Celebrating #YAWeek with two trilogies

Because Goodreads is celebrating Young Adult Week (that's #YAWeek for you Twitter-heads), I thought I'd share a quick post on my two favourite young adult trilogies - the best things do come in threes.

One of them will, of course, need no introduction, and perhaps now that The Book of Dust is out, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series may no longer count as a trilogy (although, according to Wikipedia, this next trilogy will be a companion to the original trilogy). 

Why should you read all three?

If you haven't yet read His Dark Materials - and I'm talking to both youngs, young adults and adults here - you are probably worried you'll be tricked into some average, churned out fantasy world, the likes of which overcrowd the 'fantasy' shelves in book stores. Right? Yeah, those series can be intimidating, especially with new books constantly being added to the series. You just can't be asked for that kind of responsibility.

This trilogy is not like that. This is quite simply a masterpiece, carefully disguised at first as any other easy-reading fantasy novel, then slowly shifting into something unexpected. It discusses themes that even an adult often grapples with - the importance (and reality) of a soul, consciousness, love, death and most of all, sacrifice. The characters are incredibly human and therefore hold our hearts in their hands. Often they stamp on it, for good reason. This is masterful writing - I can only imagine how hard it must be to craft novels that speak to all ages. But turn to Philip Pullman if you're looking for a master of the art.

If you've met me, or even know about me, you probably saw this coming. James Smythe's (writing as J.P. Smythe at the time) Australia trilogy is full-force young adult science fiction, crafted with the expertise I've come to expect from this author. After giving us the first two books of his Anomaly quartet (we're still due two glorious episodes), James took a trip to young adult world and left a trail for aficionados - here's your invitation. 

Why should you read all three?

No pressure. Read one. Good luck with not reading the other two.

I think it was these books that really developed my love for James' writing, because to create something so addictive requires serious talent. You can't tell, when you're writing, whether your book is going to be unputdownable; you just hope. And these books really are. Again, with some of the topics tackled in here, I wondered how old my child would have to be before I gave it to them - there's blood. And bones. And horror. But above all a gripping storyline and a powerful heroine, left to fend for herself on a spaceship cast out into space - but why? Can they ever return to Earth? And if they do, will there be anything left for them?

There are so many surprises along the way, so many interesting characters and ideas. I was especially fond of a character named Rex; her transformation, her story, her exercise regime (which got me running again). 

Unlike His Dark Materials, I do feel you need to be into sci-fi to read this, and not mind language that often aims to help younger readers access the story - but this by no means diminishes its value. In fact, this is why it's a gem of the genre: it's the genre, done well.