Entertainment
How This Unforgettable ’90s Grunge Band Went From Hated to Huge
When Stone Temple Pilots arrived in the early ’90s, critics and a lot of fans decided they knew exactly what the band was before they had even finished listening to the first album. They were pegged as Pearl Jam knockoffs, accused of stealing from the Seattle bands that had already made grunge the biggest thing in rock, and generally treated like a bunch of opportunists who had shown up at exactly the right time.
The record-buying public didn’t seem to get the memo. STP’s 1992 debut, Core, sold millions of copies and gave the band hits with “Sex Type Thing,” “Creep,” and “Plush,” the latter becoming one of the biggest rock songs of the decade. Then came Purple, which debuted at No. 1 on the charts and made it pretty damn difficult to argue that the group was simply hanging onto somebody else’s coattails.
The critics eventually had to eat some crow. Stone Temple Pilots kept evolving, kept selling records, and outlasted plenty of the bands they were supposedly ripping off. Whatever armchair pundits considered the group when they started, they weren’t going away, transitioning from punching bag to one of the biggest rock acts of the ’90s, while offering up a good example of the difference between critical approval and actual staying power.
They Weren’t from the Right Geographical Locale
The easiest way to understand the backlash against Stone Temple Pilots is to look at how and when they arrived. Grunge was no longer just a weird, outlying little Pacific Northwest scene; it was the center of the rock universe. Nirvana had changed everything, first with the sonic boom of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and then the brilliance of the Nevermind LP as a whole. Pearl Jam was selling truckloads of their debut effort, Ten. Alice in Chains had begun to transition from being viewed as just a heavy metal act, and Soundgarden, who had an early jump on landing a major label deal, was on its way to becoming a household name.
Then along came four guys from San Diego.
Scott Weiland, brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz had been working their way through the SoCal club circuit when Atlantic Records signed them in 1992. They weren’t some hastily assembled label project designed to cash in on grunge, but that didn’t matter much once their first album, Core, hit stores in September 1992. The timing made the accusations almost inevitable. And, in all fairness, it wasn’t completely pulled out of thin air. Taken at face value, the LP sounded almost like a greatest hits of what worked best for Seattle’s finest to date.
“Sex Type Thing” had the kind of heavy guitar riff that could sit comfortably next to Alice in Chains, and in fact started getting play on MTV’s Headbangers Ball much like when AIC were a buzz band. Weiland’s voice could shift from a low growl to something more melodic on a dime, evident on “Creep,” which had the gloomy acoustic quality that was practically required of alternative rock in the early ’90s. Then there was “Plush,” a massive, melancholy rock song with a video that landed the group in heavy rotation on MTV. It was also endlessly compared to Pearl Jam – especially Weiland’s vocals.
It was easy to hear where the band had gotten some of its ingredients. The problem was that critics treated influence as evidence of fraud. Not only that, but due to STP coming from San Diego, it came off as even more inauthentic. Remember, this was a time when the major label record executives were starting to open their checkbooks for anything that sounded even remotely grungy, and not just in Seattle.
Core Was Too Big to Ignore
No matter what the reviews said, though, people bought the record. Core eventually went eight times platinum and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. “Plush” became a monster rock hit, and nabbed multiple honors, including an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, a Billboard Music Award for No. 1 Rock Song of the Year, and a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band went from mismatched bills opening for acts like Rage Against the Machine and Megadeth to headlining their own shows.
That’s where things got awkward for the people who had nothing good to say. It was one thing to dismiss a band as a cheap imitation when nobody is listening. It’s another when that band is selling millions of records and packing venues.
“The critics hated it; the critics pulverized us; the critics loved pulverizing us,” Weiland wrote in his 2011 memoir Not Dead & Not for Sale: The Earthling Papers. “The record started selling, and some eight million copies later, has never stopped. Neither did the critics stop criticizing.”
STP also had something that plenty of their critics apparently didn’t want to give them credit for: they could write songs. It sounds obvious in retrospect that the band wasn’t successful because four guys happened to put on flannel shirts and stand onstage with musical instruments. “Plush” was an enormous song because people liked hearing it. Same with “Creep.” Same with “Sex Type Thing.” Same with the rest of Core.
The audience wasn’t sitting around wondering whether Stone Temple Pilots had earned the right to sound like a rock band. They just liked the songs.
There Wasn’t a Sophomore Slump
If Core had been a fluke, the critics would have eventually been proven correct in theorizing that Stone Temple Pilots were opportunists of a burgeoning scene they had no right to sound like. It wasn’t.
Purple arrived just before summer hit in 1994 and immediately put a hole in the argument that STP was going to disappear after one successful album. The record debuted at No. 1 and eventually went six times platinum. “Interstate Love Song,” “Vasoline” and “Big Empty” gave the band another batch of hits, while the album showed that they were capable of more than simply repeating the Core blueprint.
That didn’t mean the critics suddenly embraced them. In fact, it was quite the opposite. There were still plenty of complaints about originality, with some reviews essentially arguing that STP had become better at copying everybody else. Robert Christgau dismissed Purple, simply, as a “dud,” in The Village Voice, while other critics once more heard recycled pieces of the alternative-rock bands that had come before them.
Yet even when people complained about the band’s influences, the actual records were getting more interesting. Dean DeLeo wasn’t content to sit around playing the same three chords. His guitar work became increasingly layered, his brother Robert’s bass was a huge part of the band’s sound, and Weiland was proving to be a much more versatile singer than the “Eddie Vedder imitator” label suggested.
That’s not to say the poison pen-wielding writers weren’t still filled with vitriol toward the group. “Stone Temple Pirates?” screamed a Los Angeles Times headline. And Rolling Stone Magazine named the group “Worst New Band” in 1994, despite readers voting them “Best New Band.” At the end of the day, STP was also starting to realize it didn’t have to play the game critics wanted them to play. That became very obvious on the next album.
Tiny Music… Was the Turning Point
If STP really were just a bunch of guys trying to cash in on grunge, Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop would have been a terrible career decision. Instead of making another Core, or even trying to replicate the success of Purple, the band went somewhere else entirely.
Released in 1996, Tiny Music still had plenty of heavy guitars, but the grunge tag didn’t explain what was happening anymore. There was glam rock, psychedelic pop, ’60s and ’70s rock, jangle pop, weird little studio touches, and songs that sounded like the band was having a hell of a lot more fun than it had on its first two records. That was weird in itself, because interpersonally, the group was in shambles for the first time in what would be a recurring cycle of drama caused by Weiland’s drug problems.
Locked in the throes of heroin addiction, Weiland was arrested for possession of the drug, along with cocaine, before recording could even commence. He then started a side project, The Magnificent Bastards, while the DeLeos and Kretz began Talk Show, their own STP spin-off with another singer. But they managed to pull the nose up under the Stone Temple Pilots umbrella, and completed Tiny Music…, with “Big Bang Baby” practically announcing the evolution in style.
“Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” was bright, fast and catchy as hell. “Lady Picture Show” had a completely different feel from anything on Core – or Purple for that matter. “And So I Know” sounded like it had wandered in from some smoky, after-hours lounge.
The critics were still divided, but some of them were finally starting to hear what was going on. Rolling Stone, which hadn’t exactly been in STP’s corner, gave the album a much warmer reception. Even the L.A. Times came close to delivering a caveat in saying, “Those who hated the blatant pillaging will be flat-out appalled, but if you respect a band ornery enough to wrestle a multitude of rock ‘n’ roll monsters with ambitious, grabby, creatively sly maneuvers, Tiny Music will make you swoon.”
Tiny Music… peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, eventually went double platinum, and produced three major rock hits. At this point, the “they’re just ripping off the Seattle Scene” argument was starting to look pretty stupid. After all, how many times can a band reinvent itself before you admit it might actually have its own identity?
The Critics Didn’t Get to Decide
There’s another reason the Stone Temple Pilots story is interesting, in that they didn’t need critical approval to become successful. It sounds obvious, but it wasn’t how alternative rock worked at the time. There was a tremendous amount of importance placed on authenticity, especially among critics and the music press. The right bands were supposed to sound like they didn’t care about being famous. The wrong bands were accused of wanting it too badly. STP didn’t seem particularly interested in adhering to those rules.
They wanted to be a rock band. They wanted people to know their influences. They wanted to make records. They wanted people to buy them. And they weren’t embarrassed about any of it. That probably irritated the critics almost as much as the music itself.
There was also a strange double standard at work. Rock has always been built on musicians borrowing from what came before them. Led Zeppelin borrowed from blues artists they thought no one would ever hear. Aerosmith borrowed. Guns N’ Roses borrowed. The Rolling Stones borrowed. Everybody borrows.
But STP arrived at a moment when critics were especially obsessed with originality and authenticity, and because the band was quickly signed to a major label and sounded like several popular groups at once, they were a target too easy to ignore. The irony is that their willingness to borrow from different eras eventually became one of their strengths.
They Were Still Around When the Grunge Bubble Burst
By the end of the ‘90s, the landscape had changed drastically. Nirvana was over. Soundgarden had broken up. Alice in Chains was barely functioning. Pearl Jam had pulled back from the commercial machine and had zero interest in being radio or MTV-friendly. The grunge boom that had made it possible for Stone Temple Pilots to become a major band in the first place was already fading into history.
And despite all their inner band dysfunction, Stone Temple Pilots were still making records. No. 4 arrived in 1999 after another difficult period for Weiland and his legal and drug problems. Instead of trying to get weirder than Tiny Music…, the band leaned back toward its heavier side. “Down” was aggressive and riff-heavy, while the balladry of “Sour Girl” became another major hit. It was another platinum album.
The band followed it with Shangri-La Dee Da in 2001, but by then the original STP run was nearing its end. They broke up in 2002, eventually reunited in 2008, and released a self-titled album in 2010. The story didn’t end particularly well. Weiland’s struggles continued, and his relationship with the band deteriorated to the point that he was fired in 2013. His death in 2015 brought another tragic end to that chapter. But none of that changes what happened during the band’s first decade.
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The brilliant Nicolas Cage is never far from a headline story, although his most recent will leave him frustrated. It was confirmed at the end of July that writer Simon Afram (Lear Rex) — who had penned Cage’s upcoming British WWII thriller Fortitude, directed by Simon West (Con Air) — had filed a $105 million lawsuit against Netflix. This is after an accusation that a digital cinema package delivered to Netflix headquarters back in June had been stolen, with Afram arguing that the value of the film has been jeopardized by the crime.
But legal issues surrounding one of his upcoming projects shouldn’t overshadow the other exciting work in Cage’s pipeline, including confirmation that the long-rumored third National Treasure film is officially moving forward. According to Jon Turteltaub, a third National Treasure movie has been officially greenlit, with the director saying, “It’s finally real. Now, it’s Hollywood real, meaning things could happen.” So ahead of a long-awaited third installment of Cage’s answer to Indiana Jones, why not check out a recent entry into his filmography that, after an abysmal theatrical run, faded into obscurity, despite receiving pre-release buzz due to its bonkers concept?
The film in question is The Carpenter’s Son, released in 2025, which blends a biblical story with horror stylings to create a film that you won’t quite believe is unfolding before your very eyes. Sadly, it proved too divisive for most critics, scoring generally negative reviews and being called not “to everybody’s taste” in Aidian Kelley‘s review for Collider. If you prefer your Cage movies strange and want to give this movie a try, then you can stream The Carpenter’s Son for free on Plex, starting September 1, 2026.
What Is Nicolas Cage’s Next Movie?
Next up for Cage fans is the sports biopic, Madden, with the Academy Award winner portraying the titular voice of football alongside Christian Bale, who portrays the late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. Directed by five-time Academy Award nominee David O. Russell, the film is slated for release on Prime Video on November 18, where it is sure to prove an enormous streaming hit.
You can stream The Carpenter’s Son for free on Plex, starting September 1, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.
- Release Date
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November 14, 2025
- Runtime
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94 Minutes
- Director
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Lotfy Nathan
- Writers
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Lotfy Nathan
- Producers
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Nicolas Cage, Riccardo Maddalosso, Elena Novakovits, Julie Viez, Alex Hughes
NLE Choppa prompted online dismay on Friday, August 28, after he apologized to his ex-fiancée, Erica Raven, on Instagram. The rapper, whose real name is Bryson LaShun Potts, apologized in the video for “mishandling” Raven. The reality TV star revealed the end of their engagement with a video earlier this month.
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NLE Choppa Apologizes To Erica Raven On Instagram
NLE Choppa has fans cuttin’ up after he shared an apology video to his ex-fiancée on Friday, former ‘Baddies Gone Wild’ star Erica Raven.
The ‘Go Stupid’ artist apologized in the clip for “mishandling” Raven, and fans quickly ate his tail up in TSR’s comment section.
Raven revealed the end of their engagement with a video earlier this month, and the ‘Capo‘ artist shared a video of him proposing in front of a Christmas tree last December with an apology. The post also included a photograph montage of the couple and a close-up shot of her humongous engagement ring.
“I apologize for not living up to this picture ❤️🩹,” he wrote. “The sweetest girl ever. it’s no excuse for me mishandling you. I’m accountable, I can be better, and I’m man enough to admit that.”
He continued, “I feel stripped, I lost several things that’s fulfilled my heart I refuse to lose you….”
“Don’t let me go, not yet, don’t give up on me yet pretty girl I’m learning ❤️🩹.I’ll never be coward and not fight for you. Forget the ego & pride death to me today if u say I lost you. What’s life without u I love u ❤️🩹.”
Potts, who has said that he prefers non-monogamous relationships, even brought his granny into it.
“My grandma mad at me about this cause she know you the one,” he added. “She knows you’re special. I watched her have a successful marriage with my papa so I know it’s possible! I wanna do this for Malcom & Diana.. rest in peace to my grandfather 🐦🔥…. Husband and Wife soon to be 💍.”
Fans Advise Erica Raven To Run
After the apology was shared on TSR’s Instagram page, Roomies had little empathy for the rapper. Several tore his tail up despite his pleas, while others provided advice for Raven.
User @jusdaze was unimpressed by the artist’s plea. “I’m going to store y’all need sumn?”
@secretlifeofbriskiii wrote, “Oh please lemmy.”
User @usbhappi_ noted, “This is manipulation. Bye..”
@wabisabrina was also not impressed. “What does mishandling mean? Is she a bag of groceries 🙄.”
User @diamond_pwincess97 added, “Girl runnnnnnnn.”
@yesiamthesh*t wrote, “They’re always apologetic until you take them back. some blocks aren’t meant to spin. you’ll be alright.”
User @sweetieeess_ added, “He one sorry as 🥷😂😂😂😂😂😂😂.”
@krysy.b wrote, “Always looking a damn second chance, get it TF together the first time 🙄👎🏽.”
@itsquooo added, “Boooo Erica run bookie 😂.”
User @julietdonna_ predicted, “He’ll be back doing what he apologized for in 2 business days.”
@since_we_being_honest added, “Naw girl run 😭.”
@mbiiini replied, “Nah Just an art of narcissistic kinda apologies. Run for hills sis.”
Raven Shared A Video Following The Canceled Engagement
Raven shared a video on Instagram on Thursday, August 6, explaining that she was moving forward without her fiancé. The video was in response to questions about the status of her relationship with NLE Choppa.
She didn’t mention “mishandling” in the footage, but she captioned the post, “pray for me 🙏🏼💔.”
“I did the best to be the best fiancée,” she said. “And I showed up as much as I can. I gave as much love as I can. But sometimes, it’s just not enough. So, I will be moving forward by my lonesome, focusing on myself. I’m sending him support. I’m sending him prayers.”
“There’s no ill will,” she continued. “But, I just gotta focus on me now. It’s been very hard for me. It’s been a very rough 3 weeks. And I’m just trying to push through and regain control of my sh*t. You know? Please send me some support. Please send me some love. Woman-to-woman, like, we all be going through this. I’m only 23, so it’s been hard. But, we’re gonna keep pushing. And we’re gonna focus on ourselves now.”
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What Do You Think Roomies?
Whether he’s playing a cunning villain or a beloved dad—but let’s face it, usually a cunning villain—British actor Tim Curry stood out in just about every film he’s in and seemed to pop up almost everywhere. He began his career in the late 1960s onstage before beginning to work in film in the 1970s, and he’s been featured in over 200 projects since, from beloved family movies to cult classics. The legendary actor recently passed away at 80 years old.
Just as Curry was a joy to watch, so, too, are many of his movies. The best of them can be enjoyed over and over again, and it’s almost impossible to imagine any other actor bringing these characters to life the way that Curry does. Although he may be known for playing a certain character type, he never did it the same way twice and always brought something new to each character, a testament to why he was tapped for such roles again and again.
10
‘The Wild Thornberrys Movie’ (2002)
The Wild Thornberrys Movie was based on the Nickelodeon animated series The Wild Thornberrys, which followed the Thornberry family, including 12-year-old daughter Eliza (Lacey Chabert), who could talk to animals. The film followed her quest to save a cheetah cub from poachers while the family was on an African safari to film a nature documentary. Out of concern for her safety, Eliza’s grandmother Cordelia (Lynn Redgrave) has her sent off to a boarding school.
Curry’s distinctive voice has earned him many voiceover roles throughout his career, and his role as Eliza’s father, Nigel Thornberry, was among the few in which he didn’t voice a villain. His voice was perfectly suited for the character, however, due to his wildlife narration. The role is also among those Curry is best remembered for today, as Nigel remains a beloved character by audiences who grew up watching The Wild Thornberrys.
9
‘Charlie’s Angels’ (2000)
As a continuation of the popular series of the same name, Charlie’s Angels follows three private investigators—Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), and Alex (Lucy Liu)—in their work for the unseen millionaire Charlie Townsend (John Forsythe). The women were tasked with locating kidnapped software engineer Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell). Curry appeared in the film as Roger Corwin, the owner of Redstar Technologies suspected of being Knox’s kidnapper. The film was followed by a sequel in 2003.
Curry was the perfect choice for the character of Roger—his reputation for playing villains meant that’s exactly what the audience would expect from him as soon as he turned up, adding to the surprise when that turned out not to be the case. Given the over-the-top nature of the movie, Curry was in his element. And his wasn’t the only memorable performance, either. The film also features Bill Murray and Crispin Glover.
8
‘The Pebble and the Penguin’ (1995)
Two penguins—the shy and stuttering Hubie (Martin Short) and bully Drake (Curry)—both competed for the affections of Marina (Annie Golden) in the animated movie The Pebble and the Penguin. After Hubie found a pebble he wanted to give to Marina, Drake had Hubie sent away. The movie was based on the actual mating rituals of penguins. It was directed by Don Bluth and was the final film made by Don Bluth Limited before it went bankrupt.
The Pebble and the Penguin wasn’t well-received when it was first released, but it’s since become a cult classic and has grown in popularity, similar to some of Curry’s other work. And while it’s still not among his most famous roles—or among the most famous and well-regarded work of director Don Bluth—it is a sweet movie about love and friendship. It also boasts some beautiful artwork and a lovely musical score.
7
‘The Three Musketeers’ (1993)
The Three Musketeers, loosely based on the 1844 novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, tells the story of D’Artagnan (Chris O’Donnell), who traveled to Paris in the hopes of joining the king’s protectors, the musketeers Athos (Kiefer Sutherland), Porthos (Oliver Platt), and Aramis (Charlie Sheen), only to have the group had been disbanded. Curry played Cardinal Richelieu, who disbanded the group as part of a plot to have the king killed.
Richelieu was among Curry’s best performances as a villain—the character was downright cruel, with a frightening temper, and was quintessential Curry. He makes such a good villain that it’s satisfying to see him get punched in the face, the ultimate comeuppance for any villain. While the film takes some liberties with the original story, it’s still an entertaining adventure film with some great action scenes and a wonderful sense of humor.
6
‘The Cat Returns’ (2002)
After teenager Haru (Chizuru Ikewaki) rescued a cat which was about to be hit by a truck, the cat revealed itself to be a prince named Lune in The Cat Returns. Haru was then taken to the Cat Kingdom, and out of gratitude, Lune’s father, the Cat King (Curry), asked Haru to marry Lune. The movie was produced by Studio Ghibli and was a spin-off of Whisper of the Heart.
The Cat Returns is a fun, whimsical movie about an adventure to another world, and it’s very different from the kinds of movies Studio Ghibli has become known for. It has great humor, and it can easily be enjoyed again and again. While Curry has certainly played more evil and terrifying villains, he still brought the cunning Cat King to life wonderfully, in a way that few other voice actors could.
5
‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ (1992)
In the sequel to Home Alone, young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) lost track of his father while rushing through the airport and mistakenly boarded the wrong plane, leading him to end up on his own in New York City while the rest of his family was heading for Florida. In need of a place to stay, Kevin checked himself into the Plaza Hotel using his father’s credit card, where he earned the ire of concierge Mr. Hector (Curry).
Sequels have a reputation for not being as good as their predecessors, but Home Alone 2 was the rare example of a film coming pretty close to matching what made the first so entertaining and beloved, despite receiving negative reviews when it was released. Curry’s performance as Mr. Hector has certainly helped. Some of the film’s funniest moments came from Kevin toying with Hector—the scene in which Kevin used a movie to scare Hector and his staff never gets old.
4
‘Annie’ (1982)
Set in 1933, the musical Annie followed the titular red-haired orphan Annie (Aileen Quinn), who lived in an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett) and was convinced that her parents left her there by mistake and would one day return for her. When billionaire “Daddy” Warbucks (Albert Finney) decided to temporarily take in one of the orphans for Christmas to improve his image, he chose Annie—and eventually took on the task of attempting to find her parents.
Annie is a classic musical that’s been adapted for film time and time again, but the 1982 version starring Burnett remains among the best, thanks in part to perfect casting. It’s unfortunate that Curry hasn’t starred in more musicals—they not only helped launch his career, but he’s well-suited for them, especially with his deep voice. In Annie, he played Rooster, the con-man younger brother of Miss Hannigan, with equal parts charm and malice.
3
‘Muppet Treasure Island’ (1996)
Muppet Treasure Island was a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson‘s classic novel Treasure Island but with a Muppet twist. After coming into possession of a treasure map, young Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop), along with companions Gonzo (David Goelz) and Rizzo the Rat (Steve Whitmire), set sail with a crew to find the treasure. Curry appeared as Long John Silver, a pirate who worked as the ship’s cook and had his eyes set on Jim’s map.
When it comes to Muppet movies, especially ones based on books, it doesn’t get much better than Muppet Treasure Island. It was a great retelling of the original story with all the humor and fun one expects from a Muppet movie. Curry didn’t simply play Long John as an over-the-top villain—in some of the movie’s best moments, he brought nuance to the character and showed that the pirate truly cared for Jim.
2
‘Clue’ (1985)
In Clue, six people were anonymously invited to a mansion and given aliases named after colors as part of a blackmail plot. But when the host was murdered, they were forced to work together to uncover what really happened—and every single one of them was a suspect. Curry appeared as the butler, Wadsworth. The movie was based on the board game of the same name and is known for its multiple alternate endings.
It’s hard to imagine a movie based on a board game actually being good, but Clue delivered. With its humor and fantastic cast, Clue is a great movie to turn to when in need of a pick-me-up or comfort watch, and it’s packed with quotable lines. Every member of the star-studded cast delivers, but Curry stands out in particular in one of his best and funniest roles, complete with incredible comedic timing.
1
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ (1975)
After their car got a flat tire during a storm, newly engaged couple Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) find themselves at the strange mansion of the even stranger Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Curry) in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The couple happened to arrive on the very night Frank was unveiling his latest creation. The movie was based on the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show, which also starred Curry as Frank-N-Furter.
Rocky Horror has an incredible legacy—decades after its release, it’s still regularly shown in theaters, making it one of the most famous and longest-running cult movies of all time. Frank-N-Furter remains Curry’s most famous and most instantly recognizable role and Curry embodies him flawlessly, with one of the most iconic entrances in film. Despite Frank’s callousness and selfish pursuits of pleasure, there’s something about him which makes him impossible to dislike.
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Rating the albums that defined the King of Pop’s solo career.
What is now understood as the Young Adult (YA) genre started to take shape between the 1940s and 1960s, officially popularized as more of a categorization label by library associations in the 1960s for readers between the ages of 12 and 18. It was the publication of groundbreaking books like The Outsiders by the late ’60s that began to cement this as a true literary genre, one perfect to get tweens and teens to see the beauty of reading.
YA books tend to include teenage protagonists and fast-paced plots, dealing with themes like romance, identity, self-exploration, and coming-of-age elements. Throughout history, there have been several great YA novels—but there are eight in particular that are absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in better understanding the history, evolution, and true nature of this genre. These aren’t necessarily YA’s best, but rather the most important, influential, and impactful book in the genre’s history.
8
‘Twilight’ (2005)
Some love it, some hate it, but no one can claim to be a true diehard fan of young adult literature if they’ve never at least attempted to read Twilight. It was an idea that came to Stephenie Meyer in a dream. So, with a degree in English literature, no experience as an author, and the influences of authors like Jane Austen and William Shakespeare, she set out to write what is now easily the most culturally significant book about vampires of the young adult genre.
It truly had an indelible impact on the YA category as a whole.
The mere reason that Twilight stirs up such ardent conversations whenever it is brought up would be reason enough to make it an essential read, but on top of that, it truly had an indelible impact on the YA category as a whole. An immense bestseller and the beginning of an equally successful book series, Twilight may not be the best-written romance novel the world has ever seen, but it sure is a must-read nonetheless. It spawned a vampire genre boom that’s arguably still going to this day, it proved the market power of YA literature aimed at a female demographic, and it led generations of young people to fall in love with reading.
7
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (2012)
John Green is a deeply significant and impactful figure in the world of young adult literature, and his entire bibliography should be considered essential reading for all those who love the genre. There is little room for any arguments, however, against the fact that his most foundational novel is The Fault in Our Stars. Green was inspired by his experiences working in a children’s hospital, and dedicated the book to his friend Esther Earl, who died of thyroid cancer at the age of 16. The subject matter alone is enough to make this one of the most heartbreaking books of all time, but that’s precisely why it’s a must-read.
Before The Fault in Our Stars was published, the YA market seemed to be obsessed with works of speculative fiction in the same vein as Twilight. As soon as Green’s masterpiece hit bookstore shelves, however, young readers realized that there were also YA novels out there full of raw, realistic, painfully honest emotion and romance. More realistic fiction started to make its way into the saturated YA book market, and sick-lit (a subgenre where characters deal with terminal illnesses or mental health struggles) was catapulted into the stratosphere in terms of popularity and reader demand.
6
‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ (1999)
A whopping 13 years before he wrote and directed the film adaptation of the same name, Stephen Chbosky penned The Perks of Being a Wallflower, one of the best YA books of all time. The author spent over five years developing and writing the book, inspired by the memories of his own teenage years and interested in topics like sexuality, drug use, mental illness, and sexual abuse. The book deals with these topics in such a mature and open way that it has been banned across several schools in the United States.
But though it’s definitely for young adults who lean more toward the “adult” side than the “young” side, Perks of Being a Wallflower is a must-read nonetheless. It completely redefined how YA fiction dealt with these kinds of complex issues, proving that the genre could make powerful statements on the messier things that are on pretty much all teenage readers’ minds. On top of breaking taboos in all sorts of powerful ways, the novel tapped into elements of ’90s teen culture and counterculture in manners that have continued to age like fine wine.
5
‘The Giver’ (1993)
Well before the boom in popularity that the dystopian subgenre of YA saw throughout the 2010s came Lois Lowry‘s The Giver, set in a universe that at first appears to be utopian but is gradually revealed to actually be entirely dystopian. Throughout the years, critics and scholars have deeply studied the way it talks about things like religion, eugenics, racism, and other nuanced topics in ways that are undeniably complex but still perfectly suited for younger readers. Because of that, The Giver is often praised as one of the best novels for teenage readers ever written.
Labeled by Variety as “the godmother of dystopian YA fiction,” Lowry created in The Giver a masterpiece that completely revolutionized fiction for young readers forever. Before The Giver, the publishing industry assumed that only adult readers could understand and appreciate the layers and complexity of dystopian fiction. With the success of Lowry’s magnum opus, things changed. The depth with which the author approaches sociopolitical themes and dark philosophical questions had never been seen in YA literature before, challenging the paradigms that had been held on the genre for years.
4
‘The Outsiders’ (1967)
Seeing as so many people point to it as the origin point of true YA literature, saying that S. E. Hinton‘s coming-of-age novel The Outsiders is essential reading is the understatement of the century. Indeed, it’s one of the best coming-of-age books of all time, the source material for an awfully underrated movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It’s already a phenomenal-enough work of fiction on paper, but what makes it all the more admirable is that Hinton started writing the book when she was 15, wrote the bulk of it when she was 16, and saw it published when she was 18.
The Outsiders was significantly controversial upon publication, due to its use of strong language and depiction of taboo topics.
Much like history’s best YA books, The Outsiders was significantly controversial upon publication, due to its use of strong language and depiction of taboo topics like gang violence and underage drinking and smoking. Even to this day, it continues to be one of the most widely debated YA books ever written. After The Outsiders, literary depictions of youth and teenagers acquired a level of raw realism and grittiness that they had never seen before.
3
‘The Golden Compass’ (1995)
Even though Philip Pullman wrote the His Dark Materials trilogy without any specific target demographic in mind, the industry has since dealt with these phenomenal books almost exclusively as YA fantasy. That means that Northern Lights (titled The Golden Compass in the United States) is one of the greatest, most important, and most influential works of YA that not just fantasy, but all of literature has ever seen.
One of those fantasy books that are a masterclass in world-building, The Golden Compass proved that YA fantasy could explore incredibly deep philosophical, scientific, and theological ideas while still remaining entirely teen-friendly. Indeed, to this day, the book’s distinctly anti-organized-religion messaging mean that it’s still one of the most controversial novels YA has ever seen, which only makes it all the more of a must-read. In its taboo-breaking, The Golden Compass questioned the dogmas not just of the Catholic faith, but of its very genres.
2
‘The Hunger Games’ (2008)
Saying that The Hunger Games helped launch dystopian YA to levels of popularity authors had only ever dreamt of before, or that it helped turn YA into a powerhouse genre in the publishing industry, would both be tremendous understatements. Suzanne Collins‘ whole trilogy was unprecedentedly popular and had a level of influence on the genre that can still be seen and felt to this day, but the original book in particular changed YA literature as a whole forever.
Constantly imitated but never matched—neither in its quality nor in its pop-cultural impact—, The Hunger Games transformed YA into a true commercial juggernaut, even outside of the world of literature. And the best part? On top of being culturally significant, it’s a genuinely phenomenal piece of dystopian action literature, handling dark and complex topics with a level of depth and maturity that even older readers should be able to appreciate. It’s fast-paced, it’s action-packed, it’s romantic without ever being saccharine, and it’s easily one of the most essential works of YA writing in history.
1
‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (2000)
With Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J. K. Rowling didn’t just revolutionize Middle Grade (MG) fantasy, but all of fantasy literature and the publishing industry as a whole. And as its two sequels continued selling a volume of novels that the world had rarely ever seen before, it seemed that there was nowhere the series could keep going other than up. Up, indeed, it went, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire gradually taking the saga away from MG territory and steadily into introductory YA grounds.
This is far and away one of the most fun fantasy books of all time, a masterpiece that’s probably the single best way for a young reader between the ages of 10 and 14 to transition from MG literature to YA—which isn’t to say that Goblet of Fire is exclusively for kids, because it’s such a phenomenal and culturally impactful novel that anyone and everyone who loves fantasy should check it out at least once. Rowling completely rewrote the rules of the YA publishing market with this one, just as she had done with the MG market three years prior.
Jodie Sweetin is opening up about where she stands with former Full House costar Candace Cameron Bure these days.
“In the same way that DJ and Steph are opposite personalities, so are Candace and I,” Sweetin, 44, told She Knows in a recent interview.
The actress spent eight years of her childhood working along Cameron Bure, who played older sister D.J. Tanner to Sweetin’s younger Stephanie Tanner on the classic ABC sitcom.
In her interview, Sweetin suggested that the sisterly bond she once shared with Cameron Bure, 50, onscreen has evolved offscreen after they became adults.
An awkward reunion? Candace Cameron Bure and Jodie Sweetin will publicly cross paths after their recent rift over the LGBTQIA community. “It’s a FULL HOUSE BABY! We’re comin’ back to #90scon 😜 and OH MY LANTA I can hardly wait! Mark your calendars, book your plane ticket, and meet us in Hartford CT on March […]
“It’s always been a sisterly thing between us. Just like any family, it’s up and down,” she acknowledged.
Us has reached out to Cameron Bure’s representatives for comment.
The former costars have continued to publicly support each other from time to time since filming on the Netflix spinoff Fuller House wrapped in 2020, including Cameron Bure attending Sweetin’s wedding to husband Mescal Wasilewski in August 2022. (Sweetin was previously married to Shaun Holguin from 2002 to 2006, Cody Herpin from 2007 to 2010 and Morty Coyle from 2012 to 2016.)
However, Full House fans have also noticed that the onscreen sisters have come out publicly on different sides of hot-button topics, including the debate over the 2024 controversial Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris. (Olympics organizers were criticized by Christian conservatives, including Cameron Bure, because they felt it was disrespectful to recreate the Last Supper with drag queens during the ceremony. Olympics organizers later clarified that the scene in question was actually an interpretation of the feast of Dionysus from Greek mythology, not the Last Supper.)
Candace Cameron Bure and Jodie Sweetin Rachel Luna/Getty Images
In December 2025, Sweetin described Cameron Bure as “the closest thing” she had to a sister, stressing that she had “zero problem” with her costar’s devout religious faith.
“I have no problem with religion if it brings you peace and happiness, not necessarily saying that her brand of religion is not necessarily peace and happiness. I don’t really know,” she told the “The Moment” podcast. “I do know that I don’t think you can truly love people if you don’t respect them.”
Sweetin has shown her willingness to take public stances on political topics, whereas she said Cameron Bure has resisted addressing “the political side as much,” though it’s unclear if that plays any role in their current relationship dynamic.
“[Candace wanted to] keep that out of her brand or whatever, and I just don’t really care about my brand,” Sweetin noted. “If there’s people who don’t like what I’m saying or are like, ‘I like you as Stephanie but I don’t like you as you.’ It’s, like, ‘Great, watch Full House and don’t follow me online.’ It’s OK, you don’t have to like me, but I try not to let other people’s perceptions of who I should be … put up any barriers of what I want to be. Candace and I are very different in that regard.”
After nearly forty years in Hollywood, Candace Cameron Bure — who turns 50 in April — is feeling more sure of herself than ever. While her conservative values have come at a cost for the actress, producer and podcast host, she’s telling Us why she refuses to compromise or keep quiet. “Every decade of my […]
Sweetin echoed those comments in February when she told the “Only Child With Bob the Drag Queen” podcast that the two were on “very opposite sides of things.”
“I’m just, kind of, a loud outspoken bitch about a lot of things, and that’s not going to stop me and if that ain’t you, that ain’t you,” she declared.
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It’s been more than two decades since Michael and Linc made their great escape.
An on-duty Baltimore police officer allegedly raped a woman at her apartment after giving her and her son a ride home, authorities said.
Officer Daniel Oxendine was arrested on Thursday, August 27, following the results of a DNA analysis, which was said to have linked him to the alleged assault, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
He’s charged with two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree rape, and two counts of a law enforcement officer engaging in a sexual act with a victim or witness of an investigation, the sheriff’s office said in a news release shared the day of his arrest.
The rape investigation began on June 3 as detectives met with an Edgewood woman in the emergency department of a local hospital, where she reported she had been sexually assaulted, according to authorities.
A California man has been arrested by Maryland authorities for allegedly raping a woman twice in Gaithersburg, Maryland, mere moments after she had been in a car crash. A statement from police alleges that the rape happened on the evening of December 18, 2024 — but that Mauricio Martinez-Garcia, was only arrested on December 5. […]
Investigators learned that before the assault, the woman had encountered Oxendine while he was on-duty in Baltimore, the sheriff’s office said.
On June 2, officers had been responding to a “domestic altercation” involving the woman, who was described as the victim of the incident, according to charging documents obtained by the Baltimore Sun.
After the woman told police that she and her son were in need of a ride to their home in Edgewood, Oxendine’s supervisor allowed him to transport them, the charging documents viewed by the newspaper said.
“After arriving at the victim’s residence, Oxendine entered her apartment and sexually assaulted her,” the sheriff’s office said.
Oxendine allegedly appeared outside her door soon after she and her son had already gone inside their apartment, according to charging documents, the Baltimore Sun reported.
He told the woman he needed to “make sure it was safe,” then went into her residence and instructed her to tell her son to step outside, the charging documents said.
Oxendine is then accused of raping her, a detective wrote in the charging documents, according to the newspaper.
Michigan authorities this week announced an array of criminal charges had been filed against a serial rapist who was active between 1999 and 2003, when he was a member of the Detroit Police Department. Benjamin Wagner is charged with 14 separate counts, including eight counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and five counts of kidnapping. […]
The woman was taken to the hospital after the Harford County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the assault, the sheriff’s office said.
There, a sexual assault kit exam was performed and DNA was collected for an analysis, according to the agency.
“When DNA test results returned conclusively identifying Daniel Oxendine as the offender, detectives obtained an arrest warrant,” the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators believe it’s possible Oxendine was involved in “similar offenses” and are “working diligently to identify any additional incidents,” according to the agency.
Baltimore Police spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge said Oxendine is currently suspended without pay, per the Baltimore Sun.
On Friday, August 28, Oxendine had his initial court appearance and was denied bond by a judge who considered him a danger to the community, WBFF reported.
An attorney representing him at the hearing chose not to provide a comment, according to the TV station.
Brooke Hogan doesn’t appear to see eye-to-eye with her brother Nick Hogan and his perception of their current relationship following the death of their father, Hulk Hogan, last year.
After Nick, 36, spoke about Brooke, 38, in an interview with TV Insider that was published on Friday, August 28, she responded with her own take.
“I’ve made a conscious choice to keep the details of my relationship with my brother private,” Brooke exclusively told Us later on Friday. “I’d appreciate the same courtesy in return. We are not in communication, and his characterization of our relationship does not reflect my experience.”
She added, “My privacy should not be mistaken for agreement.”
In the interview, Nick heaped praise on his sibling, telling the outlet, “I’m so proud of Brooke. I’m so excited for everything she has got going on.”
He continued, “She’s just a phenomenal interior decorator. She has got this business that she started and she just did a new TV show, Rock the Block, and she was fantastic on that.”
Nick claimed that he is “excited” for Brooke and the positive things she has going on in her life.
“This is just a really exciting time for her. She had twins. She got married,” Nick said. “We’re just really excited for everything that’s going on for her. I’m so proud of her and, you know, everybody’s doing really well. My mom [Linda Hogan] is doing great right now. My entire family has been so supportive of everything that we’re doing. So, we’re in a really good place.”
Linda, Nick, Brooke and Hulk Hogan. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
The siblings’ father Hulk died in July 2025 of acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, with leukemia CLL, a type of cancer that affects white blood cells, as an underlying contributor. He was 71.
Prior to his death, Brooke was estranged from her father for several years. She told Us in April that the severed connection with her dad had also impacted her relationship with her brother.
“The saddest thing about broken families is the siblings,” Brooke told Us at the time. “The siblings suffer the most because you’re always forced to take a side. Nick and I, even though we had the same parents, we had two very different upbringings and two very different experiences. That is one thing my parents always said: ‘You guys are siblings, you always have to have each other’s back.’ No matter what trouble my brother gets into, no matter what he does or who he is, that’s my brother.”
She added, “Even if we don’t talk — because I haven’t felt supported by him in times where I really needed to feel that, sometimes I feel like he saw the same things I did and wouldn’t be a united front, that’s the thing that hurts me the most — but my brother is a very kind person. He’s very smart. He loves animals. There’s just so many great things about him and so many things that I love.”
Entertainment
Netflix’s 10/10 Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is Officially a Streaming Juggernaut Ahead of the Sequel
Sometimes it feels like Godzilla just doesn’t carry that aura anymore. Like, he can’t be scary. Because after decades of movies, television shows, video games and increasingly enormous Hollywood crossovers, Godzilla is basically a walking Funko Pop figure at this point. But then one very special film came along. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the film takes the human cost and post-war trauma of something like Oppenheimer and combines it with the escalating monster terror of Jaws and the result was golden glory.
Set in devastated post-war Japan, Godzilla Minus One follows former kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima, who returns home carrying enormous guilt over his cowardly actions during the war. As he tries his best to rebuild his life alongside Noriko Ōishi and an orphaned child, Japan faces another seemingly impossible disaster when Godzilla emerges and begins tearing through a country already reduced to almost nothing.
The movie stars Ryunosuke Kamiki (Your Name) as Kōichi Shikishima, Minami Hamabe (Let Me Eat Your Pancreas) as Noriko Ōishi, Yuki Yamada (Tokyo Revengers) as Shirō Mizushima, Munetaka Aoki (Rurouni Kenshin) as Sōsaku Tachibana, Hidetaka Yoshioka (Always: Sunset on Third Street) as Kenji Noda, Sakura Ando (Shoplifters) as Sumiko Ōta, Kuranosuke Sasaki (Samurai Hustle) as Yōji Akitsu and Mio Tanaka (Shin Godzilla) as Tatsuo Hotta.
Made for a fraction of the cost of a typical Hollywood effects blockbuster, Godzilla Minus One grossed more than $110 million worldwide, becoming a major international success for Toho. Its critical reception was even more impressive. The movie holds a 98% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made franchise history by winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, becoming the first Godzilla movie ever to win an Oscar.
Will There Be a ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Sequel?
There will indeed. The film picks up in 1949, two years after the events of Godzilla Minus One, and continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face what’s being described as an all-new calamity. Kamiki said:
“I am beyond happy to be able to participate in a film set two years after Godzilla Minus One, which is one of the most important works of my life. I also feel proud to have been able to work with Director Takashi Yamazaki and everyone on the team once again. The pressure of participating in a Godzilla work loved by so many people remains the same as in the previous film, but I have done my absolute best so that everyone who watches it, and everyone who loves Godzilla, can enjoy it.”
Godzilla Minus One is streaming on Netflix. Godzilla Minus Zero arrives on November 6, 2026.
- Release Date
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November 3, 2023
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Director
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Takashi Yamazaki
- Writers
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Takashi Yamazaki
- Producers
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Keiichiro Moriya, Kazuaki Kishida, Kenji Yamada
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Ryunosuke Kamiki
Koichi Shikishima
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Minami Hamabe
Noriko Oishi
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