11/7/09

YA Fairies in the NY Times

Just a quick post-let to put up a link to this Sunday's NY Times Book Review, where there's an article on YA Fairy Books (rather inaccurately entitled "Field Guides to Fairies"). It talks about some great books-- Ash, by Malinda Lo, Eyes Like Stars, by Lisa Mantchev, Fairy Tale, by Cyn Balog, Wings, by Aprilyne Pike, and Fragile Eternity, by Melissa Marr.

Laini Taylor gets a mention at the end: "But the books in her beautifully written “Dreamdark” series are for a younger audience, and unlike the other fairy-themed novels discussed here, they don’t cross human and otherworldly realms but are rooted in a self-contained fantasy world, like Tolkien’s Middle-earth. There’s no tortured adolescent sexuality, just adventure, flying carpets, hideous monsters and stolen magic. Hardly a fairy tale at all."

On the other hand, they do fit the description "Field Guides to Fairies" rather better than the books discussed. And now I am wondering to myself--is there any YA book with fairies that doesn't have "tortured adolescent sexuality?"

But anyway, it's nice to see the Times following the lead of Once Upon a Week (which has now officially ended).

3 comments:

  1. um, all the books I have read have tortured adolescent sexuality... It seems to be a common theme...

    Glad to see the article being written, though!

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  2. I saw that this morning and was pretty shocked - so many Cybs books on the list! No Knife, though. :(

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  3. We have Knife in the middle grade Cybils...perhaps because, although there is a sexual presence, it never becomes tortured. Or fully realized.

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