Author Guest Post:: Jennifer Estep

 Jennifer Estep, author of Touch of Frost was gracious enough to talk about some of her favorite books during her teen years on the blog today:

Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to thank Kara for having me on the blog today. Thanks so much, Kara!

So today, Kara asked me to list some of my favorite books from my teen years. I always loved to read books in all kinds of genres – mysteries, fantasies, romance, and more. In fact, one of my favorite memories is going to the library with my mom every Saturday to pick out some new books to read for the week. So here are some of my favorite reads from my teen years:

Beauty by Robin McKinley: I’m a sucker for retellings of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, and McKinley’s book is just a lovely story about a girl who discovers just how kind and noble a beast can really be.

Beastly by Alex Flinn: This book actually came out a few years ago, but it’s another retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale from the Beast’s point of view. It’s a really cool book, and I think I would have loved it as a teen reader just as much as I do now as an adult.

The Baby-sitters Club books: I can’t even tell you how many times I read and reread these books when I was younger. I always enjoyed hanging out with Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey.

The Sweet Valley High books: Nobody seemed cooler to me than Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, and these books made me want to be a California girl, just like they were.

The Nancy Drew books: I read tons of Nancy Drew books when I was younger, everything from the old classics to the more modern, updated versions. I always enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery, although I never guessed who the bad guy was before Nancy did.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: This book has a little bit of everything for fantasy fans – a noble quest, an epic adventure, a dragon, and most importantly a hero who’s a lot stronger than he thinks he is.

The Elenium trilogy by David Eddings: I became interested in epic fantasy when I was in high school, and these are some of the first books that I read in the genre. They’re just really fun adventure stories about the quest to save a young queen, and I still have them on my bookshelf at home today.

The Shannara books by Terry Brooks: I also read the Shannara books when I became interested in epic fantasy, and I enjoyed reading about all the perilous adventures that the heroes and heroines of the various books had.

Watership Down by Richard Adams: I’m also a sucker for animal stories, and this is a really cool, thoughtful book about a group of rabbits who are trying to find a new home for themselves, despite all the dangers they face along the way.

What about you guys? What are some of your favorite reads from your teen years?

Jennifer Estep writes the Mythos Acad­emy young adult urban fan­tasy series for Kens­ing­ton. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psy­chom­e­try, or the abil­ity to know an object’s his­tory just by touch­ing it. After a seri­ous freak-out with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Acad­emy, a school for the descen­dants of ancient war­riors like Spar­tans, Valkyries, Ama­zons, and more.

Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, was published on July 26. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is also available now as a 99-cent download. Kiss of Frost, the second book, will hit shelves on Nov. 29. Visit www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and more information.

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