Friday, January 29, 2010

The next huge wave in YA

Well, it's already reared its head, but that's just the ripple in what I think will be a tsunami of books written about this in YA fiction. Ready?

Werewolves....

Yes, tried and true, this, I do believe, is the newest YA trend. But only time will tell if my prediction is true. Is it on the downslide or just heating up? (I think the latter)... Has it happened before? Yes (remember The Blooding? How about Blood and Chocolate?) Is it after-effects from the whole vampire vs. werewolves thing because of Teams Jake and Edward? Maybe... Or maybe it's just another theme, like fairies, vampires, ghosts, demons, loup garous, and ghouls that are on the merry-go-round of YA fictional characters that makes a cycle, ends quietly, and returns with a rip-roaring start later.

And with that in mind, I had a great idea!! Instead of the traditional themes of him loving her, how about a team Jake and team Edward display, with vampires and werewolves split down the stacks on display?

Of course, there's Stephanie Meyer, but don't forget Cynthia Leitech Smith's Tantalize or Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver. Anyone else out there know some great werewolf books besides the ones mentioned here? I'm currently reading one that's amazing (purple cover, title on the tip of my tongue but it's in the truck and it's too cold to go outside for this blog entry right now! But the review will be up this weekend!!) If so, post a response to help us all out

Oh, and then there's the angel books that are coming out of the woodwork of YA fic as well...

4 comments:

Christina T said...

What about Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes? I just saw it posted on Story Siren today.

Cynthia Leitich Smith said...

I'm a long-time fan of the furry.

Doing my part--Wolf fans may be interested to know that Tantalize's hybrid werewolf Kieren will be the point of view character for the graphic novel adaptation of the prose novel, coming out in Feb. 2011.

Kris Nelson said...

I love the werewolf theme..but I think the new trend is.......the undead (zombies, etc. -vampires)
1. Dead Girl Series by Linda Joy Singleton.
2. Zombie Queen of Newbury High
by Amanda Ashby.
3. Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It by Adam Selzer
4. Accidental Zombie series by David Lubar
5. Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by Ehrich Van Lowe

6. Zombie Blondes by Brian James and lots more.

Naomi said...

I forgot about the zombies!!! And you have a very valid point, as well as some very good books. Thanks for the shortlist : )