Young Adult Reading Bingo Challenge 2014

This is the first of three posts about the Reading Bingo Challenges I undertook in 2014. It started when I came across the grid on the left on Pinterest, along with a general fiction version (Fiction Reading Bingo Challenge 2014 roundup post to come). I couldn't help myself and wanted to mix things up by coming up with my own, romance version. (See the original post here).

This is the first time I've done something like this; I never liked reading lists at school, mostly because I like freedom in my reading choices and hate being told what I should be reading. This isn't quite the same thing. I could still read what I liked, but the RBCs made my reading like a game, trying to fit my finished reads into slots on a gameboard. It was never an easy task, but the young adult challenge, of the three, was probably the most successful.




As can be seen on the 'bingo card' to the right (apologies for the series of terribly dark photos to follow), I completed 18/25 categories, or 72%. I might have reached a completion rate of 77% on the romance challenge, but my review rate was only 62.5%. In comparison (and I surprise myself) I managed to review all the young adult books I read, before the year was out (see reviews below).

So, what to do with the 7 categories that remain? Everything that was 'leftover' across all three challenges were by far the hardest to complete. I was despairing about the 'lion, witch or a wardrobe' category from the beginning, but fortuitously, Laura Lam's Pantomime featured a lion, amongst other big cats, in its circus. These 7 categories will be 'recycled' along with the other incomplete categories across the board, in my new 2015 RBC challenges, to be revealed in due course.

In the meantime, if you're looking for some books to read, here are the books that made the cut in my Young Adult Reading Bingo Challenge of 2014, and the links to the reviews if you need any further convincing. Happy reading!

Stones by Polly Johnson (A book with a female heroine)
Deeper by Robin York (A book that made you cry)
Daughter of Camelot by Glynis Cooney (A book based on a myth)
Harder by Robin York (A book without a love triangle)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (A book with a break-up)
Are we there yet? by David Levithan (A book set in summer)
Every Day by David Levithan (A book with an epic love story)
The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderson (A book you heard about online)
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith (Free square)
Looking for Alaska by John Green (A book set in high school)
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz (A book with a colour in the title)
Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger (A book set in the past)
The Jewel by Amy Ewing (A book with music)
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (A book with an incredible fight scene)
Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger (A book set in another world)
Devilish by Maureen Johnson (A book with magic)
Pantomime by Laura Lam (A book with a lion, a witch or a wardrobe)
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (The first book in a series)