Favorite Dark YA Books & Giveaway

This month I'm participating in the I Love Dark YA Blogfest hosted by YAtopia. I'm really excited about this as..well..I love dark YA. There has been a lot of controversy around books like these, but personally I think the books that aren't afraid to cover tough subjects are the ones that really make a mark.


In this post I will talk about some of my favorite books - but first, here's my idea about what dark YA is. There are dark aspects in any novel - that's life. Even in some of the happiest novel there is something that could be classified as "dark." The happiest, lightest book I can think of at the moment is Lola and the Boy Next Door. And even in that book there is drinking, a dirty band boy who is probably inappropriately too old, and sex. Even so this is one of the most innocent books in YA lit that comes to mind (although, it's quite possible that I read only dark books). Sarah Dessen is considerably "light" YA and she at some points covers all things that can be considered dark as well. My point is any book has dark aspects. The books I would consider "dark" are the ones that embrace those aspects.


But why would a book want to do that? Why would we want to read books like that? There's the run of the mill answer that these books speak the truth, they talk about subjects that exist and they don't sugar coat. But it's more than that for me. It's because in the dark moments we see characters who realize who they are, what they can do, and all of the strength that they possess. We see the ordinary become extraordinary under pressure. And in some cases they show the reader that which they could not see before - corrupt societies, dark futures, souls in pain. Authors have the opportunity to show a new path through the darkness.


If you want more, here's a discussion on dark YA, focusing mostly on dystopia, through the New York Times. So now that I've rambled on for awhile here are some of my favorite YA books with a giveaway at the end.


Darkness in Contemporary YA


Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

This is a hard book to talk about, it was a hard book to read. But it is so worth it. It's one that changes you and lingers somewhere in the background of everything you do. It's a love story between two characters whose gender is never specified. The main character, Kid, is living on the streets of Brooklyn because his/her parents can't handle homosexuality. Kid lives in an abandoned warehouse with a drug addict for awhile, until the building burns down. Then Kid lives beneath a bar until Scout comes along and they fall in love. It's such a testament to the nature of love and it exposes the painful state of our society today.


Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
When I finished this book, I just thought, "This is a book that every high school student needs to read." It's about a boy who receives tapes one day in which a girl relates all the reasons why she committed suicide. What is incredible is that it talks about the big issues that caused her depression, but she mentions the littlest things that began to push her over the edge. It's dark and depressing, but it's a wake up call. It demonstrates that you are not the center of the universe. Everything you do, no matter how small, makes a difference or an impression in someone else's life. So you better make sure you're making positive impressions.


Darkness in Paranormal YA


Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
Ok, so most paranormal YA books are pretty dark these days. It's almost a requirement - demons, werewolves, zombies...evil, killing, and death. But this is one I'm highlighting here because I think it takes the cake in darkness...I mean look at the cover. The setting is dark, as it takes place mostly in a cemetery or adjacent to the cemetery, there's sacrifices, digging up graves, possessed animals, loved ones dying, and lots and lots and lots of blood. Lots of blood. It'll freak you out, but it's not just scary to be scary. It's about dealing with loss, about moving on and learning to love. Wonderful things, beautiful things rise from all this darkness.


Darkness in Dystopian YA

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Well, Ashes is only part dystopia. The other part is zombie apocalypse. Between these two elements this is pretty much the definition of dark. But the environment allows an incredibly strong heroine realize her strong will to live. She has a brain tumor and by all appearances it seems she's given up on life before the apocolypse. Once it happens and a large percent of the population has turned into gruesome-flesh eating (complete with graphic images) zombies, she becomes a force of nature and does what it takes to survive. It's also about safety - because even where she's supposed to feel safe, she can't, so it'll leave you blessing the warm bed you can use as refuge at the end of the day.


Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
I'm really talking about the whole series here, and I don't want to spoil anything, but these books were a struggle to read. They were insanely good, but they were also incredibly tense, uncomfortable, and depressing. It's never easy to tell who is good or bad - whose side you are supposed to be on. It has all the tough subjects - particularly are you supposed to do what is right or do you save your own life and do the thing you know is wrong? And Manchee...oh Manchee. 

And now after that epically long post - a contest!
I'll be giving away one of the five books I've just talked about above. If you win you will be able to choose which you want!
A few things:

• You must be 13 or older to enter.
• This contest is international as long as the Book Depository ships to you. 
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below - you can only enter once.
• You must be a blog follower to enter. There are also optional ways to gain extra entries.
• Contest ends on November 29 at 11:49 pm Central Time. I'll be announcing the winner on the 30th, the last day of the Blogfest. If you win you have 48 hours to respond or I'll pick a new winner.