THE 8 LIST: YA

Today's 8 List is brought to you by Jessica from Sweet Green Tangerine. She likes live music, strong coffee, and YA books. She also hosts The Book Chat every week (my very favourite link-up). She's wonderful & I fell in love with her blog at first view. I've asked Jessica to make a list of her eight favourite YA novels because I consistently fall short in recommendations for that category. She has some good ones for you (and I've already added a couple to my victim list).

#1 THE HUNGER GAMES BY SUZANNE COLLINS.  I'd hate for people to think this is just some pop culture phenom thing now, but these novels are legit.  They are profound and altogether life shattering. Everything I look for in a good book.

#2 FIRE BY KRISTIN CASHORE.  This is actually the second book in the Graceling series, but this one really stands alone for me. Cashore writes kick-ass heroines, a fictional world I would die to live in and real, dimensional characters.

#3 THE FAULT IN OUR STARS BY JOHN GREEN.  I don't let the tragic subject matter grandfather this book into the AMAZING category. The writing and characters do that on their own. If you want a book that is funny, honest and heartbreaking, this is your book.

#4 THE BOOK THIEF BY MARKUS ZUSAK.  The same thing goes for this book. It's a book about the Holocaust without being a Holocaust book. It's original, charming and again, heart shattering.

#5 DELIRIUM (SERIES) BY LAUREN OLIVER.  This series was pleasantly surprising. The cliffhangers stole my heart.

#6 THE GIVER BY LOIS LOWRY.  I have a hard time saying this is YA, because I read it when I was YYYA, but most YA novels today owe this book more than half their salary.

#7 THE MAZE RUNNER BY JAMES DASHNER.  This book is nonstop WTF around every corner. It's a wild ride and practically impossible to put down.

#8 SHIVER BY MAGGIE STIEFVATER.  This book doesn't get its due credit. It's really a beautiful love story with great story telling.