Top Ten Favorite Books Read During the Lifespan of Our Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  This week our list (brought to you by Becky!) is Top Ten favorite books you've read during the lifespan of your blog.

This is a difficult week because our blog is rather new.  I've decided to select my top eight books and Randi will select her top two.  You will probably notice that the majority of my picks are YA contemporary realism.  That seems to be a side affect of blogging with Randi and is actually atypical of my normal reading habits.  I didn't conform entirely, however.  I still prefer the crushingly depressing reads to the happy romance novels.

1. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
     This contemporary realism follows a girl with terminal cancer who meets a boy and shares a book.  There are elements of romance, but for me it was more of a story of connection.  It was deeply touching and made me consider the meaning of life and how we live it.  

2. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
     Another John Green contemporary realism with complex, intelligent characters, tragedy, and interesting connections between characters.  While there is romance, the focus is more on how the characters draw meaning from it and life in general.  

3. Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta
     My first novel from Melina Marchetta!  This book was a puzzle, and I was on the fence until about 200 pages in when I suddenly fell in love with the characters and the story within a story.  This was a contemporary realism about a girl in boarding school and her discovery of who she is and who her parents were.

4. The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud
     Ah at last, a fantasy novel.  This middle grade wonder has an insanely rich alternate reality where magicians control London using demons.  Where this story really shines is in the quirky anti-heroes and the unique voice of the characters.

5. Zombies vs. Unicorns
     What an anthology!  This collection of zombie and unicorn stories from popular authors will blow your socks off.  They are gritty, terrifying, and nightmarish...and the zombie stories are intense too!  

6. 13 Reasons Why
    This contemporary realism issue-novel is about a girl who kills herself and the 13 reasons why she does it.  For me, it was a really deep and realistic portrayal of how people can effect those around them

7. Sisters Red
    Fantasy again!  This adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood is a gritty, sultry mix of fairytale and horror.  I loved the character of Scarlett and how badass she was! 

8.The Magicians
    This is cheating.  I'm still reading this one, but I can already tell I will love it from the curiously unlikeable main character and the blend of our everyday world with magic.

9. The Lock Artist (This week's bake!)
     The link for this will be up Thursday.  This is a magnificent thriller, which is not a genre I'm usually interested in.  The bizarre characters, menacing undercurrent, and romantic element were unexpectedly awesome.

Although it is technically my week for this post, I wanted to include my co-blogger in this list as well.  Here are Randi's top two books she's read during our Blog!

1. The requisite happy romance novel ;): My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

2. And the tortured fantasy romance! Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Review: Mock, Yeah, -ing, Yeah, Bird, Yeah Yeah Yeah

This book received the most votes on Randi's last "What's Next?" post. Thank you for voting! :)

Title: The Mockingbirds (The Mockingbirds #1)
Author: Daisy Whitney
Publication Date: my edition - Jan. 2nd, 2012 (original - 11/2010)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 332
Genre: Contemporary/Realistic fiction/"issues" book
Audience: Young Adult
Source: bought
Rating: 5 I would marry this book

Summary from Goodreads: Some schools have honor codes.

Others have handbooks.

Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way-the Themis way. So when Alex Patrick is date-raped during her junior year, she has two options: Stay silent and hope someone helps, or enlist the aid of the Mockingbirds-a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of the student body.

In this account of a teenage girl's search for her voice and the courage to use it, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that standing up for someone, especially yourself, is worth the fight.

My thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I didn’t expect it to be light by any means, given the subject, but the way Whitney handled the issue of date rape, the use of a student-run justice system, and Alex coming to terms with what happened to her amazes me; it seems incredibly realistic. Alex wavers between what to do, whether just ignoring what happened while facing the murmurs, comments, and leers of her fellow students, or going to the Mockingbirds and reliving everything over again; her disconnect from music, the thing she loves most in the world, because of what happened with Carter especially brought Alex to life for me since you often hear about/see (in pop culture only, for me, thank goodness) that kind of withdrawal with trauma. The only time I felt like things might be a tad unrealistic was how pushy her friends were about getting Alex to report the date rape; I thought they could have been a little more tactful in trying to understand Alex’s feelings and what she was going through rather than so constantly demanding action, no matter how much they would obviously want to. It seemed like they should have been there more for her (and they were good friends, I promise!) to listen and comfort rather than to push, BUT that may just be me because any of my good friends will tell you (well, maybe they wouldn’t since they’re pretty awesome friends!) that when there’s a crisis, I’m always willing to listen, but I don’t always know the comforting words to say, so perhaps that’s where I’m not seeing eye-to-eye with Alex’s friends’ actions. That’s really the only complaint I have, and it was a minor detail that by no means took over the story.

I enjoyed the setting – Themis Academy in Rhode Island; Whitney paints a vivid picture of a private boarding school in New England very well, from the description of the campus and its buildings to even the downtown area. The book mostly takes place during winter, which is fitting considering the dark topic in the story, and Whitney definitely makes sure you feel the cold and the wet and the wind. Not so much that it’s overdone, but enough so that you really feel like you could be on Themis Academy yourself.

I liked the little bit of romance. It isn’t instalove, it isn’t cheesy, and it’s very sweet. (I’m excited to see where it goes in the sequel, Rivals, which is already out.) I won’t ruin it for you, except to note that the romance starts very slowly because both parties have some major thoughts and feelings to work through which makes it all the more real. And the ending (both for the couple and for Alex herself) seemed perfect – not in a “oh well of course that was going to happen” way, but rather it leaves the reader satisfied. And there is a little suspense to the story (part of the reason I didn’t want to get too far into plot!) which makes this a very difficult book to put down. I definitely suggest The Mockingbirds if you’re at all into YA contemporary or issues books. Justina Chen, the author of North of Beautiful, wrote in her back-cover blurb that The Mockingbirds “Deserves a place of honor…alongside its soul sister, Speak.” I know many people recommend Speak (I still need to read it!), so if you liked Speak, give this one a look as well! And, bonus, the sequel is already released.

FTC Disclaimer

All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.

Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Pages: 265
Audience: Young Adult (safe for young teens)
Genre: Science Fiction (dystopia)
Rating: Two Stars- I'd give this book an awkward hug


Goodreads Summary:

Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?

This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson's vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.


My Thoughts:

I was drawn to the awesome cover of this book, the dystopian sub genre, and the concept.  For me, however, the actual story fell flat.  It is based on an issue that it never really explores.  We never delve deeply into the ethics of bio-medical procedures, and the readers are almost forced to be biased by the main character's first person narration of the story.  I can't say more on that without giving it all away, but I was very disappointed in the lack of depth, especially because of the strong potential.  

My second issue with the story was the writing style.  In a word: vanilla.  Ok ok, french vanilla.  It had the occasional vivid description, but it was mostly bland and colorless.  But let's move on to the appeal elements, shall we?  I do hate to diss a book because it's impressive even to write one in my opinion.

The pace was compelling but unhurried.  This was no action-packed adventure.  The secondary characters were only there to move the story along, it was really focused entirely on Jenna.  The frame was futuristic, but not too far in the future.  It had a gentle science fiction element that would be good for those unfamiliar with or unsure of the genre.  There are virtually no red flags as far as violence or sex.  I think this is a good read-alike for "Matched" by Ally Condie, or Hex by Rhiannon Lassiter

FTC Disclaimer

All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.

Stacking the Shelves (5): The BIG One

This meme is hosted (and was created by!) the lovely Tynga at Tynga's Reviews to share any new books we procure - from purchased books, review books, library books, gifted books, and ebooks! We're excited to be participating! :) 

New on Becky's Shelves this week!




The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Gifted by my Co-Blogger (Randi).  I've read this before and LOVED it.  Not gonna lie, I even loved the movie.  I'M SORRY.
East by Edith Pattou
Purchased at an actual bookstore.  Someone has to do it so I can keep browsing!
Dark Visions #1-3 by L.J Smith
Old favorite, got a great deal at Books A Million.  I just adore L.J. Smith books.  They were the Twilight of their time and are far better crafted (oops, just slipped out).
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
Won this one on Goodreads!  Review will follow soon!

New on Randi's Shelves this week!

Won:

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - Thank you to Britta @ I Like These Books! (Cannot wait to read this! Can't wait to meet Echo & Noah) :)

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket + sweet swag! (which I shared with my lovely co-blogger!) - Thank you to Aeicha @ Word Spelunking!

Gifted:

The husband stopped at a coworker's yard sale yesterday and got me these for $1.75 total! He knows the way to my heart! :)

The Nightspinners by Lucretia Grindle

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Bought:

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins (I've heard so much about Kaiden, I couldn't resist!)

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (I've heard nothing but good about this book)

Heist Society by Ally Carter (~$4)

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough (so excited to read this! It will be a Twice Baked Thursday feature in October!)

Changeling by Delia Sherman (~$3)

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber (ebook - ~$3)

So what's new on YOUR shelf this week?
Link us up & we'll stop by!

Review: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Title: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (Necromancer #2) Author: Lish McBride Publication Date: October 12th, 2010 Publisher: Henry Holt and Company Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Audience: Young Adult (I'd say older YA) Pages: 343 Source: library Rating: 4 I'd take this book for coffee
Summary from Goodreads: Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.
Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. 

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

My Thoughts: I had never read a book featuring necromancers before, so the premise really intrigued me. I also haven’t read much in the way of paranormal books (YA or adult) in quite a while. And I really enjoyed it! If you like witty and sometimes dark humor with a paranormal twist, don’t miss this one. Sam and his friends totally made this book for me. Sam and Ramon in particular were very witty and had some great one-liners (I’ll list some of my favorites below). I would totally hang out with them; they felt like my friends in this story – the “weird” kids on the fringe of society – because although my friends and I weren’t disliked in high school, we weren’t athletic or anything either, so I totally related to Sam, Ramon, Frank, and Brooke. I never got very attached to Brid (the love interest), and I’m still not quite sure what she looks like, which kind of bugged me, but I had fun getting to know the other supporting characters, such as Ashley, Brooke, Mrs. W, and Sam’s family. And even though Douglas is very easy to hate, his character is very well drawn and he makes the perfect villain.

The romance definitely wasn’t the highlight of this story for me, though it was cute. It was pretty sudden, but that didn’t bother me considering the circumstances. I’m curious to know more about the different kinds of creatures (from the fey hounds to werewolves and hybrids, to necromancers, witches, satyrs, etc.) I hope there’s some more details on those creatures in the next book. I also wish there had been a little more info about Sam’s history because I found those parts some of the most intriguing. I guess, overall, I would have liked a little more “world building,” even though the story is set in Seattle. I did get a sense of Seattle, but I wanted to know more of the fantasy/paranormal aspects. Although, it makes sense that there’s not a ton of detail here since the story is mostly told first-person through Sam’s eyes. Though I should mention that the chapters switch back and forth from first-person Sam narrative to third-person following various secondary characters (Douglas, Brid, etc.).

Totally loved the chapter titles! They were all (I’m assuming all, since I didn’t recognize all of them) song titles! Song titles that ACTUALLY fit the story and chapters! It gave me a smile every time I started a new chapter. J I’m anxious to catch up with these characters (mostly Sam and his friends), and I will definitely be checking out the sequel, Necromancing the Stone, which comes out Sept. 18^th. Definitely look into it if you like witty humor, paranormal YA (though I’d say older YA due to some of the content), or just want to try something different.

Quotes I liked:

“You get used to the moody weather and give up on umbrellas. Umbrellas are for tourists. Natives know that the rain doesn’t come straight down here like other places. Seattle’s rain slips in, tricky, like a ninja, and attacks from all sides.” (p. 88). This one totally reminded me of Wales, one of my favorite places, because the rain is exactly like that. Loved this description!

“ ‘You can French braid?’ Brooke blinked in surprise.

         ‘Chica, I got three little sisters that I used to help get ready for school. Three picky little sisters. I could do this in my sleep.’ He stuck the end of the brush in his mouth and started to separate her hair into manageable pieces. ‘Any real man can French braid a girl’s hair,’ he said around the handle.” (p. 192)

“ ‘What’s wrong with China?’

        Douglas turned his stare on me, but this time it was tinged with derision. ‘Trade imbalance, human rights violations, contaminated medicines?’

        I shook my head. I tried not to watch the news. Too depressing. They just don’t make very good episodes of it anymore.

        Douglas sighed again. ‘Lead-based paint on toys?’

        ‘Oh, right. They made a reference to that on Law & Order, I think.’” (p. 99)

FTC Disclaimer

All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Pages:336
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary Realism
Audience: YA
Five Stars: I would build a world-wonder for this book and then propose in front of it.


Goodreads Summary:
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My Thoughts:

After finishing this book I felt like I'd tried to swallow a glass ornament and it ripped up my insides.  It was so beautiful and fragile that I had to have it, despite knowing it would be painful.  Now there are shards of it stuck inside me that I will never get rid of.  

Sorry for that vivid imagery but it needed to be said.  I can't imagine John Green having a novel that tops this, but I'm willing to read all his works just to make sure.  So many people have told me how good this book is that I've actually kind of avoided it, for fear it wouldn't live up to my expectations.  It far exceeded them.

What makes it so great?  The characters.  Hazel is the type of character that is both wonderfully developed and normal enough to serve as a vessel for the reader.  you can easily imagine yourself as her and feel everything this story throws at you.  I spent most of the story suppressing sobs, which is incredibly rare for me.  Augustus is charming and witty, but not perfect.  I think these two qualify as one of my top ten favorite couples, though I'll have to digest the story more before I decide exactly where they fall.

The pacing is compelling, though unhurried. I knew how it was going to end within the first chapter, but I was so hooked by then it did not matter.   Not much happens in the way of "action" in this book, but I could hardly put it down.

The tone was immediately foreboding and bittersweet.  In a cast of cancer-filled characters, of course someone was going to die.  Sorry for the spoiler, but if you didn't know this...you should have.  I would go so far as to call the plot heartbreaking, and possibly the greatest love story I've read.

John Green's writing style is unusual.  It is poetic, with precise attention to wording and flow.  His vocabulary is often elevated above your typical YA novel.  While I do love that about his works, it struck me as hard to swallow for 16-year olds.  I, personally, have never met any that spoke so eloquently, with such wit.  

If you don't read this book...you are missing out.

Twice Baked Thursday (4): Impulse

Twice Baked Thursday is an original weekly meme created here at Cardigans, Coffee and Bookmarks.  This feature was created because Randi and Becky, often read the same books and have very different opinions about them.  When we read the same book we do a joint review on it, showing both sides. Our reviews will "talk back" to one another, one reviewer writing in another color text. Please feel free to join us and link to our blog in your post, and also use the widget below to link your own double-review to our page.

 Title: Impulse  

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Contemporary Realism (issues book)
Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 688

Source: Library; own (of course!)

Rating: 3.5 I'd stalk this book on Facebook (Becky)

              4 I'd take this book for coffee (Randi)

Format: 

The format of this book was unique.  It was written entirely as a poem, or multiple poems as the case may be.  I'm actually largely ambivalent towards poetry if not outright hostile towards it.  Why did I read this book you ask?  My tricksy co-blogger talked me into it...BAHAHA. and I somehow missed the fact that it was poetry until I checked it out (oops). Hehehe. After the first few pages it read like any other book with just a bit more attention to language and rhythm.  Yes! It is told in verse, but it's different from other verse books I've read in that (at least I thought) the lines were very free-form and lacking "structure." It's definitely a unique structure though, and I really enjoyed it.

Characters:

This was a completely character-driven story following Conner, Tony and Vanessa.  Their lives are horrible, their personalities complex, and their situation is tragic.  I was most interested in Conner, possibly because his life (minus the abuse) most closely resembles my own. And he's a fraternal twin, too!  It could also be that he seemed more complex due to his comparatively tolerable life.  It's easy to see why victims of extreme physical or emotional abuse might become suicidal... less so a boy from suburbia. Until the last 150 pages or so, I felt kind of ambivalent about Conner. 

I did find both Tony and Vanessa fascinating in the beginning but they began to be annoying in the last hundred or so pages when love apparently solved all their problems in an instant. I loooved Tony and Vanessa! I felt the too-easy ending thing too, but at the same time, I so badly wanted them to find happiness and a way out of their horrific lives that I kind of overlooked it. ;) The secondary characters saw little to no development.

Plot and Pace:  

I don't often read books on suicide because they often seem to me to be romanticizing it.  This book was no exception, honestly.  I didn't buy the neat wrap up for some characters, and everyone's issues eventually seemed to wind down to sexual abuse or confusion.  In real life, some people commit suicide because they are chemically imbalanced even after growing up in a family that loved them. I would actually argue that Vanessa fits here, with the exception of her mother as a loving parent. While the problems of these characters are certainly possible, they felt overdramatized. That didn't really bother me other than the fact that it seems three really screwed-up teens happen to find each other. It would be interesting to know more about the secondary characters to compare and see what their "issues" were since we get so little info on them. Despite being rubbed the wrong way in that respect, I found the pace engrossing and whipped through the book in two days. That's another thing about the formatting - despite being a whopping 666 pages, it FLEW by. I read the last half of the book in maybe three hours.

Tone 

The tone was gritty but dramatic.  I never quite felt like I was reading a "real" story, possibly in part because of the dreamlike effect of the poetry format.  This book is what I'd refer to as a "candy" read, despite its dark subject.  It was addictive and interesting but the message fell flat. I would agree with the message part. In fact, I'm not sure I really got much message, though there were some lines I wanted to mark (and would have were it not for the fact that I'm out of stickies!) And the candy thing? Yes. I found this totally addicting, much the way I feel about candy. :) It's very dark and sad (and I teared up more than once), but somehow it wasn't a "depressing" read for me like other books sometimes are. Overall...I'm definitely going to be reading all of Ellen Hopkins' works as soon as I can!