Top Ten Tuesday | YA 101 Syllabus
12:00 PM
YA 101 Introduction to Young Adult Literature Fall 2015
Instructor: Allison
Office: Books and Balks
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 12PM
Email: allisonreads92@gmail.com
Course Description:
This course is designed to give readers a broad overview of the young adult subsection of literature. Throughout this semester, YA 101 will have readers exploring three specific facets included in this realm of literature: the good, the bad, and the iconic.
Required Texts:
Instructor Note: The opinions written about each of these books belong to myself and are not being presented as fact. Please know that if I am writing something negative about a book that you may love, it is coming from a place of personal opinion and I do not mean to criticize anyone for their enjoyment of said books.
1. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz
My favorite young adult book that I have read. For the purposes of this syllabus, I would call it a sparkling example of "the good." Exploring topics such as friendship, family, and love, Aristotle and Dante will make readers think, laugh, and probably cry. We will read this probably 10 times throughout the semester to cleanse our palettes of the inferior novels. Kidding. Kind of.
2. Days of Blood & Starlight - Laini Taylor
Part of the bigger Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, Days is one of my favorite fantasy books ever. I think that it is a beautiful representation of what a second book in a trilogy should be - expanding the world, growing characters, and building anticipation for the concluding book.
3. Fairest - Marissa Meyer
A prequel done right. I haven't read a lot of them, to be fair, but I absolutely adore what Meyer did with this installment of the Lunar Chronicles. She gives sufficient backstory on a central character while also allowing for expansion and contemplation on how different parts of the series interact.
4. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
The iconic. The bad? Maybe, maybe not (yes, it is bad). Either way, Twilight's mark in YA is undeniable. Maybe the ultimate in tropes such as love triangles and brooding bad boys, Twilight and its subsequent installments still hold an importable role in many reader's memories.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
Another iconic book/series, this time being filed under "the good." It has been a very, very long time since I read any Harry Potter books but I remember really enjoying them when I was younger. This series was one of my first introductions to fantasy and I will never forget the feeling of being sucked into a world that I just can't seem to escape.
6. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Another iconic choice. I'm kind of in camp "eh, okay" with this book. We see a lot of familiar tropes once again and Collins' writing is nothing to, heh, write home about but, as with Twilight, the impact this series has made in the genre cannot be ignored.
7. Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson
A contemporary masterpiece. This book doesn't tackle important societal issues like some, but it does make the reader feel good.
8. Forgive Me If I've Told You This Before - Karelia Stetz-Waters
This book isn't as well known as the others on this list. This was the very first book I read in 2015 and I instantly knew it would be hard to top it; I was setting my standard pretty high. This is a look at being gay (and a girl) in the 1990s. Stetz-Waters presents an unflinching look at queerness in this time and, in effect, it isn't at all easy to read. Homophobia, acceptance, friendship, family... a truly amazing read.
9. All the Rage - Courtney Summers
All the Rage tackles issues such as rape culture and victim-shaming that are extremely relevant to us as young people (and humans, in general) today. It is written in a way that is accessible and palatable - not to say that the content isn't heavy, because it is. There are a lot of things from this book that stuck with me, perhaps most notably the main character's inclination to "get ready" by putting on her armor of lipstick and nail polish.
10. Dare Me - Megan Abbott
What not to do when you write a YA book? Everything that this book did. Unrealistic dialogue, unbearable characters with no motives or reasoning for their unbearableness, underwhelming plots. Ugh. This definitely represents "the bad."
2 comments
I love how you shared this, thank you!
ReplyDeleteAll The Rage is on my TBR, I'm not normally a big contemporary fan but that book sounds too good to pass up! I also want to read A Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I loved The Hunger Games, I would agree with both of the things you said about it but I loved the story. Plus of course I love Harry Potter! The Lunar Chronicles is also a series I need to read!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/top-ten-tuesday-19/