Sorry for the white noise on the blog. I'm wrapping up a few left over reads for this year and will be participating in a few reading challenges for next year. Today's topic for Top 10 Tuesday, an awesome feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is discussing our favorite reads from 2013. Here are mine, in alphabetical order, along with a link to my review. I still have to write a couple of reviews for a couple of them and hope to do that in the next few days.
Favorite Books Read in 2013
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - Brilliant, simple, poetic, and profound. Aristotle and Dante are two memorable teens who try to unveil all aspects of our identity from our socially
constructed roles of being a man or a woman to our cultural identity
which may embrace or ignore. I can't believe I wanted this long to pick up this book!
Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare- a fantastic conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy and it pulls at
your heartstrings from beginning to end. Politics, clockworks,
heartache, hope, and a very cruel love triangle are the focus of the
book. I know there has been a love/hate relationship with the epilogue but I for one loved it.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell- I stayed away from this book because of all the glowing reviews in the YA community, but when it became the center of controversy during Banned Book Week I was too curious to not read this one. Now I see what the fuss is all about. Exceptional writing and lovable characters transcend this book from your ordinary YA romance. After reading this book, I want to go back and read everything that Rainbow Rowell wrote.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- Amazing. I'm still trying to form coherent sentences to describe what makes this book incredible. You will smile, laugh, think, and yes, ultimately cry while reading this book but I can assure you it's worth the investment. I think to really grasp why Green is so popular amongst critics and readers, you really need to read this book.
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith- A fabulous picture book that tells the story so effortlessly and seamlessly with illustrations and text.
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan- Quite possibly my favorite book in the Heroes of Olympus series.The stakes are higher as our band of demigods fight demons-both literally and metaphorically.
The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna- A character driven science fiction/speculative fiction/dystopian book that sucked me right in. The Lost Girl gave me much to think about while being cathartic.
The characters and premise asks us unsettling questions, but ultimately
it is a story about love, grief, death, and above all what makes us
human.
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo- A fantastic, refreshing contemporary YA read previously released in Australia under the title Good Oil. Compelling characters and realistic slice of life plot, that made me realize that we don't always get the things we want, or what we think we want. Sometimes there's really no happy ending or a bad one. Sometimes, life is just...well, life.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller- With language both evocative and lyrical of her predecessors and fresh
outlook on familiar scenes that explore new territory, Miller is clearly
a lover of ancient Greece. While I will always be a fan of Hector and
have my heart broken by his death, Miller did make me pause and see
Achilles and Patroculus in a new light. If you are a fan of Greek mythology, do pick this book up.
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler- A lovely,
sad and compulsively readable book. It is a common misconception that
Zelda Fitzgerald was the reason for F. Scott Fitzgerald's ruin, but
Fowler does a great job in making Zelda a three dimensional character
and a woman who is struggling to make her own identity outside of her
husband's shadow. Beautiful descriptions vividly recreate the 1920s.
What are your favorites from this year?
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Great list!! Now I'm REALLY wanting to read Eleanor & Park!! and Z. !!
I have seen Z on many lists today...I may just have to read it, especially because I think she is coming to my library in February. =)
And Aristotle and Dante....sigh. LOVE. And I ADORE Grandpa Green! It is so beautiful!
Happy New Year!
Jennifer @ A Librarian's Library--My TTT!
Such a good list. So have almost all of these on my wishlist. Looks like I'll be adding a couple more. :)
Yay for The Lost Girl! I liked that the writing was quite mature for a YA novel, considering the heft of the topics being discussed – I thought it sometimes read more like an adult novel than typical YA. I'm one of those few people who still has to read The Fault in Our Stars...it will happen sooner or later (hopefully next year!).
Well, you know how I felt about TFIOS as I reviewed it today. I am still feeling my heartache over The Clockwork Princess, truly amazing book. I haven't read Eleanor and Park, I read Fangirl, but I will get to E&P soon. I believe a I have a few of these others on my list or the books themselves. I see some I definitely want to read. Great list.
Good list, I love The Fault In Our Stars as well because of all the different emotions it made me feel.
Fun picks!!! Eleanor and Park was one of my favs too, I loved Fangirl and Attachments as well, shes for sure one of my new favorite authors!!
I loved The Song of Achilles too, Rummanah. I wasn't such a fan of Eleanor and Park but I loved Fangirl. The two books that I really need to read from this list are Lost Girl and The Fault in Our Stars.
Eleanor and Park is on A LOT of best of lists this year! I have it on my TBR list. :)