YA Gateway Books

As an adult, I can sometimes feel a bit sheepish hanging out in the YA section of the book store. On certain occasions I find like-minded souls, older women who are obviously buying for themselves, not their children. This makes me so happy, because I really think YA literature has come a long way since I was a teen. Still, I can't help but wonder if the adults are looking at me funny because I'm not in a section befitting my age group.

I feel that YA books are not just for young adults. I started reading adult books at a relatively young age, so maybe that's why I'm enjoying YA as an adult? It could be that, or that the quality of books are so much better now than they were when I was a kid-well, with notable exceptions, of course.

So, I got to thinking: if I had one to give my a friend or relative one book to prove to them that YA is not just for kids, what would I give them? I couldn't pick just one, so here are my favorites.

The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins

Seriously-The Hunger Games & Catching Fire are two of my all-time favorite books. Mockingjay is my most anticipated book of the year. I haven't been this excited for a new book since the Harry Potter series!

Like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games has a wide appeal. Some YA books wouldn't necessarily appeal to men, but this series most definitely will.You could also point out that they will score coolness points to know about The Hunger Games before the movie comes out and the phenomenon stretches from beyond the book worming world.

A Great and Terrible Beauty & The Gemma Doyle Trilogy-Libba Bray

I've mentioned previously that A Great And Terrible Beauty was my own gateway book. My mother told me about the series and I was just starting to place YA books on my shelves again, so I ventured into the YA section and snapped these up.

This trilogy would appeal to fans of historical fiction and paranormal romance.

The Mysterious Benedict Society-Trenton Lee Stewart

This series is not YA, I'd consider it more middle grade. This was another recommendation by my mother. I read the flap and was intrigued. I gobbled this series up quickly. It's intelligent, well written and very witty as well.

This series would appeal to adults who enjoyed the whimsical elements of the Harry Potter series.

Shade-Jeri Smith-Ready

Oh, Shade. How I loved this book. I won't rehash why I loved it, except to say that I think this book would appeal to fans of Jeri's adult paranormal romance-or to fans of paranormal romance in general.

The Eternal Ones-Kirsten Miller

The Eternal Ones is one of those books that I felt was a bit 'old' for YA, it felt more like a 'new adult' book. Seriously, when are we going to start seeing books from this genre? Back to the point, this book would appeal to fans of paranormal romance, or those that like mystery.

Shiver-Maggie Stiefvater

I've seen this book compared to Twilight a few times, and although I don't really see it myself, I guess that I can understand how some would have that opinion.

Shiver would be a great book to hand off to that friend who enjoyed The Twilight Saga and is looking for that next great read.

White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1)-Holly Black

There isn't an abundance of male narrators in YA-and White Cat features a great one, Cassel. I think this would be a great book to pass on to a guy that's in the mood to read something a little different. 








So, these are are some of my favorite YA books that I feel have cross-over appeal-what are yours?