The new feature is called Blogger Island Books and involves bloggers picking between five to eight books that they couldn’t live without, which they could take with them to live on Blogger Island.
As today is UKYA day, I thought it would be really cool, to start this new feature differently. I asked a few bloggers to pick just one UKYA book that they couldn’t live without to take to Blogger Island. I have to make some allowances as to the YA bracket, because some bloggers couldn’t live without books by a particular UKMG author…
So I will pass you over to the blogging community so that they can tell you their chosen book for this UKYA special edition of Blogger Island Books. Click on the blog names to check out their amazing blogs.
Andrew from The Pewter Wolf – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
"I'm kinda stuck on which one UKYA book I would take with me to a desert island. There's too many that I would take (would my eReader count as one book or several?). But if I had to take one, it would be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling. I know this isn't technically YA but it's read by all ages and the characters are becoming teenagers in the book. But I love Prisoner of Azkaban. I love how this book becomes layers and question the lines of good and evil, tackles issues such as mental health, while talking about the problems being a teenager can be.
And plus, the Dementors are one of the most frightening creatures in literature and I love that this book brings them in! I love this book and I just think this would be the book I would read when being stuck on a desert island got too much!"
Sophie from So Little Time For Books – How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
My choice is How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. I've already read this one about 10 times and I get something more with each read. The unusual style just keeps on giving and Daisy, Edmond, Piper, Isaac and Osbert are so complex and well-developed that it blows my mind. Though this book isn't for everyone, it's definitely for me and I would gladly re-read this a thousand times more.
I'd take this book because this was the first YA I read as a young girl when YA wasn't even a genre. I'd dipped into Point Horrors and a few tween novels but it was hard to find a book about "real" teens. Then my Mum said I should read this as she had done when she was growing up. I was astonished. At both the book's ability to make me crack up laughing and at the thought that boys were really like this. If you want to get an idea of what YA is like in it's best form; read this book. There are many UKYA books out there now but respect needs to be made to those that came before them too.
Plus; you'll never look at a ruler in the same way ever again.
Yes I know….here I am again picking a James Dawson book I hear you shout! This may be a predictable pick for me…But seriously I would take this book with me to a desert island and read it over and over again! I love it THAT much! It’s definitely one of my favourite UKYA books! It’s a perfect summer read so I could pass the hours away whilst turning a rather reddish lobster colour on the desert island beach and hallucinate about Gil Grissom and Sangria ;-)
Look at it this way…what better way would there be to pass the time! With characters Ryan, Kate, Alisha, Greg and Ben around there would never be a dull moment! Moments full of tension and suspicion and okay the odd dead body occasionally! And with a romance that will break your heart what better book to read again and again than a story set in a sunny paradise, blue sea, lots of sand and well….basically murder!
*looks suspiciously at that shadow in the trees and gulps*
Can I please leave the island now?!
*cries for Mommy*
Carly from Writing From The Tub – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
The one UKYA book I can't live without is...(after much deliberation) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was such a cosy, comforting read that I adored during my teenage years and it still brings back those warm, happy memories whenever I settle down to read it again. I remember calling (these were the days before texting was a big deal, people!) my best friend every day while we were reading it to discuss what had happened - as soon as we picked up the phone we shouted out what page number we were on so we could avoid dishing out spoilers!
Plus, it's the one that tipped me over the edge from a Harry Potter fan to a crazed superfan who spent weeks writing out theories for what might happen in The Half Blood Prince! WHO COULD R.A.B POSSIBLY BE?
Stacey from Pretty Books - Trouble by Non Pratt
It's incredibly difficult to pick just one UKYA book that I'd read again and again, but I finally went with Non Pratt's TROUBLE. It's one of the highlights because it captures everything you could want from a contemporary UKYA story: superb writing, realistic characters and British humour. Trouble stands out because it does not shy away from the awkward, uncomfortable and often harsh reality of teenage life, but it’s still funny and touching. I also picked it because Non Pratt's such an important member of the UKYA community. If I had to read Trouble over and over, all by my lonesome, it'd remind me of all the fun I've had with the book community!
Sarah from Sarah’s Chapter – Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
This task was quite difficult for me because I'd love to lug my entire Harry Potter series and read that over and over but I'll try and resist and pick one book that is just as meaningful to me. My UKYA desert island pick is Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson. Although it doesn't really fit into what we usually think of when we picture YA (fantasies, dystopian etc.) I think that's why I love it so much. It's a coming-of-age book that focuses on Ruby, a girl from York, and spans not only her life but the lives of her ancestors, including her great-grandmother, grandmother and mother. It is a heart-wrenching adventure through generations, loss, love and family and I honestly don't think I've been the same since I read it.I first read this book at sixteen, and have read it many times since, finding new things in each re-reading. It makes me laugh, cry and feel like I'm growing up alongside Ruby.
Rachel from YA-bbering Booklover – Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
My Blogger Island Book UKYA Edition would be Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. I read this when I was about 11 and it is the book that made me the bookworm I am today. It is the benchmark by which I judge all other books - if it makes me feel the way Noughts and Crosses did, then it gets 5 stars. Also, growing up in a small rural town, I had never been confronted with race issues like those that Callum and Sephy faced, and it really opened my eyes to the world beyond my own horizon. I saw Malorie at the Hay Festival talking about it as a teenager and fell in love with her even further, a love I still hold today as I stalk her around the festival circuit *bring on YALC 2015!* I re-read my beloved signed copy as often as I dare, maybe every two years or so because I don't want to kill the magic. But if I had to read just one book for the rest of my life, I have no doubt that Noughts and Crosses would be it.
Stephen from Dark Readers – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The one book that I would choose is: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. The reason I would choose this books is because this is the book that has most resonated with me over the years, the one I go back to and encourage everyone to read. It crops up in strange ways when I haven't been expecting it. There is also a level of personal resonance, that makes me feel more connected to it, each time I read it, and i know it is one of those books I can pick up at any point and just enjoy it!
Thank you to all the bloggers who took part in this UKYA special edition of Blogger Island Books. If you would like to take part in the main feature where you get to pick up to eight books from any genre and for any age, then please leave a message in the comments with your email address and I will get back to you.
Thanks for reading and have a happy UKYA day!
Hello - great post. It's always good to see where people's minds go when asked to pick ONE (or even a short list) of books. I would love to take part in the main feature and pick 8 books, either any genre/age or middle grade, if you are planning to do that at some point. My email is larisa@impprintbooks.com. My blog: https://handmeamirror.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteLovely post Viv, very happy to have been a part of it!
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