Today's topic is Top Ten Books That Took Me Out of My Comfort Zone. I had an easy time making a list of adult books in this category (check it out at Book By Book), due to my many book groups, but it was tougher to make this list of kids/teen/YA books, just because I generally choose what I read...most of these pleasant surprises were due to recommendations.
Here are the Top Ten Kids/Teen/YA Books That Took Me Out of My Comfort Zone:
Shiver, Linger, and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
– I don’t normally read paranormal romance genre; in my reading journal I wrote,
“I hate to admit it, but I loved it, just like everyone said I would!”
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick – ditto, but the audio was
sent to me for review, and I felt obligated to read it. I enjoyed it, though I didn’t feel
compelled to read the rest of the series.
Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games) –
it sounded gross to me, but I began reading it aloud to my kids, and our family
ended up LOVING the entire series!
Tunnel in
the Sky by Robert Heinlein – an old sci fi
novel (probably not officially teen/YA) that my husband left in the bathroom –
I started it and couldn’t put it down!
The Warriors series by Erin Hunter
- reading about tribes of wild cats just wasn’t my thing, but my son
loved the series, so I read the first one at his urging…and ended up reading
six in a row!
Magic Street
by Orson Scott Card – though I LOVE this
author, this particular book didn’t sound like my kind of thing – a mix of
fantasy and reality set in urban LA loosely following the story of Shakespeare’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (see what I mean?) but Jamie
recommended it, and Card’s excellent writing won me over.
20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler – it sounded like
the sort of light teen romance I usually avoid, but I agreed to review it and
found it had surprising depth and was about a lot more than just girl meets
boy.
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott – this book
defines “out of my comfort zone,” from the perspective of a young girl who has
been kidnapped and is being held captive and raped repeatedly – yes, it was
horribly disturbing, but also very well-written and compelling.
Keeper by Kathi Appelt - a
sort of magic realism (not a favorite genre for me) for kids; not my usual sort
of book but the audio was sent to me for review. I enjoyed some of it but didn’t love it.
A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata- a difficult topic with some
disturbing scenes, about a young boy living in the jungles of Vietnam during
the war, but our whole family enjoyed the audio.
How about you? What kid or teen/YA books took you out of your comfort zone?
5 comments:
I want to read 20 Boy Summer. My friend read it and raves about it all the time!
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - I can't say enough about this book.
I still have yet to read the Stiefvater trilogy. Also, Card is one of my favorite authors, but I've not read Magic Street. I'll definitely have to look that up.
Great list! And thanks for coming by my blog. :)
I was a little afraid to read Shiver... not because it was out of my comfort zone, but because it had so much hype and I was afraid I'd be disappointed. Now I need to read Linger because I want to find out what happens next!
Living dead girls seems to be a very interesting story. We hear every day about girls kidnapped and forced to do things, but I never heard what such a girl has to say and if she could get over such an experience so it's definitely a boog I would read.
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