Swoonworthy Books

The Literary Classic Swoon

Jane Eyre 

Pride & Prejudice

The Literary-Classic-Retelling Swoon

Jane

The Sci-Fi Swoon

The Host (adult)

Across the Universe

Scarlet

These Broken Stars

The Fantasy Swoon

Graceling and Fire

Shadow and Bone

Fire and Thorns trilogy

The Scorpio Races

Crown of Midnight

The Dystopian Swoon

Matched trilogy

Shatter Me trilogy

Divergent

The Paranormal Swoon

Hex Hall and Demonglass

Nevermore

Unearthly

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Contemporary Swoon

Moonglass

Wanderlove

Dare You To

Anna and the French Kiss

The Crushing-On-My-Best-Friend's-Brother Swoon

Princess in Love

The So-What-If-He's/She's-A-Ghost Swoon

Mediator series 

Shade 

The Ghost and the Goth

Whirlwind Circus Romance Swoon (Adult)

Water for Elephants

The Night Circus

The It's-Kind-Of-Complicated Swoon

Vampire Academy series

Summer trilogy

Twenty Boy Summer

How to Love

The Make-You-Cry Swoon

If I Stay

The Fault in Our Stars

The Swoon-At-First-Sight

Graffiti Moon

Just One Day

The Dessen Swoon

Keeping the Moon

Along for the Ride

The Truth About Forever

Just Listen

This Lullaby

Bonus! 
The Who-Needs-Romance-When-You-Have-Awesome-BFF's Swoon

Code Name Verity

This Song Will Save Your Life

Someone Like You

What are your favorite swoonworthy books?

Dear Book Banners,

I started falling in love with books when I was eleven or twelve years old, and my parents happily agreed with my newly discovered hobby. They brought me to the bookstore once every few months, and would buy me two or three books of my choice. When I strolled into Borders, I walked straight for the TEEN / YOUNG ADULT section. I browsed the shelves, made my choices, and told my parents when I was done. We went to the checkout counter, paid, left, and I thanked them. Every single trip, it was the same thing. 

My parents never, not once, asked to see my book choices. 

You might think, well, maybe you had parents who expose their children to anything, appropriate or not. Or, maybe even you had terrible parents who did not care about you enough to worry about your reading material. You would be wrong in both cases. My parents have always been very protective and concerned about me. They knew where I was at all times, who I was with, what I was doing, and were always present in my life. They always made sure that I was making good choices in my life. 

So, why did my (slightly controlling) parents never check my book choices? 

It is because my parents trusted me. They trusted me to know what I was ready to read and to know right from wrong (and be able to discern both from the content of my newly purchased novels). They trusted me to make good decisions, to use books as a learning experience. They trusted me to realize that novels are not real, and that my life will not always reflect the ones presented in the story. 

I’m sure they realized, at one point or another, that some of those YA novels featured sex, drugs, alcohol, cursing, and et cetera. But, they still encouraged my reading. They trusted me to learn from those stories and from the "bad behavior" featured in some of them. They preferred to have me read about those subjects in order to learn, as opposed to shielding me and possibly leading me to make those mistakes in my own life. 

YA novels taught me that I never want to do drugs. I learned that sex should be meaningful, and it should be something both parties are prepared for (including unintended consequences, such as pregnancy or STI’s). I learned to never cheat, and even if it means failing. I learned that alcohol can make people do stupid things, and I have yet to touch even a drop, despite the fact that I am legally of age to drink. I learned that people curse, and at the end of the day, those are merely words. They cannot hurt you, unless you let them. I learned that some words can, however, hurt others who are sensitive. I learned to treat others the way I want to be treated. 

I learned how to be the best version of myself through YA literature that is routinely challenged for banned for featuring “adult” or “questionable” content.

Now, I am a college student with two Associate degrees, and I will also (hopefully) earn a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature this spring. And, honestly, I feel that I have done well in life so far. I know I owe that to my parents, but also to the novels I read as a teenager. Those stories shaped who I am, and I will always be grateful for them. I will always be grateful to my parents for never telling me “You can’t read this” and even more grateful that they let me read anything and everything. Instead of censoring, they let me learn and grow through literature. They let me read about the "uglier" side of life, and I am a better person for it. 

I understand why some adults are nervous when it comes to letting their teenagers read YA novels that have cursing, sex, abuse, and etc. I understand completely. But, many of these topics are already in every teenager’s daily life. 

I had friends who had sex as teenagers. I decided to wait. 

I had friends who drank alcohol and did drugs as teenagers. I refused. 

I had friends who cursed like sailors as teenagers. I…well, I cursed as a teenager. Barely. 

The truth is that you cannot protect teenagers and children from everything. 

Literature is a safe haven. Let them read, and discuss it with them. Better yet, let them read, and allow them the chance to discover right from wrong on their own. If you cannot do that, I’m sorry. I wish you could, for the sake of your child(ren), who could learn so much from those novels that you are currently waving in the air and urging other adults to ban from schools and libraries. 

If you do censor your children’s reading material, I hope that you do not extend this censorship to public schools or libraries. You do not have to right to take books away from other people. I would never walk up to you and tell you what you or your child can and cannot read. If I did, you would be annoyed with me. Furious, even. I realize you only want to help, but you are hurting many teenagers by taking away literature that can change their lives for the better. 

I read YA books with “questionable” content, adult books with adult content, and classics as a teenager. Thanks to those novels, I made good life choices as a teenager, and I still try to do so as an adult. Reading those novels did not turn me into some sex-crazed, alcoholic, cursing, abusive person. They turned me into a young woman who tries to live happily and healthily, who always tries to be kind to others, and who strives to learn as much as possible. 

I think I turned out pretty well. I think your teenager will turn out pretty well, too, so long as you give them the opportunity to learn from literature. While sharing darker issues with your child is scary, it will help them grow. I hope you give them a chance to do so. I hope you look at literature and see it as a tool for learning, not as the enemy. 

I hope you embrace literature, because literature will never hurt you. Literature will show you mistakes you should avoid in life and teach you new ideas and perspectives. But, at the end of the day, YOU are the only person who can decide what you will learn from every story. There is not a single book that will force you to believe or behave in positive or disagreeable ways. You make that choice, all on your own. 

SOME BOOKS THAT I READ AS A TEENAGER (Both YA and Adult Literature): 

PRIVATE series by Kate Brian

ALL AMERICAN GIRL / READY OR NOT by Meg Cabot

More Meg Cabot books. I adored her novels. 

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

HARRY POTTER series by JK Rowling

DREAMLAND by Sarah Dessen

THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER by Sarah Dessen (and other Dessen novels)

WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson

ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card

THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton

THE GIVER by Lois Lowry

GOSSIP GIRL by Cecily von Ziegesar

THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE by Maureen Johnson

DEVILISH by Maureen Johnson

ERAGON by Christopher Paolini

THE LUXE by Anna Godbersen

THE JOY LUCK CLUB by Amy Tan

JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien

THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown

ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare

MACBETH by William Shakespeare

THE SCARLET LETTER by Nathaniel Hawthorne

MOBY DICK by Herman Melville

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinback

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston

THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinback

LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding

NIGHT by Elie Weisel 

IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote

HONEST ILLUSIONS by Nora Roberts

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL by Philippa Gregory

And many more!

This post was inspired by Banned Books Week

Visit ALA for more information

Let's Talk: Books I Read Because Of Another Blogger's Totally Awesome Review

LET'S TALK is a weekly discussion meme created and hosted by the lovely Melissa from I Swim For Oceans! Every Friday, there is a new discussion topic for bloggers to discuss. If you want to know more about this feature, then go check out I Swim For Oceans for more information! 

What books, if any, have you read only because a blogger's review convinced you to? Did it live up?

Fabulous topic! Below are four books that blogger reviews convinced me to read (after I originally - and stupidly - convinced myself not to check them out):

Book: THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER

Blogger: Melissa at I Swim For Oceans

Melissa's review was only one I had in the back of my mind when I stumbled across a copy of MARA DYER, and the fact that she loved it Hodkin's novel so much is what gave me the push I needed to purchase it. I was incredibly excited for MARA DYER prior to the release date, but then the hype scared me off early on (and books with a lot of positive reviews can go either way with me). Thank goodness that I read Melissa's review and remembered it all of those months later, because MARA DYER was incredible!

Book: OUT OF THE EASY

Blogger: Christina from Confessions of a Book Addict

I was very, very skeptical when it came to this book. I loved Sepetys's debut, but I doubted her latest novel could live up to that story. But, after reading Christina's fantastic review, I knew I needed to start reading my ARC right away. And, Christina was right -- the characters were fantastic and the setting was wonderfully written. Such a great book!

Book: SHADES OF EARTH

Blogger: Aylee from Recovering Potter Addict

I've actually purchased a lot of books after reading Aylee's reviews (like CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS, THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST, THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE - I just need to hurry up and read them). While she and I think differently regarding some novels, I've noticed that we do seem to enjoy similar stories for the most part, so I tend to take her positive reviews very seriously. And, no surprise, she was right about SHADES OF EARTH! 

Book: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Blogger: Can't remember - Multiple bloggers! 

All of the insanely positive blogger reviews for TFIOS convinced me to check it out of the library. It was, unsurprisingly, an amazing book that I had to purchase right away. I feel like an idiot for waiting so long to read this book, but I'm grateful to all the bloggers who reviewed TFIOS - I might have ignored TFIOS without those glowing reviews!

I could name a few more, but then we'd be here all day! ;)

Let's Talk image from I Swim For Oceans

Let's Talk: Book to Film Adaptations

Let's Talk is a discussion feature at I Swim for Oceans

What are your favorite and least favorite 
book to film adaptations, and why?

 

Favorites 

Harry Potter - The movies aren't exactly like the books, but they are filled with the same charm that the books have. Plus, there are some truly talented actors in the supporting roles.

 
Lord of the Rings - It's been a long time since I've read the books, so I can't say for sure if the movies are completely faithful. Regardless, the movies are epic and deserved the awards they won.

Stuck-in-the-Middle 

Water for Elephants - Great book, pretty good movie, but with some weak moments. The scenery was great, but there were certain actors that didn't quite pull of their characters.

Hated It 

Ella Enchanted - This book is so, so good. The movie, however, made it look like a joke. It took a charming story, changed and altered it, and essentially ruined it. Such a disappointment.

Pictures from IMDB"Let's Talk" image from I Swim for Oceans

Bloomsbury's Epic Holiday eBook Deals

Until January 6th, 2012, Bloomsbury will have reduced prices on nearly 60 of their young adult, middle-grade, and adult e-books. All will be priced for just $3.99 or less, and available on any e-reader device. 

Check out the flyer below to see the titles! 

Many thanks to Kate from Bloomsbury for all the information! I know I'll definitely be purchasing a couple eBooks for my Kindle :)

YA Halloween Sale

Tawny Stokes has asked me share this news:
10 spooky paranormals for $10!
Curl up on a dark night with these bewitching offerings from 10 traditionally published authors whose credits include Kindle Bestsellers, Romantic Times Top Picks, and Rita and Eppie award winners! We've served up a variety of Halloween treats, each for only $0.99 from October 15th through the 31st! -------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEMON WHISPERER by Tawny Stokes

Zombierific action adventure!

 BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS by P. T. MichelleSeeing your entire next day has its advantages...and dangers. A dark paranormal YA full of mystery, adventure, horror and romance! IMMORTAL FAITH by Shelley AdinaA spooky tale of vampires and unholy love NINE HOROSCOPE-IN-CATSUP STORIES (WICKED GOOD) by Phoebe MatthewsTales of fortunetelling, a love potion, a zombie, a sorcerer, an unintentional stalker, a shapechanger, a vampire and a smash wizard. And then there's the dog.

MELODY'S FOLLIES by Flo Fitzpatrick

Sheet music, a doll and an eccentric witch throw Melody Flynn through time to the Ziegfeld Follies and a mysterious Egyptian cult.
WRAITH by Edie ClaireKali thought that seeing dead people was a curse. Until, while spending her spring break on a sunny beach in Hawaii, she sees him... DEMON HIGH by Lori DevotiDark and edgy urban fantasy with a heart-tugging romance. DARK BEFORE DAWN by Stacy JubaPsychic chills and thrills in a deserted New England beach town. 

THE DEEPEST CUT (a MacKinnon Curse novel, Book 1)

by J. A. TempletonA haunting dark paranormal romance with a twist of spine-tingling horror BLOOD ANGEL by Kelly McClymerSome decisions haunt you forever

I'm definitely intrigued by a few of these, they sound great to read for the holiday...be sure to check them all out, especially while they're still available for only .99 cents each! :)

Thank you Tawny, for letting me know!

Image from PT Michelle's website

Contest

Check out Confessions of a Wandering Heart's blog for a chance to win Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler! It's supposed to be a great book, so don't miss out!

http://confessionsofawanderingheart.blogspot.com/2009/07/kissed-by-angel-review-giveaway.html

Also check out Hopes Bookshelf, for a chance to win Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen!
http://princess2293.blogspot.com/2009/07/contest-along-for-ride-sarah-dessen.html

-YABQ