Top 5 Underrated YA Authors
Scott Westerfeld
This man’s works shaped my teen years. I know most people have probably heard of or read the Uglies series but this author is so much more than that. The Midnighters Trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time and it seems like no one has read it. My husband absolutely adores the new Zeroes series as well. Whether you like dystopian fiction, vampires, super powers, or steampunk, Westerfeld has a series for pretty much everyone and deserves far more love than he gets in my eyes.
Melissa Marr
Another author who was prevalent in my late teens and is now influencing my partner’s TBR. I was obsessed with the Wicked Lovely books when I was in school and would buy every single one the moment they were released. While most people would give the Fae crown to Holly Black, Marr would get my vote every time hands down. I think her faerie novels are hands down the best in the YA category. Her newer series, The Blackwell Pages, has quickly become a favorite in our house as well. My husband is Norse pagan and he adored Loki’s Wolves. I have not read either of her adult novels, but I have high hopes for both. Im anxious to see what else she comes out with in the years to come.
Mercedes Lackey
Lackey is the only author on this list that I dont hold some kind of nostalgia for. I honestly had no idea she existed until my husband reccomended the Hunter trilogy to me last year when I was in a reading slump. Boy, did that series pull me out of it! It was one of my favorite reads of the year. The world she created was beautiful and vicious; drawing me in like no other had done in weeks. I loved the concept of the hounds and hunters as celebrities. I’m planning a reread of the second book soon, so you can hear me gush about it then. I also really enjoyed The Black Swan and Firebird, which are her two fairy tale retellings. I have not gotten around to much more of her backlog but I am excited to dive in this year!
Melissa De La Cruz
Another author who kept me company during my lonely high school years. The series that got me invested in her work was the Blue Bloods series, a book about fallen angels masquerading as vampire lit. The series was dropping at the height of the Twilight craze and completely sucked me in. But she is so much more than vampire romance novels. Recently I have fallen in love with both her adult and her middle grade works. As a Disney addict, when I found out there were going to be Descendants novels and comics I was beyond excited. Isle of the Lost was a bit childish for me but would be amazing for any middle schooler or early high schooler looking to return to the land of Auradon. My favorite of her adult novels is the Witches of East End, which I believe has been made into a show.
Libba Bray
Bray is last on the list because she has gained some notoriety in the last few years for her Diviners series, but I want to talk about the works from before she wrote Miss Evie into our hearts. A Great and Terrible Beauty was the first book I borrowed from my local library when I got my card freshman year, and had it devoured in less than a day. The adventures of Gemma Doyle introduced me to a whole genre of books I had never touched before, paranormal historical fiction, which shaped my reading habits for a very long time. One of the first gifts my husband bought for me when we got our new house was this series because I had reread it so many times. Her other two YA novels, Going Bovine and Beauty Queens, are also both fantastic reads. The final book in the Diviners series comes out this March so if you havent read the series, now is the time to do so.
(Honerable Mention) James Patterson
I have a love/hate relationship with Mr. Patterson and his team of ghost writers. While I remember his works very fondly from my childhood, his adult works leave A LOT to be desired. If you had asked 17 year old Lee what her favorite book in the world was, I would have answered you Maximum Ride. I was obsessed with the misadventures of these half human half bird environmental activists. Fang was my book boyfriend right up until Edward Cullen stole my naive heart. Even after the series took up the highly political stances in the later books and Angel…well lets not spoil anything. Anyways, these books were my life for so long and it was so disheartening to realize as an adult that not only were his adult novels worse than torture to me, but that he didn’t even write some of them and still slapped his name on them. Still, I have such fond memories of stay up late invested in Witch and Wizard and Daniel X that its hard for me to harbor contempt. While, I will never touch another of his adult works I will continue to praise his backlog of YA fiction that gave me many a sleepless night.
Lee's Literary Loves and Losses 