3 YA books just perfect for adults
These young freedom fighters are worthy of readers of all ages.
Son, by Lois Lowry, Houghton Mifflin, 393 pages
Goblin Secrets, by William Alexander, Simon & Schuster Kids, 223 pages
Days of Blood & Starlight, by Laini Taylor, Hachette Book Group, 418 pages
Before Katniss Everdeen ever picked up her bow, a young boy named Jonas saved a baby in Lois Lowry鈥檚 Newbery winner 鈥淭he Giver.鈥�
Written in 1993, 鈥淭he Giver鈥� was the novel that moved dystopias from the adult to young adult shelves. When Lowry pitted a 12-year-old boy against a totalitarian government that wanted to kill off everything 鈥渄ifficult鈥� (from colors to emotions to a baby named Gabriel who wouldn鈥檛 sleep through the night), it marked a shift in teen literature.
Then on the heels of this came another literary revolution. Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of J.K. Rowling鈥檚 鈥�Harry Potter鈥� series, Stephenie Meyer鈥檚 鈥�Twilight鈥� series, and Suzanne Collins鈥檚 鈥�The Hunger Games鈥� trilogy, books originally aimed at teens are now drawing readers of all ages.
When Lowry returned to the futuristic city in 鈥淭he Giver鈥� this year to tell the story of Gabriel鈥檚 teenage mother, Claire, she did so in a literary landscape in which hordes of teens are valiantly flinging themselves against corrupt governments of every stripe. Three new YA novels including Lowry鈥檚 Son 鈥� all of which are likely to be equally popular with adult readers 鈥� show young people searching for lost loved ones amid corrupt and crumbling societies.
鈥淪on,鈥� which is written in three parts, is the finale of a quartet that also includes 鈥淕athering Blue鈥� and 鈥淢essenger.鈥� The first and strongest section retells the events of 鈥淭he Giver鈥� from the viewpoint of Claire, who was 12 when she was 鈥渁ssigned鈥� the position of birth mother. She must produce three babies, which will be handed over to families by the Council of Elders. (Lowry is very skillful at avoiding descriptions that are too detailed for her audience, but the horror of Claire鈥檚 situation is clear.)
Something goes wrong during the birth, and, for some reason, Claire isn鈥檛 put back on the numbing pills everyone over the age of 12 takes daily. Desperate to find her baby, she sneaks visits to the Nurturing Center and then makes a desperate escape to follow her son.
The second section of the novel shifts from the black-and-white, sterile world of the city to a fishing village, complete with color and birds, that takes in Claire after she washes ashore. While it loses the momentum built up in the first section, the second has its own pleasures. But then the third and weakest section sidelines Claire to reunite readers with Jonas, Gabe, and other characters from earlier novels for a metaphysical standoff against personified evil from 鈥淭he Messenger.鈥�
Ultimately, 鈥淪on鈥� is not equal to 鈥淭he Giver鈥� 鈥� but then, few YA books are.
Music hasn鈥檛 been outlawed in Goblin Secrets, William Alexander鈥檚 first novel 鈥� which came out of nowhere to win the National Book Award in November 鈥� but acting is absolutely forbidden in Zombay.
Rownie鈥檚 older brother, Rowan, defied the ban and disappeared months earlier with the Guard in hot pursuit, leaving Rownie to the not-so-tender mercies of Graba, a Baba Yaga-like figure who collects 鈥済randchildren鈥� to run errands for her. While off to fetch oil for Graba鈥檚 clockwork bird legs, Rownie stumbles on a goblin troupe performing a play, complete with masks and puppets, and runs off to join the troupe.
As Rownie discovers, acting has a magic of its own. By playing a hero, he becomes one.
The ending comes too quickly for all the emotions Alexander has set in play to fully breathe, and several questions are left unanswered. But Alexander has created a satisfying fantasy world that stage-struck tweens (and their parents) will love to visit.
Grown-ups out there who belong to YA book clubs, if you haven鈥檛 added Laini Taylor鈥檚 鈥淒aughter of Smoke & Bone鈥� trilogy to your list, scribble it in at the top. Taylor鈥檚 2011 novel, aimed at teens ages 14 and up, is one of the most gripping and memorable starts to a series I鈥檝e read in a long time.
Set in Prague, it follows Karou, a blue-haired art student who has a double life running errands for a group of monsters as their self-described 鈥渉ither and thither girl.鈥�
The monsters, called the chimaera, might have rams鈥� horns or snake bodies, but that doesn鈥檛 necessarily make them evil, any more than a pair of wings makes an angel divine. Both sides have been locked in a war for decades, with the angels trying to reconquer their former slaves.
The first book ended with Karou discovering that everything she loved is gone, courtesy of the angel she loves.
As she puts it, 鈥淵ou know how, at the end of 鈥楻omeo and Juliet,鈥� Juliet wakes up in the crypt and Romeo鈥檚 already dead?... Well, imagine if she woke up and he was still alive, but ... he had killed her whole family. And burned her city. And killed and enslaved her people.鈥�
The sequel,聽Days of Blood & Starlight, opens with her human friends, Zuzana and Mik, as well as Akiva, the angel who loved her and wrecked everything, desperate to find her. Karou, meanwhile, is trying to undo the evil done to her people.
As is often the case with second books in trilogies, 鈥淒ays of Blood & Starlight鈥� is less tightly constructed and a little less satisfying. But the series as a whole is gripping enough to choke out everything else 鈥� chores, meals, bathroom breaks 鈥� while you read. Plus, there鈥檚 still that army of angels to defeat.
Yvonne Zipp is the Monitor鈥檚 fiction critic.