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Category Archives: Young Adult
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a YA fantasy book. I knew it was a winner as soon as I saw that it has chapter titles like “In which Howl expresses his feelings with Green Slime”. It follows … Continue reading
Posted in 13 years and up, 20th Century YA, British, Fantasy, Young Adult
Tagged 20th Century, adventure, better than the movie, British, coming-of-age, convoluted plot, Diana Wynne Jones, fantasy, fiction, humour, John Donne, magic, mild romance, seven league boots, whimsical, Wizard Howl, YA classic, young adult
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These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder is the last of the Little House books that Wilder completed and also my favourite. At the end of Little Town on the Prairie Laura received her teaching certificate. Now Laura has … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century YA, Young Adult
Tagged 10 and up, 19th Century, American, character-driven, children's classic, coming-of-age, courtship, education, farming, fiction, good out loud, historical, Little House Book, North Dakota, pioneering America, prairies, school, semi-autobiographical, YA classic, young adult
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Light a Single Candle by Beverley Butler
Light A Single Candle by Beverley Butler is a great book written in the early 60s that I discovered in high school. Cathy Wheeler becomes completely blind in her early teens when surgery to treat glaucoma goes seriously wrong. As … Continue reading
Posted in 11 years and up, 20th Century YA, American, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Light Fiction, Novel, YA Realism, Young Adult
Tagged 1960s, 20th Century, American, animals, blindness, coming-of-age, disability, dogs, fiction, guide dogs, high school, instituationalisation, society, young adult
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The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks is my favourite vampire book, spoofing the idea of the handsome, strong, good vampire. Nina and the others in the RVSG struggle with nose bleeds, unconsciousness during daylight hours, being forced to … Continue reading
Posted in 13 years and up, Australian, Contemporary YA, Fantasy, Young Adult
Tagged 21st Century, action, adventure, Australian, fantasy, fiction, humour, parody, supernatural, vampires, young adult
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Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Wonder by R.J. Palacio is the story of ten-year-old August who likes Star Wars and Halloween and who just wants to be ordinary as he starts attending a regular school for the first time. But August isn’t ordinary and an … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Contemporary Children's, Family Drama, Novel, Young Adult
Tagged 10 and up, 21st Century, American, coming-of-age, disability, facial deformity, fiction, good out loud, high school, humour, overcoming adversity, siblings, the movie lives up to it, young adult
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The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is one of my favourite books. It’s a book about the Christian life written in the form of letters from a senior to a junior devil, who is tasked with sabotaging the spiritual life … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Classics, British, Christian, Christian Living, Christian Non-fiction, Classic, Comedy, Epistolary Novel, Fantasy, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult
Tagged 20th Century, British, C.S. Lewis, Christian living, Christianity, classic, discipleship, epistolary, fiction, good for spiritual health, good out loud, home front, The Inklings, wartime, WWII
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Hornblower by C. S. Forester
The Hornblower novels by C.S. Forester are a terrific blend of plot and characterisation. Set during the Napoleonic wars, they are action packed and fast moving but this action also serves to develop the complex character of Horatio Hornblower. Even … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Classics, British, Episodic Novel, Fiction, General adult audience, Historical Fiction, Novel, War Story, Young Adult
Tagged 20th Century, action, adventure, boats, British, classic, drama, fiction, historical, humour, Napoleonic Wars, navy, travel, war novel, wartime
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I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith begins “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink” and is the delightful story of an impoverished family living in a crumbling castle in the early 20th century. It has a delightful cast … Continue reading