1. The Hunger Games, books one and two. Suzanne Collins' writing grabs a hold of you and keeps you hostage in her incredible dystopian world. The books are fantastic and I highly recommend them. I cannot wait for book three.
2. Harry Potter books one through seven (really it was 5-7, but I started from the beginning and read again). By book seven I realized how incredibly talented J.K. Rowling is. I miss Harry and the gang, and I'm still upset about a couple of the characters who died (no spoilers here).
3. The Book Thief. This book was originally intended for adult audiences in Markus Zusak's native Australia, but is categorized as young adult here in the U.S. Go figure. It does have an adult theme--Nazi Germany, but I think today's teens and young adults can handle the subject matter.
The book is narrated by Death himself and details the life of a young foster girl named Leisel, in Nazi Germany. It completely swept me off my feet.4. Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann.
I already did a review of Wake a couple of weeks ago, and recently finished Fade. I loved it just as much. It kept me riveted with a few surprises and I cannot wait for Gone to come out!5. Shiver by Maggie Steifvater.
Originally, I wasn't going to include Shiver on my list because a couple parts of the story dragged for me and others frustrated me (i.e. the parts with her parents).But the concept of the story was so awesome (here it is, from Amazon):
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.
Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.
Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.
And, I cried like a baby at the end and thought about it for days after. So it must have meant something to me.
So there you have it.
So there you have it.
And you?
10 comments:
I'm always reading YA books - sometimes I find them more fun to read than books for adults. My favorites this year were "A Crooked Kind of Perfect" and "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat".
Shiver and The Book Thief will definitely be on my list of top books I read this year, whenever I get around to writing it. I read and enjoyed The Hunger Games as well. I haven't read Wake or Fade yet, but they sound good. Of course, you can never go wrong with Harry Potter!
Great list! I think I'd add When You Reach Me and The Help. Loved both of those books!
i am intrigued by Shiver and the book thief and will check them out. thanks for this list
xx
marian
I only read YA books! I'm going to check these out!
I haven't read Lisa McCann's books yet, but they are on my list. The bright spot of selling YA books is seeing all these interesting titles pop up. I just finished Michael Gran's Gone and enjoyed it quite a bit, and last night started the second book in that series, Hunger.
Loved Hunger Games and Catching Fire! Another favorite of mine this year was If If Stay
I LOVED LOVED The Book Thief. I don't remember when I read that but man, that story stayed with me for weeks!
I love those books that stick in your mind for days after you've finished them. :)
I'm chiming in here at an old post because:
1- I've finished the Twilight Saga (it's not on your list?)
and
2- I have "Wake" at home. I bought it when I first bought Twilight.
Can't wait to dig in!
Post a Comment