Trends

So, we all know about a little trend that became a MASSIVE trend a few years back. I'll give you a hint--it centered on vampires and werewolves. Thank you for that, Stephenie Meyer. Much to my heart's delight, it's a trend that's starting to fizzle out. Finally. Not that I didn't dig my fair share of Stephenie Meyer, or vampire/werewolf books, but enough is enough.

A friend of mine is in the process of trying to get her book published, and we were talking about her next book ideas. She told me that if you have a book containing vampires and werewolves, it probably will not even get looked at for a very long time. Hallelujah. Thankfully, none of her ideas contained either.

So, I've been thinking about the "fads" that are replacing what I like to call the Twilight wannabe boom. As I've pondered this, there were two trends that were glaringly obvious to me:

1. Mythology, in any kind. I've already read at least three of these that were released in the last 2 months. I'm not hating it though. In fact, I love it. I can't gush enough about this book, but if you haven't already heard, The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter is totally where it's at this year. Love, love. You seriously have to read it if you haven't already. And if you have, read it again...and again...and again. You can read my review of The Goddess Test by clicking HERE.
2. Reincarnation. Again, I've read a bunch of reincarnation stories this year, and even a few towards the end of last year. Some (cough, cough, Timeless) haven't been very good, while others have been stellar. One that I read at the end of last year that I particularly loved was The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller (Read my review of it by clicking HERE). I'm also reading one right now that I really like so far called Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz. I've had an ARC of it for a while, but I am just finally getting a chance to read it. It actually came out Tuesday (June 21st) so you can check it out too! My review will be up next week, so watch for it.

Once I got thinking about it, I thought of a few more "crazes":

Dystopian books. Holy cow. There are so many of these lately. Granted, I've read a ton of really good ones, but I've read some not so great ones too. Overall, I love Dystopian, I just think it needs to be done well, or not at all. Some that are done well: Matched by Ally Condie (Review HERE) and Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Review HERE).

Fractured Fairy Tales. These are popping up pretty steadily lately too. One that I loved was Entwined by Heather Dixon (Review HERE). I've read others that I didn't like much, or at all. Again, I think these need to be done well or not at all. It's tricky when you take a classic story that everyone knows and try to put your own spin on it. Not many people can do this without completely botching it. Still love fractured fairy tales though. Another author who writes these well is Jessica Day George.

These are just a few of the major trends I've noticed in the YA Fiction world lately. I'm sure there are so many more and I'm excited to discover them!

Happy Reading!