Garth Nix: I do read YA books, because some of the
best fiction published is published as YA. There are also quite a few books that are
published as adult fiction that are favourite teenage fare. There are many standouts in YA
fiction and there is an enormous variety of literature out there. Some of my favourite
authors include Patrice Kindl, Robin McKinley, Jaclyn Moriarty, Steven Gould, Paul Hayden,
Louise Rennison ... these are just off the top of my head, as there are many more.
Chris
Crutcher: I read some teen books. I read Walter Dean Meyer's Monster recently,
Bud, Not Buddy by Chris Curtis, Whitechurch by Chris Lynch, If Rock and
Roll Were A Machine by Terry Davis, Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman,
Fighting Reuben Wolfe by a young Austrailian writer whose name escapes me and I
can't get to it because I'm writing this on a plane, and Empress of the World
(same problem identifying the author). There are a lot of standouts among the new crop,
but you have to realize I consider myself part of the new crop. I still can't believe
anyone ever published any of my books.
Meg Cabot: I LOVE books for teens. I am enjoying
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice series very very much. Also high on my list is anything by
Karen Cushman. I am currently re-reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond. It still
rocks, after all these years.
Walter Dean Myers: I'm currently reading Fever,
1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. She's a particularly creative writer. Laurie, Rita
Garcia Williams, Chris Curtis, and Cat Bauer are among my favorites of the younger
writers. I envy their talent!
Sarah Dessen: I am ashamed to say I do not, for the
reasons I already mentioned. I just think it's better for me, personally, to just be
writing without knowing too much about the limits or parameters of the genre. Otherwise,
I'm pretty much an omnivorous reader. At any given time, I'll have a stack of
undergraduate short stories (I teach at UNC-CH), some magazines, and a couple of novels
stacked up next to my bed. I think all reading helps you as a writer, it keeps you fresh.
Laurie Halse Anderson: I read some YA books, but
not a lot. I tend to read nonfiction when I'm working on one of my own books. Like right
now.
