I just posted this in Amazon's feedback forum. The full title of the thread was "Ten Worthy Young Adult Books by Authors Not Named J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer".
I read that, and instantly thought of you: my blog-buddies. Would y'all like some input?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Veen says:
I love a fast paced-adventure, I love to be bowled over by breathtaking, creative concepts, and I LOVE surprises. I am addicted to those moments when you say, "Whoa... I didn't see that coming!" The books I've listed here are pretty much all well-known best-sellers, but they have those moments. They meet my criteria for great YA. And even though most of them have already been mentioned, I'm adding my vote to kind of reinforce how good they are.
*Note: I love YA fantasy, but NOT Potter and Twilight, so this thread is perfect for me.
Fablehaven is my favorite series right now -- simply blowing me away.
Abhorsen Trilogy -- My second favorite. Love this, loathe Keys to the Kingdom. Sorry Mr. Nix.
Pendragon Chronicles -- I've been biting my nails through nine thick books to find out what the heck is really going on.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series -- It's everything good fiction should be, except without a cool title.
Warrior Heir, Wizard Heir, Dragon Heir -- great concept, high adventure
Tithe series -- dark and beautiful and haunting
Dreamhunter -- The Dreamhunter Duet: a wonderful two book series. Little known, but very very unique and compelling -- highly recommended (author: Elizabeth Knox)
Ender's Game -- One of my all time favorite books, in any genre. I'm very sorry I couldn't get into any of the sequels. They just didn't have the same feel.
Howl's Moving Castle -- Quirky and fun. Super creative, lots of surprises.
Maximum Ride -- I LOVED these books. But somehow, somewhere near the middle of the third one, the magic seemed to fizzle. Big time. I swear you can almost feel the exact moment when James Patterson gets tired of writing them.