Stories I Loved

It’s hard being a writer.  I get writer’s block every other second and when I’m not blocked I’m being interrupted by children who think that a mother’s gift for multi-tasking includes the ability to carry on two conversations simultaneously—one with them and one with the computer screen.  I’m also racked with guilt for spending so much time writing when it doesn’t pay the bills and I don’t have something published to wave around as proof that I’m actually a writer.  But the hardest part is the criticism.  I’m not everyone’s cup of tea and it’s hard to hear it sometimes.  They might not understand my voice or share my twisted sense of humor but I will admit that I don’t really want to hear that.  So, even though most writers are also voracious readers, I can’t bring myself to tear apart a book that I know took that writer’s blood, sweat and tears to produce.

Thankfully, I’m not a book reviewer.  I’m a writer who thoroughly enjoys the creative minds of other writers—the books that make you wish that you could have brought that thought to life because it’s so darn brilliant.  I thought I’d share a few of those books with you—a little bit of encouragement to curl up and read this fall.  These are all YA Contemporary Fantasies that take place in the distant or not-so-distant future when our society has changed but the spirit of certain individuals living in it still soars.

1.      Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:  If you haven’t read this one yet, then you’re probably not interested.  It’s been a best-seller forever with everyone rooting for Katniss, the girl on fire who will spin hunger and desperation into a revolution.

2.      Delirum by Lauren Oliver:  In the future, love has been viewed as a plague and has been outlawed.  Lena is almost eighteen and can’t wait for the cure—until she meets a boy from outside society who shows her what she’s been missing.

3.      Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion:  “R” is a zombie that mindlessly eats human brains, until he eats Perry’s brain and falls in love with his warm blooded girlfriend.  Julie is a human who doesn’t feel alive until she meets “R.”  Together they’re going to remember how to live and wake up both their crumbling worlds.

4.      The Host by Stephanie Meyer:  This is my favorite book by Meyer.  It’s the tale of body snatchers from the point of view of the snatcher. 

5.      Divergent by Victoria Roth:  This was my favorite of the group.  Beatrice lives in a dystopian Chicago where society is divided into five virtues—all believing that they have the best way to live.  But virtues, taken to extremes, become vices that will change everyone she loves.