Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favorite Books Read in 2014

Today I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a blog meme for posting a themed list for every Tuesday of the year!  Check out the meme here to see all of the lists, and here to see today's post if you want to join in!

This week's theme is Top Ten Books Read in 2014.  I have to say, I do have quite a few favorites! :)

Here are my favorites, in the order in which I read them:

1. Wonder by RJ Palacio
Although the copy I borrowed from the library was (heavily) chocolate stained, I couldn't put it down.  I still find myself thinking of this book whenever I call my puppy "Auggie-Dog."

2. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
I recommend this frequently at work to kids who are not quite ready for the Hunger Games series, or those who want a really awesome adventure story.  It doesn't hurt that Gregor is such a great character!  Plus, giant bats you can ride!!!

3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
I read this one over my spring break while procrastinating on a final project.  I got the project done, but I was desperate to read the rest.  While I really enjoyed Fangirl, I do consider this one my favorite of the two.

4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
I bought an e-book version of this on a whim when I saw it on sale for less than $3.  What a bargain!  I adore fairy tale retellings and this one was just so badass that I couldn't stop reading!  I've since finished Scarlett by my cousins are all nagging me to finish Cress already so we can talk about it!

5. Shug by Jenny Han
My supervisor at work is obsessed with Jenny Han.  Knowing this, I decided to give this one a shot.  How cute.  I love a good contemporary fiction story every now and then (not sure if there's such a thing as reading too much fantasy), and this was such a nice break from my usual routine.

6. Plain Kate by Erin Bow
I think I cried at least four times while reading this, and I have zero regrets.  I'll recommend this book to anyone that will listen.  Even though my heart broke a dozen times while reading it, I would do it again in an instant.  The beautiful writing, plus that wonderful cat companion, Taggle, made this one un-put-downable for me.

7. Every Day by David Levithan
Admittedly, I kinda raced through this one, but I enjoyed it nonetheless--so much so that I picked it for my teen department's next book club title.  I'm hoping they like it as much as I did!  David Levithan, master of LGBTQ fiction (and, well, awesomeness in general), made so many wonderful points about gender identity and sexuality without being preachy, all wrapped up in the coolest concept.  What if you woke up as someone else every day of your life?

8. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I listened to the audio version, and, let me tell you--it was like listening to a play.  A really awesome play.  It was weird for me at first, because this audio had a full cast (a different actor for every character, plus a narrator), but that made it all the more enjoyable as I got used to it.  Wonderful voice acting, if you ever get the chance to listen!

9. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
My only regret is that I didn't get a chance to read this one in fewer sittings.  I had to take a couple of breaks from it, due to assigned readings, but holy wow is this one witty and delightful.  Auxier's writing reminded me a lot of Lemony Snicket, except a lot less... well, insulting to the reader.  Does that make sense?  It was immensely clever, but not in a way that put down the reader's intelligence.  So much sass!  Plus, Sir Tode was just too weird not to love.

10. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I love apocalyptic fiction.  It makes me completely anxious, and totally warps my brain as I'm reading it, but I love it all the same.   It's because of this title that I'm now starting on more apocalypse fiction now that the semester is over...  I had to do a big read-alike project with three titles from my syllabus (for which I also made lists on Eleanor & Park and Graceling), and this was my favorite.  I love diary format books, epistolary novels (letters), you name it--so this was very enjoyable.

And my runner up, up through the end of my teen lit course, was Akira: v. 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo.  I actually caught some of the movie on TV when I was about 11 years old, and was so freaked out by the graphic violence (and the guts--OMG, the guts) and million-year-old children that I was a little unsure about choosing this one to read for my class's graphic novel and comics week.  Well, surprise, surprise!  It was fantastic.  I guess I have grown up (and I've probably hardened a bit from watching The Walking Dead, although I have trouble reading that series).  I recently requested volume 2 via Inter-library Loan and can't wait to start!  It's crazy!

Half of my titles are actually from my two lit classes from spring and fall.  I've had to do a lot of reading for class in the past year, which can be pretty stressful, but it's so much more rewarding to actually enjoy the books assigned!

So, what were your favorite reads in 2014?

Read-Alikes: GRACELING

Image from Goodreads
FIND IT: YA CA

FOR FANS OF GRACELING BY KRISTIN CASHORE:

These titles have been selected not only on writing style and tone (comparable to Kristin Cashore's Graceling), but on three categories as well: characters with special abilities or powers; a setting primarily focused on kingdoms and royalty, with perhaps a "Medieval" feel to it; and novels featuring strong female main characters.  Readers that enjoyed any of these elements as presented in Graceling would likely enjoy any of the ten titles presented below, ranging from printed books, to digital audio books, to films, all covering these main components that readers of Cashore's Graceling Realm novels are familiar with.

Fiction about people with special abilities are reflective of the experience of difference--one that young people are all too familiar with.  Not only are these stories interesting, as the range of what counts as a special ability is so vast and infinitely possible, but they can be used to mirror the teen experience quite effectively.  We're all different, even in worlds immensely dissimilar to our own.

Fantasy fiction includes world-building as an incredibly essential component.  For readers looking for an escape from the real world, intricate world-building is essential.

Finally, young adult novels with strong female lead characters are rising in popularity (and availability), but it is how these young women choose to conduct themselves, despite opposition, that separates them from many women in YA fiction.

Use the key below to view the format of each recommendation.  To see the item in our catalog, click on the symbols provided above the "Find it" line.  If the item you want is unavailable, we can retrieve it for you from another library within SCLS.

CALL NUMBER KEY:

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Albin, G. (2012). Crewel. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

In Arras, some women are born with the ability to see the fabric of the universe as strands, and are able to manipulate them as they wish.  These women, known as Spinsters, have immense power and beauty, but are also under strict control by the Guild, who oversees the world and all its happenings.  Adelice has the gift of a Spinster, but her family trains her to hide her talents, so as not to be taken away from them. Using a compelling writing style and inventive world-building, Albin weaves society in which special abilities are revered, and controlled by those with power to abuse.   (368 pages)

FIND IT:  YA AL

Lu, M. (2014). The Young Elites. Rutherford, NJ: Putnam Pub. Group.

Not only did the blood fever in Kenettra kill most of its victims, but it left anyone unlucky enough to survive with a mutated appearance.  These mutants, known as malfettos, are unwanted, but those with unusual powers, dubbed the Young Elites, are the most reviled of all. Adelina was infected as a child, and discovers as a teen that she was also left with strange abilities.  The world-building and angst-filled writing will be sure to draw reader attention.  (336 pages)

FIND IT: ILL (in-house copy on order)

Mafi, T. (2011). Shatter me. New York, NY: Harper Teen.

Cursed with a touch that can kill, Juliette has been incarcerated for the better part of a year, far away from others.  Thinking herself unable to be around anyone else, for fear of killing them, she is suddenly presented with a cellmate, who is unaffected by her disturbing, unwanted power.  Juliette's situation multiplies in complexity as it becomes clear that both sides of an impending rebellion want to use her as a weapon and a symbol.  Readers looking for a suspenseful read will be satisfied with Mafi's dystopic debut. (352 pages)

 

FIND IT:  YA MA

Winter, R. (Producer) & Singer, B. (Director). (2000). X-men [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.

Stigmatized for their strange powers, Mutants live in high tension alongside regular humans.  While out in the public, these Mutants are widely feared and shunned--but at Professor Xavier's school, a special institution that trains Mutants displaying special abilities, they are respected and welcomed.  Their training, however, comes in handy when the school's residents--known under Professor Xavier's tutelage as the X-Men--must band together to fight a group of Mutants with a sinister agenda.  Exciting and action-packed, this film shows just how important our talents can be, especially when we decide how to use them. (Rated PG-13, 104 min) 

FIND IT: DVD XME

A MEDIEVAL TIME

Carson, R. (2011). The girl of fire and thorns. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Princess Elisa's strategic military strengths and general intelligence have gone largely ignored in light of her large size, but she is a Chosen One, as indicated by the Godstone she received as a baby.  Her kidnapping after an arranged marriage makes it necessary for her to use her under-appreciated abilities in battle, to great success, but is that enough to satisfy her desire for acknowledgement and respect?  Carson's emotionally intense writing, along with the world-building presented in the novel, will be a welcome change of pace for Graceling fans. (448 pages)

FIND IT: YA CA

Goldman, W. (1973). The princess bride: S. Morgenstern’s classic tale of true love and high adventure. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 
This romantically-written, witty love story valuing inner strength and loyalty in love is full of humor, adventure and, yes, kissing.  Farm boy Wesley leaves Buttercup behind to seek his fortune so that they may marry, never to return (or does he?), while she is kidnapped as part an intricate plan to start a war with a neighboring country. This story-within-a-story is a light-hearted, humorous alternative to the imaginary kingdom presented in Graceling, showing readers the variety of fiction existing within similar settings. (308 pages print; 2 hrs, 33 min audio)

FIND IT: DIGITAL COLLECTION

 

Maas, S. J. (2012). Throne of glass. New York: Bloomsbury.

Celaena, a dangerous female assassin, has been imprisoned for her crimes for over a year, and is unlikely to leave until she is given a deal: either enter a brutal, murderous competition to become a contracted assassin for the royal king, or face the rest of her life laboring away in the mines.  Her interest in actually serving the king does not matter--it's the chance of freedom that does.  Those who perhaps want more of the Grace that Katsa had honed in Graceling, but in the form of a girl who is apparently very comfortable with her line of work, may enjoy this compelling first in a series. (416 pages)

FIND IT: YA MA

Marchetta, M. (2010). Finnikin of the rock. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

After the Lumatere royal family was murdered, a curse was placed upon the land: a curse preventing anyone from entering (or escaping) the doomed kingdom.  Finnikin promises to restore the Lumateran throne and seeks Prince Balthazar, who is rumored to have survived the slaughter.  Marchetta's exquisitely detailed world, compelling writing style, and honorable characters make for gripping tale. (399 pages)

FIND IT:YA MA

STRONG FEMALE LEAD

LaFevers, R. (2012). Grave mercy. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Ismae, hailed as the "daughter of Death," has been graced with a violent gift for killing, and becomes trained as an assassin.  Her abilities grow and strengthen, and she is assigned to watch Duval, a man who may be a traitor, in order to protect the Duchess of Brittany.  However, her job becomes exponentially more difficult when she falls in love with him. Written in a romantic tone to match that of Graceling, readers will enjoy reading a setting taken out of real life (15th century Brittany, France), and seeing how history plays into fantasy.  (416 pages)

FIND IT: YA LA

Rutkoski, M. (2014). The winner’s curse. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

·     The Valorians are a conquering people, as shown by their many enslavements of other races, like the Herrani. When Lady Kestrel, the daughter of a powerful general, buys a Herrani slave at an auction without real motive, she does not expect to fall for him.  Their romance is impossible, of course, due to their rigid class relationship, but nonetheless present and painful.  Lady Kestrel, who does not wish to marry or join the Valorian army, despite her father's wishes, reflects Lady Katsa’s distaste for traditional marriage, and her resentment of being her uncle’s thug.  Readers who liked Katsa's independent mindset will appreciate Rutkoski's first installment in the exciting Winner's trilogy. (368 pages)

FIND IT: YA RU

Doing It by Melvin Burgess

Image from Goodreads

4Q 3P S

Burgess, Melvin. Doing it. Square Fish, 2012 (reprint). 352 pages. $9.99. 978-0-312551353.

This angsty, humorous novel follows the romantic happenings of best friends Dino, Jon, and Ben; as they discover what they do and do not want in their respective relationships.  Dino, gorgeous, popular, and conceited, constantly pressures Jackie into having sex she isn't ready for. Jon has difficulty coming to terms with his attraction to overweight Deborah, which makes him a target for ridicule among his friends.  Ben has been harboring a secret for the last few years: his relationship with their teacher, Miss Young, who becomes steadily more unhinged as the story progresses.

While the sexual content itself is abundantly obvious, the copious amounts of British slang may cause confusion for American audiences, making familiarity with foreign vocabulary somewhat essential to fully understand the text.  Still, given the nature of the text, curious teens will likely continue on, in spite of the unfamiliar word choices, and laugh throughout the book.  However, given its raunchy subject matter, professionals may be wary of recommending this Burgess novel, and teens themselves will be secretive while seeking it.

Matched by Ally Condie

Image from Goodreads.

3Q 4P M S

Condie, Ally. Matched. Dutton Juvenile, 2010. 369 p. $17.99. 978-0-525423645.

Cassia Reyes, like most teenagers in the Society, is excited to be Matched to her perfect mate. When her Match turns out to be her best friend, Xander, she is very pleased.  But when she inspects her microcard at home with her Match's information, she sees another face on the screen: her childhood friend, Ky.  How can Cassia have two Matches?  The Society does not make mistakes, and the Officials are quick to try to clear up the incident.  But when Cassia starts falling for Ky, everything becomes unclear.  Could this be the most perfect mistake of them all?

In the midst of many dystopian novels, Ally Condie spins a romance in a world eerily similar to that of Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993).  Cassia's Society gives its people very little choice, under the guise of efficiency and structure.  While Condie may draw in readers with the promise of a love triangle, it is decidedly one-sided from the beginning.  Readers will have to continue on in the series if they are devoted to seeing all sides of Cassia's potential relationships.