Worst books

[caseyotis]

the Warriors series is written by three authors. A separate plot editor comes up with the plots, then distributes the plots to the three authors to convert them into words (which is how they're able to come out with a book every 3 months). The first 2 series of 6 were written by TWO authors who came up with their OWN ideas and collaborated together, and the plot editor was just their editor--then in order to increase revenue for themselves the editor now creates the plots and the writers fill it in with words.

If that's true, than I see what you mean. But whatever. Quality doesn't matter too much when they're A) writing kids books and B) earning money.

[zyzzyva980]

Don't hate too much on children's and young adult literature. Remember, you probably enjoyed them for a time when you were young, and then as you gradually got older and more mature the "spell" kind of wore off as the target age group shifted to those younger than you. So I'm just going to leave this here: http://imgur.com/gallery/8JWlN.

While it is possible to write a children's book that transcends age differences... keep in mind it doesn't come around terribly often. We've only had three true examples of that in the last ten years. Harry Potter was one, the Hunger Games was another. And the last one was Twilight, except we're not going to mention that one because it's Twilight. Those three are it, and one of them had its popularity suddenly come crashing to the ground when the world collectively realized that it was actually a terrible set of papers not worthy to be called a book.

Writing good children's books like those isn't easy. Actually, you won't do it. These authors know that, so they go with a strategy that makes them money- use a plot that has worked before, change some details, come up with a fancy title and cover illustration, boom, profit. Kids are predictable.

[caseyotis]

Don't hate too much on children's and young adult literature. Remember, you probably enjoyed them for a time when you were young, and then as you gradually got older and more mature the "spell" kind of wore off as the target age group shifted to those younger than you. So I'm just going to leave this here: http://imgur.com/gallery/8JWlN.

While it is possible to write a children's book that transcends age differences... keep in mind it doesn't come around terribly often. We've only had three true examples of that in the last ten years. Harry Potter was one, the Hunger Games was another. And the last one was Twilight, except we're not going to mention that one because it's Twilight. Those three are it, and one of them had its popularity suddenly come crashing to the ground when the world collectively realized that it was actually a terrible set of papers not worthy to be called a book.

Writing good children's books like those isn't easy. Actually, you won't do it. These authors know that, so they go with a strategy that makes them money- use a plot that has worked before, change some details, come up with a fancy title and cover illustration, boom, profit. Kids are predictable.

Ha, I totally agree. Although I could argue a few more series that did that (i.e.: Bartimaeus trilogy, possibly Ender's Game?), you're certainly correct.
I have to say, I never really enjoyed Harry Potter. Not even when I was young. But the Hunger Games...

[zerasaw]

Bartimaeus and Ender's game certainly did transcend all age levels (although Bartimaeus was originally a kids book, Ender's game a scifi novel).

In more deep fandoms, Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss have done a VERY GOOD job of writing books easily accessible by both teens and adults.
Prediction 3 years in advance: The next Game of Thrones will be the Name of the Wind.

[zyzzyva980]

I honestly have never heard of Bartimaeus ever before in my life ever. Ever. I have never seen the books, heard of any of their titles, anything to that extend. Haven't even heard of the writer. This is exceptionally odd given that they were written when I would've been about the appropriate age to be reading them, and seem to about things I would've been interested in at the time, I guess. At least according to their Wikipedia entries.

As for Ender's Game, sure, but it's well outside of my completely arbitrary ten year boundary. Also, the rest of the series certainly doesn't carry the same weight the original has. That's another sign of a good series. Harry Potter and the Hunger Games didn't see any substantial loss in writing or popularity after the original- people still lined up to get them. (Twilight was never worth anything to begin with.)

[caseyotis]

I honestly have never heard of Bartimaeus ever before in my life ever. Ever. I have never seen the books, heard of any of their titles, anything to that extend. Haven't even heard of the writer. This is exceptionally odd given that they were written when I would've been about the appropriate age to be reading them, and seem to about things I would've been interested in at the time, I guess. At least according to their Wikipedia entries.

As for Ender's Game, sure, but it's well outside of my completely arbitrary ten year boundary. Also, the rest of the series certainly doesn't carry the same weight the original has. That's another sign of a good series. Harry Potter and the Hunger Games didn't see any substantial loss in writing or popularity after the original- people still lined up to get them. (Twilight was never worth anything to begin with.)

Well, I haven't met many people who've read the series. It might not have been as popular, although it certainly deserves the recognition; it's certainly one of the best book series I've ever read. Same with the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness.

That's true. Mockingjay wasn't a very good ending IMHO, but the series overall was just wonderful.

[ToniJackson]

My Brother Sam is Dead. Took about two seconds for me to throw it across the room

[Kokonilly]

I honestly have never heard of Bartimaeus ever before in my life ever. Ever. I have never seen the books, heard of any of their titles, anything to that extend. Haven't even heard of the writer. This is exceptionally odd given that they were written when I would've been about the appropriate age to be reading them, and seem to about things I would've been interested in at the time, I guess. At least according to their Wikipedia entries.

As for Ender's Game, sure, but it's well outside of my completely arbitrary ten year boundary. Also, the rest of the series certainly doesn't carry the same weight the original has. That's another sign of a good series. Harry Potter and the Hunger Games didn't see any substantial loss in writing or popularity after the original- people still lined up to get them. (Twilight was never worth anything to begin with.)

Well, I haven't met many people who've read the series. It might not have been as popular, although it certainly deserves the recognition; it's certainly one of the best book series I've ever read.

100% agree with this. The Bartimaeus Trilogy is excellent - I would deem it just as good as Harry Potter, in fact, if not better, and it is definitely one of my all-time favorite series. Also, the His Dark Materials trilogy is absolutely fantastic. John Green's young adult novels have also transcended age differences; Z, I think you're confusing "transcends age differences" with "became a worldwide sensation". There are plenty of YA books that adults also enjoy - they don't have to be their own industries. I would also argue that "children's" literature is very different from "young adult" literature; from my perspective, the former includes classic stories such as Charlotte's Web and... I don't know... that's really the only one I can think of having just woken up. YA literature is severely underrated - there's some gold there, and "grown-up" stories aren't necessarily better just because their cast is comprised of adults or because the audience is grown-up. (This may have gotten away from me.)

TL;DR: Don't hate on literature aimed at a younger audience, because age of the audience or age of the cast does not necessarily dictate quality.

EDIT: Wow, that was an old discussion, sorry. Point still stands.

[Hosj]

The book true confessions of charylote doyle is pretty awful.

[fossilgirl13]

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Worst book ever.