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[TRU]

If I were to begin studying the best young adult mysteries in order to learn which elements makes them so great, which books would you recommend?

Please, not a list of every YA book that you've ever heard may be good.

In the past, I pulled apart folk/country songwriters in order to learn how to write songs. It worked for me. Now I would like to dive into YA mysteries/thrillers. So I guess I'm trying to learn which writers may be the Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan of YA mysteries.

Can anyone help?

[Kat]

Nancy Werlin is good, the late great Willo Davis Roberts was a master you should study for technique--all of her books were best sellers, and Peg Kehret are just three to start get you started.

If you tend toward something different, read Joan Haddix.

In the meantime browse the brick and mortar bookstore's young adult secton--they only give shelf space to the books that are selling. You can learn a lot by seeing what new mystery writers they actually carry.

John Grisham just got into the mystery children's market. I don't think his new one is young adult, I think it is Middle Grade which is the tween teen and early teen market. I'm not sure how it's doing.

Good Luck!

[Old Bill]

Tru,

I read Holes and saw the TV movie...liked the movie but thought the book was drawn out and too slow in the middle.  But it had many of the recommended elements, character growth and change, etc.

Hoot, the book was pretty good but I thought the TV movie was kinda sappy.

I have a third one in mind, but I can't think of the title off hand...about a girl that could transport herself via trees...it was heavy into environmental issues, but not bad element wise.

Of course then the best is mine...ooops, oh yeah, it has been published yet.

Old Bill

[wonderactivist]

Hi Old Bill.

I work part-time at a bookstore and all of the books mentioned so far, except Nancy Werlin, are classified as "Young Reader" by our chain, not "Teen/Young Adult"--crazy isn't it?  I have to say that the traditional mystery is not at its strongest in the YA section.  The teens/young adults are mostly female, and into supernatural, fantasies, and thrillers...the guys are mainly into Japanese manga.  I can recommend a few good mystery/thrillers and the last 3 Harry Potters:

Charlaine Harris' TrueBlood series***
Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series
Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider series
Melissa de la Cruz' Blue Bloods series

***even though they're officially "adult mystery," the TrueBlood TV series has made Charlaine Harris a fave amongst our teen/young adult customers, again, mostly the females.

If you want to get an idea of the writing style the teens are into, just pick up an Ellen Hopkins, PC Csst, LJ Smith, Paolini, Suzanne Collins, Scott Westerfeld,  or Stef Meyer book.  We sell loads of Patterson's Maximum Ride, but almost always to adults who wandered into the Teen/YA section to find them. My 15 yr old son hates all of them except Collins, but did find the Pendragon series and the Horowitz listed above to be great.  He loves Arthur Conan Doyle, lots of SciFi and Dan Brown.

Grisham's new Young Reader mystery is doing fine.  The surprising part to me is how much Harry Potter has slowed down--almost stopped selling completely.  Perhaps the new movie will change that.  

Warm regards,

Lucie