I have been told by children’s lit graduates before me that this would happen, this reading slump, but here I am, still slumping, behind on my yearly reading quota, unable to read anything other than fluffy nonfiction and overly dramatic memoirs.

I am trying to pep up my reading with the excitement of some Brand! New! Fall! Books! Here are eight YA/MG titles, one of which might lure me back into my usual voracious reading habits.

 

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

I never got around to reading Everyone Sees The Ants, but I think that was because it seemed a bit manly and a bit bizarre. If there are two qualities that might prevent me from reading a book, manly and bizarre might be the most common. I am just a girly realism fan at heart.

However, now King has written a work of girly realism, so I get a tinge more excited. This is a book about a girl who is having trouble with a secret relationship with another girl, which reminds me of one of my favorite reads of 2011, Annie on my Mind.

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson

A Wrinkle in Time. Graphic Novel. Hope Larson. That’s really all I have to say… who would NOT want to at least take a gander?

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Okay, so this is probably the only book on this list that I am truly geeked for. Loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone, hope this sequel doesn’t disappoint!

Live Through This by Mindi Scott

All fantasy sequels aside, you might recall that contemporary realism is more my bag. This book is about a girl with a troubled family and a crush on a geeky saxophonist and lots of secrets. Sign me up.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I reluctantly enjoyed The Scorpio Races, so I’m allowing the pre-pub buzz for Ms. Stiefvater’s latest to lure me in a bit.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

After reading Marianna Baer’s Frost, I have been intrigued by the YA horror novel niche. Gretchen McNeil’s Ten is about an illicit parent-free party weekend gone creepy and murderous. I’m hoping it will not be too Christopher Pike-y but still really freaky.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Well this one doesn’t come out until February, but it’s a first love story (which I love), and LOOK at that cover. Cutest cover ever.

The Wrap-up List by Steven Arntson

Remember those few years in the early 2000’s when every book was about teenagers dying or was told from beyond the grave? Oh wait, that really didn’t stop, ever (or start in the early 2000’s, I guess. Oh YA, you are so depressing sometimes) The Wrap-up List seems like an interesting twist on the theme – in this particular world, death writes you a letter letting you know when he’s going to show up… so what do you decide to do with your final time if you’re 16?