THE YA BOOK LOVER

01

"Harry Potter" Series - J.K. Rowling

I feel that this series has to go at number one because of how much of an influence it has been on my life. I can never tire of this series, and love to talk about and recommend it to other people. The series spans seven books, eight movies, a play, and a spin-off movie series. However, as this needs to be said, I do not support J.K. Rowling's views or agree with her statements regarding the LGBTQ community (or any other community, I've stopped listening to her at this point).

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Summary: I didn't know if I should make a summary for this series because it's so well known, but I like consistency. The series follows the life of Harry Potter as he goes to a magic school called Hogwarts, and discovers his way through the magical world. As Harry comes to find, he is actually the reason that a crazed manic named Voldemort (or He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named) was defeated on Halloween ten years prior to the story. As he grows older, Harry finds that he will never have a normal, albeit magical, life.

 

02

"The Glittering Court" Series - Richelle Mead

This series kinda snuck up on me! I only recently read the entire trilogy, but it quickly wormed its way into my heart with its interwoven stories across three books, and the way each story brings forward new information that help piece together the entire story of the series. 

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Summary: Each book follows one of three girls and their experience through the Glittering Court, a program that takes pretty, underprivileged, young women and makes them into dignified women to marry rich men in a colony across the sea. The first book ("The Glittering Court") follows Adelaide, a young woman who is actually an aristocrat, that joins the Glittering Court in place of her maid. The second book ("Midnight Jewel) follows Mira, a Simirican refugee, as she joins the Glittering Court to gain access to Adoria and find her older brother, Lonzo. The third, and final, book ("The Emerald Sea") follows Tamsin, who has the most secrets of the three, and has left us questioning her past and her motivations.

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03

"Three Dark Crowns" Series - Kendare Blake

"Three Dark Crowns" is a series that is very different from what I normally read, but is so compelling that I couldn't put it down. This series has 4 official books, with a 5th book ("Queens of Fennbirn" holding two novellas in it read the series first because the novellas contain spoilers!). I have read about half of the series and enjoyed it so far. My summary is based on what I remember reading, without any spoilers.

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Summary: "Three Dark Crowns" follows triplet queens born with unique powers. Mirabella can summon the elements and her ego rises just as fast as her fire. Arsinoe is a naturalist, which allows a person to have an animal familiar and be able to control plant life, but struggles to find a familiar of her own. And Katherine, the youngest triplet, is a poisoner, allowing her to eat anything poisonous and not become sick, at least in theory. Each girl is raised with a family of the same power, and grew up separate from each other, with the Poisoner clan in the highest position of power due to the last queen being one of them, which makes them eager to continue the tradition through Katherine winning the upcoming fight. Once their 16th birthday arrives, the girls must fight each other in order for the last one standing to become queen. However, nothing is ever as easy as it seems, especially when dealing with family, lies, betrayal, secrets, and emotions all thrown into the mix! The series follows each of the triplets through before the trials to the focal point of when they meet. As I have not finished it, I assume the series goes into the trials, but part of my memory is hazy of what happens at the end of Book 2.

 

04

"The Dark Artifices" - Cassandra Clare

This is probably my favorite series by Cassandra Clare, followed closely by the Infernal Devices (her second series in the Shadowhunter world). The series has three books, with the third book ("Queen of Air and Darkness") being over 1,000 pages.

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Summary: The series follows the residents of the Los Angeles Institute and the after affects of the Shadow War from the Mortal Instruments series. The story follows Emma Carstairs, Julian Blackthorn, Julian's siblings (Mark, Livia, Tiberius, Drusilla, and Octavian), and Christina Rosales as they deal with secrets that the Clave have hidden deep from everyone for hundreds of years and are slowly seeping out. As past comes out, their world is thrown shaken mentally, physically, and emotionally, as hidden emotions and desires are brought forward into the light. The story introduces new characters as well as has the appearances of the old ones.

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05

"Vampire Academy" Series - Richelle Mead

Richelle Mead made the list twice! Her "Vampire Academy" series is the first series of hers that I read (way back in high school). What I love about her vampire series is that it is based in folklore and uses the terminology to help explain the types of  vampires (i.e.: Dhampir - vampire-human hybrid; Strigoi - evil vampire). The series is a total of 6 books, and inspired a spin-off series called "Bloodlines" that follows several of the supporting characters from the "Vampire Academy" series. The series also has a movie, but it isn't true to the books and tried to make it into a comedy. The only thing that I will say against this novel is I wasn't 100% onboard with the romance in this novel due to the age difference (even when I read it when I was 14). So that is something to note against the book. The first three novels focus on the school aspect but the other three don't, or not as much.

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Summary: The series follows Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway and her best friend, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir, who have been on the run for two years after Lissa's family was murdered. They are captured by the Moroi (vampire) government force sent to find them and shipped back to their school, St. Vladimir's Academy, for their protection. As they return to school life, the girls start to unveil plots and behind the deaths of Lissa's family, the girls' psychic bond with each other, the truth about the Strigoi, and the powerful politics at play.