Kimberly Pauley

Some last minute holiday shopping?

If you’re like me, you still have some holiday shopping to do. I always have the best intentions every year and every year…always fail to get things done in time. *sigh* Especially now that we’ve got Max, I find it downright impossible to get anything done on time, much less Christmas shopping.

Anyway, if you’d like some book recommendations, here are some I’ve read recently that I think would be great for that teen on your list (or adults too…I know so many now who are reading YA books…they’ve caught on to what a good thing they are!):

Saundra Mitchell’s Shadowed Summer is a great creepy, atmospheric ghost story set in the South. If someone you love likes gothic, ghost-y stories, pick this one up.

And here’s something different — a genre novel (in this case, I suppose you could call it science-fantasy…honestly, it’s rather hard to classify) that features a gay teen: Evil? by Timothy Carter.I really liked this one (a full review will be coming in January on YA Books Central) because it’s different, it’s got a good sense of humor, and it doesn’t go where anyone would expect it too. You don’t have to be a GLBT teen to like this one.

And how about Neal Shusterman’s Everwild? It’s the sequel to Everlost (and if they haven’t read the first book yet, just get ‘em both). I’m in the middle of it now and it is just as good as the first one. In fact, I’d rather be reading it than writing this, but hey…

For those HUGE Neil Gaiman fans out there (and you know who you are), check out Prince of Stories. It’s actually *about* him and all of his fantastical works. A big, thick book–it isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you’re a HUGE Gaiman fan, you’re not lacking in heart, are you?

For writers, there are a number of great books. I personally like Stephen King’s On Writing, Gail Carson Levine’s Writing Magic, and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. And, of course, a really good pen.

For those teens that you know you just don’t get, try giving them either of Stephanie Kuehnert’s books (Ballads of Suburbia or I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone).Then they’ll think that maybe, just maybe, you do get them.

And for Zombie lovers? How about Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth? Now those are some *real* zombies!

Other authors to think about (as in, anything by them is awesome): Laurie Halse Anderson, Brent Hartinger, Cynthia Leitch Smith, Maureen Johnson, Alyson Noel, Sarah Mlynowski, E. Lockhart, Kristin Tubb (middle grade readers), Niki Burnham, Sara Ryan, Tracy Barrett, Tanya Lee Stone (children’s books and a YA in poetry that is AWESOME), Sarah Dessen, Ellen Hopkins (more books in poetry), Heather Brewer (Vlad…for you vampire lovers) Laura Ruby…oh geez, there are too many to name. But you get the idea. Heck, if you have a particularly problematic teen on your hands, fill out the contact form and just tell me what they’re into and I’ll give you a suggestion.