What is your least-favourite YA title?

I was looking at the favourites thread, and thought it would be fun to hear what books people absolutely hated (or at least strongly disliked). I know I already have too many books to read, so it might help to cross a few off the list. So, what books do you hate, and why?

The one YA book that I really despise is Rebel Angels by Libba Bray. This was especially disappointing because it's the second in a trilogy and I loved the first one, A Great and Terrible Beauty. But Rebel Angels was just painful to get through. The characters were idiotic (their decisions were based on what would make for a more exciting story, not what would be the reasonable thing to do), and it was possible to figure out the major plot twist - in a way that left absolutely no doubt in your mind - halfway through the book. Ugh.

But if you loved Rebel Angels, feel free to tell me that too!

I love the idea of this thread. I'll have to think on it and get back to ya.

The only book I've recently read and not liked was Thirsty by M.T. Anderson. I will say I thought the book was not badly written, I just don't like depressing stories.

I didn't like A Great and Terrible Beauty at all. I thought it was quite unoriginal, and I couldn't stand the main character.

I really didn't like Search of the Moon King's Daughter. Every little thing that could go wrong, did. (Because Dickensian England wasn't depressing enough without heaps of added melodrama). At the same time, she tried to cram in every bit of research she did, making me not really care about the characters.

PS- I hate to say this, but I couldn't even finish Eragon. It bored me. It was just so... fantasy cliche.

Kidsilkhaze: Eragon??!!? Ohh that pains me. How far did you get? A couple of people at our library have been saying it is slow getting into it which I agree, but overall I enjoyed it so much.

I know... I know... I got 50 pages in. I'm a big fan of Nancy Pearl's 50 page rule and I had to force myself to get even that far.

But I definetly know I'm the odd one out on this one!

I actually liked Rebel Angels much better than A Great and Terrible Beauty. I really, really wanted to like the latter, but I just couldn't. Rebel Angels was silly at times, and I completely guessed the main plot twist too, but I felt like the author had a better grasp on her world. It made the book more fun for me to read.

One YA novel I truly couldn't stand was called Beauty. I believe it was written by a woman called Nancy Butcher, but I can't find it online anywhere. I remember looking it up on Amazon just after I read it and being shocked by how many good reviews it got. The story seemed disjointed and silly and just generally terrible. I was sorry I'd wasted my time on it.

I just picked up Beauty by Robin McKinley from the library. I had heard very good things about it. Do you think that is the one you mean?

Hmm, I'll have to consider A Great and Terrible Beauty a bit more.... I wonder why I liked that one?

I hope Robin McKinley's Beauty isn't the one meant. I don't remember whether I've read it, but I've enjoyed everything of hers that I did read.

I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and Eragon!
I didn't enjoy King Dork very much and I think I am the minority on that one. I also didn't love Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and I KNOW I am in the minority on that one. I think most people really liked it.

Right now I can't think of any YA novels I outright hate (though I'm sure I probably could). I can think of a couple off the top of my head that were really disappointing.

I had such high expectations for King Dork, and it just did nothing for me. I couldn't get into the story, I really hated his writing style, I hated the characters and just found the tale boring. (Big, long run-on sentence there). I just couldn't wait for the book to be over. There was such a hype to this one and it WAY didn't live up to the hype.

Another one was Bass Ackwards. I stumbled upon it at the bookstore and thought the premise sounded interesting. Overall, I just found the writing trite and forced. I didn't think the voice was authentic or that it rang true to what I know about adolescents (I've worked with middle schoolers for years).

It definitely wasn't by Robin McKinley. It was a very short, quick retelling of Snow White in which the protagonist tried to make herself disgusting so her mother would love her. She ended up foiling a plot in which the wicked queen tried to make all the pretty girls in the country ugly.

The YA book I dislike the most has the be The Face on the Milk Carton. When I started teaching middle school several years ago, it was on the summer reading list, so I bought and read it. It had to be the worst piece of dribble I have ever encountered.

Someone recommended Looking for Alaska. Maybe I need to read it again, but it just depressed me. The people who said it was good would go on and on about how wonderful the book was. I was expecting something fabulous, but it just wasn't there for me.

I really disliked Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. It had such a promising premise, but I thought it could have been written much better (e.g. some awkward shifts in point of view) and was under-developed in general.

Also didn't like Inexcusable by Chris Lynch. I can respect how well-written it was, but it didn't do much other than disturb me - which I'm sure was one of the points.

Also Many Stones by Carolyn Coman. I thought her estranged relationship with her father could have been better developed so that she didn't just seem like a moody teenager. The most interesting parts were what she learned about South Africa and apartheid - I think I would have enjoyed it more if that was the focus.

This isn't quite a YA level, but I couldn't stand the 2 books that came after City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau. I LOVED City of Ember, but didn't like People of Sparks or The Prophet of Yonwood at all. They were very much of a let down.

Ack! I really liked King Dork! I also liked Face on the Milk Carton but I was much younger when I read that (12 maybe?)

kperry-- People of Sparks was a huge letdown after City of Ember. I was told not to read Prophet of Yonwood...

I loved both People of Sparks and City of Ember, but also found Prophet of Yonwood to be a HUGE letdown. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and I was glad my copy came from the library!

P.S. I really enjoyed Looking for Alaska!

I also loved City of Ember!! I was really disappointed in People of Sparks and I haven't read Prophet of Yonwood. I think I'm too scared of being disappointed again. It had such potential!

I have to admit I loved Face on the Milk Carton and I read the whole series! But I absolutely hate with a passion Harry Potter!

"But I absolutely hate with a passion Harry Potter!"

Blasphemy!!!!

I really really did NOT like Criss Cross by (I think) Lynn Rae Perkins.

I really disliked The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. The first book in the series was okay, but by the third, I felt like his agenda was more important to him than his characters.

Bookworm929 - I didn't like Criss Cross either - nothing happens!

I despised Swallowing Stones. The whole idea was ridiculous, and then the characters do nothing but wallow in an odd mixture (even for adolescents) of guilt, self-recrimination and pity. I don't know who decided this was necessary reading, but they should be sacked!

I recently read So Yesterday and will gladly put this in this thread. I HATED this book! I could not get into it and could not finish it.

Faith Wish by James Bennett was horrible writing. The characters weren't developed at all and it was just, well, horrible. I only finished it because I was interested in reading books about cults and mind control.

_Zoe_, I just remembered another reason why I disliked Rebel Angels - there's a plot twist halfway through that depends on Gemma having the awareness of a girl of the 21st century. Well-brought-up upper-class gels of the 19th century absolutely would NOT have jumped to that conclusion about Felicity's father, especially on such little evidence.

Of course Bray's just writing YA chicklit in crinolines, we all know this, but I'd hoped that there might be some acknowledgement of the limitations of the Victorian mindset to go with all that research on clothing and transport systems. Still, we're hooked on it enough to read the last one, so I really should stop whingeing, shouldn't I?

I could not finish Eragon either...so glad I am not alone. I also had a hard time with Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins..maybe I need to try it again...didn't it win an award?

That's a good point! I didn't even notice that at the time.

And I don't really see a problem with complaining about it and then reading the next one anyway - it's sometimes just fun to complain about a bad book :). I think it's maybe even because we're hooked enough to read the next one that we care so much about how bad this one was. If I read a book by an unknown author that turns out to be horrible, I'm probably not going to be very upset. It's when I have high expectations and already care about what's happening that it really bothers me....

Honestly, I'm on the fence on Eragon. Now that the movie is coming out, I think I'll get another copy and reread it, and possibly read Eldest as well. It kind of reminded me of a poorly done rewrite of Earthsea and Lord of the Rings tom me. As far as YA books I really don't like, I read the first Artemis Fowl and was amased I got all the way through it. It was inventive and new, sure, but it was, in my opinion, so far beyond ludicrous and silly that I couldn't really get into it. It kind of felt like Colfer couldn't decide whether to write a sci-fi or fantasy book, so he created some bastard genre that was neither, but both at the same time, and did it very poorly to boot.

I'm not sure what my least favorite YA book is, though in general I don't enjoy ones with depressing endings. I like Eragon so so, but guessed pretty much everything that would happen in the second book when I was halfway through the first book. Has anyone else noticed any major corollaries between its plot and that of the original 3 Star Wars books/movies? I know some people who have read Eragon, but none of them have ever seen/read Star Wars. (I've ended up seeing Star Wars movies ever since I was a kid because my mom's a fan of it.)

Am I the only person in the world who couldn't get through Sabriel? I can't say I really hate it...I just...don't care one way or the other.

Eragon didn't do a darn thing for me. Too much smiting and high-faluting language for my taste.

ditto. I read eragon to my campers this summer when they wouldn't go to sleep. it knocked them right out.

I couldn't get through Sabriel either, but I think it's because I chose it for a novel study at the time. Then, trying to read and analyze was too frustrating, so I switched books. I'm thinking I should give it another try without the pressure of being forced to read it though...

Typically I read books and even if I don't personally "get into" them I can think of someone that could potentially get something out of a novel. But the one book I can't get into it at all is Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson. I found it boring and overrated. What is so wonderful about writing sentences with five semicolons and twenty-five commas each? I dare anyone to try to diagram some of them. It's impossible to wrap your brain around them. I love historical fiction, but this one was just outright boring. It took two false starts before I forced my way through it.

I love about half the books that were mentioned.

For Looking For Alaska, I loved it about as much as I was depressed by it. I suggest reading An Abundance of Katherines. It's really funny, no horrible sad parts.

I personally hated Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. I just hated the main character. She was irritating and I didn't find her at all realistic. I also didn't really enjoy (not really hate) Meg Cabot's How To Be Popular.

I agree with disliking The Subtle Knife. I was very disappointed with the course of this series because it started out so well. It became very mystical and vague and left the world of YA books.

I also agree that Eragon is just too derivative to be really enjoyable, but it does look pretty on my shelf next to Eldest. :o)

I must disagree with the comment about Artemis Fowl, though. I think the series is very clever and the characters are engaging.

I loved Eragon (and I'm not a fantasy reader), really didn't care for Looking for Alaska or Elsewhere, but I use the H-Word for Tangerine and Weetzie Bats (and probably all subsequent books).

I dislike all the Harry Potter novels. The longer the series goes on, the heavier the books get and the more obvious the need for an editor. Off the top of my head, one YA book I cannot abide is Roll of thunder, hear my cry. I found it depressing and leaden.

I have to say I love Philip Pullman's novels. The Sally Lockheart stories are excellent and I have re-read His Dark Materials at least four times. Active, heroic young girls / women: hooray!

*41 Hera - I am with you on Sally Lockhart. A plucky gal, if ever there was one.

Lizzier: lucky England, we get Billie Piper acting in The Ruby in the Smoke over Christmas on BBC TV. Huzzah! :D

Hera - Indeed! Arguably the only decent thing on for the next week.
Deeply Fab.

Jes_Roo-"I must disagree with the comment about Artemis Fowl, though. I think the series is very clever and the characters are engaging."

Yep, i'm totally with you. Artemis Fowl is a brilliant work, though I dont like the other book by Eoin Colfer: The Supernaturalist. It's just...... doesn't have the charm.

Oh, and I heard that they're (Miramax?) going to make Artemis Fowl into movie too. I do hope the cast would meet the expectation.

if you can stand it, try listening to King Dork. i tried reading it at first and thought the same things, so i decided to try and listen to it and it is hilarious and such a great story. i am not sure if i would have enjoyed it had i plugged along trying to read it.

blbooks, I am completely with you on Octavian Nothing. I have it out from the library right now, and I could only get through the first few chapters. I love historical fiction as well, but I just couldn't get into this story.

I don't know if I have a least favorite YA novel, but can I make a confession? I didn't like Howl's Moving Castle. I found it meandering, difficult to follow, and lacking in warmth. Yet everyone adores it! I feel like I should go back and re-read it to see if I'll "get" it, but I can't stand the thought of spending more time on it. Alas.

I think I would have had more trouble with Howl's Moving Castle if I hadn't seen the movie first. Although the storylines were a bit different, there were enough similarities to help me along with the book.

I thought Howl's Moving Castle was amazingg! But, like demonlover said, I saw the movie before, so it probably helped a bit.

I couldn't get through the first chapter of Eragon! It was unbearable. My mate kept on telling me it gets better, but it was rubbish. Got Fangs? also annoyed me just a bit.

Artemis Fowl seemed utterly boring to me at parts, and Sabriel was torture!

And by the way, Looking for Alaska is amazing! If you didn't like it, try reading it again, and play some music while you're reading. Always helps for me.

this is kind of odd for me, because i have never before, in my entire life, hated a book. i have been bored and disappointed by books, sure. but not often, thankfully. i'm usually quite easy to please, as long as i'm not looking for a specific type of book. but when it comes to Eragon, i'm gonna have to agree. hard. i hate those books with a passion i find hard to describe. i got Eldest for free, so i (obviously) had to read Eragon first. ugh. i barely got through it. it was painful to read. i couldn't even pick up the second one, i was so disappointed. i was then given an apportunity to speak to the author, Christopher Paolini, during a conference call/interview, and i had hoped it would give me a better understanding of where he was going with the books, possibly making it easier for me to get into them. but, unfortunately, it actually worsened the situation. the boy was so arrogant and pretentious...i can't even bring myself to see the movie now. i can't stand the idea of contributing to the lining of his pockets. it's sad, too, because everybody compares the books to others that i've read and loved. le sigh.

I hate Feed by MT Anderson. HAAAAATE.
And Stargirl.

I loved King Dork to bits, but I get that it's a complete love or hate book.

Wow. I don't think I've ever met anyone who hates Stargirl. You're not just messing with us, are you? ;)

It's probably unfair to post a comment here, because I almost never finish a book I don't like. Life is too short. So I haven't actually completely read most of the books on my "hate" list. Every once in a while, though, I'll slog on, either out of sheer determination, or because, well, everyone else likes the darn book, so what's wrong with me anyway?

One book that stands out in my mind, and I don't really know why, is Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson. I had liked Speak well enough, and Anderson has won oodles of awards, but Catalyst just grated on me. I finished it, but don't ask me to read it again. I know you were going to, but just don't do it. 'Kay?

Some of the mega-popular books that I just couldn't finish:
Artemis Fowl
Eragon
Anything by Lemony Snicket (and I've tried several times), but I kind of liked the movie

And, this might lead to a revocation of my membership in Read YA Lit, but I stopped reading The Chronicles of Narnia after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. But my son devoured the series in about two weeks, so at least someone in my family has good taste, right?

Plasticbird, I'm with you on M.T. Anderson (although "hate" is too strong), but I'm with sarahelizabethii on Stargirl. That's a book I thought I would hate, but it ended up being one of my all-time favorites.

I really didn't like Stargirl either. I like other Jerry Spinelli books a lot, but I felt like a lot of the characters in Stargirl rang false somehow -- the kids seemed to be written much younger than 16 and 17 year olds would be. I also thought the character of the old mentor guy in the desert was really formulaic.

A horrible, horrible one called The Girl in the Box
by Ouida Sebestyen. Ugh! I don't believe in burning books, but if I did ...

Ok, don't even get me started on Snicket. The books are depressing to the point of being rediculous, and his "style," if you can call it that is distracting and idiotic. His whole thhing of stepping out of the narrative to define a word is distracting to the point of making me want to never see a snickett boot again. Kids should learn to use a dictoinary, or learn the meaning of words through context, they aren't going to have snicket to define words the rest of their life, so they shouldn't get used to it.

I've always taken Snicket's tendency to define words as a way of teasing adults in general, who tend to think kids are dumb. Snicket knows they aren't. Maybe the irony is lost on most of the children, but it certainly isn't lost on all of them.

I completely could not get through King Dork and Octavian Nothing. And yet they both received such good reviews. I actually liked M. T. Anderson's writing style in Octavian Nothing, but I thought that the plot itself was tedious. It just... went nowhere, even 200 pages in. I gave up on King Dork halfway through when I realized, uh, I couldn't find a point to the book. Sorry >_The Catcher in the Rye but I couldn't get through that one either.

I finished Eragon but hardly felt that Eldest was worth reading. So I just didn't after a chapter =)

Other books I disliked and/or couldn't finish:
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. I loved Saving Francesca to death, but I felt Looking for Alibrandi was tedious and the writing childish.
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I'm planning on starting this one again, soon, now that I've read The Book Thief and loved it.

Yes!! I completely agree that Criss Cross had nothing in it!! =)

I recently had a lot of trouble with Just in Case by Meg Rosoff. I really liked How I Live Now and had high hopes for her second book but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't get the characters at all....

I just struggled through King Dork. I know the author is a big punk guy and I was really looking forward to reading his first novel. I absolutely LOVED the first 1/3 or so of the book. I was talking it up to friends and students. Then I had to finish it, and it just went on and on and on. I didn't like the ending or the middle. So the funniness and quirkiness of the first 100 pages didn't save the ending!

There are so many here that I totally agree on.
For example, Eragon. Oh my gosh. I absolutely hate that book! I have a friends that love it but honestly. What annoyed me most was his long descriptions using uncommon words and the words from made up fantasy languages that you had to check the back to understand.
He didn't even WRITE the book, IMO. When I read the acknowledgments I was surprised and annoyed to notice that there were tons of people that helped with writing the book, sentence structure, grammer and all that. Most authors have maybe 1 or 2 people help with proofreading and continuity. But honestly.

I also agree with So Yesterday, although I did finish that book.

And Lemony Snicket... I read all of them after I'd seen the movie. But I thought that the story got really old after the third book. Thirteen is much too long.

I read the first three Artemis Fowl books and...I didn't hate them, I just thought they were dumb. The characters were all cliched (I can't make the special symbols for this word come up): the genius child, the Israeli-trained security guards who have served the family for generations, the female detective stuck in the sexist department, etc. At least that's how I remember them, it's been a few years since I read them.

There have been many books I have hated. A Series of Unfortunate Events, for one. Every book had the same plot, the joke of the story got old fast, I could never care about any of the characters. I could go on and on about how awful it was, but I really enjoyed the movie, which I did not expect!

The Little White Horse was so dull I couldn't even finish it. The only good thing about it was the cover. The horse of the title never showed up and something that was alledgedly a lion was so poorly described I thought he was an Afghan Hound!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach are perhaps the only books in the world I would consider getting rid of.

Ginger Pye was a book I read back in my animal-craze. I never forgave it. Ginger dissapeared in chapter seven and didn't turn up until the last pages. Between those events were many chapters in which the Pye children forget about their dog and continue with their eccentric lives. That wasn't what I signed up to read! I wanted a story about a smart dog that gets stolen, not the lives of the family that owned him, before and after he was in their home. Pehaps it wouldn't seem so horrible now... but I have no plans to re-read it.

I also strongly dislike To Ride the God's Own Stallion by Diane Lee Wilson. I think she was trying to make a coward into a hero, but he annoyed me. The really interesting characters like his family, got very small un-important parts, and the story dragged in places.

I'm suprised people didn't like looking for Alaska . Really sad of course, but still good. Minaly I don't like stupidity like gossip girl or summer boys.

i usually like jerry spinelli, but i didn't really like stargirl that much. I didn't think the characters were very real and it all was a little too delicately done.

*Sugar Rush* by, I think, Julie Burchill. I actually threw it away because I didn't want to be responsible for somebody else buying it at a used bookstore and reading it. Far be it from me to condemn trashy chick-lit, but that book was horrible.
I was quite disappointed by *Last Chance Texaco* by Brett Hartinger. I may have thrown that away, too.

I strongly disliked Artemis Fowl; the story was pointless and the characters unlikable.

I did not like Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging; it was hardly as funny as proclaimed by my school librarian when she told me to check it out.

I found Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator rather weird and disturbing — as well as tiresome, odd combo as that may be.

I never managed to get into the Redwall series. I tried with Mariel of Redwall and Lord Brocktree, but I never liked them.

Hmm, that's all I can think of for now.

There is actually a chronology to the Redwall series, and, given, there isn't much of a story arch (that I can remember) there are things that won't connect unless you've already read the books that precede it. Artemis Fowl just never hooked me. I know it isn't YA, but, honestly, the Dresden Files does the whole magic mixing with technology and the modern world, and does it a lot better, even if it is a different genre.

68 Child_of_Light

I agree. I would always suggest people start with Redwall. There is an internal chronology that actually starts long before Redwall, but it makes more sense to read them in the published chronology, at least in the beginning.

I also strongly disliked the book Eragon. It was super boring. It took me about 4 months to finish it because it was so boring and normally I finish books within a week.

I had to force myself to read Eragon; I firmly believe that it would never have been published if an adult had written it It reads like badly-written fanfiction, and is so derivative it's not even funny. I'm always encouraging people to skip over it, and just read J.R.R. Tolkien or early Anne McCaffrey works instead.

I don't really know a least favorite, since I tend to stay away from books I'm sure I'll dislike (for example, I won't bother with Eragon).

The only thing I can think of offhand is The Neverending Story. I read it because I loved the movie (the first movie) and usually the book is better, but for some reason I simply hated the book. It's been so long that I don't really remember why, though.

#70 I quit Eragon also...just did not get into it.

My son keeps bugging me to read Eragon because he loves it. I think I'll have to try it out just to see what it's like.

Great discussion and lots of food for thought. I have never read Eragon because the students I have taught who read it and hated it - REALLY hated it - and I value their opinion (yes I know that is wierd but I trust their judgement!) . My personal dislikes are Maureen McCarthy' s Ganglands which is one I never finished. I understand people disliking the Series of Unforunate Events as I have only read the first three and felt it was basically a money making scheme for Mr. "Snicket" - same characters, same plot but only the names changed to "protect the innocent". Felt it was fodder for the soap opera raised YA - very comforting to know the same thing was going to happen to the same people in each episode (sorry novel). I loved Redwall and have read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at least 10 times - can't understand how anyone sould not like them but each to his own, eh?Anyways that's my soap box rant. Cheers from downunder :)

I'm afraid I have to add to the Pullman debate.

Although the very end of the last book is beautiful (and made me well up a little!), I did feel that three books was one too many. The Amber Spyglass dragged on and on and on....yawn.

I think it is best summed up by #24 foggidawn - his agenda became more important to him than his characters.

Well said!! All I could hear between the lines was Philip Pullman smugly saying "my god, I'm clever".

Grrrr.

I really enjoyed that series, but The Amber Spyglass not so much. But now that I've read (some of) Paradise Lost and heard of the relationship between the two, I'll try reading the series again. If I can find time, that is, with the stacks of other books I have to read.

I actually like The Amber Spyglass best of the three :)

If we all liked the same stuff it would be a very boring world, and there would be far many more impoverished authors than there are at the moment. ;-)

If I'm honest, my main gripe with the Dark Materials trilogy is that it would never have been published had it been deconstructing any other faith but Christian.

BUT PLEASE DON'T LETS GET INTO A THEOLOGICAL DEBATE ABOUT IT !!!!!!

As I said, I thought the concluding paragraphs were beautiful, and there was some very powerful writing in them. Just not entirely my bag as a whole work. :-)

(Edited for late-night spelling errors!)

i loathe the redwall series as well! that is so comforting. i feel less alone.

another vote for sugar rush as being the worst YA lesbian book out there, unless you want to count 'heart' - a small press book that i cannot remember the author of, and isn't touch-stoning- and i can't be bothered getting the details out. terrible! very terrible!

i Adored looking for alaska and am very intrigued that the book thief is a YA title in america - it was marketed at adult, squarely adult, in a large trade format for the full trade price in australia, where the author is from. it's interesting marketing, and i think it has done just as well over there.

i love all the philip pullman's dark materials books, mainly because of their theology, though i disagree with #79 - what is the satanic verses apart from a grown up dissection of Islam? in a lot of ways, it's quite similar to the pullman books. is that heresy to say that? ::grins::

i have to say that it made me view the narnia books in a completely new context, and a not very favorable one.

#80 - I see where you're coming from. Although quite a fuss was made about the satanic verses, whereas nothing really has been said about the dark materials series.

I think what I mean is that Christianity seems to be an open target (I'm not saying it shouldn't be discussed and debated, or that it is a flawless religion), and there isn't much opposition to it's being torn apart, whereas the same treatment of other faith's is not so easily accepted/acceptable. Interesting I think. :-)

Also hate Sugar Rush. Just awful.

I'm also discovering weird things about what is now being considered YA.... I'm beginning to wonder if for all this time I've been reading way below may actual age, and my parents haven't told me I'm *special* yet... (Ha ha ha!!)

Heck, just read end of my last post, and realised it could be taken wrong. Really hope I've not offended anyone. xx

see, i actually thought a fair bit of a fuss was made about the pullman books, though i may be wrong there... in fact, when i studied them at uni, some of the students in my cohort refused to read them on the basis of their theology -

while, the fuss that was made about the the satanic verses was mainly because of the death warrant put out for rushdie than the actual book, i am guessing. the actual suggestions in there about islam are far more critical of it - i think phillip pullman is mainly attacking ideas of the afterlife as a focus for living rather than the whole of the faith - his attack is on blind faith, and a desire for ignorance rather than understanding.

now i am intrigued. i want to hunt down other novels critical of faith.... i mean, a LOT of fantasy does pull apart notions of religion in general, but none as blatantly as what philip pullman does - hmmmm.... let's put our heads together.

Maybe the fuss about the Pullman escaped me - I could have been a little later than others in coming to them!

It would be interesting to see how the the different faiths compare with regard to the extent they are deconstruted respectively.... perhaps there's something in the Chritianity group....will maybe check it out over there later!

Back to bad YA....

I was less than thrilled with Thirsty by M. T. Anderson and Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith.

While I appreciated Anderson's style of writing I did not like either the plot or the conclusion of the book. I found Leitich Smith's writing to be stilted, often awkward and poorly edited. It just wasn't as much fun as I had hoped and it seemed less "tantalizing" than an unoriginal re-hash of "Vampire and Werewolf Things That Are Sexy" (trademark).

I have always hated "Bridge to Teribethia" and of course that is the book we read three years in a row!!! After that, "Eragon" is okay, but not worth the hype.

I will add myself to the 'Read Eragon and hated it' Club, I honestly couldn't get through it. I was impressed that it was written by a 14 year old boy, but the whole thing was rather 'blah' in my opinion, the movie was even worse. I couldn't finish either.

I also couldn't stand Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West even though it's not quite YA it's still in our HS library. I really do want to see the musical but Gregory Maquire is messed up and far too dark, maybe I am simply not getting it

I really couldn't stand Wicked either. I don't know if it was too dark or what the deal was, but I just didn't see the motivation for Elphaba...or anything else really.
I hear the musical is fabulous, though.

#87 and 88 - I have mixed feelings about the novel Wicked. Loved bits and hated bits. Having seen the musical though, I can well recommend it. For a change, it actually works better than the novel. There are far fewer extraneous characters, and characters have been combined to make much better sense of some plot strands. Check it out!

>85 That's exactly how I felt about Thirsty. The writing was good but I didn't like the story and especially not the ending.

I just won a copy of Tantalize through an online contest. I'm looking forward to it :-) The author seems so nice I'm hoping to really like her book.

I haven't read Wicked, but I love the musical. I've seen it twice and will see it again if I have the chance.

I finished the thing, but I agree... your f.c. description was perfect, I thought.

I'm glad someone else felt this way about this award winning book. I can't believe that I didn't like this Printz honor book and National Book Award winner. I feel guilty that I didn't like it. I had to force myself to finish, hoping that the ending would save me. But, it didn't. Read my review for more details. Basically, the plot line and characters were great, but the prose and word choice killed it for me. My high school students won't read it.

I too did not like eragon overly much, mostly because I would be jarred out of the story by some of the blatant theft of ideas from other fantasy works. I admired the fact that a teen wrote it, but it was hard to stay with it, and it was completely predictable. I did like Eldest more, it felt as though the author was less awkward in his writing.

I loved all of the His Dark Materials books, but I think I appreciated them more because I read Paradise lost by milton in college. And okay, I love them because they're "sacrilicious." :)

Some of cynthia voigt's books I have had trouble getting into. Elske (sp?) had like no emotion in it at all and I finished it thinking I had wasted my time.

I can't really think of any that I truly hate at the moment. I've had some that I couldn't get through, but I'm going back to give them a second chance (I went through a period of time where I wasn't able to sit still long enough to read. Very Depressing, but I'm back to being able to read for hours again. YAY!)

I strongly disliked Lois Lowry's The Giver. It was selected for a reading class for a group of young teenagers living in Asia. --Perhaps because I thought there were so many more appropriate, appealing, and culturally resonant books for those specific kids, and perhaps because of my snobby taste for more literary type works, I decided not to like it *after reading the few first pages*. Tainted from the outset!

Does it deserve another chance? I don't know. Lowry is a prolific writer but there are so many other more compelling YA books dealing with the same themes.

#3 and #52 - I can’t believe you didn’t like THIRSTY. I loved that book. It was almost as good as Burger Wuss by the same author. Hilarious and very clever books both. Sadly his latest books just don’t live up. Whales on Stilts was boring and the humor was flat. Feed is also a great book. I’ll admit that it’s hard to like some of the characters but I believe that was the point.

#6 and #7 – I couldn’t finish Eragon either and the movie was painful. (I took my daughter because she wanted to see it. I had to laugh at the book because everyone was so surprised that the book could have been written by a teenager. Ummm it read like a book written by a teenager. Sorry 7.

#15 – Looking For Alaska is one of my favorite YA books. It is depressing and it made me very sad (I had a college friend take her own life and it was a bit too close to home) but the book’s character were fantastic, believable, and hilarious. It was worth the pain.

#24 and #39 and all – Not like all of the Northern lights books??? Oh my. Phillip Pullman is a writing god. Every book I read by him I love (even the ones that have topics that don’t interest me at all). Ohhhhh it sooooo pains me to hear anyone who didn’t enjoy one of his books. “It became very mystical and vague and left the world of YA books.” (from #39) Actually that was Pullman’s point. The novels grew up with Lyra and therefore became more complex. Oh the sadness of folks who don’t like the Pullman. I will admit that as he moved on it became more and more of a philosophical novel but what wrong with that. Some great books are philosophical. Almost all of Hermann Hesse’s works are about his philosophical and religious beliefs and they are some of the greatest books written in the last 120 years. Many classic novels hover around the philosophical. As far as attacking Christianity… ummm… I’m not even sure where to begin with that one. Christians make themselves an easy target. The Christian faith has many facets which are unbelievably smug. It is a religion which has a history of enforcing its beliefs on other and of being unbelievably self-righteous. Currently we have factions with the Christian faith which are just intolerant of opposing view as the extreme Muslims everyone is so worried about today. We just don’t think about them the same way because they haven’t chosen to become full blown terrorists. Christianity has become a bit like the US these days… an easy target. (Just for the record I am a Christian and an American.)

#95 – The Giver is another of my all time favorite books. I’m so surprised that you didn’t like it. Of all of Lowry’s books it is the best that I have read. When I have used it with middle school reading classes, they all hate it at the beginning and by the end they are begging me for more books like it. If only there were more YA books as good as the giver.

there are so many other more compelling YA books dealing with the same themes.

Which ones? I love The Giver, so I'm always interested to hear about other books like it.

Personally, I couldn't stand The Golden Compass. I slogged my way through it because someone asked me to, but I detest Lyra.
I read The Subtle Knife next, and actually found myself enjoying that one about halfway through - you know, once Lyra stops being completely self-involved and obnoxious...

#97 - I'm glad to know your students responded so well to The Giver. I guess while it didn't appeal to me right away, it did to many other readers including your young adults there! I'm really compelled to give that book another chance, a genuine one.

#98 - Well, I guess my claim was pretty haughty, but I did enjoy other YA titles with overlapping themes, I should say. Other sci-fi dis/utopias I liked that may appeal to YA readers are Elisabeth Vonarburg's The Maerlande Chronicles (published in original French as Chroniques du Pays des Meres), The Chrysalids and A Wrinkle in Time. Some of these are listed in the "favourite YA titles" thread. Strange and grave assignments for young characters also feature in sci fi title The Keeper of the Isis Light.

I'll really have to give The Giver another go. You defend passionately!

(Edited to italicise alternative titles and take them off the touchstones list.)

Well, there are very few titles I really hate, but here are a few.

Sirena, by Donna Jo Napoli (reading this was horrible, I'm not sure why I even did, and it was just plain weird.)

The Witch's Boy, by Micheal Gruber (it was depressing and sluggishly slow. I couldn't read it all.)

Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (This book was a sad sort of try at being a story. All it makes me think is that Mr. Paolini only ever read Lord of the Rings from ages 9 through 21. It's nearly plagiarism.)

Eldest, by Christopher Paolini (And just a carbon copy of the first colored in red. Boring.)

I'll definitely look for The Maerland Chronicles (maybe even in French.... I was meaning to work on my French a bit this summer). I loved The Keeper of the Isis Light, and I liked The Chrysalids and A Wrinkle in Time too.

If you do try The Giver again, you should join in the group discussion from a couple of months ago! http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=8507

I'm with you on Eragon. It just wasn't my kind of book. I tried listening to it and just found my eyes glazing over.

While I'm voicing unpopular opinions...Walk Two Moons and just about anything else by Sharon Creech would have to be on my "most despised" list.

"Petey", by Ben Michaelson. An assault on the reader's emotions. Syrupy and sacharine.

I have always disliked anything by Tamora Pierce; I find her to be way too coy and smug with her YA-feminism (though don't get me wrong- I am a feminist and even a strident one). Something about the way she writes just seems too simplistic and, well, easy. She and Marion Zimmer Bradley (especially with Mists of Avalon) make me long for Ursula Le Guin, who in my opinion writes the best YA books ever.

I LOVED Sabriel, and all of Robin McKinley, though I hated both desparately the first time I read through them. Sometimes you have to give things a second chance.

(...but not eragon. Ew. How commercially pandering can you get?)

Anyway. It's all subjective.

#102, Zoe, I will check out the group discussion for The Giver. Thanks for the tip.

I actually went out and ordered The Maerlande Chronicles after I wrote about it here... I haven't read it in such a long time. Elisabeth Vonarburg was/is a French citizen living in Quebec. After all these years she is also Quebecois.

#98 Another book so much like The Giver that its author ought to be in court is Truesight. It was on our state reading list this year and it was such a ripoff it was embarassing. Had I not read The Giver first, I probably would have enjoyed it, but the quality of writing was just not the same. Jonas was a far more likeable character.

#20 I agree. I loved City of Ember and thought People of Sparks was o.k. It was just very different. I haven't even read The Prophet of Yonwood yet because it hasn't gotten good reviews.

I didn't like eragon when I first read it, but the second time I understood it better so I loved it. One book that I kind of dislike is the Clique by Lisi Harrison. It's just so unrealistic.But I'm sorry to say that I'm still reading the series.

I hated Vampire Kisses. The characters weren't that interesting and felt kinda fake, and the stuff that happened just seemed to be thrown in there. Like a bad Twilight. (The plots are pretty similar, except Twilight works.)

The only thing the book had going for it was that Alexander looked like Haji from Blood+ (the anime) in head.

Vampire Kisses certainly weren't my favorite vampire stories either, but I thought they were okay and still plan to read the new one. I always thought I might have liked them much more if I hadn't read Twilight right before reading the first Kisses book.

I am about to start Twilight and I was worried I might not like it very much. After reading these comments my hopes were raised.

#103--I liked Walk Two Moons but everything else I've read by Sharon Creech has been complete dross. I'm with you on that.

#113--I agree. Walk Two Moons is a beautiful story that is appropriate for YA ages and deals with difficult problems in life. Her other works are more of the same of what kids are fed to keep reading.

Really? Did you read Love that Dog? I thought it was enjoyable, and a fine story about self-discovery. I plan to share it with my students this year.

No I haven't, but I'm open to trying it. I really thought Walk Two Moons sttod out way above therest of the books of hers that I was reading, so I guessed I just stopped. But, I do

#3 Thirsty is not a very satisfying book. It fails on the suspension of disbelief. If vampires were this dangerous and widely known to exist, there would be whole bureaucracies dedicated to their detection. No way would this book's scenario be possible. I think M.T. Anderson's Feed a minor classic.

Ditto to Love That Dog...great book for teachers and their students....also introduces some poetry to the class.

This is really funny... some people hate the books some people love... Good for writers :-D

I hate Tormod Haugen's books. They are so depressing.

Gay Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry books... Absolutely awful! I wanted to throw the first book in the wall, but forced me to read through the whole series - you know, it MIGHT get better. It didn't.

I didn't like Diana Wynne Jones' Merlin Conspiracy, though I love her other books. (Even Howl's castle. And I love the Japanese film version as well ;-))

I hated Richard Peck's "Are You in the House Alone?" - but mostly because I thought it was about ghosts or other mystical things, and it was about rape...

I second that emotion. Paolini may write well for an eight year old (or fifteen, whatever), but original he ain’t. Eragon is basically a pastiche of popular fantasy titles from the past couple of decades. If you’re familiar enough with the genre you’ll note that even the names of his characters are derivative.

#120 hyborianmike --

My father is positive that Paolini rolled his D&D dice and wrote down the results!

I do love reading others' opinions! Thirsty was the first vampire book I read and I liked the concept of Feed.

My vote for give this author a second chance: Eion Colfer andSupernaturalist

Octavian Nothing - Not a fan. I felt it got better as it went on, but it was still fairly boring.

Eragon - got halfway and ditched it, soooo boring and cliche.

Artimes Fowl - read the first one, was extremely bored.

I liked Sabriel and the others in that trilogy quite well, but it took me until I was older before I could read them, I wasn't fond of them as a teenager.

Ginger Pye was boring and pretentious

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging was absolutely stupid. I refuse to read any further than the first book. The characters were so dumb and pathetic.

And finally, while City of Bones wasn't exactly a YA book, it read much worse than one. I hate this book with a passion, and strongly discourage anyone from reading it.

I'm right there with you. I have tried 3 times to get through Eragon and just can't. I finally gave up.

Don't bother with Eragon. I finished it. It totally wasn't worth it. Near the end, I only finished it because someone promised me chocolate if I wrote a properly snarky review (in the works :-) ).

I have to say, these kinds of threads can be sort of dangerous--because if you love books (as all of us here do) it can be deeply offensive to have someone say how much they hated one of your beloved books.

Anyway, I really hope The Golden Compass wins for the Novemeber book in this group. I think the discussion will be fantastic.

And I can't think of any YA books I hate, but I didn't really care for I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman. I understand what the book was trying to do, and I respect it for that, I just couldn't really get into it. (I did stick it out til the end though.)

By far the worst book I read recently is The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. It was painful to read all but the last 30 pages or so.

Oh, the mention of Octavian Nothing reminds me that Feed is now right up there among my most hated books. Very painful to read.

Zoe,

I read your post about Feed. I tried to read it a couple times but could never get into it. I clicked on your touchtone because I wanted to read the reviews on it and it sent me to a book about insects.

Not sure if that's the one you meant. :-)

Thanks for pointing out the incorrect touchstone! I sometimes forget to check :). Interestingly enough, the right one came up immediately when I went to edit it.

Zoe, you and your dislike of Rebel Angels...

I liked it. I didn't think it was as good as A Great and Terrible Beauty but still, it was pretty decent.

As far as dislike goes, I could not get into any of the His Dark Materials books. I found them to be obtuse and, frankly, boring. Possibly I just don't "get it" but I probably couldn't be forced to pick the books up again.

On the other hand, as far as absolutely horrible goes, my absolute least favourite has to be City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. The character development was at best trite and the plot was laughable and completely unbelievable. It was just...bad.

***possible spoilers for Rebel Angels***

The main problem was that the author had never done an anagram in her life, had no concept of how to do an anagram, and assumed that her readers were equally ignorant. You can't have the entire plot twist depend on something that you know nothing about, or the whole book just falls apart and you end up seeming stupid.

I honestly couldn't get through A Great and Terrible Beauty, I hated it. I couldn't really get into it. But you know, different strokes for different folks and other cliche sayings lol.

I have honestly found the very worst book in the world Lust (seven deadly sins). I have honestly never hated every single character in a book like I did with this one. The main librarian at our school was trying to find books like Gossip Girl for our girls to read.

I also didn't care for The Golden Compass. I just didn't like Lyra and found it, as Xaverie said so well "obtuse"

I read The Golden Compass when I was about 11, and didn't fully understand it, but I thought it was because I was too young (even though I didn't have that problem with anything else). I loved other books by Philip Pullman that I read. So I'm going to try The Golden Compass again and see what I think of it this time.

> 130, 133

Do you really mean to use the word 'obtuse' to describe The Golden Compass? Intellectually dull, dim-witted, thick? Fair enough if you don't like it, I just think there are certainly plenty of complex ideas in it.

>135

Perhaps obtuse describes me in relation to that book. Maybe opaque is a better description (dense, thick, unclear, obscure). I admit to not being an inherent fantasy fan. I was searching for some post-Potter YA lit and read great reviews of The Golden Compass. I've fared better with Scott Westerfeld and to a lesser degree Stephenie Meyer.

I'm going to have to add Eragon to this list for the fiftieth time. Also The Scarlet Letter. The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake. Cinderella 2000. If I hadn't also seen the movie first, I would never have made it through Howl's moving castle, at least not far enough to actually get to Howl. Glad I did though.

The DaVinci Code. Caddie Woodlawn. Les Miserables- I really, really, really tried on Les Mis, because I had a friend who lived for it, and we both loved the musical. But it just wouldn't take. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. Ooh, and Wicked. Please don't let me forget Wicked.

I don't want to admit it, but Dreamland by Sarah Dessen didn't please me at all. I regret this because Dessen is one of my all-time-favorite authors. Maybe I just couldn't handle the depressive story or relate to (understand) the narrator or develop a "crush" on the love interest.

I didn't like The Giver. I know it won a Newbery and all, but I thought it was too depressing for younger kids. It might be appropriate for middle school and higher, but unfortunately I think it is in many elementary school libraries as well.

>139 I didn't really care for The Giver that much either. I found it to be very distressing.

verity: Did you read it when you were younger? I think it's actually much more depressing for an older reader.

I agree. I am surprised that it won a Newbery Award. When I was a school librarian, even my most voracious readers would not finish it.

Why are the Clique books so addicting? I am also still reading the series. It is the same feeling as reading the tabloids--unrealistic but I cannot put them down.

Interesting. I read The Giver for the first time in 4th grade and loved it (although I didn't understand all of it necessarily). However, I have found that I like it less as I grow older.

I read and enjoyed The Giver when I was ten or eleven. It didn't bother me too much at the time, but in retrospect I can see how depressing it was.

I find that the students in my high school library have great affection for The Giver and many count it among their favourite books. Having it displayed during Banned Book Week got a fair bit of discussion going.

The absolute worst YA book I have read is Rock Star Superstar by Blake Nelson. It's an uninteresting book about some uninteresting kid who joins a band. Ever talk to a high school kid who is in a band and can't shut up about it? It's just like reading Rock Star Superstar, except he sometimes yaks about girls, too.

I really hated Stargirl. My tenth-grade English teacher made us read it, and I was really annoyed that when other classes were reading The Crucible or The Scarlet Letter, we were reading a children's book. I was more of a book snob then, but I still maintain that the characters were cartoonish and unrealistic. It's too bad, because I loved everything else I read by Jerry Spinelli.

One year for summer reading, I chose Witch Child from our reading list, and hated it. I felt like things were just happening, but that there were no overlying themes or point. I didn't care a bit about the main character.

Oh I love The Face On the Milk Caron too! And I hate Harry Potter with a passion too!

I couldn't get into any of theWeetzie Bat books, which my friends loved. It lacked the subtlety that I seek in books (which may have been the reason my friends loved them).

Rock Star Superstar is not great, but I didn't hate it. The Blake Nelson book I hated is Paranoid Park, which is apparently being made into a movie.

I enjoyed many mentioned here including, Stargirl and all of the Weetzie Bat books are among my favorites! The Giver is also one of my all time favorites.

#37--There is a wonderful audio version of Octavian Nothing. Maybe if you are listening, the massively long, over-punctuated sentences aren't so irritating.

# 127&128
I said this about Octavian Nothing, and I'll say it about Feed--it is a wonderful audio book! I didn't enjoy Feed even when my husband, who is a terrific reader, read it aloud to us. But that audio version (think it's Listening Library) was superb!

I read TTYL because it was donated to my mother's elementary school library, and I was prereading for age appropriateness. I cannot believe that it was published--with sequels no less! Is that really how publishers think teenage girls talk online? It was like reading Bridget Jones (which I'll admit, I loved) but at a fraction of the intelligence and humor level. My issue with the book isn't so much the formatting--this style has been successfully executed by other authors, such as Meg Cabot. Worse in this book were the disparaging attitudes towards women's bodies expressed by the characters, and the complete manhandling of a plotline that could have been used to teach young women an important lesson about when to tell trusted adults about bad situations. I don't think I could ever recommend this book to anyone.

edited for clarity

I just finished Criss Cross. Total bore. I also finished The Absolute True Diary of...It was a tough read. I think it will win an award and then get banned. There were some issues in there for me. I am a Potter hater as well.

I read The Giver out loud to my 6th graders. They LOVE it and beg for me to read. They need help with it and I would agree it is for older kids to read alone.

Oh man, I could make a few people mad with this one, but I HATE Twilight. I know I'm not alone in this opinion. But I sure feel alone most of the time!

Also, I hated the first Midnighter's book by Scott Westerfeld. Haven't read the others. I read Peeps and liked it up until the ending. Haven't read The Last Days. I can't bring myself to read the Uglies series, even though I hear wonderful things about it. I'm just not into Scott that much, even though I love his blog.

M. T. Anderson, on the other hand, is like one of my favorite authors. I love love LOVE Feed. Octavian Nothing was also brilliantly written. Definitely not incredibly exciting, but it was thought provoking, and I thought it deserved the NBA.

There aren't many books that I dislike.

However, I just can't get the Georgia Nicholson craze. I tried reading Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson and I was completely let down.

Definitely not incredibly exciting, but it was thought provoking

I haven't read Octavian Nothing, but I think this is a large part of the problem I had with Feed: having a thought-provoking idea is not enough to make a good book. The writing has to be engaging too.

#158 -- I agree. I've read the first two books in the series, and probably won't read more. The big turnoff for me is that I really don't find Georgia at all likable -- and sing it's from her POV, we don't get to know any of the other characters well enough to like or dislike them.

#159 You didn't think Feed was engaging? Gasp!

#161: I did not read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, but I did read New Moon. I was not impressed. So I suspect that you would not be alone about Twilight. I enjoyed Feed (love, etc. would be going too far). Thirsty I found a big disappointment.

#156: I'm reading The Giver to my class right now (11 & 12 yr olds - not sure what US grade that is). They love it too. I've read it to about 4 other classes over the years and it is always the book that keeps the kids' attention more than any other. They do need help understanding some of the ideas, but it promotes some great discussions.

I thought Feed was excellent - more suited to older kids than I'm teaching though. I liked Thirsty and Burger Wuss too.

Georgia Nicolson is very popular with the girls in my class. The boys have become so intrigued by the girls' interest and by the titles that a couple of them started reading the books today too. I read the first two and found them ok, but not compelling. However I think it's probably the kind of series that gets better once you are more familiar with the running jokes and slang etc. Will probably read a try a few more.

# 157

I'm currently working my way through the first Midnighter's book by Scott Westerfeld and I'm not all that impressed by it.

Does the rest of the series get any better? Does anyone know?

I am going to add my two cents worth. I must be the only person on the planet that hates the Series by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. The protagonist is a whinning brat. The writing is endlessly boring. I found myself actually wanting Bella to be killed and left dead.

No, no, no dewystacks, I absolutely wholeheartedly agree with you. That series is horrible and violently self-serving. As an added bonus, it's written in first person.

I would have to add that while I did manage to choke down Eragon, I really had no desire to continue the series. I appreciate that this is a well-read young lad, but there is a fine line between admiration for others' work and ripping it off. Eragon ripped off some of the best for a very poor imitation.

#165 I only read New Moon and found it unimpressive. I will not even give the others a chance. I am the wrong age and gender to be impressed by whatever merits it might have.
#166 I did not make it through Eragon, and will not give the rest of the series a chance.

After I read Criss Cross I was like what exactly was this book about. It was boring.

Wow! All those highly-touted books as busts!
I just bought The Golden Compass, now I'm afraid to read it.
I like both Tamora Pierce, who I started reading because of recommendations on LT, and Melanie Ann Pierce (SP?) who I got because I didn't look at anything but the Pierce part when I went back for more, but I, who love vampire and werewolf stories, seriously could not stand Blood and Chocolate -- I understand immature teens and pre-teens, but my gosh, if I were a teen I would be infuriated at how little this author apparently thinks of young girls.

I had not thought of Wicked as a YA book, but I could not get through it either and friends of mine raved about it for months.

Finally, The Outstretched Shadow : The Obsidian Trilogy: Book One (Obsidian Trilogy) by Mercedes Lackey and I LOVE everything else I've ever read by Lackey. This one was just too much angst.

I like the Limony Snicket books, but from the point of view of someone long not a teen, they have a certain wry and British humor that I suspect many people don't get until their 40s and 50s.

Likewise, I don't think anyone should read Catcher in the Rye until they have a 16-year-old teenaged boy themselves.

> 169 I just read Blood and Chocolate, after having met the extremely personable and witty author, Annette Curtis Klause, at a convention.

While I can understand your reaction, I don't share it. Sure the protagonist and her human teen-girl counterparts often behave badly, but I think their motivations are pretty true-to-life. And Vivian's warring attitudes -- her sense of her own alienation and her aggression towards her (human) peers -- ring true to me. Overall, I really liked this book.

As for my least favorite young adult book, I'm waving the anti-Eragon flag. How Paolini's managed to avoid being sued for copyright infringement is beyond me.

So many of my favorites are on this list! I know that I'm coming in late, but I have to say that I really enjoy the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. I'll admit that Rennison needs to rap it up, but the earlier ones were great and I've had positive response from most teens I recommend it to and only one who couldn't get into. A Great and Terrible Beauty is one of my favorite books and even my brother liked it! One of his friends skipped class to read it.

There's a series called Mob Princess that's actually the worst thing I've ever read in my life. Including the backs of cereal boxes and the nutritional information sheet at McDonald's. It gets every aspect of it's world wrong and actually makes Sugar Rush look reasonably thought out and well written.

I'm coming into this discussion super late, but I have to tell you that I hated the book, "Holes" by Louis Sachar. I think part of the problem was that I read a discussion of how great the book was, and I could just NOT get into it at all... I thought it was stupid and as a result, I wouldn't read Small Steps if you paid me serious money!

I didn't see Wicked as dark; although Elphaba's character certainly takes on a desperate darkness in the end. I wonder if anyone else appreciated the allegories to classism, racism, imperialism, and social justice? "Wickedness" is in the eye of the beholder.

I really disliked slam by Nick Hornby and The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne for the same reason: incredibly condescending towards their intended audience.

I also didn't care for Slam much. Wouldn't say I hated it, but I generally just didn't like it.

All of Gregory Maguire's books are full of allegory and connections to the real world. I'm currently reading What-The-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy. Unfortunately, with his books you almost have to like the concept and desire to find out the ending of his concept in order to keep yourself turning the pages. I always feel like an outsider when I read his books, instead of being connected to the characters. It may be the language he uses...

I love the concept, but the writing is a little to rich for me.

I had a very hard time finishing White Darkness. Forced myself through the entire book. After all it won a Prinz award it should be great... Not by my standards.. I felt that it was very slow moving and just plain bizarre-- but not in an intriquing way at all.

#173: What?! You didn't like HOLES?!?! Well, it's not that meaningful, but it's a great book all the same. In fact, it's among the best books I've read (in terms of story and appeal).

Anyway, I can't remember resenting a YA book more than I resented Treasure Island. I hated it so much I can't even remember the author. It was a required reading back when I was little, and I really thought it was the dullest book ever. Maybe that's because it was a required reading, and also because I read it when I was still very young.

Recently, I've read 12 Again by Sue Corbett, and upon finsihing the book, I thought I wasted my money. The author tried to force her story.

I disliked A Wrinkle in Time heartily. But that may have been the situation where I was reading it--middle school english class taught by a teacher that thought it was his job to discourage you and make you feel uncomfortable.

I still have nightmares about the class on occasion.

#179 hackmac - I had trouble with Treasure Island too. I read it a few months ago and was bored silly. This is one of the great pirate books of all time? The crew overcomes the pirates by virtue of their moral superiority! Gah! What a wussy battle tactic!

179 and 181. It was probably the greatest at the time or the only one at the time or something and just somehow never lost the title when something better came along. You know literary types are resistant to change.

To quote Mark Twain: "A classic is a book everyone praises but never reads." Or something like that.

I'm glad I never bothered to read it! Maybe someday....maybe not.

Personally I like pirate romance novels ;-p

#181 "The crew overcomes the pirates by virtue of their moral superiority! Gah! What a wussy battle tactic!"

So you're more of a Spaceballs philosopher(i.e., "evil will always win because good is dumb")?

My $0.02 on Treasure Island: I found it enjoyable enough, but it isn't a favorite title. Of course, I love love LOVE Muppet Treasure Island. *grin*

I just think there needed to be more swashbuckling action in a book of that kind. The good guys made some really, really dumb choices simply because the pirates would've done the opposite. The part that really stood out for me was when they hoisted the British flag over their hiding place. Yeah, let's tell the murderous villains exactly where we are!

The good guys made some really, really dumb choices simply because the pirates would've done the opposite.

Hmmm...I think you've just put your finger on the fundamental weakness of bipartisanism!

There is so much bad stuff out there! But most of them dont succeed, so there is no point complaining about them. It's the ones that become best-sellers that make me doubt the sanity of that outside world.

Eragon: I can recall books that may have been worse but the memory fades. This one doesn't.

Harry Potter: As I say somewhere else, each book introduces one or more deus ex machina du jour that does not get used in a later book. And Book 6 and 7 introduce completely new back stories for old characters giving them new powers. The whole thing could have been condensed to book 1 and the denouement of book 7.

The Face on the Milk Carton: sentimental, milk the suckers, and then ends with a anti-non-Christian rant.

Lemony Snicket: The blurbs are the only thing good about these books. I only managed to read the first one (and as you can see from the above I have a strong stomach for crap) and it was too precious. Almost like Junie P Jones on steroids.

Philip Pullman's third book. I think he loses steam.

Wrinkle in Time series. I hated the psuedo-Christian message.

#186 if there is one thing i do agree with you is that the lemony snicket books were terrible. But everything else i completely disagree with u.

Also to all those who have only read New Moom well of course ur not gonna like because u havent read the first one which has all the really good bits. honestly people they dont put the books in that order for fun.

I am so glad to hear I wasn't the only person who disliked the Stephanie Meyer's books. Edward is so disturbing in Twilight, I kept thinking "Hello crazy, scary, stalker boyfriend" everytime the author tried to make me feel how powerful his love for her is by having him follow her around so that he could jump out and save her at the crucial moment or sneak into her room at night to watch her sleep. And Bella is an idiot who should never be left without a trained handler because she obviously is unable to care for herself and is just this side of suicidal. Is this what passes for sweeping romance in the tween set these days? New Moon isn't much better. The whole "If I can't be with you then I will kill myself" storyline is not what I want my daughter to think is romantic and/or acceptable in a healthy relationship. I didn't even bother to read Eclipse. I feel it only fair to point out that I dislike Romeo and Juliet as well as Wuthering Heights, both novels that are supposedly very romantic, so apparently unhealthy relationships are not my cuppa.

I also did not like Eragon. People are forever going on about how derivative the Harry Potter books are and then turn around and praise Eragon. Huh? Eragon couldn't have been more derivative. I couldn't bring myself to finish the book or be bothered to read the others.

I did not like the Lemony Snicket books or Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series either. Generally I enjoy YA books and I think there are some fabulous ones being written these days.

I will gladly get on board for hating, really really hating, Eragon. I also can't get more than five pages into Twilight, didn't get past the first Lemony Snicket, and loathe everything about Gossip Girl.

I was also rather disgusted when Savvy won a Boston Globe/Horn Book honor award this year--its narration is forced and unrealistic, and deeply irritating. Ingrid Law is trying to write about a Midwestern girl with supernatural powers, and her girl doesn't sound like Midwesterner OR a kid. Mostly she sounds annoying.

#189: I was right with you through Eragon, Lemony Snicket, and Gossip Girl. I couldn't finish any of them. I haven't tried any Stephanie Meyer, but I haven't felt inclined to, either.

I have to jump off the bus when it comes to Savvy, though. I really liked it. It just goes to show you, doesn't it? About the only Latin phrase I can remember from my college days is "De gustibus non est disputandum," and that's probably because I mutter it constantly while watching TV, surfing the web, going to the movies, and, yes, reading book reviews.

As another example of no-accounting-for-taste, I recently read Busted by Phil Bildner, and I gave it the lowest rating I've ever given any book here on LT (1-1/2 stars). But three other people gave it four stars. Ergo, ipso facto, QED (or something like that).

I have to agree with Thirsty. It is one of the worst books I have read in a long time. It was just depressing from start to finnish.

I've read two horrible YA books this year. Both by Carrie Jones. The first being, Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend and its sequel, Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape). Given that I disliked the first so much, why did I read the second, you ask? It's just the perils of purchasing a series online in one purchase rather than testing the water first.

The first book was quite bad. The main character was horribly whinny and in my opinion very unlikeable. The second book was worse than the first. The plot didn't seem to go anywhere... except to a so very predictable place. I'm not sure if there was supposed to be a twist and if there was, for me there wasn't... just clumsy foreshadowing leading up to a cliched and cringe worthy teen pregnancy.

It was painful to read. It really was. But as horrible as these books are I find myself in debt to the author as it was through her blog I found a link to Brotherhood2.0 and from there I discovered the writing of John Green. That being said, I LOVED Looking for Alaska.

Probably the only YA book I have tried to read and had to stop reading was Artemis Fowl. By chapter three I was groaning and dreading each sentence. My belief could only be suspended so much.

Regarding Octavian Nothing, I absolutely loved the book! To me, it was the epitome of the ultimate horror story, showing the reader the face of the monster, and it is us.

I never want to read again any of these books:
Love among the walnuts and Once upon a marigold by Jean Ferris; The princess diaries; or The beautiful miscellaneous by Dominic Smith.
I read a review of The beautiful miscellaneous, after I tried and failed to become engaged with the main character, and it said that you'd either love it or hate it, and that it was a very special book. Guess I'm not a very special reader!
As I'm from New Zealand, I thought I'd add the two NZ YA authors that I dislike - Jack Lasenby and Ken Catran. If there are any Kiwis reading this, I'll probably be howled down!

Oh, I loved Once Upon a Marigold! I thought it made a great read-aloud

Aww, I liked Love Among the Walnuts and Once Upon a Marigold. They were just my type of thing in 6th grade and I still think they're funny.

The books I hate more than anything right now are Twilight and New Moon. I can't say I dislike Eclipse or Breaking Dawn because I couldn't force myself to read them but I hated the first two books. The plot wasn't good or interesting enough to make up for Meyer's terrible writing.

#195/196 -- Just wanted t make sure that you know that there's a sequel, Twice Upon a Marigold, just out this year! I have it on my TBR pile at this very moment. #194, you will probably want to avoid! ;-)

I've read a lot of poor to mediocre YA lit this month, seems like. Oh. My. Gods. comes to mind, as does Vampire Kisses. I wouldn't give them "most hated" status, but I will say that I was not impressed.

Lord of the Flies makes me ill. It's very clever and well written, but so bleak and deviod of anything redeeming. The same goes for Sleeping Dogs by Sonya Hartnett.

Eragon was unoriginal, uninteresting and very poorly written.

Mister Monday by Garth Nix started out with promise: some interesting characters and original ideas, but I was disappointed that it never really developed all of its potential. It would have been ok as a one-off if it had resolved properly, but the same plot got rehashed 6 times over in every sequel. I was surprised by this, because I thought that the Abhorsen trilogy and Shade's Children by the same author were really good.

I remember being bored by The Stone Mage and the Sea by Sean Williams. It was more original than Eragon, but written in a way that completely failed to engage me.

I like a lot of Noel Streatfeild, including Thursday's Child, but the sequel, Far to go, was a complete joke. The characterisation was terrible & inconsistent with the first book, and the plot & its treatment never gave the reader a chance to suspend their disbelief.

I liked the idea of Artemis Fowl, but I just didn't find the writing very gripping. It seemed a bit flat and overly simplistic.

I saw Twice upon a marigold was out, and knew I wasn't going to go anywhere near it! Sorrel, I agree with you about the Mister Monday series as opposed to the Abhorsen series - most disappointing indeed.

Um...I didn't even finish Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan. I just got bored and wasn't attached enough to the characters to finish the book out and see what happened to them.

The Host and Breaking Dawn are two of the worst books I've read this year, maybe two of the worst, period. I'm just glad my kids are too young to get caught up in the mania. By the time they're old enough to read YA books, I hope everyone will have forgotten Meyer.

I suppose if I were looking for deep writing I wouldn't look to Stephenie Meyer but I still love reading her books. I enjoy the fact that I'm not having to languish over reading something deep and I feel like someone is telling me a story. (And btw, The Host is not YA.)

Then again, I don't read YA for "well written" books as much as I read it for the story itself. Not to mention my favorite adult books are a little more avant garde when it comes to the writing style.

Just my humble opinion.

I find Meyer's prose adequate, if nothing special. It's her ideas about romance and sexuality I find disturbing, and which I hope my children never buy into.

>202 Jolene,

I like that you have "well-written" in quotation marks. Personally I find the writing in YA novels tends to suit my personal taste much better than what passes for literary. Of course I love the story lines too. :-)

I really didn't like Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb. I still read all of the books, and felt dissappointed each time. The main character annoyed me and the contrived conflicts were as annoying as old Three's Company episodes where everything would be solved if the characters would just stop lying to each other. Or ask a direct question.

I once made the random mistake of picking up Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper -- it was ridiculously awful. It was, in fact, SO awful that even I, as a very young woman, could realize how badly written it was. She's a popular author, so I'm assuming her other books are much better . . .?

#194: Not about to howl you down, but what is it that you dislike about Jack Lasenby and Ken Catran?

I dislike Harry Potter with a passion, I tried the first one but only read the first few pages and it bored me to tears. Wasn't that keen on His Dark Materials trilogy either.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr - It had a promising concept (along with a beautiful cover), but it was just.... I can't even describe my thoughts on this one.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Song of the Lioness Series by Tamora Pierce - I tried this series when I was in middle school, but it didn't work for me.

Moonlight Secrets by R. L. Stine - I loved reading the Fear Street Series (cheesy as hell, but they were fun quick reads) as a kid, and was excited about the Fear Street Nights Trilogy. The first book turned out to be quite disappointing, and nothing like Stine's past Fear Street novels.

I response to: Message 105

I fell in love with the Tamora Pierce the first time I read Page-borrowed and never returned from a friend as she frequently likes to remind me.

I can definitely see where you're coming from with the whole simple thing-she can be maddenly simple but it is really just a pick-me-up or holiday read.
I can't agree about her feminism though, perhaps not for YA but for an almost-teenager hey were goddesses.

Did Marion Zimmer Bradley write one about the French Revolution? I started both that one (although the name has gone from my head) and Mists of Avalon but only made it half the way through. I liked them but they were overly simple in a very complicated book. A very long book anyway.

Ursula Le Guin I am working on...but the pile next to my bed is quite substantial...

I HATE Harry Potter

Why?

208> I had that problem with Harry Potter until I just skipped past his being bratty about living with his aunt and uncle that don't like him. Then I loved it. I still cringe when he's with the Dursley's in all of the books.

209> I wish you could describe your thoughts! I mostly enjoyed Wicked Lovely and I'd love to hear your take. Also, what was it about Great and Terrible Beauty that you disliked?

The Insiders: Kind of like a guy's version of Gossip Girl. I tried to, but I just couldn't get into it.

Eragon: I can't believe I read the whole thing. So boring.

Criss Cross: Like another poster said, NOTHING HAPPENS! It could've been a great novel, but it wasn't.

Pants On Fire: I love anything by Meg Cabot, but I just didn't like this one.

I don't know what to think about all the homogeneous dislikes!

It's not that I hated Twilight.... okay maybe it is. I listened to this on Audio and one of the CD's was misfiled. I didn't realize this until after putting the CD's back into their sleeves, mainly because the Edward obsession flows without interruption or variation for 11 discs.

I was ambivalent about Eragon but I do agree it's strongly derivative of many many far better fantasy novels.

I'd like to defend King Dork, particularly on Audio. The plot is a little weak, but I thought the characterization was terrific.

Also, How I Live Now really disturbed me.

tim...the Twilight cds were ick! And that's coming from a fan of the books!

I don't know about the audio version, but I absolutely hated King Dork.

i honestly can not stand Twilight or any of the books that follow. i begged and pleaded to get the first book of the series when it came out. i own all four now. i kept trying, i really did and i made it partway through the third but seriously? really and truly i fear for my generation and how we are to be remembered if we see Twilight as a good book. really. i HATE the series. i do not believe i could ever fully purge myself of all the angry and frustrated feelings i have towards this 'crap fest'. im sorry. i can post no more because honestly thats all ive got. love books love reading. ive never regretted reading any book except this one. (and a cristian drama/romance book i stole from a flying j on a drunken dare...)

lmjb, you don't like the story, the writing or both?

(I'm always curious what people don't enjoy about books, even if they're ones I detest as well. It's always something different.)

#215 I agree with you on How I live now That disturbed me as well.

#95: The Giver is possibly in my top ten books of all time. It's really fabulous.

As far as books I didn't like... I've read plenty of mediocre YA lit, but the only one I've completely hated in memory was Twilight. It is hands-down my least favorite book I've ever read -- I found Bella unlikeable, wished there were a plot, felt no interest in a romance based solely on scent and glitter, thought Edward was basically an abusive boyfriend set up as a romantic figure, and just couldn't bear the writing. I know a lot of people here like it, and of course I respect that, but I just didn't like it.

Eldest by C. Paolini - Eragon was OK, but Eldest I actually couldn't finish. It just wasn't going ANYWHERE!

I was not a fan of 'The Warrior Heir' at all. I had such high hopes because I see that dern series everywhere. I thought I might check out the other books in the series, and then realized I just didn't care enough to do so, so why bother?

I also strongly disliked "Harley, Like a Person". She was so unlikeable and nonredeemable, complete with ridiculous plot holes and an unfathomable ending. No thank you!

The Georgiana Nicholson series (beginning with Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging) is horrible. I despise Georgiana and the whole way of life she represents. I think people like this just because of the titillating-to-twelve-year-olds British slang in the titles.

Teach Me by RA Nelson

I'm glad I wandered in here, as I was sure I was the only one who didn't care for Lemony Snicket or the Artemis Fowl books. I also started Eragon three times before deciding to give up and bookmooch it, and I can usually read anything.

On the other hand, I loved Savvy.

Feed by M.T. Anderson. Anderson wrecked it by inventing way too much "hip" jargon for his characters to use. I tried reading it three times, and then listening to it on audio Cd. Blech!

Ahhh... finally a place for me!! I hated Eragon and King Dork. I couldn't get through the first 100 pages of the book. I have a 100 page rule and King Dork was utterly awful!! As for Eragon, once someone told me that it was written by a teenaged boy who was a video game freak... it all fell into place. It was a video game in book form... I am not a gamer. I also agree that the Libba Bray Great and Terrible Beauty series is filled with unlikable characters. I just couldn't care about the characters even at the end of the last book.

The most disappointing book i have read in a while in any category has to be "Breaking Dawn" the last in the Twilight series. I loved Twilight but the way the series ended soured the first book for me. I mean it seemed like a whole lot of self gratification to me especially since the the story so far had a lot of potential. Oh well

The Twilight series (although they're really easy to read), Tithe and Wicked Lovely.
Wicked Lovely wasn't so bad. Up until one of the characters said "WTF?" I kind of liked it. People do not say WTF in real life! After that I was disgusted xD
Tithe was just a love story with some fae chucked in, in my opinion. Blehhh.

Just fyi....high school kids definitely do say WTF in real life.

Yeah, I know. And ily and lol and omg, and bffl. But still D:

Hard to say because when I read a YA book that I hate, I immediately put it into the "Give to Library Booksale" pile and try hard to forget I ever wasted my time on it. But a recentish one that I can still remember is The Luxe --absolute, unbearable trash. Twilight, as many others have mentioned, is definitely up there as well. And there was a book called Sugar Rush that I actually threw in the trash because I didn't want to be responsible for anybody buying it at the booksale and reading it.

Don't Look Behind You by Lois Duncan. Generally her teen female protagonists are intelligent and spunky, but I spent the entire time reading it yelling "you idiot!" in my head. Also, the best thing about Duncan's books are how paranormal things allow the heroine to 'come into her own' so to speak and learn about herself. This book was devoid of paranormal, and I really don't feel like the girl learned anything, either.

It couldn't have been that bad if you only yelled "you idiot" in your head. I usually talk to the books out loud.

It helps! LOL

I was reading Guilty Pleasure by Laurell K. Hamilton (which I know isn't a YA book) and I got so mad at it that not only did I yell (quite audibly) at the stupidity of the dialogue but I also punched the book at one point.

I found that helped!
;-)

>232

Some of the teens at the library where I work actually say "Pwn3d!" in real life. Poned.

I hate to tell all of you, but perfectly intelligent college students say lulz and pwn and wtf and brb out loud, too. Even though we know about other words.

(Even English majors.)

I absolutely hated Tithe. It felt like it was trying too hard to be hip/relevant to teens and it came off all awkward.

I also couldn't finish reading The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. SO. BORING.

I got Thirsty out from the library, but now I'm worried about reading it because I don't like depressing stories, either! (I did like Feed, though/)

Teachers say the stuff too. It illicits a great chuckle from the students.

It's been a few years since I read it, but I can remember really disliking piratica by Tanith Lee. I can't even remember why but it's prevented me from picking up the sequels.

>240 herebebooks

I was left very unsatisfied by Thirsty. I did like Burger Wuss, though.

My vote goes to Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. Sooo disappointed in this book. No desire to read the rest of the Georgia Nicholson series.

I didn't like Burger Wuss. I didn't hate it by any means but, you know, it was just kind of...average.

I picked up Thirsty and never got past the first several chapters (if memory serves not only was I not loving the book but I was also distracted by an Amazon delivery and so many new book choices). I'll definitely try again in the future, but I know have much lower expectations that I did a month or two ago.

*edited to correct a misspelling.

>242 I picked up Piratica at a book sale, and ended up reading only two chapters of it. I thought the names were so lame that I couldn't get into the story (there's Rowhampton, near Lundun, for example). When it turned out that Piratica was the name of a woman, I literally couldn't go on. It's just not a person name.

This may sound sort of silly, but to me the names reflect a lot about how much thought and knowledge the author has put into the book. Piratica is an educated-sounding title, and that appealed to me. It sounds like a neuter plural, an appropriate name for things about pirates. Not an appropriate name for a person.

Maybe I'm just crazy....

Twilight. It was so boring and I hate romance. Plus all the characters were terrible.

Aremis Fowl and Eragon were good in my opinion! Artemis Fowl I can't see any of the reasons why people say they don't like it! Eragon I can understand. It was long and the general plot was not that original. The dragons were new though! I also really like dragons so that is probably part of why I liked it. I enjoyed it more after I finished. Eldest took to long to get to the point and as with Eragon I enjoyed it more after I finished. I disagree about the lord of the rings binging better though. I only got half way through the Hobit. Just the style of writing!

Wow! I loved Prophet of Yonwood. I could easily imagine it happening had our previous president and his "posse" not gracefully given up their seats following the last election. I do agree that City of Ember was really special, and the subsequent books didn't pack the same punch, but I really did enjoy Yonwood.

I loved both The City of Ember and The People of Sparks, but hated The Prophet of Yonwood. The main character was way too annoying, and all the random elements in the story didn't come together at the end, they just became even more random.

Hated, hated, hated "Brooklyn Bridge" by Karen Hesse. No YA/Teen in their right mind would read it. The characters were flat, the storyline was convoluted and the ending ridiculous. A real snooze; somehow, it won an award.

I have to agree with kidsilkhaze on this - it was so clearly written by a teenage boy, the description of the elf princess walking over to him on the practise field made me laugh out loud. Also how can no-one see who the traitor is? Is everybody blind?

Rainbow Party by Paul Ruditis

I had to read it because of all the controversy surrounding it. It was complete and utter crap. I think it was all the parents, teachers, and librarians who were borrowing it from the library and not the teens.

Twilight and The Dangerous Days of Daniel X are two recently read YA books that I despised with a passion. Twilight is essentially the story of a crazed stalker pursuing an annoying, vapid whiner with no redeemable personality traits. Daniel X is like a rough draft of a trashy sci-fi novel. The characters are annoying, the plot is sketchy, and the narration made me want to shred the book. But it was a library book, so it survived my irritation.

Agree about Lemony Snicket's books. I stuck with Unfortunate Events over halfway through the series and just lost interest. It was the same depressing storyline over and over and over. Eragon was awful, Eldest was worse. As for His Dark Materials, I gave up after the first book. I disliked Lyra and the end of the book killed any interest I had in the others.

Octavius Nothing by Anderson. I know it is quality, but just never cared about any of the characters.

Definitely The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. iT SUCKED!

Gossip Girl & the Clique Books.

ugh, KING DORK was painful!

Twilight, hands down...
Eragon was a disappointment as well.

I have to put a vote in for Twilight here as well - not only was the writing a travesty of all of the worst tropes of Romantic fiction, but the characters were vapid and the anti-feminist message of the book was apalling.

#252 - I am so glad that I wasn't the only one who couldn't get into the Lemony Snicket books; I thought it was just me.

I don’t think that I could hate a book and I never give my opinion of the book till I’m finished it. However, there are some books which I was disappointed in.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
New moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Leaving paradise by Simone Elkeles (the story line was really good, but I did not like the end)
Marked: A House Of Night Novel by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
Nobody’s prize by Ester Friesner
Remember me? by Sophie Kinsella

I agree with Eruantien on Dangerous Days of Daniel X the whole novel seemed to me like Patterson had to publish a book, so pulling two all nighters in a row and about a case of red bull, that was the result

I pretty much like everything that I read, so this was a hard question to answer. I'd have to say that I was disappointed when I read Coe Booth's book Tyrell. I thought the book was well-written and the story and characters were compelling, but the sexual content was too graphic for the young adult readers in my classroom. It's hard to find books that appeal to some of my "tougher" guy readers, and this one would really do it, but they are 8th graders and the sexual content makes it impossible for me to recommend this book that I would whole-heartedly recommend otherwise. I think she's a great author, and I wish she would write some books with similar themes/characters but for a slightly younger audience.

I remember Eragon being an intensely mediocre rehash of the fantasy genre in general. It was mildly entertaining, but certainly not _good_.

I HATED Twilight. Such a creepy book, the characters are awful, and he heart literally stops with Edward kisses her? Just no.

I remember liking the idea of Series of Unfortunate Events but being bored by the books. I don't remember Wicked as a YA novel, but I thought it was incredibly choppy, and the attempts at decent characterization just got lost as the book went on. I have a vague recollection of reading Artemis Fowl, but was seriously unimpressed with it.

I didn't hate Gregor the Overlander, but I think it's really overrated.

Twilight has already been mentioned, but for me, The Lovely Bones is a very close second. The writing is just atrocious.

Twilight has the edge though -- with Twilight, I actually had to put the book down 20 pages in, take a walk, and then go read a REAL book to recover. Never in my 24 years has a book been so bad I couldn't finish it!

The only one's I can think of right now are...
Morning Girl, Eragon, and Tantalize.

I could not get through Eragon. I was on another discussion board and they were talking about the top book that was abandoned while reading. I totally forgot about this one until I started reading other posts from here. I think I got through about 150 pages of Eragon and then I was done. The sad thing is that I have liked a lot of other dragon books. Another book that I just couldn't stand, mainly because of the ending, was Thirsty. That book had potential to be good but the ending just drew the life out of the story. That has to be the worst ending I have ever read. It was a let down.

Miss Popularity by Francesco Sedita. Ick.

I didn't like People of Sparks or the later books either. They were very dissapointing.

Ditto beyond The City of Ember. Too bad.

#267-Yes I agree I tell people to read the 1st and the 3rd and if you feel like it read People of Sparks

Boy, I expected to see Twilight on here a million times but I'm surprised to see that so many people hated Eragon. I loved it the first couple of times that I read it but it did notice that it was hard to get into the third time and I haven't read it again. Until now I didn't think that it was because the writing sucked (due to my remembering it as a good book). Now though, you guys might be right. I'll have to go ahead and read it again just to make an official opinion.

But so far my least favorite book is The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. SO FRUSTRATING! I don't think I could be paid to read this book again because it was just SO ANNOYING. The ending was actually interesting because it FINALLY got to the murder part. But Bindy Mackenzie is so boring and annoying. She's a TERRIBLE protagonist. I hate this book.

I finished Eragon but couldn't get through Eldest

It's not that I hated it, but The Lottery Rose was one the most depressing books I ever read. If I hadn't had to read it for class I probably would not have finished it.
I could never bring myself to finish Eragon.

I'm not a big fan of "Before I Fall" I'm not big on the whole mean girl thing.

Need by Carrie Jones. Horrible!

I hate The Winter Prince by Elizabeth E. Wein. It was...weird and disturbing, and the MC was creepy. I kept thinking he was going to redeem himself until the last third of the book, when I finished the book solely because I thought the secondary characters were worthwhile. They weren't.

I feel like I'm in the minority here about Eragon; I love the book. I was hooked on the story from the first page, and I usually don't like books about dragons.

Oh, and I also hated Beauty Sleep, by Cameron Dokey. It was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I usually like retellings. However, the ending was weird, and I had trouble keeping track of what happened. It just wasn't worth it.

#95: I think The Giver is fantastic! I had no interest in reading it, but had no choice- it was required for a class discussion in a master's level course on children's literature. I ended up absolutely loving it, so much so that I read Lowry's other two books with the same theme- Messenger and Gathering Blue. Unfortunately, those two don't compare to The Giver at all. I still think Lois Lowry is a wonderful writer, though. I really recommend reading it again, as many people in my class had read it previously but stated they liked it much better reading it the second time around. Also, I think it's just one of those books that relies on the reader's experiences to enhance it's meaning-- I doubt I would have gotten as much out of it if I read it five years ago. Now it's one of my top 10 favorite books in any genre.

As for YA books I didn't care for: The Watson's Go to Birmingham was underwhelming to me. I think I expected more out of it going in...I didn't like that it was basically a rambling tale of everyday life, and the main event in the book, the Birmingham church bombing, was historically inaccurate, which annoyed me. Perhaps if I'd gone in without any expectations I could have enjoyed it more. I usually find something to like about most books, though, so it's hard to pick out books I just flat out didn't like. As I mentioned before, Gathering Blue and Messenger were not very compelling reads, though it is probably unfair of me to expect them to live up to The Giver.

I despise the Artemis Fowl books. The "hero" is revolting. Living with three lovely and brilliant kids, I wouldn't want to expose them to that...thing...as a protagonist.

I'm not sure if I can say just yet because every book that i've picked up I have enjoyed in some way or another. I spend more of my time writing than reading but I do pick up a book every once in a while. I can say that I'm not a fan of the monsters and goblins based novels. While I'm currently reading Alyson Noel's Immortal series I have no interest in the twilight series or the movies. It just seems like way to much is going on with every installment and the characters are mulitplying out of no where. Maybe it seems that way to me because I don't know the whole story but I'll just stick to Immortals it intrigues me more...

I really rated Artemis Fowl books and Eragon in my early teens, and still enjoy them. I hated Catcher in the Rye. Maybe it it's just an age thing, or just a reaction to what our old English Lit teacher liked.

I kept getting recommendations for Libba Bray's "Great and Terrible Beauty" series based on previous book choices, so I forced myself to read them, thinking, "It has to get better," but it never did! I couldn't have cared less if any of them lived or died. In fact, I think the Gorgon was the best part of the book!

I also love Eragon!!! SheReads, I am with you!!

A kestrel for a knave - hated it! Grim and miserable. Urgh

I totally agree with you guys about the third book in the City of Ember series. The first two were good (especially the first), but the third was just awful. A waste of time. I kept reading thinking, "it HAS to get better!! There HAS to be a point to this book!!", but it didn't and there wasn't.

Another that I really, really disliked is Tantalize. Very weak plot. Annoying main character. "Love" interest that didn't make sense (no chemistry between them, was barely in the story). Very cliche vampire. Nothing original.

"Twilight," because Bella was an extremely dissapointing and bland character, and I couldn't understand why Edward and Jacob were in love with her.

I agree the series of unfortunate events series for the one joke and no resolution.

I am also very disappointed in the sequel to I am not a serial killer called Mr. Monster for its horrific content; I felt physically ill reading it and have taken it off my library shelves because it seemed to be gratutitous in its descriptions of what the latest serial killer was doing to his victims.
I also found the torment in John Cleaver's mind an affront to the reader; I want to LIKE the main character of a book and feel empathy with him; not DESPISE his weakness. All this being said, I will read the third and final book in this trilogy when it comes out because I want to know what happens....I might just have a bucket by me in case I need to vomit!

I just HATED Maximum Ride, and James Patterson too for that matter, I don't like his righting style and I can't connect with his characters. Every one I know just loves the series, but I have honestly tried to read the first book like ten times.

Scott Westefield and Uglies are in the same boat. I can't put my finger on it but I just hate the way they sound even through the mouth of one of their characters.

Add me to the list for Eragon, Artemis Fowl and Lemony Snicket. Didn't love Twilight either.

I know I am in a minority here, but I really hated Forest of hands and teeth. I was fascinated by the village and its society that had evolved in the wake of the zombies, but all that was tossed overboard in favour of Mary's whining on about the boy she loves and the other one she's supposed to marry, pages and pages of it when she should be getting on with escaping the zombies. There was enough potential plot and drama without any need for a romance at all, let alone a stupid love triangle (square, I guess).

Going back in time, I hated every book by Paul Zindell that I read as a teen. I did stop after trying 3 and finding them all repulsive.

This has been a fun thread to read; interesting to see how the same titles are both loved and hated!

Gosh there are probably a lot, I just can't think of them right now. Probably because I never give them much thought. Maximum Ride was ok until about the 4th book, then it just made me mad. It was so obvious James Patterson was using a ghost writer.

I couldn't finish Twilight

I just wasted a large part of my Sunday afternoon reading A Wrinkle in Time.

Never a waste. IMO.

#287 - I'd forgotten Eragon. It was literally the only book available at the hotel I was staying at when I purchased it. I made it maybe six pages in before tossing it in the wastebasket. (I promise this is something I've only done twice, out of equal parts aggravation and desire to spare someone else the agony of picking up my discarded copy later!)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was such a mess that I abandoned both the books and the films thereafter. I have heard stories about the troubles JKR had with her outline, but dates be damned, she should have put off publishing it for another 6 months and rewritten it from scratch.

I am also reading Shiver right now - the rumours are true - a more boring version of Twilight, with a very wet romantic couple and with surprising overtones of bestiality - even for a werewolf saga.

Many of the books mentioned that were disliked are ones that I really like such as The Giver, His Dark Materials, Wicked and The Harry Potter Series, Looking for Alaska and The Face on the Mild Carton. I am a fan of SF so I particularly enjoyed Feed. Even though I like Stephen King I don't care for all out grossness or zombies so I disliked The Forest of Hands and Feet which was too pessimistic because only the main character survived in the end and not enough time was spent on trying to figure out ways to defeat the zombies. Even though there was a romantic element to the story, by the end there was no character left for the girl to feel romantic about. I disliked Monstrumologist and couldn't get through it because of the gory details. Also I disliked The Hunger Games because teens had to kill each other. I've never read a YA book that I actually hated though.

Many of the books mentioned that were disliked are ones that I really like such as The Giver, His Dark Materials, Wicked and The Harry Potter Series, Looking for Alaska and The Face on the Mild Carton. I am a fan of SF so I particularly enjoyed Feed. Even though I like Stephen King I don't care for all out grossness or zombies so I disliked The Forest of Hands and Feet which was too pessimistic because only the main character survived in the end and not enough time was spent on trying to figure out ways to defeat the zombies. Even though there was a romantic element to the story, by the end there was no character left for the girl to feel romantic about. I disliked Monstrumologist and couldn't get through it because of the gory details. Also I disliked The Hunger Games because teens had to kill each other. I've never read a YA book that I actually hated though.

The only one I can think of recently is "A Slice of Cherry". It was disturbing and not in a good way but there are people who really enjoyed it.

I just realized that this thread was originally put up in 2007! That's crazy. I wonder if the person who created it is even on here anymore..? Anyway. I am usually not very picky about books. If I get a series, I'll read it and get through it and usually I have something ok to say about it. But for some reason I could not get through the Wicked Lovely series. I got to the third book and stopped halfway through. I just couldn't stand how bad of decisions the characters were making. And other than that I'm not even sure why I didn't like them. Maybe I'll try again when I finish the gazillion other books on my wishlist!

The book I most dislike is A Great and Terrible Beauty or Sandry's Book. I couldnt get through either of these, for some reason. I don't read a book if it is boring me, so I didn't finish these.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

ok seriously that just says it all. In the book she didn't even really date anyone. And I get that the title has to do with another book she gets in the story, but still. That's no excuse. If the author wanted to do a play on the book the main character receives in the story, she could have thought a little harder and more creatively.

I really didn't like the Wicked Lovely Series. The first book didn't make my stomach turn, but the second and third were almost painful. Guess that makes me a glutton for punishment, since I finished them. Hush, Hush and Crescendo were both really awful, in my opinion. The characters act so unlike themselves in the second books and it seems to just get really drawn out. Yes, I love to hate the Wicked Lovely Series and the Hush, Hush series.

@301--I read the first books of the Wicked Lovely and Hush, Hush series. I enjoyed Hush, Hush so much that I read it twice. And I really like the first Wicked Lovely (Seth = HOT!), but when I read the description for the second book, i was turned away. Was Crescendo really that bad?

302- I think if you enjoyed Hush, Hush then you might want to give Crescendo a chance. I just think the characters acted very out of character and that the plot didn't seem very well thought out. But really, that's just me. You might like the book, I just wouldn't count on loving it. I completely agree with you on this. Seth=HOT! When I read the description of him I was blown away. ;) I guess there was something good in the Wicked Lovely books after all.

Oh no!!!! I absolutely LOVED the Wicked Lovely series. I think what I liked about it so much was that it didn't jsut follow the same characters throughout the five books but rather introduced new characters and explored a rather complex faerie workd. Oh, and Seth definitely = hot.

The one book that still brings back the awfull feelings is P.S. Longer Letter Later. I don't care how famous the author is. I can't stand it. Mostly, though, the ones that get on my nerves are the dreadfully depressing ones.

I'm a HUGE fan of Anne of Green Gables. So this weekend I picked up Anne of the Island and Anne of Avonlea, and I read only the ending of Anne of the Island because I wanted to read the proposal. Two of the most gruesomely boring stories you could imagine, with nearly the same plotline. I know this because I read bits and pieces of each. Seriously dissapointing, another case of 'Why Authors Shouldn't Write It Just Because Their Editor Wants Another Book'. I'm sorry. Blech.

I'd add Twilight and H.P. to my list, but as I have never read these that would be cheating, wouldn't it?

I think it's more annoying to walk through the Teen section and only see paranormal romance on the shelves than to read a pointless book. Almost.

I think my absolute least favorite would be The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell. Because I read it four years ago and don't remember all that much, I can't back it up at the moment with what I disliked about it, but I know that, at the moment, I don't want to back it up enough to go through reading it again.

Some people touched on Criss Cross, which I can sympathize with a bit. It doesn't really go anywhere, but I think the author does a really good job with detailing emotion. I pick it up every once in a while.

Re: Not liking Anne of Avonlea or Anne of the Island: The Anne series is wonderful, but I didn’t like Anne of Windy Poplars at all. Maybe I should reread it to give it a second chance; it’s the only one of the series I’ve only read once, I think. I can’t remember much of Anne of Avonlea or Anne of the Island, but I do love the later books. And since reading an interesting analysis of the Anne books, I definitely want to reread the series...

>308: I remember liking Anne of Windy Poplars because I enjoyed reading Anne's letters. I wonder if I'd like it as much now as I did when I was younger?

>307 csoki637,

Is the "interesting analysis of the Anne books" that you read available in the States? Can you tell us what it is? I'm curious - might actually make time to read it myself if I can.

Thanks,

Penn

I must confess I did not care for Thirteen Reasons Why. The premise itself offended me--a whole book about a girl who uses her suicide for showmanship from the grave, and the living people who facilitate it.

I didn't like Looking for Alaska either, though not because it was sad. It was just... not interesting and a bit trying-too-hard. I think he got the attitude of boarding school correct (I went to boarding school myself), which is nice, but not nice enough to make me ever recommend the book.

I didn't like The Golden Compass (or the other two in that trilogy). YA fantasy is a crowded genre and I don't think that trilogy is original enough for the praise it got. It was just the usual mediocre YA fantasy to me.

#270 - I think a lot of people here might be like me and could tell they would dislike Twilight and thus didn't read it. From the short excerpts I've seen I know it's awful but since I haven't read it or tried to read it there's no need for me to put it on this list. :)

Anne of the Island is definite one of the weak books in the series. Montgomery herself admitted that writing about girls after they grow up wasn't her forte. On the other hand, I have a personal liking for Anne of Windy Poplars partly because it's sort of dark and strange. (The more I read her books as an adult, the more I realize how morbid Montgomery was, even for the 19th century.)
I just want to add that as a child I never liked Harriet the Spy. Maybe it was the NYC setting, odd family situation, but I could never identify with Harriet and she didn't seem very nice to other people! I've always heard people in the reading community rave about how much they loved the book and it was such a groundbreaker. I guess it just passed me by.

I got through almost half of Twilight and Bella drove me crazy, so I never read the others.

I only read the first two books of the Twilight series. I just couldn't imagine where it could possibly go next, without a lot of padding and spinning things out, I mean.

Hunger Games. Couldn't make it past page 2 or 3...

I loved both the Twilight and Hunger Games series XD. They were all really enjoyable reads and for me, the story flowed really smoothly.

Talk about books that I can't stand are the Vampire Diaries. Read through half of the first book and had to put it down. Just wasn't my thing I guess. I also didn't like Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty books *shrug*

I just finished the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer....I'm adding that to my least favorite books/series.