Voting is open for YALSA’s 2014 Teens’ Top Ten book list- a “teen choice” list where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year. Readers ages twelve to eighteen will vote between August 15 and Teen Read Week, and the top ten titles will be announced on October 20.
Books are nominated by members of Teens’ Top Ten book groups in school and public libraries around the country, and to add to the excitement surrounding this much-anticipated book list, we’re featuring posts from these teens here on The Hub.
First up, here’s Kara Lavery from Bookhype at the Perry Public Library/Perry High School in Arizona, weighing in on Jennifer A. Nielsen’s Ascendance Trilogy:
The Ascendance Trilogy- The False Prince, The Runaway King, and The Shadow Throne– has to be one of my all-time favorite series! The most recent book was written this last year in 2014. The author, Jennifer A. Nielsen, did a fantastic job creating an air of mystery and humor. With its biting sarcasm and the jaw dropping twists, I felt compelled to read more- to keep flipping the pages from the beginning of The False Prince (one of last year’s Teens’ Top Ten winners) to the end of the The Shadow Throne.
I like rollercoasters. They’re fast, and the twists and turns are unexpected. The flips and drops make my stomach flip. It’s exhilarating! The Ascendance Trilogy has the unique quality of making you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster- twisting your stomach to match the flow of the story.
The storyline is well developed and the characters are like my friends. I was practically dying of laughter because the main character is such a smart-aleck and just an over-all devilish kind of character. The dialogue is witty and the writing style is smooth and exciting. You can’t just read a chapter here and there. I mean, you could try, but you’ll end up reading half of a book before you could blink.
Unlike many other cover ideas out there, these covers aren’t cheesy or painful to look at. It’s not that they’re pretty, but they have meaning. I love that after you read each book, you can understand why each item on the cover is broken.
Along the lines of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone. If you love action, adventure, surprises, and a subtle taste of romance, you will love these books!
-Kara Lavery, currently reading Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz