The Year’s Top YA Fiction — NPR
After some of the screeds about YA fiction that have found their way into the press, it’s refreshing to read the following on NPR’s web site,
…young adult fiction has developed into one of the most complex and extensive genres in literature. 2011 brought us a wealth of new reads that continue to twist traditional formulas and take risks that are, by and large, paying off with wholly unique reading experiences.
Those encouraging words come from Marissa Meyer, who may be slightly prejudiced — her own debut YA novel, Cinder, arrives in January.
Meyer lists her choices of Top 5 YA Novels of the year (Meyer is recording the piece, which will be broadcast soon). Three of her picks have appeared on other Best Books lists (see our spreadsheet of all the major picks to date) but two are unique:
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Marissa Meyer’s own YA novel kicks off the new year in red high heels. Kirkus describes it as a “debut [that] offers a high coolness factor by rewriting Cinderella as a kickass mechanic in a plague-ridden future.” It’s being backed by a strong marketing campaign (as outlined by PW), including an excerpt in USA Today, and a book trailer which debuts today on Entertainment Weekly‘s “Shelf Life” blog.
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Macmillan Audio (listen to excerpt here); Thorndike Large Print