Celebrate Bastille Day with French Authors and Themed Novels!

Tomorrow is Bastille Day! To commemorate this day check out some French authors who have had their titles for teen readers published in the US and teen novels that center on French culture and history. Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

French Authors

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No and Me by Delphine de Vigan (2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults)

Life as It Comes by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Vango by Timothée de Fombelle (2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults)

When I was a Soldier by Valérie Zenatti (2006 Best Books for Young Adults)

Winter’s End by Jean-Claude Morlevat

I Love I Hate I Miss My Sister by Amélie Sarn

Last Man, Vol. 1: The Stranger by Balak, Sanlaville, Vivés

 

Set in Paris

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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (2012 Readers’ Choice, 2012 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults)

Die for Me by Amy Plum

Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender (2015 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers)

Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney

Gadget Girl: the art of being invisible by Suzanne Kamata

Just One Day by Gayle Forman (2014 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults)

Bandette in Presto! by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (2014 Great Graphic Novels)

 

Historical Fiction Set in France

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page MorganDarknessStrangeLovelyRevolutionCoverBelleEpoqueCoverPaleAssassinthe rednecklacecoverUnderWarnTornSkySovayGraveMercyBlueFlameRevolutionofSabine

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (2011 Odyssey Honor Audiobook, 2013 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2011 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults)

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross (2014 Morris Award Finalist)

The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner (2009 Best Books for Young Adults)

Under a War Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott

Sovay by Celia Rees

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (2013 Teen Top Ten Nominee, 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults)

Blue Flame by K.M. Grant

The Revolution of Sabine by Beth Levine Ain

 

–Colleen Seisser, currently reading Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Different Types of Strong: Female Characters in YA Lit

Women’s History Month is celebrated during March, and there’s a lot of information about strong, motivated, amazing women in history being shared right now. We have strong, motivated, amazing female characters in YA literature, too, and even though they aren’t real, they do influence readers. Here’s a list of five female characters I admire in Young Adult Literature. You may agree with some, you may heartily disagree with others, so feel free to add to the discussion in the comments! (Also, there are spoilers ahead, so be warned!)

twilight-cover 5. Bella Swan in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I know a lot of people cannot stand Bella and believe she is a whiny, annoying, weak example of womanhood, but I honestly do not think anyone gives Bella enough credit. To begin with, she is the level headed parent figure in both of her relationships with her actual parents. When thrust into a supernatural world where death seems to come after her at every turn, she is more concerned with saving and protecting her family and friends than she is with protecting herself- and her friends include vampires and werewolves who can take care of themselves very well. Bella makes some boneheaded decisions, but she’s always true to herself, and while she’s not the most kick-butt female on this list in a physical sense, I think she has both an inner strength and a loving heart that are admirable. (Twilight is a 2006 Teens’ Top Ten winner.) Continue reading Different Types of Strong: Female Characters in YA Lit