Friday, October 11, 2013

Top ten literary woods

Lucy Christopher's novel Stolen was named a Printz Honor Book by the ALA and received England's Branford Boase award and Australia's golden Inky for best debut. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called it "an emotionally raw thriller...a haunting account of captivity and the power of relationships." She is also the author of Flyaway, a novel for younger readers. Christopher's latest book, The Killing Woods, is a psychological thriller for teens.

For the Guardian she named her top ten literary woods, including:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Though the woods don't have an awful lot of page time in this novel they are hugely important for what they represent about the novel's main character, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a true woodswoman: it is in the woods, where she is forbidden by her dictatorial, dystopian government to enter, where she finds the food she needs to feed her mother and sister. When she is later within the constructed world of the Hunger Games, it is the woods that again save her: her skills as a sylvanian huntress are what, eventually, enable her to win not only the Game but to defy her government as well. Here, the woods stand for freedom, escape and defiance: they are what make Katniss as kickass as she is.
Read about another book on the list.

The Hunger Games also appears on Robert McCrum's list of the ten best books with teenage narrators, Sophie McKenzie's top ten list of teen thrillers, Gregg Olsen's top ten list of deadly YA books, Annalee Newitz's list of ten great American dystopias, Philip Webb's top ten list of pulse-racing adventure books, Charlie Higson's top ten list of fantasy books for children, and Megan Wasson's list of five fantasy series geared towards teens that adults will love too.

--Marshal Zeringue