The Young Adult Literature Challenge

Well, thanks to my previous post about my YA Lit class this semester, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. It’s definitely going to be a challenge to get through all the required reading, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.

So in the spirit of Young Adult Literature, I’ve created the Young Adult Literature Challenge. If you’ve ever wanted the experience of taking a YA lit class in college, here’s your chance to participate along with me!

Rules:
1. The Challenge runs from whenever you sign up until April 20th, 2008.

2. Feel free to combine with other challenges.

3. You must read at least one book that covers each of these 9 categories:

• Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
• Poetry, Drama, or Humor (any of these will work)
• Sports, Mystery, Supernatural/Paranormal (any of these will work)
• Fantasy or Science Fiction
• Historical Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Classic “juvenile” fiction (first published pre-1920)
• Graphic Novel
• Audiobook

4. There can be overlap between categories. For example, if you read a graphic novel that’s fantasy, then it counts for both. Or maybe your audio book is historical fiction. You get the idea. So you may have 9 books on your list, you may not.

5. Only 1 book per author is allowed. This means once you’ve read something by that author, you can’t read another book by the same author.

6. If you’d like an extra challenge, see below the prizes section for details.

7. It’s not required to start with a list, but it’s a nice thing to work for if you do. Feel free to use the above banner on your challenge post.

8. Sign up with Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog/website, send me an email to participate. If you’ve created a challenge list, post the direct link, not your overall link.

9. If you’d like, you can post reviews of the books you read. Please email me if you’d like to see a Mr. Linky just for reviews. An optional follow-up post will also be available in April.

Prizes:
1. Every person that signs up will be eligible for one pick from the Prize Box, whether you finish your list or not. Winners will be chosen randomly from the participants.

2. In addition, I will be giving out random prizes throughout the competition.

Extra Challenge:
If you’d like, you can dial the challenge up a bit. These are the full requirements of the class I’m taking, so if you want the real YA Lit college experience, add these rules to your list:
1. Instead of reading enough books to just cover the above categories, read a total of 25 books.

2. Only read books that you have NOT read for at least the past 5 years (so if you read it 6 years ago, you’re okay).

3. Read as many of these required novels as you can (I have to read them all) and count them towards the 25:

• The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle
• Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
• Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
• A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
• Deathwatch by Robb White
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs
• Life Lists for Teens by Pamala Espeland
• Shipwrecked at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong

4. If you decide to extend your YA Lit challenge, indicate that you’re doing the Extra Challenge on your sign up post.

Here’s Mr. Linky. Have fun and good luck!