World Book Day 2014 - 'Writes of Passage'

When I received an email from the World Book Day Press Office about Malorie Blackman's new plan to name the top teen books, I knew I had to write a blog post about it. This idea is a brilliant way of involving teenagers in reading, as well as putting a focus on YA in particular(as clearly, it is my favourite genre!). It also means we can celebrate the best of a group of books we talk about a lot, and introduce people who don't read as much to this genre.

 

What I also find immensely important about something like this is that it shows YA is an important genre, when sometimes it can be stereotyped to be certain things; when, in truth, it is full of incredible books. If you read a good book, you are going to talk about it and share it with friends, making this initiative a great way to get young people excited about reading. Soon, it will no longer be 'geeky' or 'un-cool' to read because, people will end up enjoying books instead of just reading what you are forced to at school.

 

'Writes of Passage' invites young people(and their parents who have their own list!) to compile a list of all books they need to read by the time they reach sixteen! This means we can talk about all our favourite Young Adult books, across any genre, and say why they are 'life changing' books. When the list is complete - nominations don't close until January 2014 by the way - there will be a ''50 books that will change your life' full list ready for World Book Day, which is the reason for this project!

 

 

 

As soon as I saw the email in my inbox, I went straight to the page and made my own nominations. I was so excited to see that there were different 'categories' you could nominate a book in - something I found really useful while picking and choosing the best of a lot of books that I have recently. This time, they can't just be a book you liked but instead must-reads. The ask you to nominate books that make you cry(Anyone instantly think of The Fault in Our Stars when they read that?), teach you about love, change the way you think, thrill you, transport you, scare you, make you laugh and help you understand YOU.

 

I took quite a lot of time nominating quite a few books, as I wanted to make sure I didn't miss an important one out - as well as having a mix of well-known books and one's that deserve the recognition. So, this meant that I chose 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins, 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness and 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green but then followed it with books such as 'Breathe' by Sarah Crossan, 'Throne of Glass' by Sarah J. Maas, 'Pretty Girl Thirteen' by Liz Coley and my favourite laugh-out-loud book Geek Girl, all of which you would have probably heard me shouting about before.

 

So far, and Malorie Blackman has only been Laureate for a few months, I think she is doing a fantastic job! The first news being the Young Adult Literature Convention(YALC) taking place at London Comic Con 2014 will focus on UKYA - something all British bloggers are really passionate, especially when recent bestsellers are all from American authors. I love how Malorie Blackman is now choosing to focus on any teen book, as it shows how important just picking up a book in general is, and highlights the best of YA. One of my first questions was "Do the books have to be UKYA?" - but, I feel these books will be the main focus during the middle of next year.

 

To make your own choices click HERE and I'd love to know what books changed your life in the comments below!

Thank you to Mark from the World Book Day Press Office you answered all my questions and sent me the banner I used in this post!