Welcome to the first stop on the Touch of Frost Blog tour! I’m lucky enough to have the author, Jennifer Estep here today with one of my favorite things… a top ten list! Enjoy!
Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to thank Heidi for having me on the blog today. Thanks so much, Heidi!
So today, Heidi asked me to do a top ten list, which are always a lot of fun to do. Since Touch of Frost, my first young adult book comes out this week, I thought I’d do a list about why I like YA books so much. Here goes:
1) The different creatures: Whether you want to read about vampires, dragons, witches, werewolves, Gypsy girls, or Spartans, you can find all those creatures, characters, and more in the YA genre.
2) The different worlds and stories: There are just as many different worlds and types of stories as there are creatures and characters in the YA genre. Whether you want to read an epic fantasy adventure or a mystery or a contemporary romance, you’ll find it in the YA genre.
3) The imagination: This goes hand-in-hand with numbers 1 and 2, but there is so much imagination in YA books as authors come up with all these fascinating worlds, magical rules, and more. If you can dream it up, you can write it in a YA book, which really appeals to me as an author.
4) The cool book covers: I think the YA genre has some of the coolest book covers around, and whenever I go to the bookstore, I always head to that section just to see what the latest covers look like. Some of my favorite covers include The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney.
5) The kick-butt heroines: One of the things that I love most about the YA genre is all the strong heroines that you can find in the books, everyone from Katsa in Graceling by Kristin Cashore to Katniess in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. YA heroines use everything from their magic to their strength to their brains to save the day. How cool is that?
6) The crush-worthy guys: It seems like there are just as many crush-worthy guys as there are kick-butt heroines in the YA genre, and they do everything from fight by the heroine’s side to help her however and whenever she needs it. I’m loving Ash from the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, and I was Team Peeta all the way when it came to The Hunger Games trilogy.
7) All the reader excitement: It seems like YA is the one genre that everyone gets excited about these days from teens to their parents to booksellers to librarians and everyone in between. It seems like all the books with buzz are YA books these days, and I think that’s really cool.
8) The TV and movie adaptations: It seems like more and more YA books are hitting the small and big screens, and I think it’s interesting to see how the books are brought to life on TV and at the movies. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the big screen version of The Hunger Games.
9) The timeless appeal: I think a lot of YA books have a timeless quality to them. I’ve got several YA books on my keeper shelf from when I was a kid to recent titles that I’ve read. I think we can all relate to growing up and trying to figure out who we are as a person, and I think that’s part of what makes YA appeal to such a large audience.
10) All the great books out there: Some of my favorite reads in recent years have been YA books like Beastly by Alex Flinn; Graceling by Kristin Cashore; The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; The False Princess by Eilis O’Neal; and Poison Study by Maria Snyder. It’s just a great time to be a fan of the YA genre
What about you guys? What are some of your favorite things about YA books? What are some of your favorite YA books and characters right now?
Oh man… SUCH a great list! Thanks so much for “stopping by!” You mentioned some of my all time favorite books. I would add any thing by John Green, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson… the list goes on an on!
Now for the giveaway! Jennifer and I honestly want to know the answer to the questions she posed above. Tell us about why you love YA or your favorite YA books/characters and why you love them in the comments and you’ll be entered to win my copy of Touch of Frost and a Touch of Frost bookmark. Make sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win. I’ll chose a winner using random.org. Must be 13 or older to enter. US only. Contest ends July 31!
Now for the giveaway! Jennifer and I honestly want to know the answer to the questions she posed above. Tell us about why you love YA or your favorite YA books/characters and why you love them in the comments and you’ll be entered to win my copy of Touch of Frost and a Touch of Frost bookmark. Make sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win. I’ll chose a winner using random.org. Must be 13 or older to enter. US only. Contest ends July 31!
Jennifer Estep writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psychometry, or the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. After a serious freak-out with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors like Spartans, Valkyries, Amazons, and more.Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, will be published on Tuesday, July 26. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is available now as a 99-cent download. Kiss of Frost, the second book, will hit shelves on Nov. 29. Visit www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and more information.
Check out the full tour list here!
mrs_laura_koehler
You pretty much hit on all the reasons why I love YA books. The unique characters, the places, the diversity, the hunky guys, and the amazing covers. Some of my favorite books and characters are The Mortal Instruments love all the characters esp. Jace, love the Shiver series, Forgive my Fins, The Goddess Test, Vampire Diaries, Need series, Sookie Stackhouse series ( oops thats adult ) , and many more. Great interview and thanks for the giveaway.
mrs_laura_koehler@yahoo.com
Ashley G.
The thing I love most about YA is the pace. There is always something going on whether it be some kind of mortal danger, saving the world, or a steamy love scene. Some of my favorite series are The Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy, Hunger Games, Iron Fey, and Wicked Lovely. Thanks for the giveaway!
Abgafford@crimson.ua.edu