Sunday, January 27, 2008

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!

24 comments:

Chelsea said...

I'm joining the Extra Challenge! This is my first reading challenge EVER. I've actually never read a Graphic Novel before, so I'll have to take some suggestions on which one to pick.

Alyssa F said...

Good for you! I'm right along with you, since I actually have to go the extra mile for the class. :-)

I know of quite a few good graphic novels, so if you need suggestions, drop me an email

Becky said...

Alyssa, I have a question about the extra challenge. I'd be considering the 25 book total if it wasnt' for rule #3. A few of those I've read in the past five years. And a few I'm simply not interested in reading at the moment. Except for Out of the Dust and Long Way From Chicago. Those two would be on my list. Would that still work? Or not? Anyway, let me know.

Alyssa F said...

Sure! That would be fine. Feel free to customize as you want.

I have to read all 9, but I know not everyone will want to do that.

Thanks for joining!

Ms. Yingling said...

The biggest challenge will be keeping my train of thought. If we've read most of the required list before, must we read it again? This sounds like fun!

Alyssa F said...

Nope! You certainly don't have to read them again. The required list is only for the extended challenge, so if you don't want to do it at all, that's fine!

the Dizzy said...

Hiya!

I'm Silence as you can tell.

I like challenges and love to read, so this goes hand in hand.

You can see my URL I listed it there. I'll post a blog and a bullentin on this right after this so everyone can join the challenge to. I know a lot of readergirlz who would love this I believe. So hello, and thanks for letting me join in the challenge.

;}

Elainareads said...

This is my first reading challenge, I'm excited. I'm also going to do the Extra Challenge.

Wendy said...

Hey Alyssa - just wanted to let you know I added this challenge to my novel challenges blog - hope it will bring more participants your way!

Eva said...

Do you have any suggestions for the various categories? I'm pretty new to YA, so I don't know good picks for most of them! Also, what's the difference between Fantasy/Sci-Fi and Paranormal?

Mel u said...

I read about 24 young adult novels a year to support my family reading efforts. I would love to invite the readers here (readers are thoughful persons) to visit
http://vegetarian-wednesday.blogspot.com/

and join in if you like.

Mel u said...

Hi I am joining the challenge-I read young adult novels to help guide my three daughters in reading choices and I also enjoy some of them a lot. I would like to invite all Readers here to visit
http://vegetarian-wednesday.blogspot.com/

and join in the fun.

Alyssa F said...

Eva- Paranormal is sort of the new name for supernatural. So they usually deal with ghosts, vampires, witches, etc. Fantasy usually has to do with magic. It's sort of a thin line since they overlap a little!

As far as recommendations, I have lots of reviews of various books. You can click on the sidebar of the blog (it says Review List) to get some suggestions. If you know something in particular you're having trouble finding, feel free to drop me a quick email and I'll rattle of some suggestions. :-)

Angel The Alien said...

This is a cool idea! I may try this challenge out for my new book blog (http://angelloves2read.wordpress.com) But how long do we have to read all those books?

Alyssa F said...

The challenge runs until April 20th

Amanda said...

I'm going to attempt the extended challenge - same due date, right? Don't know if I'll meet that, but it's worth a try! :)

Anonymous said...

I shall try to get all of these done... -evil cackle-

Chelsea said...

Hey Alyssa--

I read both Out of the Dust and A Long Way from Chicago and loved them. :) I'm going to see if my library has copies of the others on the required reading list, too. Hope you like some of them, also!

Alyssa F said...

Loved A Long Way From Chicago! I'm in the middle of Out of the Dust right now.

Alyssa said...

Okay, so this is my first reading challenge as well, but I'm excited!

Also, we seem to have the same name :P

Alyssa F said...

Seems like we have more in common than names. I'm a junior english major too. :-)

the Dizzy said...

I just wanted to say BOO! and that I've magically (not seriously magically but I'm amaze I managed to do it sooo quick!)

I DID IT! Huzzah! I managed to get all of it done! And the Luxe got into the library just in time for me to finish and it was AMAZING, really really good. I'm actually looking forward to the sequel, Rumors. Who woulda thunk it?

;} TOODLES!

Laura Elliott said...

Alyssa,

This SLOW reader is taking the plunge. Thanks so much for hosting this challenge. So many books I'd like to read. Nine books by April 20? That will be an all time record for me!

Gluten Free Girl said...

Oh I am so excited to join this challenge! Thanks for creating such an fun/entertaining way to keep myself focused while having to read so many novels!