Thursday, August 2, 2012

Every so often we like to have a post featuring awesome books that aren't Young Adult, but are so stupendous we think you'd like them just as much.  Not saying you don't already read adult books, but there's a possibility you might have missed some because those shelves in the teen section of B&N are super shiny.  True story:  we pass them each week for our We Heart YA meetings, and declare, "One day, my pretties, you'll all be ours!"  (Most Coveted at present: SHADOW & BONE, and BETWEEN THE LINES).

What exactly IS a cloud atlas?  "The ever-changing manifestations of fixed human nature."  (Thanks Wikipedia.) 
You've probably already heard they're making a movie based on this book by David Mitchell.  Please, if you do nothing else today, check out this extended trailer.  It's amazeballs!!  (This is Sarah speaking, by the way, and she wants to go on record that Tom Hanks and Halle Berry are not her favorite actors, but she's still salivating over the possibilities of this film.)

If the visual merits of the trailer don't sell you (Sarah squeed just at the sight of a ship on water, she's got it bad, folks) here are some reasons why we think Young Adults will love this book:

1.  Sweeping human themes of inter-connectedness, but also predation.  Who better to approach these topics than a young mind, fresh and insightful?  (You philosophers, you).

2.  There's a Love story (all good stories do, in one form or another).

3.  It's humorous (if you're a fan of British wit and whimsy, which you totally should be).

4.  It's Post-Apocolyptic (hello, um, YA dominates this genre), but also genre bending with mixes of historical, mystery, thriller, contemporary, and sci-fi.  About covers all the bases, right?

5.  It's going to make you Smarter.  Honestly, when you finish the book you will understand ALL THE THINGS (and if you do, please explain them to us).

P.S.  We would be remiss if we didn't warn that there are some things in the book that some parents might not want their Benny's and Joon's to read.  Humans are kind of messed up to each other, and that's certainly depicted in the book.  We're not going to stoop to "rating" this book for you, but it probably won't appeal to readers under 15.  Just saying.  And if you're like us, this will ultimately be Reason Number Six to read this book (Sarah...encouraging mischief since 1979).

10 comments:

Suzanne said...

Easily my most favourite book ever. I dream of one day writing a book this intricate and nuanced, this stunning and original. The movie looks fantastic! Due out in October :)

Matthew MacNish said...

I'd only barely heard of this before I heard about the film, but now that it's on my radar, I'll definitely be checking both of them out.

Kristan said...

Well, you convinced me! And you know I was already in love with the trailer.

Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy of the book before the movie comes out. Then we can gush about it together. ;)

Unknown said...

@Xan...thanks so much for commenting! Yes, I agree, one of my favorites. I'm not even going to dream of writing a book like this!! It must wreck you completely, y'know? Wonder how he recharges.

@Matthew...it was talked about a lot in England when I lived there, and it's a few years old now. I left my copy with my bro-in-law because I needed someone else to read it, like, straight away. (he never gave it back!)

@Kristan...speaking of which, I really need to get a copy as well. So many books breaking my budget!

Margot Wood said...

THANK YOU for this! And please....keep these posts coming! I tend to only read YA books and whenever someone recs a non-YA book to me I get skeered! SO yay, thanks for the rec!

Andria Buchanan said...

I keep hearing about the movie but I haven't gotten around to reading the book.

kaye (paper reader) said...

Well, crap. I'm going to have to pick up a copy next paycheck! Absolutely sold.

Since starting my blog I haven't had as much time as I'd like to read the backlog of non-YA that I've purchased, and it's part of what I'm doing lately. I'll just add this to the pile. :)

We Heart YA said...

@Margot...awesome, thanks for commenting. Yeah, we don't always know what to think about adult rec's. either. Hope you like this one!

@Andria...even if you see the movie first, the book is really worth the read!

@Kaye...yay, glad it's on the pile! we hear ya about trying to fit it all in.

Ashley @ Book Labyrinth said...

Colour me intrigued! I've heard a bit about this since the trailer came out, and it's received glowing reviews from a lot of awesome people... so I think I will have to check it out at some point.

We Heart YA said...

@Ashley...YES! Another taker. :)

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Stephanie, Ingrid, Sarah & Kristan — we read, write, discuss and celebrate Young Adult lit.


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on the shelf

The Bitter Kingdom
Wild Awake
The Raven Boys
Mind Games
Eleanor and Park
The Shattered Mountain
The Shadow Cats
Transparent
Froi of the Exiles
Days of Blood & Starlight
Every Day
Jellicoe Road
Finnikin of the Rock
Guitar Notes
The Dead-Tossed Waves
The Crown of Embers
New House 5: How A Dorm Becomes A Home
Bitterblue
The Fault in Our Stars
Pretties


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