. Having a part of you on the outside that settles into an animal reflecting who you are is truly wonderful. But I also loved that it meant the main characters (excluding Will for some time) were never alone and so dialogue was always running, which is a great way of keeping the reader engaged. One of the other overarching concepts was the plot to kill God. I find it amazing that while Harry Potter was being roasted on a spit by many religious peoples for containing witchcraft, Phillip Pullman was coasting by with a series of books climaxing in a religious war... go figure.
These books deal with some complex topics, characters and relationships that span across many parellell worlds and it is done with such effortlessness that I would take many hats off to Phillip Pullman. But I also think it serves to underline that scope and possiblity of what young readers are able to read, identify and understand. I hope that in the future the publishing industry continues to deliver books of this quality into the hands of kids.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a book that I don't remember picking up or buying but dear-christ-on-a-bike do I remember reading it.
I'll come straight out and say that this is a book about rape. It's about how one night and one decision can rip your entire world apart. But what if no one believed you, if your friends would rather take the gossiprather than the truth, or if your parents are too wrapped up in their own unhappy lives to notice. Would you speak up?
Reading this book as a young girl was heart renching. The assault itself is truly horrific but Melinda, the main character, then has to endure the torment of having her attacker at her school everyday. The constant abuse from this boy combined with the judgement of high school is a mixture designed in the pits of hell.
The story is written from inside Melinda's world and how she copes with what's happened to her. After she can't find her voice she begins to not speak at all and we start to see the full impact of what she is going through. As a character Melinda has a dark sarcastic humour and hilerious nicknames for people; Hairwoman and Mr Neck were two of my favourites, and it's easy to find yourself laughing along with it until you realise the pain it's masking.
This is a powerfully written book and I think the author did an amazing job at capturing the inner torment, battles and pain that Melinda goes through. But it is also a book about overcoming all of that, to find her voice and stand up for herself. To not be the victim any longer.
{------------ Oh Em Gee its K-Stew!!! ....Anyway.... ))
Next is The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.
Firstly I’ll say that anything by Mr Nix is worth a read. He has a number of different series for different age ranges. The Seventh Tower series and The Keys to the Kingdom series are some I would categorise for a younger audience of around 10+ but The Old Kingdom series, I believe, are three key examples of perfect YA fantasy novels.
The trilogy is set in a world split into two parts; Ancelstierre and The Old Kingdom. In the former, technology and modern society carry on but in the latter, magic flows and the dead walk. Sabriel is the 53rd Abhorsen and it is her inherited responsibility to put the dead to rest. What follows is an spectacular adventure as Sabriel copes with her new duties while battling her way through the undead and a necromancer to fight a rising evil which could tear the entire kingdom apart.
What I think is so brilliant about these books is the depth of the history of the Old Kingdom and it's inhabitants. It is a world that you can dive into and swim about in for days. Nix has obviously thought through every aspect of the mythos and it brings an undeniable quality to the story. It begins with the creaion of the magical Charter and three powerful bloodlines; The Abhorsen, The Clayr and The Royal Family. While the royals run the kingdom and the Clary forsee the future it is up to the Abhorsen to deal with the evil creatures (guess they didn't have the luck of the draw when special duties were being assigned).
The Abhorsen has one special talent; they can control the dead with the seven bells and they can enter into the nine precincts of Death. By controlling the dead spirit they must walk them through each precinct until they pass the nineth gate. Only the strongest of spirits can come back from beyond these gates and lucky for Sabriel one hideously evil one is headed her way.
Okay, so i can go on and on about this series but i'll try controlling myself from writing you a synopsis. After Sabriel the adventure picks up with Lirael and finally combines the two characters in the last book and at no point do books two or three suffer from 'sequel sickness' and fail to deliver.
The other thing I love about this author is his brand which is distinctive from the usual in the market and consistent across all his UK books. If you have read one of them the next time you're in a bookstore your eyes will find another without any problem:
