I just finished up The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and I quite liked it.  I was rather surprised by how racy it got at certain points considering that it's young adult fiction (Note: I've actually been informed it's an adult work that was seen as a crossover for young adults.).  Of course, I am not naive enough to believe that young adults read things which are all sunshine and kittens but it's always a shock (I remember VC Andrews as a child and I swear that stuff scarred me) to the system.  However, the majority of the book was full of mystery, magic (although the characters sneered at this particular word choice), romance, and drama.  The only things that made it somewhat confusing were the jumps in time and narrative voice.  If that's cool with you, then I think this might be a good match for you.

The next book from the reading list is Monster by Walter Dean Myers and it focuses on a young black man who is in prison.  I've flipped through the pages and I'm not crazy about the style that the book uses to tell its story.  It's a mixture of diary entries and script.  I confess I am dubious about it but I am forging forth nonetheless.  I have to light a fire under myself as class begins next week and I'm only done with the first book! :o/

Wish me luck, readers!!

Life intervenes!!

Ah yes school is on the horizon.  It kind of creeped up on me that I'm about to start an intensive 6 week course of Young Adult Literature.  However, when I received the list of required books I knew that I had to get a move on in a BIG way.  There are about 12 books on the list (two of which I've already read: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling & Twilight by Stephenie Meyers) and I don't have much time to get cracking.  As a result, Stephen Hawking will have to take a backseat.  This also means that my last entry was basically a rhetorical question as I now have a limited selection of titles to choose from.

For reasons I can't come up with, I've decided to start with The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  Based on the dust jacket, the book appears to be a fantasy novel about a magical circus that shows up without notice.  There is a romantic back story about two magicians who are competing (but don't realize it at first) and the outcome effects everyone affiliated with the circus.  Since this is a fantasy novel, I'm about 80% sure that I'm going to enjoy it.  I usually have an issue with some of the young adult books that are "popular" right now because they're often overly angsty and full of swearing BUT I'm happy to give it a whirl (oh and I kind of have to read it for class).

So I'll (hopefully) be reporting back soon(ish) with my review and a blurb about the next title on the list. :-)