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felinephoenix ([info]felinephoenix) wrote in [info]fandom_lounge,
@ 2008-12-18 11:13:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
LJ, you're so ~robust~! And book recs.
Is anyone else unable to see LJ ScrapBook images? None of mine are showing up.

Also! I would love some good YA sci-fi/fantasy romance recommendations. I've got a teenage sister I need to buy presents for, and I want to show her there are much better things to be reading than Twilight. (Yes, she loves Twilight and that scares me.)
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[info]kadath
2008-12-18 05:31 pm UTC (link)
EVERYONE IN THE WORLD MUST READ THE ENCHANTED FOREST CHRONICLES OMG. ...Okay, so, technically, only the second book has a romance plot, but that doesn't change the fact that EVERYONE MUST READ THESE BOOKS OMG.

Also, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley has a romance B-plot. There are also horses...teenage girls still like horses, right? (I also have capslocky feelings about this book, but I'll refrain.)

Honestly, I wanted kicking ass and taking names in my YA books, so I have no primarily romance recommendations. :\

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 05:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 05:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 05:44 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 05:46 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 05:51 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 05:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 05:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 06:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 06:15 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tofuknight, 2008-12-18 06:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 06:20 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mercorir, 2008-12-20 05:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 06:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:03 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 07:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tofuknight, 2008-12-18 10:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]blue_penguin, 2008-12-18 07:50 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tofuknight, 2008-12-18 10:35 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 10:55 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tofuknight, 2008-12-23 08:20 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]whimsy_chan, 2008-12-18 05:47 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 05:56 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]undomielregina, 2008-12-18 06:32 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hangingfire, 2008-12-18 06:34 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]whimsy_chan, 2008-12-18 08:24 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jat_sapphire, 2008-12-18 10:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ustareth, 2008-12-19 04:00 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]bienegold, 2008-12-18 10:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]coffee_mug, 2008-12-18 07:56 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 08:00 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]agent_hyatt, 2008-12-19 07:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]coffee_mug, 2008-12-19 09:34 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]agent_hyatt, 2008-12-19 09:27 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bienegold, 2008-12-18 09:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]fryingpanofdoom, 2008-12-19 01:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]agent_hyatt, 2008-12-20 12:36 am UTC

[info]vitalitat
2008-12-18 05:36 pm UTC (link)
Scrapbook ha been acting funky for me since the server switch :S When I upload pics the page won't show them unless I hit refresh, and a lot of times I get error messages, which are solved with -er, refreshing. My F5 key is worn out already. :S

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 05:40 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]vitalitat, 2008-12-18 05:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 06:06 pm UTC

[info]kayla
2008-12-18 06:10 pm UTC (link)
i was a big fan of LJ Smith's The Vampire Diaries when I was a teen and rumor has it they were just brought back into circulation.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]catslash, 2008-12-18 06:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kayla, 2008-12-18 07:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]somamouse, 2008-12-19 12:44 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]catslash, 2008-12-19 12:49 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]seperis, 2008-12-20 04:14 am UTC

[info]youngcurmudgeon
2008-12-18 06:20 pm UTC (link)
Tamora Pierce, Tamora Pierce, Tamora Pierce! I'd recommend starting with either the Wild Magic series or the Protector of the Small series if she doesn't read a lot of medieval fantasy -- the first series (the Alanna books) is hardcore awesome, but very much old-school, and if you're not used to the style they can be hard to get into. Daine and Kel are much friendlier. (But if she does end up liking these, make her read the Alanna books before Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen.)

I also second the Enchanted Forest Chronicles rec, because those books are made of unadulterated awesome.

The So You Want To Be A Wizard series (by our very own Diane Duane!) is extremely fun and full of cool ideas.

If you just want to wean her away from the Twilightness? Honestly, start her on Daughters of the Moon, by Lynne Ewing. My sister and I devoured these books all through middle school and high school. They're about teenage girls in LA who discover magical powers and go clubbing and have forbidden love and fight evil and all that jazz. They're seriously fun.

She might like the His Dark Material series by Philip Pullman, but they're fairly involved. Not to be all "someone who liked Twilight would not get into these books," but I'd shy away from these as an effective "get away from Twilight" present in favor of the others on this list.

The only Madeline L'Engle I've read is the Wrinkle in Time cycle, which is really, really, amazingly good. I've heard good things about her other YA stuff, too.

The Light Princess, by George MacDonald, is one of my favorites. It's really a fairy tale romance, but it's really sweet.

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. Again, it's a bit more fairy tale than fantasy, but there's romance.

Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine.

I have not read (but have heard good things about) Inkheart and The Thief Lord, both by Cornelia Funke. Same thing with Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. And everyone I know keeps yelling at me to read Francesca Lia Block, but I haven't yet.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]undomielregina, 2008-12-18 06:35 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sparkysrevenge, 2008-12-18 06:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 06:52 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 06:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sparkysrevenge, 2008-12-18 07:00 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:08 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]spawn_of_kong, 2008-12-18 08:34 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sparkysrevenge, 2008-12-18 09:08 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 06:50 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]flowerstar, 2008-12-18 07:27 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]erinny, 2008-12-18 08:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bienegold, 2008-12-18 09:44 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]magic_at_mungos, 2008-12-18 11:18 pm UTC

[info]drich
2008-12-18 06:22 pm UTC (link)
Diane Duane's Young Wizards series (amongst others)

Tamora Pierce - any, all; she has YA books in a couple age groups
She also has a couple LJs, and I seem to remember several posts of what she likes in the YA field. And she's posted rec lists to her website.
http://tammypierce.livejournal.com/profile
http://www.tamora-pierce.com/recbooks/index.html

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]khym_chanur, 2008-12-18 06:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:13 pm UTC

[info]sistercoyote
2008-12-18 06:48 pm UTC (link)
She's worth mocking, but Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books (although they, too, have their skeevy side) might be worth looking into (The Talia series, not the Last Herald-Mage series with the WTF WHY DID YOU SKIP ALL THE INTERESTING STUFF IN VANYEL'S LIFE potential problem (not knowing anything about your family) of the same-sex stuff and Vanyel's whiny emo self.

Also, not so much with the romance, but Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series is awesome, though possibly a little young for the sister in question (I don't know. It's been years since I read the books.)

Reposed for massive HTML fail.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 06:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]altera, 2008-12-18 06:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 06:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]altera, 2008-12-18 07:00 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 07:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:11 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bienegold, 2008-12-18 09:45 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]waitwut, 2008-12-18 09:55 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:01 pm UTC
HELLO I AM ALL OVER THIS THREAD. - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 07:12 pm UTC
Re: HELLO I AM ALL OVER THIS THREAD. - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:15 pm UTC
Re: HELLO I AM ALL OVER THIS THREAD. - [info]kadath, 2008-12-18 07:17 pm UTC
Re: HELLO I AM ALL OVER THIS THREAD. - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:20 pm UTC
Re: HELLO I AM ALL OVER THIS THREAD. - [info]coyotegirl, 2008-12-19 08:21 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruffwriter, 2008-12-18 09:49 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruffwriter, 2008-12-18 09:50 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]inarticulate, 2008-12-19 03:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]anonyrat, 2008-12-22 03:58 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sistercoyote, 2008-12-22 05:56 am UTC

[info]sparkysrevenge
2008-12-18 07:14 pm UTC (link)
OK, what I read around that age: Lynne Reid Banks (Fairy Rebel and The Farthest Away Mountain were definite favorites), Dangerous Angels/The Weetzie Bat series (Which my mom thought was WAY too mature for me at 14, but they classify it as YA), the Fear Street Saga... All of them have some sort of fantasy aspect to them. (Fear Street might be pushing the nightmare fodder, but I liked it when I was 12-13, so)

A book I surprisingly liked was Pirates! by Celia Rees. (For YA, it's REALLY GOOD, especially if your sister has any interest in pirates) There's some romance, but it isn't sexual, so it's appropriate for a 12-year-old. I read it about 2 years ago, and I really enjoyed it.

A book I like that is not classified as YA but isn't particularly mature is The Princess Bride by William Goldman (slightly different from the movie, but hilarious). It's got fantasy, romance, great backstories, humor, pretty much anything I would've liked at that age.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2008-12-18 07:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sparkysrevenge, 2008-12-18 07:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sparkysrevenge, 2008-12-18 09:13 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]evilsqueakers, 2008-12-19 12:14 am UTC

[info]undomielregina
2008-12-18 07:25 pm UTC (link)
Ooh, what about The Perilous Gard? Nice and romantic, set in Elizabethan England, and very, very good. Has a sort of half-fantasy feel that I really like.

And I'll second the Mercedes Lackey books. They're not great, and she's a nutter, but at least her female characters are strong (and often flawed) and she writes good page turners. Personally, I enjoy Vanyel because every time he starts getting OMGWTF EMO! someone's there bitching about it and undercutting the reader's ability to take his emo seriously, and I love that.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]seperis, 2008-12-20 04:16 am UTC

[info]iamnotyourmuse
2008-12-18 08:48 pm UTC (link)
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy and The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause are two of my favorite YA fantasy romances. The former is about witches and the latter is about vampires. I'm told Klause also wrote a very good werewolf-based YA fantasy but I've not read it myself.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]bienegold, 2008-12-18 09:48 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]waitwut, 2008-12-18 09:56 pm UTC

[info]mechanicaljewel
2008-12-18 10:22 pm UTC (link)
Cate Tiernan's Sweep series!!

It's about this girl in high school who falls for the new guy at school and finds out he's a witch, so she starts to get into witchcraft and finds out that she's actually really powerful.

It's actually the perfect antidote to Twilight, because the first four books have that "OMG this guy is gorgeous and our relationship is so true and pure!" even though he's creepy and manipulative, but then at the end of the fourth book, it's revealed that he's actually evil. Then follow the next ten books of an actually healthy relationship \o/

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]undomielregina, 2008-12-19 03:44 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mechanicaljewel, 2008-12-19 05:10 am UTC

[info]jat_sapphire
2008-12-18 10:45 pm UTC (link)
If she loves the romance and the vampires, give her Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Hotel Transylvania. There's a hugeous series, though big books should not phase people who made it through those doorstops of SMeyers', but HT is not so long.

Pierce has a KICKASS new series starting--Terrier is the first one. It's got the kind of romance the Lioness books had, which is slow-growing, not at all swoony, and very real-feeling. The second one won't be out until April, alas.

Oh, and if awkward-teen-girl-finds-love-and-self floats her boat, try Tanith Lee's The Silver Metal Lover, which is the opposite of Pierce in the romance--at first sight!--but is still SO good. (A secondary character is gay, and nobody cares, but we do see his boyfriends, FYI.)

(And may I say here how much I love and adore The Door into Fire, The Door into Shadow, and The Door into Sunset by Diane Duane? OMG bisexual fantasy YAY! It does exist! Plus, dragon! Go, all you girl gaming bisexual English majors wearing purple, and read them!)

Joan Vinge's The Snow Queen, technically SF, has angsty love and a quest. Edith Patou's East is another retold fairy tale with some very interesting family dynamics and a heroine who is independent and intelligent and amazing without being a Mary Sue. Also: rescues the guy.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]inarticulate, 2008-12-19 03:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]jat_sapphire, 2008-12-19 04:37 am UTC

[info]zanne
2008-12-18 11:01 pm UTC (link)
I love everything by Diana Wynne Jones that I've ever read. A few of my favorites:

Dogsbody
Deep Secret (I love the glimpse into fandom life/conventions included)
Dark Lord of Derkholm
Year of the Gryphon
the Chrestomanci books

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]fryingpanofdoom, 2008-12-19 12:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2008-12-21 09:49 pm UTC

[info]comixology
2008-12-18 11:37 pm UTC (link)
I really love the Midnighters series, by Scott Westerfeld. I don't have such a high opinion of his more popular series (Uglies), but Midnighters is 3 books of awesome, and if she likes Bella she'd love Jessica, who is the normal-girl-readers-can-identify-with. There are less-normal girls readers can identify with, too, and the whole series really is a great read.

If you want a one-off instead of a series, Westerfeld has also written a really interesting book about fashion and corporate espionage called So Yesterday.

That's right, Molz, pimp him harder 8D

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]moriath, 2008-12-18 11:40 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]comixology, 2008-12-18 11:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]moriath, 2008-12-18 11:49 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]comixology, 2008-12-18 11:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]moriath, 2008-12-19 12:16 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]comixology, 2008-12-18 11:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]evilsqueakers, 2008-12-19 12:18 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]supersyncspaz7, 2008-12-19 07:20 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mechanicaljewel, 2008-12-19 09:03 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kadath, 2008-12-19 12:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]squeakthemouse, 2008-12-19 12:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]princessstarr, 2008-12-19 02:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mercorir, 2008-12-20 05:21 am UTC

[info]moriath
2008-12-18 11:39 pm UTC (link)
Yay YA books :-)

Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy is awesome-sauce. Great action sequences, social commentary on beauty standards and environmentalism, and romantic subplots that aren't stalker-ific.

My new favorite book: Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games stars a teenage girl who's thrust into a Battle Royale-meets-Survivor-meets 'The Lottery' fight to the death, and one of her opponents includes a boy who may-or-may-not be in love with her (and vice versa!). The first in a trilogy - we have to wait until next September for more :-(

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]bobafeis, 2008-12-19 09:43 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]moriath, 2008-12-19 02:22 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bobafeis, 2008-12-19 07:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]moriath, 2008-12-20 05:30 am UTC

[info]wook77
2008-12-19 12:46 am UTC (link)
I'm really enjoying the "Heir" series - The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir and The Dragon Heir. Plus - there's a bit of romance in there and they're fantasy. SO MUCH better than twilight.

If she liked HP than I'd also recommend the Percy JAckson and the Olympians. They start out with Percy as an 11 year old and then steadily mature, sort of like HP.

(Reply to this)


[info]adverb
2008-12-19 02:48 am UTC (link)
I'm definitely gonna say Diana Wynne Jones. I'm tempted to recommend my absolute favorites, but given that she's a fan of Twilight, I'd say go for the more 'romantic' books (and, er, less confusing - Fire & Hemlock and Hexwood are both rather romantic, but I'm still confused by them after reading them a few times).

So! For the young Twilighter, I recommend Howl's Moving Castle (which also has an anime movie). And I'd say Year of the Griffin and Crown of Dalemark, but the first is actually a sequel and the second is book four in a quartet, so...

As far as non-DWJ books go, the Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody are great. She might like Libba Bray's books (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing), and Gail Carson Levine's fantasy books (they've got a box set of Ella Enchanted, the Two Princesses, and another one).

(Reply to this)


[info]sablemouse
2008-12-19 03:30 am UTC (link)
Echoing the Tamora Pierce and Isobelle Carmody recs. I loved Pierce's Protector of the Small quartet, and the heroine is a great strong character (unlike Bella). The romance isn't as important as the character's growth, and the supporting cast is just as awesome.

Carmody's Legendsong trilogy (which is yet to be finished) has a strong romance element, but once again, not central to plot. The later Obernewtyn books are the same (the first couple only have hints of romance).

Fiona McIntosh is very romance heavy (and often the darker side of it), and while it's not really classifed as YA, I think it's at that level. Lots of violence, so it depends on your Twilighter's imagination I guess. I really enjoyed The Quickening Trilogy.

Also, Garth Nix's Old Kingdom Trilogy is quite good, but the romance is kind of tacked on. The concept and the characters are much more interesting than the romance.

You might want to consider David Edding's Belgariad as well, as the humour is great for YA. It's very traditional fantasy though.

If your Twilighter likes Austen, maybe she'll like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, about two magicians in AU Victorian England. It's an awesomely detailed and huge book, interesting characters, lots of plot but hardly any romance. A bit challenging for YA level, but very Austen-like so she may enjoy it.

(Reply to this)

This is pretty much just seconding some of the recs with my two cents
[info]inarticulate
2008-12-19 03:30 am UTC (link)
L.J. Smith is probably your best bet. Human/vampire romances up the wazoo! Some of her books I hated, some of them I loved, so it's a bit of a crapshoot depending on what your sister's tastes are, but, hey.

I mentioned up there in a thread, but Mercedes Lackey's The Fire Rose is a solid historical fantasy romance and (if I recall) suitable for younger readers. Her Valdemar books are good, but they can be a bit racy in the tamest, vanillaist of ways.

Tamora Pierce is good, but, again, not all of her books are romance.

The Dark is Rising sequence is AMAZING, and I love it, but it's not really a romance at all.

Enchanted Forest is a really good balance of plot and romance, but, honestly, I remember the plot more than the romance; the last book is the only one with more teenage swoonyness, as I recall, and it's adorable ♥

(Reply to this)


[info]ustareth
2008-12-19 03:32 am UTC (link)
Seconding most everything people have already recommended, esp. Tamora Pierce and Diana Wynne Jones. For Pierce: The Immortals quartet is her most romantic, though I think Protector of the Small is her strongest. For Jones: Howl's Moving Castle is a definite, and she might like Fire and Hemlock and Hexwood.

Also reccing:

  • All of Shannon Hale's YA stuff (I've yet to read Austenland); she's one of my favorite contemporary writers. She writes really strong female-positive fantasy (with lots of equally female-positive romance in every book). My personal favorites are Enna Burning and River Secrets (from the Bayern series, though she really ought to read the first book, Goose Girl, well, first) and the graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge. You might want to start with Book of a Thousand Days, though, depending on how much romance she wants in her fantasy. BoaTD is the most romantic of Hale's YA books.

  • Patricia C. Wrede (author of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles!) and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery & Cecelia OR The Enchanted Chocolate Pot and its sequels. The first book is the strongest, but they're all very entertaining, and there's loads of romance and magic to be found in 'em.

  • Er, I haven't read 'em in ages, but I remember loving Midori Snyder's The Queen's Quarter series (recently reprinted as The Oran Trilogy by Firebird/Puffin, so they should still be in print) when I was wee. Four girls being awesome and saving the world! Elemental magic! How could you not love it. (I really ought to reread these books.)

  • The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip. I was going to say it might move too slowly for her, but given nothing ever happens in any of the Twilight books, that probably won't be a problem.

  • The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin, maybe? The romance is kind of heavily understated and it's the second book in the series, but it stands quite well on its own and anyway, I was all over Tenar/Ged when I was in the seventh grade, so.

  • Possibly Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn?

  • Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series! Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, and a short story collection, Across the Wall, which contains a novella that takes place after Abhorsen. More fantasy than romance, but there's still loads of kissing and longing and also it is full of STUFF THAT IS AWESOME. His science fiction book, Shade's Children, also has some romance, but I'm not sure how much she would like it, considering it's wedged in with an absolute ton of body horror.

  • Pamela Dean's The Secret Country trilogy is rocking, too, AND it was recently republished by Firebird! So, sweet deal.

  • Tanith Lee's Claidi Journals series might be a good bet, too. Loads of fantasy sprinkled with a healthy dose of forbidden romance. Contains a totally awesome female protagonist (who unfortunately grows less awesome as the series progresses) and an angsty romantic hero who nevertheless has a sense of humor. The first book, Wolf Tower, is far and away my favorite; imo, it's easily the strongest and the most female positive. But she'd probably like it. Complete at four books!

  • I liked The China Garden by Liz Berry when I read it ages ago, but a) I read it ages ago and thus cannot verify the quality of the writing and/or the healthiness of the romance within it and b) I think it's out of print. Sorry!

  • Depending on how old/mature she is, she might like Lois McMaster Bujold's The Sharing Knife series; though it's definitely not YA, it's exactly the sort of thing I ate up when I was around fourteen or fifteen. Yay, romantic fantasy!

    And, uh, I can't think of anything else right now. Sorry!

    (Reply to this)(Thread)

    • (no subject) - [info]undomielregina, 2008-12-19 03:47 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]ustareth, 2008-12-19 03:57 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]ustareth, 2008-12-19 03:50 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]ustareth, 2008-12-19 04:03 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]ustareth, 2008-12-19 04:08 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]bienegold, 2008-12-19 04:49 am UTC

    [info]coffeebun
    2008-12-19 03:50 am UTC (link)
    Has nobody mentioned Garth Nix yet? I really liked Sabriel, but I haven't read Abhorsen nor Lirael yet.

    Totally seconding the Madeleine L'Engle and Tamora Pierce recs.

    (Reply to this)(Thread)

    (no subject) - [info]coffeebun, 2008-12-19 03:52 am UTC
    (no subject) - [info]ustareth, 2008-12-19 03:54 am UTC

    [info]pandonkey
    2008-12-19 04:13 am UTC (link)
    It's not technically YA, but my favorite romance in my early teen years was The Last Unicorn. I second the earlier recs for Diana Wynne Jones; Howl's Moving Castle would be a good start, or the Chrestomanci books (although they're light on romance). There've been a lot of other good suggestions, and more than a few I think I'm going to check out myself.

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    [info]luzzleanne
    2008-12-19 04:32 am UTC (link)
    You've gotten a lot of really great suggestions already, so I'll only throw out a couple more. Seconding L'Engle, Levine, Pullman, Nix, and Pierce so, so much.

    --People keep mentioning that the Abhorsen series, so I'll also throw out the Seventh Tower series for Nix as well. It's a little more scifi than fantasy, but it's also a lot less involved. Definately fun for a quick read.

    --The Of Two Minds series by Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman is generally romance-based, really fun, and has a pair of wonderful characters for the two leads.

    --Has anyone mentioned Pratchett's Tiffany Aching yet? They're fun, in typical Pratchett style, and at least when Tiffany's being stalked she knows it and reacts accordingly.

    --A little younger and not fantasy at all, but Sharon Creech's novels kind of rock. I ate my way through them in a matter of weeks when I was around 12-13.

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    [info]agent_hyatt
    2008-12-19 07:46 am UTC (link)
    She might've outgrown these, and the author tends to recycle characters a lot... But Lloyd Alexander is an old favorite.

    The Prydain Chronicles are his main classic fantasy series, the romance is a long-running subplot (even though the final pairing is broadcasted all the way from the beginning). Favorite is the fourth book, but it's better to start with the first or second at the very latest (or just get a boxed set).

    The Westmark Trilogy is also fantasy, but not as obvious, and it's much more political. It's also a punch to the gut after the first book, in a good way.

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    [info]cairea
    2008-12-19 08:57 am UTC (link)
    If part of what she likes about Twilight is Bella as Ordinary Girl To Be Identified with, China Mieville has a YA book out now titled Un Lun Dun that's wonderful. I adore everything China Mieville has written but that's the only novel of his I've read that I can in good conscience recommend for a twelve year-old, so you might want to be careful about that if she's the type to go searching for other books by an author.

    While we're all on the Garth Nix train, I'll toss out his Keys To the Kingdom series. There's no romance, really, but they're awesome books.

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    [info]bobafeis
    2008-12-19 09:40 am UTC (link)
    Let's see...

    I'll second all recs for DWJ and Diane Duane. I'm also really loving A Great and Terrible Beauty and the other Gemma Doyle books by Libba Bray. They're fantasy and there's more than a bit of Mary-Sue in Gemma, but she still kicks ass, takes names and is unapologetic about the fact that she won't let her love interest get in the way of her girl power. In fact, that's a major part of the book: that romance is nice, but existing as a person in your own right is kinda awesome. Whenever some mom comes up to me and mentions her daughter has expressed interest in Twilight, I always try to steer her gently in the direction of the Gemma Doyle books.

    LJ Smith's Vampire Diaries are crack, and they've been recently rereleased into two volumes. Also check out the Secret Circle books (also rereleased into two volumes), and I hear rumors about the Forbidden Game trilogy being rereleased as well (the crackiest of her crack, imo). All of them have epic (and sometimes stalkery) love, but the heroines remain pretty hardcore throughout.

    It's a bit more MG than YA and it has no romance, but Alex and the Ironic Gentlemen by Adrienne Kress is awesome. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith was pretty decent and had vampires.

    If she's really into Twilight, you could try Holly Black's books Tithe and Ironside. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of them, but there's a lot of crossover in the readership, and Holly Black is definitely a step up. Although, there are some references to gay bondage. And gay S&M. And gay porn. (One character has very positive thoughts on yaoi.)

    Clive Barker's Abarat books are a bit trippy, but they're the most readable thing he's ever written and I enjoyed them (plus: shiny colorful pictures!)

    Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is shiny and new and awesome, with minor romance but mostly adventure. Cornelia Funke's Inkheart books are awesome, and about to be made into a movie, which helps get people's attention.

    As far as grown-up books that are kid-friendly, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is wonderful (Carpe Jugulum is about vampires; he also has books about elves and fairy tales and other wonderfully girly and romantic things). Melanie Rawn's Exiles books are great (albeit unfinished), with more of that epic romance stuff but more kickass females.

    Mercedes Lackey's Arrows series is great, as are her Oaths series (or whatever the proper title is) and By the Sword. They get a bit heavy handed with the preaching, but since the message is basically: have some self-esteem, speak up for yourself, kick ass, and try not to be a crappy person, most teenagers could use that. There is some sex in most of them, but it tends to be sort of: sex meant to be fun and lighthearted, so have fun and don't fuck around with people's feelings. Also, The Firebird is fun, and one of my favorite of her books (and has minimal sex). The Fire Rose is pretty good, but be warned that it's Beauty and the Beast, so, uh... the only-implied-but-still-there sexing is between woman and beast.

    Trudi Canavan's Magician series is also a very fun read, as is her other one (something about gods).

    My brain is fried right now. Hopefully work tomorrow will inspire me, so I'll add more when I get home.

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