Ten YA Authors that deserve more attention

The Broke and Bookish

Question of the week: Who are ten authors that I think deserve more attention/recognition? I am promoting YA authors for my list.

1.  John Green -- author of Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and others.  His work is very edgy, funny, well-conceived.  He video blogs with his brother Hank, the Vlog Brothers, and and promotes Nerd Fighters, totally awesome kids who don't always fit in.  Love him and his work

2.  Libba Bray -- my new fav YA book is the award winning Going Bovine.  It is a modern Don Quixote story. It is very funny and poignant and so-o-o-o-o creative.  I also am a huge fan of her A Great and Terrible Beauty series.

3.  Markus Zusak -- his books The Book Thief and I am the Messenger are both amazing books.  I want more from this author.

4.  Nancy Werlin -- this author seems to fly below the radar but definitely deserves all kind of praise.  Her book Rules of Survival is amazing.  Ms. Werlin's works can't be pigeon-holed into one genre, either.  She writes mysteries, modern fairy tales, and general YA fiction.  Check her out.

5.  Cory Doctorow -- though I've only read one book by this author, Little Brother, this guy deserves more attention.  His book, a modern retelling of the classic 1984 is chillingly real and worrisome about today's society. I went to a conference where great YA titles were being highlighted and the presenter said that she liked the book very much but didn't know anything about the author until she looked him up.  For this reason and because his webpage is called Craphound.com I have placed him on the list.

6.  K.L. Going -- (Kelly Louise) Going is the author of one of the funniest YA books out there--Fat Kid Rules the World.  Her work is edgy and relevant to teens today.  Plus, I just was over at her blog, she just read and loved Pride and Prejudice, my favorite book of all time. Her next book I hope to read is King of the Screw-ups.

7.  Francisco X. Stork -- I've highlighted this author before on my blog.  His writing demonstrates ethical conscientiousness.  For two years running I have included his books in my Mock Printz competition and for two years he hasn't won an actual Printz award.  His books, Marcelo in the Real World (2009) and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors (2010) are well-worth reading and so is his blog.

8.  Maggie Stiefvater --  I am NOT a huge paranormal genre fan but I really like Shiver and hope to read Linger soon.  The book is a love story between a girl and a werewolf...but, hey, it works.  I put Stiefvater on my list because if anyone can make me want to read another paranormal book, she must deserve more recognition.

9.  Patrick Ness -- I think my list is starting to sound eerily similar to one a created several months ago.  Ness wrote the amazing Chaos Walking trilogy which hasn't received the attention it deserves here in the USA. Amazing, amazing series.  Check it out.

10. Susan Cambell Bartoletti -- The only nonfiction writer on my list, Susan Campbell Bartoletti writes informational books for Middle/High School students.  Her book Hitler Youth (2006) is so interesting and very readable.  They Called Themselves the KKK (2010) is fascinating and disturbing.  I wish she would write faster because students will read her books for reports or projects instead of just checking them out and returning them unread. She's won a ton of awards but I doubt you've heard of her so I think she deserves my shout-out here!

Please check the links to all my listed author's webpages. 

What authors do you think need more attention and praise?