. . . and just like that, my TBR pile has exploded. If you don’t hear from me for a while, it’s probably only that the pile has collapsed on me and a hand would be very much appreciated in digging me out.
Be sure to check out the Top Ten list as well (Otherwise known as Where Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls Finally Gets Its Due).
I’d been trying to find a good place to place a teenager — a kid trying to grow up in that kind of craziness. A story about life growing up as a teenager in a small town you don’t fit into developed into a story about are we looking for the right things and do second chances exist, because while everyone in this town is preoccupied by this extinct bird coming back to life, the narrator’s younger brother goes missing. So then the story is sort of a parallel. He and his family are looking for their lives. Everyone else is preoccupied with this nonsense.
On a side note, someone might want to let the writer know that Where Things Come Back wasn’t set in the author’s hometown in Louisiana. Always best to get your facts straight before you publish . . .
Attention fans of Megan Whalen Turner’s brilliant Queen’s Thief series :
The lovely Chachic is hosting a celebration of this series over at her blog this week. Highlights include posts from beloved young adult authors Sherwood Smith and Melina Marchetta,* and the lady herself, Ms. Megan Whalen Turner.
What is the Queen’s Thief series, you ask? Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Thief and move right on to The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia and A Conspiracy of Kings and then prepare to wait in agony with the rest of us for the next book to be published. You’re welcome.
Related Posts:
*Be sure to check out the comments on that post. Is there anything better than two amazing authors (and my favorite, I might add) fangirling each other? Didn’t think so.
So, today was the day the American Library Association announced their youth media awards winners and honor recipients, which is kind of A Big Deal in the library and literary world.
Being a big fan of young adult literature, I was most interested in the Printz award, which was given to John Corey Whaley’s Where Things Come Back, which was also the recipient of the Morris award, which is given to ‘a debut book written by a first-time author writing for teens’. Has that ever happened before in the history of these awards? Having just read the book recently, I can say that it is a worthy award winner, though it might be a bit of a tough sell to teens, especially with that cover (thank goodness the paperback cover shows more promise, but it won’t be out until May). This is a book with a lot of heart and an intricate, layered storyline, and I think it could go over well with fans of the kind of stories told by the likes of Markus Zusak and John Green.
ETA: Click on through for the Figment Blog’s interview with John Corey Whaley on being a Morris Award finalist.
I have my doubts that the recipients of these literary awards are generally the kind of books that their target audience (i.e. teens) are drawn to, so I was delighted to see that Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races and Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler were given the nod for the Printz Honor award. I adored The Scorpio Races and I know that Maggie’s other books have high appeal with teens, and while I haven’t actually read Why We Broke Up, I’ve heard teens asking our teen librarian to order it for our collection.
ETA: Daniel Handler Gives Relationship Advice on the HuffPo twitter feed. Let me just say, what a sassy man.
@huffpostbooks What if we love someone but that person is actually a cat? #DHHelpsU
Please, please tell me that by “cat” you mean “jazz musician.” I’m depressed enough already, @flavorpill. #DHHelpsU
I read another of the Honor books, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, purely on a whim — the cover is a gorgeous, mood setting piece of photography — and while I quite liked it and can see why the award committee selected it for the honor, I think the story could have used a little tightening (I’ve never played cricket and I know nothing about it, so a lengthy section where a cricket game is described went totally over my head). The core of the book, however, is a heartbreaking look at race relations in Australia during the Vietnam war period.
The Returning by Christine Hinwood is the book I’m up in the air about as far as the Honor books go. On the one hand, my two favorite authors, Megan Whalen Turner and Melina Marchetta, blurbed this book, so that gives it points in its favor. On the other hand, some of the reviews I’ve read have been really disheartening. Obviously, places like Goodreads are not gospel when it comes to opinions on books, but when more one star reviews are given than five star, it gives a reader pause before she considers picking it up. Ultimately, I’m going to have to ILL that bad boy and decide for myself.
I was really hoping that Franny Billingsley’s Chime would at least be a Printz Honor book, especially after the Chime/Shine fiasco with the National Book Award, but, alas, it was not to be. *sniff* It’ll always be a winner in my heart. I was also disappointed that the fabulous A Monster Calls by the equally fabulous Patrick Ness was snubbed for the Newberry. It was one of my favorite books from last year and I’ve seen it on numerous best-of-2011 posts around the blogosphere, but that never seems like a good indication of the winners of these types of awards. Oh, well, the cover will look better without that award sticker to mess it up anyways.
Well, it’s been a banner year, folks. Having read over 150 books (!!!), it was more than a bit difficult to pick a top five or even top ten, so I cheated a bit and narrowed down my picks by genre and reading level. These aren’t necessarily new books (though they’re new to me), but they are generally books I already have read multiple times or plan on it in the near future. Most likely they are a part of my ever growing personal library or they soon will be, when I can pony up the funds to purchase them. If you haven’t given them a shot yet, what are you waiting for?
The Best of the Best
It’s amazing to think that a book I almost didn’t continue reading has turned out to be one of my absolute favorite books this year. Franny Billingsley gets a big high five for creating a book with a totally unique premise, incredible characters, and giving the main character, Briony, such a captivating voice (though this is initially what put me off on the book — I’m so glad I stuck with it). This isn’t a book for everyone, but it’s definitely one you won’t quickly forget.
If someone has asked me for a recommendation for a book this year, this is the title I have most frequently shoved in their hands. There’s just something so undeniably appealing about it, despite the fact that it’s dystopian fiction and that generally offers some unhappy account of how troubled our society is or will be some time in the not-so-distant future, which is the type of story that puts a frown on my face (so sue me, I like a book that offers the promise of a happy ending. DF generally does not). It seems like dystopian fiction is the new vampire in the young adult realm and all the books tend to blend in together anymore, but Veronica Roth has managed to pen a tale that stands out in the crowd. It might be difficult to imagine our society dividing into factions focused on the cultivation of a particular virtue, but that doesn’t mean I can’t suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy an amazing story like this one. Want a book with a herioine actually worthy of the title of strong female character, a realistic (but sizzling) romance, an action packed plot, and a “holy crap, I didn’t see that coming” sort of ending? Divergent is the book for you.
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
I don’t want to say too much about Froi, since it is a sequel and not yet out in the States, but run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore or library and find a copy of Finnikin of the Rock. Read. Repeat if necessary (and it will be necessary). Wait with eager anticipation until March rolls around and then inhale Froi of the Exiles. I won’t say I told you so. I promise.
The Best of Realistic Fiction
The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta
First things first: I finally got a copy of the Australian version with the awesome cover. *fangirl squeal* Goodbye generic American cover, hello gorgeous, moody black and white image!
*Ahem* Now that that is out of my system, let me say that Melina Marchetta is one of the few authors who can persuade me to read realistic fiction. She’s just that good. As amazing as all of her other books are, The Piper’s Son just might have blown them all away. Y’all, this is not a statement I can say lightly, considering how much I love, love, love Jellicoe Road. When I say you need to read this book, trust me, you really do need to read it.
The Best of Fantasy
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
This is a book for horse-lovers, especially if those horses are the mythological variety with a penchant for eating and/or drowning folks. This is a book for those who couldn’t give a rat’s behind about horses. This is a book for those who like their heroines feisty and their heroes quiet and mysterious. This is a book for those who can appreciate the beauty and appeal of places that few others can. This is a book for those who like their mouths to literally water as they read. This is a book for just about anybody.
The Best of Paranormal/Supernatural Fiction
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Ladies and gentlemen, I hate paranormal fiction. Ever since the travesty that is the Twilight series (I’m sorry, but they need a few more Vikings to make them a proper saga), practically all I can find in the young adult section of every bookstore is paranormal fiction. As if vampires weren’t bad enough, then we got werewolves and zombies and angels and whatever other mythological creature they scrounge up next. I was so sick of it all, I could have puked.
Then I read Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.
And I liked it. A lot. It proved to me that perhaps paranormal fiction could be hilarious and unique and worth my time reading after all, which is the only reason I was willing to pick up the next title(s) on this list . . .
The Best of Adult Fiction
Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant
If you are looking for a zombie book full of blood and gore and horrifying images that are practically guaranteed to give you nightmares, then Mira Grant’s Newsflesh Trilogy will probably not be your cup of tea. These are not your typical brainless (ba-dum-ching) zombie novels, but if you’ve ever wondered how life might change if the zombie apocalypse were to occur, love a good government conspiracy, and enjoy books with twists so unexpected that you can’t help but giving them a stern talking to and/or throwing them at a wall, well then, Feed and Deadline (and the forthcoming Blackout) are most certainly the books for you.
The Best of Juvenile/Middle Grade Fiction
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
Santa was good to me this year when he brought me this book. The prose is so incredibly lush, the characters so delightful, and the plot so captivating and unique, that the only word that accurately describes how wonderful it is is delicious. And for once, a multi-dimensional antagonist who isn’t simply bad because she is the villain and that is how they are, no questions asked (*cough* Disney villains *cough*). If that weren’t wonderful enough, it has these gorgeous line drawings at the start of every chapter. Am I the only one who thinks more novels ought to have illustrations? Seriously, they’re not just for picture books.
