Month: December 2012

Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott and Alison Miller had the great idea to organize the  CLASS OF 2012: YA SUPERLATIVES BLOGFEST! Don´t hesitate to check their blogs for all the links…

The choices were tough (see all the wonderful books I´ve read this year?)…so yep…hmmm sometimes there may be more than one…Today I am proud to present BEST IN SHOW.

Favorite Cover(s)

I’m really wondering about the bird, and the mystery, and the boys, and it’s shiny!

So pretty, and dark, and ohhhhh I want to know what’s going to happen.

I don’t know why but this one really appealed to me even before I read it. Must be the boots, or the desert…

 Cutest Couple

 Samantha and Jase – they are simply adorable!

Augustus and Hazel – they broke my heart, but at the same time their love for one another shone through the pages, and they’re funny, and they’re courageous, and they’re simply real.

Most Likely to Succeed (Or, pick a Printz Winner.)

Gorgeous writing, story that pulls you in…Even though the storylines are completely different, they both managed to create a world that felt like the reader was walking beside the characters.

In one of the books, you will mourn and grieve and fall in love with them. While in the other, you will want to know what happens next, and what is it about this place that makes everything so magic, and you will want to go hang out with The Raven Boys and Blue and her family.

Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime (Book you just couldn’t put down!)

Even though Noah was sometimes a bit too much, I still got lost in the story and…missed my bedtime for it 🙂

 Best Repeat Performance (Your favorite sequel or follow-up.) 

Romance Most Worthy of an Ice bath 

Okay. So I know this is NA…but STEAMY!!!!

Breakout Novel (Your favorite book by a debut author.)

Loved the story, and on top of that Huntley has been so sweet in helping with my giveaway of her book and by granting me an interview. Definitely getting her next book.

Best Old-Timer (your favorite read of the year, published before 2012)

You guys. That book. So. Many. Feelings.

The characters, the story, the setting, the writing, how everything works together, how I fell in love with all of them.

Thanks again Katy for recommending this book! 

Book most likely to make a grown man cry

Most Pleasant Surprise (Best book you didn’t think you’d like, but totally did.)

I know. Weird. But the topic is so heartbreaking. Cancer is a bitch.  And I didn’t know if I would put a wall between me and the book, or if I would think it was written too off-track, or if I would even pick it up afraid it would be too sad. But the characters were so real, their story, their words resonated so loudly, that I fell in love with it. Without Tracey and her book club, I know I probably would have not read it. So thank you!

Most creative use of a Love Triangle

The love triangle is there, not there, but there…and wow…can’t wait to know what happens next!

Sleeper Hit (Book you found so awesome you wish it had been hyped more)

While that book was hyped a bit before its publication, I don’t think it got lots of press afterwards.

Favorite Outlier (Your favorite middle grade or adult 2012 book) 

It’s technically an adult book, no?

Reading ON WRITING was really a delight. The voice in that book is just amazing, and Mr. King gives wonderful tips, and digs into his own experience as a writer.

And now, we need to pick our own superlative category.

Favorite Lines

 (not just first line, but any lines, the ones that stayed with you long long loonnnng after you closed the book).

Disclaimer: I have more than one favorite line, and I’m sticking to the books I talked about in this wonderful blogfest (not all the ones I’ve read in 2012)

“Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.”

“He asked for a specific. I gave him a specific. I’m sorry it wasn’t puppies.”

“Maura had decided sometime before Blue’s birth that it was barbaric to order children about, and so Blue had grown up surrounded by imperative question marks.”

“We were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors,” she told him once. “I was paper and she was rock so I lived and she died.”

“If you weren’t driving, I’d kiss you senseless,” I tell him.
He swerves to the side of the road and stops the car abruptly.
“Not driving any more.”

People will say it’s sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it’s not sad. It’s triumphant. It’s heroic. Isn’t that the real heroism? The real heroes anyway aren’t the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention.

“Headline?” he asked.
“‘Swing Set Needs Home,'” I said.
“‘Desperately Lonely Swing Set Needs Loving Home,'” he said.
“‘Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing Set Seeks the Butts of Children,'” I said.”

“You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you.”

 ”His bed´s really comfortable and he never pees in it”

“Why do all the hot girls want the jocks and the good boys? We losers are the ones that need you.”

You have to kiss me,” I find myself saying.
“Yeah.” He leans closer. “I do.” 

Tell me, what is your favorite line from the books you’ve read this year?

Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott and Alison Miller had the great idea to organize the  CLASS OF 2012: YA SUPERLATIVES BLOGFEST! Don´t hesitate to check their blogs for all the links…

The choices were tough (see all the wonderful books I´ve read this year?)…so yep…hmmm sometimes there may be more than one…Today I am proud to present ELEMENTS OF FICTION.

Most Envy-Inducing Plot (Or, the plot you wish you’d thought of yourself.)

Really, I’ve read AMAZING books this year, and I’d love to have thought of some plots myself. Like THIS IS NOT A TEST, I’m a big WALKING DEAD fan, and the way Courtney Summers created a mix of honesty, horror, love, hope and everything in between is quite amazing in my view.

And all the books with the wonderful romances (I write a lot of kissing scenes)…My Life Next Door, Meant to Be, Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight….

Then, there are the plots I absolutely LOVE and the prose I found magical and amazing but the books I wouldn’t write. At least not right now. Does that make sense?

Most Formidable World (Or, the setting you definitely would NOT want to visit.)

I mean I’d love to go to see FOUR and see the world for a little while, but then can I just come back home? 😀

Some of the creatures in there are pretty scary.

Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting you’d happily travel to.)

I really need to go back to London soon 😀 (dear hubby, if you read this, we should plan a trip there next year…and go see a musical…are you still reading? Come back!)

Loveliest Prose

Most Dynamic Main Character

Tris.

Most Jaw-Dropping Ending

I need to know what happens next…

Best Performance in a Supporting Role

All the Garretts in MY LIFE NEXT DOOR but especially George. I mean, that kid is SO cute and funny 😀

Some of his best lines:

”His bed´s really comfortable and he never pees in it”

George gives me a smile, the same dazzling sweet smile as his big brother, although at this point, with green teeth. “I might marry you,” he allows. “Do you want a big family?” 

I like that. You look like Sailor Supergirl.

Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott and Alison Miller had the great idea to organize the  CLASS OF 2012: YA SUPERLATIVES BLOGFEST! Don´t hesitate to check their blogs for all the links…

The choices were tough (see all the wonderful books I´ve read this year?)…so yep…hmmm sometimes there may be more than one…Today I am proud to present HEAD OF CLASS.

Favorite Dystopian

INSURGENT by Veronica Roth – I had no issue getting back into that world. And cannot wait to see what happens next.

Favorite Science Fiction

A MILLION SUNS by Beth Revis – I loved, loved, loved that one. The ship becomes another character for me, and the way the entire cast is developed is just brilliant in my view. I even found this one a tad better than the first book of this trilogy (and I already couldn´t put it down :P)

Favorite Contemporary

Okay I´m sorry but I´ve read way too many contemporaries to play favorite. Can I go with 3—in no particular order?

• For the way the story  touched my heart, made me cry, made me hope: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green. I’ve read this book while spending a few days at my Mother-in-law’s. And I think she still wonders why I cried so much reading a novel. For my full review, and for all the reasons why I think this heartbreaking book is also a book full of love and hope, see here.
• For the way the romance made my heart beat faster, and the secondary cast of characters: MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick. And to share the love, I had decided to hold a giveaway for that book back in July, I also thought I’d ask the author if maybe she would be interested in doing an interview. I was so happy when she said yes! And even included a signed copy of the book as giveaway! 😀 (Happy Friday – Interview and giveaway)
• For the way it made me think: BUTTER by Erin Jade Lange and TRAFFICKED by Kim Purcell

And many more…really…my list of YA contemporary was like WOW this year!

Favorite Historical Fiction

GILT by Katherine Longshore

Favorite Mystery

TEN by Gretchen McNeil

Favorite Romance

So, here again, I cannot keep it at only one, and I am restricting myself.

• Sweet romance: MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick
• Most interesting contemporary setting for romance: THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Jennifer E. Smith
• Steamiest (technically not YA but wow steamy): LOSING IT by Cora Cormack

Favorite Paranormal/Favorite Fantasy/Favorite Genre Bender

THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater – Maggie has a magical way with words, and a magical way to pull the reader inside her story. Loved it.

Favorite Family Drama

THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers. As I wrote in my review of this book back in August, Sloane is  a tortured character and whose pain rages through the pages, gripping and sad. The drama with her family broke my heart. It´s definitely not the type of drama easy to resolve in normal circumstances, so if you throw zombies into the mix? You get an unforgettable story, exploring the weaknesses, strenghts of each character.

So, tell me who was Head of Class for you this year?