The A to Z of Authors (Part 1/2)

It's Day Two of the BBB! And I haven't given up yet - woo-hoo!

We all have our favourite authors. Some wrote series that we love. Others are so brilliant that you've read every single one of their books, and still more only wrote one of your favourites, but they're still awesome. Here's part one of an A to Z of Authors who I think are amazing - and yes, I have fudged some of the letters a little, but I wanted to name people who actually mattered to me, rather than a bunch of random folk whose names fit. Number two is on its way tomorrow!

Alison Cherry

MAB (Most Amazing Books): Red, For Real, Look Both Ways (due for release soon).
Alison is one of the first authors I read the blog of before I actually read one of her books, and I can't decide which is better. Her books, Red especially, contain some of the most memorable characters ever, and online, she's downright hilarious.

Malorie Blackman

MAB: The Noughts and Crosses series.
Malorie Blackman is one of my favourite dystopian authors, mostly because the stuff she writes is almost scarily realistic. I love how Noughts and Crosses opened my eyes to the inequality of our everyday society, and it blew my mind - have you ever noticed that they only seem to make plasters in Caucasian skin colours?

Ally Carter

MAB: Heist Society series, Gallagher Girls series, All Fall Down.
Ally Carter writes books about extraordinary characters in fascinating situations - there's Kat, the teenage thief, Cammie, the superspy-in-training, and Grace, the grandaughter of a US ambassador. Pretty intriguing, right? Plus, her titles are ridiculously clever. It's a well-known fact that Only the Good Spy Young.

Sarah Dessen

MAB: This Lullaby
Now, I know I've only named one of Sarah Dessen's books here. This isn't because there's a lack of choice (check out the length on this Goodreads list) but because I, like the bad reader I am, haven't actually read any of the others. However, Lullaby is sassy, sweet and not far off perfect; the rest of her books come highly recommended. I'm also hoping to review it soon! ;-)

Enid Blyton

MAB: The Secret Seven series, The Famous Five series, The Faraway Tree
Enid Blyton, just in case you haven't heard of her, was a British writer whose books were massively popular in the whole of the twentieth century. They still are, actually, and even though they're a little dated, the Seven and Five series are some of the most brilliant mystery stories ever. Not to mention there's tons of them - fifteen in the Secret Seven series alone - and they're all just as good as each other. Just thinking about The Faraway Tree is making me tear up a little. . .

Anne Frank

MAB: The Diary of a Young Girl
They say that Anne Frank's Diary - the diary of a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis in WWII - is one of those old classics: the type of book that everyone wants to have read and nobody wants to read. However, I think you really, really should read it. It can be a little hard to get through, especially at the end, but most of it's truly uplifting, and tells me that, had Anne survived the war, she'd probably have become an author. But beyond that, she's an amazing role model who was so much stronger than I ever could be. It's the least we can do to understand her story.

Jessica Day George

MAB: Dragonskin Slippers series
It's no secret how much I love Dragonskin Slippers. I'm literally obsessed with the whole fantasy world, especially since I re-read the first one about a month ago and it hasn't gone back on my bookshelf since. The cover's so beautiful I can't actually convince myself to put it away.

Anthony Horowitz

MAB: Alex Rider series.
The Alex Rider books, put simply, are cut-and-dry thrillseeking adventure novels. I love them so, so much, mostly because they're quite different to the girly contemporary / dystopian / fantasy I normally read. It's the perfect series if you want fast-paced plots without having to think too much.

Michelle HarrIson

MAB: The 13 Treasures, The 13 Curses
This is another author who I love because of her characters: Tanya and Red in particular are confident, smart, and - there's no other word for it - absolutely kick-ass. I also love her interpretation of fairies (they always seemed a little too sugar-sweet for me) and can't wait to finish the series with The 13 Secrets.
Sarah J. Maas

MAB: Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass is a heady mix of cool logic, medieval politics and romance. Which are effectively my three favourite things in the world. If it were up to me, she'd be forever hailed as a warrior-author queen just for that one book.

And then I found out there was a sequel.

J. K. Rowling

MAB: Do I really need to tell you?
Three words, people. Harry. Freaking. Potter.
C. S. Lewis

MAB: The Chronicles of Narnia
Narnia. A world of talking lions, evil snow queens and warring armies. It's enchanting in peace, starkly beautiful in wartime, and magical no matter what. I definitely owe these books a re-read, but I'm intrigued as to whether I'll mostly identify with eight-year-old Lucy Pevensie, as I always did, or her older sister Susan, seeing as she's actually quite like me. I'll let you know!

Meg Cabot

MAB: The Princess Diaries, 0-800-Where-R-U series (When Lightning Strikes).
Although I like the Princess Diaries, especially with Princess Mia's super-smart friend Lilly, my own personal favourite of Meg Cabot's is her supernatural series, known as 0-800-Where-R-U. Like the Princess Diaries, I never actually finished it (I have an absolutely terrible track record with series) but I definitely intend to. The main character alone could rule Earth.

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I was going to do all of this in one go, but it turns out that describing twenty-six authors not only takes ages, but makes for a pretty long blog post. It is officially To Be Continued (tomorrow).

Do you have any additions to make to my A-Z of Authors? And which Sarah Dessen book do you think I should try next - I'm finding the sheer amount of choice a little overwhelming? Share in the comments!

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Labels: Big Blogging Bonanza , recommendations