Last year (2012) I had challenged myself to read 100 books. I
ended up reading 129. This year, I decided to make 130 books my goal.
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge -
You can can go look at the statistics associated with this year's challenge and
see what other people's goals are.
Out of the 144 books I've read this year, 69 of them have been
YA.
I'm going to cheat and make it so that almost every book I've
given a 4 or 5 star rating to this year will be mentioned here.
I can't choose just 10 books. It's impossible for me - so I'm
going to do 20. It seems only fair since all these books deserve to make it on
a top books list.
20.
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| by Kady Cross |
4
star rating. This is book
#3 in the Steampunk Chronicles. This series
epitomizes the genre of Steampunk - it's a good beginning series for those
that are interested in getting into this genre.
The cover is absolutely gorgeous! The book has a great story line, for those familiar with the series - the Machinist is back and he has taken Emily. We are introduced to a new character, a machine that has "grown" into a human - Mila. I really liked her as a character and as a person. For those not familiar, I recommend going back and starting with the first book, "The Girl in the Steel Corset" and in particular this edition, as it also includes the short story "The Strange Case of Finley Jayne" which introduces you to the main character and her back story.
Fans of this series won't be disappointed with this third book and I eagerly await the next installment, "The Girl with the Windup Heart," due to be out May 20th 2014.
The cover is absolutely gorgeous! The book has a great story line, for those familiar with the series - the Machinist is back and he has taken Emily. We are introduced to a new character, a machine that has "grown" into a human - Mila. I really liked her as a character and as a person. For those not familiar, I recommend going back and starting with the first book, "The Girl in the Steel Corset" and in particular this edition, as it also includes the short story "The Strange Case of Finley Jayne" which introduces you to the main character and her back story.
Fans of this series won't be disappointed with this third book and I eagerly await the next installment, "The Girl with the Windup Heart," due to be out May 20th 2014.
19.
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| By Jennifer Brown |
4 star rating. This is a really good book about a girl and the consequences of sending a risque photo while intoxicated. The book is told in two parts, we switch back and forth between the present day (where Ashleigh is going through a community service program) and the past (how this all transpired).
1. I liked this book's idea of a
community service program where offenders make projects that show other teens
the downsides of their crime. Other teens might listen more to one of their
peers.
2. Wish the book played out more of
what happened to Kaleb with the courts.
3. Loved the title and really this
book should teach teens to think about sending such a photo that could end up
in cyberspace and have long-lasting consequences for them.
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| By Cat Patrick |
4 star rating. Awesome book about three sisters who are actually clones of an "original" girl who died. They were "commissioned" by the dead girl's parents but when one of the scientists finds out that the parents only want one and the other two will be "disposed of," she steals all three.
At the age of nine, the girls' "mom" makes them go into hiding, as the head scientist of their project goes to jail (human cloning is illegal). From this point forward, the girls live in "shifts" portraying one girl - Elizabeth Best. We start the story with Lizzie taking "first shift," Ella is on second, and Betsey gets the coveted night slot.
We discover their "mother" is hiding things from them, what happens when the girls like different boys, and what it truly means to be an individual.
17.
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| By Rosemary Clement-Moore |
4 star rating. This book had it all! Paranormal aspects,
romance, suspense and even some history. Daisy was a great character, as is the
character of Cameron. This is set in the same world as "Texas Gothic" and so it's a companion novel of sorts. That book is a really good
read as well. I think you'd be able to read either one of these books first.
So many twists and layers to this story - I don't want to give anything away though. If you like kick-a** heroines, anything paranormal, and a love story that isn't all that it seems; read this book!
So many twists and layers to this story - I don't want to give anything away though. If you like kick-a** heroines, anything paranormal, and a love story that isn't all that it seems; read this book!
16.
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| By Sara Grant |
4 star rating. I wrote a pretty long, in detail review on Goodreads,
which you can find here.
This is a very interesting and intriguing book that is also satirical in my opinion. The story is told in two story-lines, alternating the chapters between the "present day" and "the future."
There are quite a few characters to keep track of, 4 main characters in the "present" who are band together in a nuclear waste bunker in the mountains near Las Vegas after a terrorist attack that released a deadly virus left most people dead.
Then we have again about 4 main characters in the "future." Three of them live in a village called "Forreal" which is located on the same mountain where the "present" teenagers are holed up. We also have an outsider named Greta, who is part of a group of nomads who have now settled in Vega (formerly known as Las Vegas).
Great book that discusses ethical questions and makes you think. Also appeals to those fans of dystopian literature.
This is a very interesting and intriguing book that is also satirical in my opinion. The story is told in two story-lines, alternating the chapters between the "present day" and "the future."
There are quite a few characters to keep track of, 4 main characters in the "present" who are band together in a nuclear waste bunker in the mountains near Las Vegas after a terrorist attack that released a deadly virus left most people dead.
Then we have again about 4 main characters in the "future." Three of them live in a village called "Forreal" which is located on the same mountain where the "present" teenagers are holed up. We also have an outsider named Greta, who is part of a group of nomads who have now settled in Vega (formerly known as Las Vegas).
Great book that discusses ethical questions and makes you think. Also appeals to those fans of dystopian literature.
15.
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| By Anna Banks |
4 star rating. This is book number two in the Syrena
Legacy series. I do recommend reading the first book, "Of Poseidon" first. This book seems
like more of a companion novel than a middle book. The story-line followed nicely and I felt like the main character
(Emma) had the right emotions. She finds out something about her mother and
past that she never expected. She also has to deal with the ups and downs of
first love with the love interest (a merman named Galen).
There was enough action in the book
and it flowed very nicely. Cool to see that there was a “gift of Trident” just
as Emma has the “gift of Poseidon.”
Like others, I really liked the
ending and I really don’t know what Of Neptune (May 2014) could be
about because I think Banks wrapped this story up well.
14.
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| By Liz Coley |
4 star rating. Great psychological thriller that
will popular with readers who wonder about kidnap & captive stories (ie.
Elizabeth Smart). The main character (Angie) was kidnapped at the age of 13. Now, three
years later, she shows up wandering her streets with no concept of the time
that's past. She is stuck in a 16 year-old body but has the mind & thinking
of a 13 year-old.
To cope with the atrocities done to her
(even some that happened before her kidnapping), she has developed multiple identities.
Using a diary to "communicate" with her other personalities, Angie
begins to piece together what happened to her.
A disturbing story that I think was
approached and written well. There arises an ethical decision - Keep the alters
who have helped her through her crisis or to remove them & perhaps at the
same time, remove a piece of herself.
13.
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| By Cat Patrick |
4
star rating. Cool science fiction book about a experimental drug
that can "revive" a person (essentially conquering death). Our main
character, Daisy, has been brought back 5 times. Each time she has to use the
drug to come back, she has to start over and move where no one knows her, lest
questions arise about her Lazarus-like comeback from death. One thing
that makes Daisy different from the other test subjects in this program, she
has no parents. Her fill-in guardians are actually two scientists who developed
the drug.
When Daisy moves yet again, she decides to take a chance and make some friends - siblings Matt & Audrey. She develops feelings for Matt and learns a big secret about Audrey that causes ethical questions to arise. Things also go awry when Daisy finds out some sinister things about the project she's involved.
Another book filled with ethical questions, has a fast-paced story-line, and will appeal to readers who like contemporary but has a little bit of science fiction mixed in.
When Daisy moves yet again, she decides to take a chance and make some friends - siblings Matt & Audrey. She develops feelings for Matt and learns a big secret about Audrey that causes ethical questions to arise. Things also go awry when Daisy finds out some sinister things about the project she's involved.
Another book filled with ethical questions, has a fast-paced story-line, and will appeal to readers who like contemporary but has a little bit of science fiction mixed in.
12.
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| By Caragh M. O'Brien |
4 star rating. I don't think I've been as satisfied with a trilogy as
I have this one. "Promised" was a thrilling conclusion. I highly
encourage any dystopian fans to go and read this series! (The first two books
are "Birthmarked" and "Prized").
The beginning of this book picks up a year after the ending of
"Prized." The first two books were each about a different dystopian
society - one where there is an enclosure with the "rich" people who
have been inbred so much that they need to steal babies from the "poor" people
outside the wall. The other is a women-dominated society where the
birth-rate of boys has greatly diminished.
I don't want to spoil the first books for you if you want to read the whole series, so I'll link to my actual review here.
I will say that this was an amazing conclusion that allowed the two worlds portrayed in the first two books to collide and become one.
I don't want to spoil the first books for you if you want to read the whole series, so I'll link to my actual review here.
I will say that this was an amazing conclusion that allowed the two worlds portrayed in the first two books to collide and become one.
11.
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| By Kiersten White |
4 star rating. This is a twisted story involving two sisters,
Fia and Annie. Annie is blind and decided to go a special school for
"gifted women." Annie is a seer: she can see the future. This is also
the one time she can see (she went blind at a young age).
We encounter several "talents" besides Seers; there are Readers (who read people's minds) and Feelers (who feel people's emotions). All these types make up the girls who live and study at the Keane Foundation.
Fia is a different sort. She was born with perfect instincts. She can't go wrong (though she can feel how things are wrong, like the school her and her sister are trapped in). She calls herself "the hands" of the operation. The school has trained her to be a killer.
This "school" uses these girls and their talents to commit crimes and be spies. Fia will be forever trapped because they use Annie as leverage to keep her in line.
We encounter several "talents" besides Seers; there are Readers (who read people's minds) and Feelers (who feel people's emotions). All these types make up the girls who live and study at the Keane Foundation.
Fia is a different sort. She was born with perfect instincts. She can't go wrong (though she can feel how things are wrong, like the school her and her sister are trapped in). She calls herself "the hands" of the operation. The school has trained her to be a killer.
This "school" uses these girls and their talents to commit crimes and be spies. Fia will be forever trapped because they use Annie as leverage to keep her in line.
Gripping story that alternates between the past and the present to tell the story of these two girls and where their choices and lives take them.
Open-ended ending (with a cool twist) which will now be continued in the sequel, "Perfect Lies" which comes out February 2014.
10.
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| By Beth Revis |
4 star rating. Last book of the Across the Universe series (previous books were "Across the Universe" and "A Million Suns") and I enjoyed it immensely. This series wasn't your "typical" dystopian story - it had serious science fiction elements like space-travel and aliens. This final book of the series was well written and the plot-line kept moving. The shipborns have decided to leave Godspeed (well, some of them) and travel down to Centauri-Earth. They wake up the earthborns and trouble ensues. Weird pterodactyl-like birds that eat people, beautiful purple flowers that make you pass out, and caves that seem perfectly built for humans all add up to a world no one has experienced before.
The characters were well-rounded and I liked how they questioned
what was going on around them. I even enjoyed the ending, which
leaves us with hope that they can make a home on this "new" earth.
9.
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| By Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer |
4 star rating. The two main characters in this book are quite different from each other. Delilah is a high schooler who lives in the "real world" aka our world and is obsessed with a particular fairy tale book. The other character is an actual character in Delilah's book - the prince charming Oliver. There is the element of a story within a story - Oliver living out his fairy tale over and over again. He wishes for more out of his life and the other fairy tale characters don't understand this.
These two worlds collide and makes
for an interesting, magical, and cute love story. Filled with fluff and magic,
it was an enjoyable read that didn't make you think too hard. The way the
authors solved all the problems in the end is a little far-fetched, but what
would you expect from a fairy tale?
8.
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| by Alex Flinn |
5 star rating. Another great fairy-tale retelling by Alex Flinn
(the author of the very popular "Beastly").
As you can tell by the cover art, this is the story of Rapunzel. We have 17 year old Rachel, who has been locked away in a tower and only sees her "mama" every day, who brings her food and the necessities. Mama tells her that this is for her own good, as some one murdered Rachel's real mother and that same man wants to do the same to her.
We also meet Wyatt, a senior in high school who is running away from something in his past. He goes out to "the sticks" to live with his mother's best friend's mom.
The story is told in chapters, each told from either Rachel's or Wyatt's point of view. At first, you can't tell how these two people are connected, but as the story progresses, there are many twists and surprises and you can see how fate will bring these two together.
Wonderful story and I highly recommend to those that love fairy tale re-tellings.
As you can tell by the cover art, this is the story of Rapunzel. We have 17 year old Rachel, who has been locked away in a tower and only sees her "mama" every day, who brings her food and the necessities. Mama tells her that this is for her own good, as some one murdered Rachel's real mother and that same man wants to do the same to her.
We also meet Wyatt, a senior in high school who is running away from something in his past. He goes out to "the sticks" to live with his mother's best friend's mom.
The story is told in chapters, each told from either Rachel's or Wyatt's point of view. At first, you can't tell how these two people are connected, but as the story progresses, there are many twists and surprises and you can see how fate will bring these two together.
Wonderful story and I highly recommend to those that love fairy tale re-tellings.
7.
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| By Jackson Pearce |
4 star rating. Viola is a 16 year old who won the wishing jackpot, a jinn shows
up to grant her 3 wishes. She puts off making her wishes, as 1. she is afraid
what she wishes for won't make her truly happy and 2. it means that Jinn will
have to return to his world (and of course she's fallen for him.)
As the lines between them continue to
blur, she realizes she can't wish for the one thing she wants most: for
Jinn to stay with her.
Such a great love story (with the
star-crossed lovers theme) and both the power and cost of making wishes. I
recommend for lovers of fantasy and magic.
6.
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| By Karen Healey |
4 star rating. What starts out as the best day of 16 year old
Tegan's life, ends in tragedy. Apparently a sniper trying to assassinate the
Prime Minister misses but instead hits and kills Tegan. Fast forward 100 years.
Tegan had indicated that she would be an organ donor or donate her body to
science. Little did she know that she would become part of a military
experiment. She was cryogenically frozen and later is awoken as the first
successful revival 100 years later.
We learn nothing of what happened to her
best friend, Alex, or her mother. We do unfortunately find out what happened to
her brother. Kegan argues with the military that she is to live and go to
school and try to act like a normal teenager (one that just happens to be 117
years old). Her doctor, Dr. Marie Carmen, takes her in. She makes several
friends, Bethari and Joph. We also meet Abdi (who is in Australia on a Talented
Alien visa due to his incredible singing talent). They discover a government
secret called the Ark Project (read the book to find out what it is!) Kegan
& Abdi form a bond after their two friends Bethari and Joph are captured by
the military. They expose the secret by going to the press and we are left with
a cliff hanger.
The second book in this series is due out May 27th 2014 and the
title is "While We Run."
5.
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| By Lindsey Leavitt |
4 star rating. Sixteen year old Mallory just dumped
her boyfriend Jeremy, who was cheating on her with an online avatar. Since
technology basically ruined her life, she decides to "go vintage" and
go back to the "simpler" times of the 1960's. She uses a goal list
her grandmother made (like running for pep club secretary and sewing her own
homecoming dress) and completely goes "off the grid." She doesn't use
the computer or her cell phone and she has her little 14 year old sister (who
seems very mature for her age) help her accomplish going fully
"authentic."
This was a cute story of a teenage girl finding out who she really is, that she doesn't need a boy to have a life and also learns stuff about her family that you can only begin to guess at - CRAZY stuff. Good realistic fiction read for teenage girls.
4.
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| Editors: Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling |
5 star rating. This book is an anthology of 19 different
dystopian short stories by famous authors like Carrie Ryan, Beth Ravis, and
Susan Beth Pfeffer. I was pretty much split down the middle with the stories I
liked and the ones I didn't. You can read my full review with my comments on
each story here. Overall though, I
think the 8 or 9 stories I did like make this book worth your time if you are a
dystopian fan.
3.
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| By Paul Rudnick |
5 star rating. I have no idea how to
classify this book but it was an awesome read. It stars out like realistic
fiction but then we delve into some fantasy/sci fi elements. The main character
is Becky/Rebecca whose life changes when designer Tom Kelly decides to make her
the most beautiful woman in the world. The dynamic between Becky & Rebecca
is very interesting and I love how Tom Kelly plays such a twisted role in her
life. This book was well-written and kept me turning the page, wanting to see
where life would next lead Becky and her best friend.
I loved the epilogue as well. It gave us closure for Becky but
at the same time I was left with good mysterious feelings about her mom and Tom
Kelly.
Highly recommend this book!
2.
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| By Julie Kagawa |
5 star rating. This book is the first in a new series by Julie Kagawa and actually came out in 2012 (the second one came out this year, "The Eternity Cure"). I really like dystopian novels (which might be obvious to you by now..) and the added element of vampires that rule over humans made it that much better. There is a back story, which is told throughout the book, of the "red lung" plague that killed many humans, causing vampires to "come out". An experiment to cure the plaque went horribly wrong, creating rabid creatures, no long human but not also not a sane vampire.
We meet Allie, an "unregistered" (a human who hasn't registered with the vampire community to give blood in exchange for food vouchers) who lives on the streets. One night, her and her gang are coming back from a successful find when they run into a pack of rabids. Allie is attacked and at death's door when a vampire gives her a choice: die or become what she hates the most.
The ending of this book was heart-wrenching - but I highly recommend going on to read "The Eternity Cure" and then we can look forward to the last book, "The Forever Song" which comes out April 29th 2014!
and my number one pick for 2013....
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| by Marissa Meyer |
This is book #2 in the Lunar Chronicles (first was "Cinder").
We are introduced to a new fairy tale character (remade of course) - Little Red
Riding Hood. Enter Scarlet, who wears a red "hoodie" all the time and
whose grand-mere suddenly goes missing. She meets the handsome street fighter
named Wolf who just happened to show up at the same time her grandmother goes missing.
Coincidence? I think not.
The book alternates between this story-line, and also continues the plot of Cinder from the first book. We find Cinder breaking into another inmate's jail cell in the attempt to escape from prison. "Captain" Carswell Thorne offers his [stolen] ship to Cinder in exchange for his escape as well.
These two plots do combine in a horrible tragedy (which I won't give away). This book DID NOT suffer from "second book syndrome." Left me very eager for book #3, "Cress" which will be hitting stores very soon - February 4th 2014! Recommend for anyone who enjoys fairy-tale retellings, science fiction, or dystoptian literature.
The book alternates between this story-line, and also continues the plot of Cinder from the first book. We find Cinder breaking into another inmate's jail cell in the attempt to escape from prison. "Captain" Carswell Thorne offers his [stolen] ship to Cinder in exchange for his escape as well.
These two plots do combine in a horrible tragedy (which I won't give away). This book DID NOT suffer from "second book syndrome." Left me very eager for book #3, "Cress" which will be hitting stores very soon - February 4th 2014! Recommend for anyone who enjoys fairy-tale retellings, science fiction, or dystoptian literature.
I would like to give honorable mentions to the following books:
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| Neferet's Curse |
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| Shine |
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| Bubble World |
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| Riser |
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| Unspoken |
And the short story "Queen of Atlantis" by Sarah Rees Brennan, originally published in the Subterranean Press Magazine: Summer 2011 but can be read here.
I figured I should mention these books that have already been reviewed on this blog and received a 5 star rating:
