Underrated UKYA authors #UKYADay

I struggled with what sort of angle that I wanted to discuss for Lucy's #UKYADay but in the end, I thought that I would write about something that I've discussed before on this blog: underrated YA and to give some recommendations of books that I think more people should be reading! Hope to see lots of amazing UKYA posts today and do check out all the amazing things that Lucy has organised throughout the day.

If you're interested in UKYA, do check out the British Books Challenge.

Helen Grant

Helen Grant is the author of many YA books but I've only really read her Forbidden Spaces trilogy: Silent Saturday, Demons of Ghent and Urban Legends. All three of these books are set in the Flemish speaking parts of Belgium and I adore them. They're tense and pacey thrillers that encorporate urban legends, serial killers, and the legends of customs of Belgium.  I think it's fantastic to see a different perspective within these books and I highly recommend the entire trilogy!

Lydia Syson

There was once a time where I was intimidated by most historical fictional novels. And then A World Between Us came along with its awesome cover and I thought I'd give it a chance. It was about the Spanish civil war and I was intrigued by how little I knew of this particular time period, so I gave it a go. And Lydia Syson definitely helped change my mind about my feelings towards historical novels. She's coming out with her third book next month (Liberty's Fire) and I'm so very excited. With each of her books so far (A World Between Us and That Burning Summer) she's pulled me into a new historical period and really brought things to life with great characters and situations and I really would like more people to have read her books.

Liz Bankes

A lot of the authors on this list write more serious books. I definitely favour the gritty, issues books. The books that leave me feeling emotional or heart-broken. They are the sort of books that I gravitate towards. And while I would definitely say that Liz Bankes writes books that are emotional, I find them to be emotional in different ways. Her books (Irresistible, Undeniable, Unstoppable) are funny and romantic and sexy. While still being emotional, of course. I love her books, I'd love for you to fall in love with them as well.

Phil Earle

As well as being the author of absolutely amazing books for teenagers and young people (Being Billy, Saving Daisy, Heroic, The Bubble Wrap Boy, Demolition Dad) I also think that Phil Earle is one of the nicest people in publishing. I first came across Phil just before his debut book, Being Billy, was published and I'm so glad that I did. Being Billy is incredible. It had been a long time since I'd read a book that affected me as much as that book did. It felt very real to me, very important and it hit very close to home in ways that I've never really spoken about before. And I've loved every book of his that I've read to date. These are books filled with so much heart.

Louisa Reid

I've only actually read one book by Louisa Reid so far but it was so incredible that I'm going to stick it on this list anyway! I read Lies Like Love and it is such an amazing, emotional story that it has remained with me long after I finished reading the book. It was dark and intense and beautiful and hopeful and I look forward to reading Louisa's previous book, Black Heart Blue.

Which UKYA authors would you like to see more people reading and talking about?