For the rest of the week, I'll be posting a Top 10 List of books for 2010 and 2011. Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and I thought it might be fun to do a sort of recap, sharing all the books we've loved - for various reasons and then some. I hope you enjoy my list. Be sure to head over and check out Jessica's too. Also, don't forget to keep checking back each day for a new list to see who's on it.
Title: The Sky is EverywhereAuthor: Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Dial, 272 Pages (March 9th 2010)
Why I loved it, in a sentence - This is one of those books that just sticks with you, the characters, story, everything - it has it all.
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 309 Pages (May 4th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - A love triangle with a ghost, characters I love and an amazing beginning for the rest of the books to come.
Synopsis: Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.
Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.
Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.
Well, sort of.
Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.
It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.
As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.
Author: Kelly Creagh
Publisher: Atheneum, 543 Pages (August 31st 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - The cover, was the beginning of my love affair with this book, the characters and writing pushed me over the edge.
Synopsis: And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!
from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.
Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
His life depends on it.
Author: Kristie Cook
Publisher: Ang'dora Productions, LLC, 368 Pages (July 30th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - Amazing from the first page to the last, this book and all it holds inside will leave everyone wanting more, more, more!
Synopsis: Alexis Ames decides to learn who she really is, with or without the help of her mother, who guards their secrets closely. After meeting Tristan Knight and discovering that he s not normal either, the secrets begin to unravel. Their union brings promise to the future of mankind. But it also incites a dangerous pursuit by the enemy. Because they are a match made in Heaven and in Hell.
Title: Deception (Haunted Emma, #1)Author: Lee Nichols
Publisher: Bloomsbury, 310 Pages (June 8th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - This one has it all, characters and plot twists with the turn of each page... and a cliffhanger ending that made me gasp out loud - yes it did.
Synopsis: When Emma Vaile's parents leave on mysterious business trip, it gives her the perfect excuse to be a rebellious teen. Throw some parties, get a tattoo (or maybe just a piercing), and enjoy the first few weeks of her junior year. Then her best friend stops talking to her, the cops crash her party, and Emma finds herself in the hands of a new guardian—her college-age "knight in J.Crew armor," Bennett Stern—and on a plane to his museum-like mansion in New England.
After enrolling at Thatcher Academy, Emma settles in by making friends with the popular legacy crowd. But she can't shake the strange visions that are haunting her. She has memories of Thatcher she can't explain, as if she's returning home to a place she's never been. Emma doesn't trust anyone anymore—except maybe Bennett. But he's about to reveal a ghostly secret to Emma. One that will explain the visions . . . and make Emma fear for her life.
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 362 Pages (July 13th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - Sam & Grace and the continuation of their story, add in some Isabelle and new-comer Cole and Maggie further continued to take my breath away.
Synopsis: In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 398 Pages (August 24th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - Katniss, Peeta.... the ending of an amazing trilogy - need I say more?
Synopsis: Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12.
Title: Infinite Days (Vampire Queen, #1)Author: Rebecca Maizel
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin, 310 Pages (August 3rd 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - This was different, entertaining with strong characters I can't wait to learn more about... PLUS another ending that'll make you want the next book NOW!
Synopsis: Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.
Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?
Author: Anastasia Hopcus
Publisher: Egmont, 400 Pages (July 13th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - I loved this one because you didn't know just what was going on or who the people of Shadow Hills were until you were deep within it's pages and engrossed in the story and characters.
Synopsis: After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA — a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died.
Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach — the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins to lust after — seems as if he is hiding something serious. Phe is determined to get to the bottom of it. The longer she stays there, the more she suspects that her sister's untimely death and her own destiny are intricately linked to those who reside in Shadow Hills.
Author: Lisa Klein
Publisher: Bloomsbury, 336 (October 12th 2010)
My Review
Why I loved it, in a sentence - This is a great historical for people who are stand-offish with historicals, such as myself - it was easy to want to learn more about the characters and the time they "lived" in.
Synopsis: Lady Catherine is one of Queen Elizabeth's favorite court maidens—until her forbidden romance with Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a bitter twist of irony, the jealous queen banishes Cate to Ralegh's colony of Roanoke, in the New World. Ralegh pledges to come for Cate, but as the months stretch out, Cate begins to doubt his promise and his love. Instead it is Manteo, a Croatoan Indian, whom the colonists—and Cate—increasingly turn to. Yet just as Cate's longings for England and Ralegh fade and she discovers a new love in Manteo, Ralegh will finally set sail for the New World.
I thought I'd start the last week of 2010 off with a contest! This will be the last one of the year, but in 2011 I'm sure there will be others. Here's the details on what's up for grabs and how to enter.
Prizes:
Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1) By: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Personal Demons (Personal Demons, #1) By: Lisa Desrochers (ARC)
Claire de Lune By: Christine Johnson (ARC)
Prisoners in the Palace By: Michaela MacColl
The Limit By: Kristen Landon (ARC)
The Jumbee By: Pamela Keyes (ARC)
THREE winners!
First place winner gets their pic of 4 books.
Second place winner get the remaining 2 books
Third place winner will receive some mystery swag.
Here's the usual - Rules and how to enter:
You MUST be at least 13 years old to enter.
Please fill out the form to enter. Entries in comments will NOT be counted.
Giveaway open to US only - Sorry!
Giveaway ends: Jan 18th, 2011
PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM TO ENTER
Winners are chosen via random.org. If you have any questions,
please check my policy page or feel free to email.
please check my policy page or feel free to email.
Thanks for entering and Good Luck to everyone!
Happy New Year!
*Note: this list is in no particular order. Each of these books are a few of my favorites from 2010.
Wow! Thanks for the chance to win these awesome books!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is an awesome contest. And, I haven't read a bunch from your top ten--I guess I'm not going to be done with 2010 for a while!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have some great books on your list. Thanks for such a wonderful giveaway. I have been wanting to read Personal Demons for awhile now.
ReplyDeleteoooh i really want to read nevermore and gah!! US only nooooooo :(
ReplyDeleteI've only read half of these! Lol. I've yet to read Shade, Shadow Hills, The Sky is Everywhere, Linger, and Nevermore, though I own all of them except Shadow Hills. One of my goals for 2011 is going to be to accept less review books and focus more on the giant pile of books I've been acquiring since I started blogging, so hopefully I'll get to these soon!
ReplyDeleteYA which quotes Edgar Allan Poe? Nevermore has got my heart racing already! Great picks there, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've seen these lists all over the blogs... I'm having a hard time picking my top 10 lol. But great list! I've been curious about Shift!
ReplyDeleteMost of these are on my wishlist already! I can't wait to read them! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
ReplyDeleteGREAT list! The Sky is everywhere is one of my favorite reads of 2010 as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you included The Sky is Everywhere. This novel was beautifully written and I don't think it got the hype that it deserves.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! Great books!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway thank you so much Happy New Year :)
ReplyDeleteThx for a great giveaway! I am a GFC follower.Thx, Lisa G.
ReplyDeletelisaglidewell[at]gmail[dot]com