Wow, I haven't read any of these and of them I'm only really interested in reading Pegasus. I'll probably start Pegasus on Saturday or Sunday, so if your book-buying time slot isn't before then, I'll tell you how it is on wordiness. I know most people who have read it so far have raved, and I am a fan of McKinley (not as much Spindle's End, but YES to Chalice).

Rot and Ruin is unique and extremely engaging. Very different for a zombie book (and I don't like zombie books in general). I liked this book a lot. I loved the relationship of the brothers most especially, plus the fact he makes you see zombies in a whole different way. There is a decent amount of profanity though, if I remember correctly.

Plain Kate is also wonderful, but don't let the whimsical cover or description fool you. Man that had me twisting in my seat (and crying) in a number of places! And Taggle is now up there with Mogget for favorite talking cat characters (though Mogget will probably always top that list). But Taggle is fantastic. Very little to no swearing if I remember. The writing is also exquisite in several places.

Before I Fall I've heard excellent things about. I'm planning on reading it really soon.

The only one of those that I've read is "Before I Fall," which I LOVED but it definitely has swearing, teenage drinking, and sexual discussions. Sorry I can't help more!

It makes me sad that you've eliminated Before I Fall. I don't remember there being a bunch of sweawing... Or promiscuity for that matter. There is a theme of sexuality but it's more the character herself exploring the idea of whether or not she's ready. Nothing actually happens. My hyper conservative mother read it and loved it. I'm not trying to get you to lower your morals or whatever, I just don't think that it should be eliminated. It has less swearing than stuff I've seen you review and way less sex than, say, Poison Study, which is in your recomended book bar. Before I Fall is one of my all time favorite books, it's probably the most original YA to come out in years, and it's one of those rare young adult books that actually makes you think about yourself and life and the world around you.

I haven't read any of these books, but now you've just added several more to my TBR list! lol Thanks!

I'm actually looking forward to reading Pegasus, I haven't bought it yet but it is on my Christams list. I agree with your point about her wordiness, but her stories always grab me so I usually overlook it.

I am more than halfway through Factotum (and have read the first two books in the series)and there is no real profanity - all of it is made up words. You have probably never heard of The Foundling's Tale trilogy because the first two books, Foundling and Lamplighter, were under the series name Monster Blood Tattoo. The author changed it with the release of the third and final book.

I've heard good things about Plain Kate, but I haven't read it myself.
Love Robin McKinley's books, especially Pegasus (which is a really clean read).

Kathleen,

Really? Poison Study really only had the 1 sexual scene in the book. And yes, there was more in the later books. But it was clean, and they were adults.

I got my information for BEFORE I FALL from the parental book review. And it listed a TON of very crude sexual things as well as drinking, smoking pot, etc. There is a big difference between the kind of romantic sexuality there is in the STUDY books, and the very crude, mocking sexuality many contemporary books have.

But if you think that review (linked above) is innacurate, please let me know.

Also, just because I've eliminated it from my list, doesn't mean I won't READ it. It just means I don't want my grandmother to buy it for me. :)

Cornish! Pick Cornish's book! I don't remember any profanity, and all the books in the series are great!

I really enjoyed Plain Kate. I started reading Pegasus and couldn't get into it, but if you're a big fan of McKinley, it's probably a safe bet. I haven't read the other ones.

Monica Hughes is one of my all time favourite Canadian sci-fi YA authors and The Game (a re-print of Invitation to the Game) is one of her best! It is short. She wrote it back in the early 90's before YA books needed to be doorstoppers. I would highly recommend this (and any of her sci-fi books). Her work is entirely clean.

PS - check out amazon.ca for mostly glowing reviews

http://www.amazon.ca/Invitation-Game-Monica-Hughes/dp/1443406198/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291840598&sr=1-2

I found Plain Kate rather boring myself. Interesting, but boring. Yes, that is possible.

I started Pegasus but it was so slow and I was so bored, that I finally allowed myself to stop reading. So, beyond the first fifty pages, I'm not sure. But those first fifty pages...BORING.

Revolution does have a lot of profanity, so even if you don't buy it, I would highly recommend you give it a try. I loved it.

I have only read Before I Fall from your list and I REALLY recommend it. It's a very fantastic contemporary novel.

Good luck narrowing down your list! I know how difficult that can be. I hope you end up enjoying the books you do choose. :)

Ooh, I just read Foundling and Lamplighter by DM Cornish (haven't gotten Factotum at my library yet), and I loved them! No swears, and while there is some violence, if you like zombie books, I'm sure this won't bother you.

I've read both the zombie books. I rated Rot & Ruin as PG-13 because of some mild language (no F-bombs) and sexual innuendo (nothing graphic) and gore (it's not nearly as gory as other zombie books, though). I gave it a C grade as it was an engrossing read, but the writing's just average. I gave THE ENEMY a PG-13, too, since it's got mild language, but it's used frequently. No F-bombs, though. It's also gory and there's some sexual innuendo, but I don't remember anything graphic. HTH and yay for awesome grandparents!

I didn't like Spindle's End by Robin Mckinley because of the wordiness problem, but I really loved Pegasus. The world was so magical and interesting I would recommend it, but the ending does have a huge cliff hanger. So, if you have a problem with cliff hangers then you might not want to pick up the series yet.

Ahh but Revolution is SO GOOD, and the profanity isn't crass in any way....