2010 Favorites

2010 was definitely a turning point for me as I shifted from being a paranormal/fantasy fan to eyeing every contemporary book out in the market. My top books of 2010 reflect that, in no particular order. All images link to Amazon.

The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell

The Rise of Renegade X is a novel of wicked humor that gives its own unique spin of heroes vs. villains through an unexpected crass narrative. This ain’t your average Marvel Comics kids.

Recommended for people: looking for a fun laugh; something different with action; fans of superheroes; who likes spandex. Ages 14+

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly

Thank God I bought this book. Harmonic Feedback was exactly what I was craving for at that moment. It filled my need for a sweet romance yet did not overdo it that would have left me gagging. Harmonic Feedback had a nice balance of intense drama and warm fuzzy feelings accompanying the blooming relationship.

Recommended for people: looking for a nice guy; a well-balanced romance; an underdog to come out on top; interested in autism; interested in music. Ages 14+

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Brilliantly told in alternating point of views Tabitha Suzuma will have William Shakespeare run for his money in this modern-day adaption of forbidden love. The novel will leave its reader exhausted from the constant heart thumping, panic attacks, and shaky smiles. It is a riveting tale of struggle: against your own emotions, against your family and peers, against the world filled with people who do not know you, but will not hesitate to judge you. I thank Suzuma and gleefully applaud her for an intense 5 hour read.

Recommended for people: looking to step out of the box; wanting intense and forbidden love; to have their heart ripped out; in search of a novel that I can't stop talking about. Ages 16+

Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Mostly Good Girls requires every exclamation point! for a freaking hilarious! fun! sassy! entertaining! (did I mention hilarious!?) read!

Recommended for people: looking for friendship; a good-humored laugh. Ages 10+

A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

This book was hi-freaking-larious! The traded insults, the clever pranks, the laugh out loud rants! I spent the majority of the time actually laughing rather than reading, but of course I did love the words, plotlines, as well. But what made me fall in love with this book was the author behind it. When we put Kristin under the spotlight with questions about her living in a nudist camp [April's fools joke] she rolled with the punches.

Recommended for people: an unpredictable story; a laugh; a head-strong female lead. Ages 10+

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Jandy Nelson enveloped me in warm fuzzy feelings, grief, and recognition. Her writing was stunning, her prose was moving, and her characterization on point. The Sky is Everywhere is an intensely rich novel that leaves this reader extremely pleased for this debut author!

Recommend for people: looking for a nice guy; for everything that is amazing in a contemporary romance novel; who wants something angst-filled and happy all rolled into one; interested in poetry; dealing with grief. Ages 15+

The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

The Mysterious Howling was wickedly funny, whimsically amusing, and delightfully charming....the illustration accompanying the novel was just splendid! If you like the artistic style of the cover then you’ll love the illustrations. It fits quite well with the quirkiness of the novel....“a delightful wack-job”

Recommended for people: wanting to try middle grade novels; who enjoy narrations like Lemony Snicket; like Mary Poppins; who wants to try the product if Mary Poppins and A Series of Unfortunate Events had a baby; interested in humor. Ages 8+

A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley

A Little Wanting Song leaves the reader wanting a little more after finishing. It was only when I finished the novel and got up to leave did I realize that Charlie, Rose, and the rest of the gang got up and followed me as well. A Little Wanting Song is a haunting song because it describes every person.

Recommended for people: interested in music; subtle romance; getting out of a small town; dealing with grief; exploring life. Ages 12+

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

I put Jellicoe Road down and purposely drowned it underneath my other books to diminish my guilt for not reading it. I read three to four other books between the interval on when I stopped and when I decided to unearth the book again. And Oh.My.God. I should have never stopped. I fell in love with the characters and felt a deep connection as if they were my own family. I grieved, I cried, I rejoiced, and I loved (—every freaking minute of it even the first few chapters that I had trouble with).

Recommended for people: lost in their thoughts; dealing with grief; looking for hope; finding love; finding family. Ages 15+

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher [not one of the best graded books but it's unforgettable in the most interesting of ways]

"Sage finally discloses her big secret: she’s actually a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage and disowns her. But once Logan comes to terms with what happened, he reaches out to Sage in an attempt to understand her situation. But Logan has no idea how rocky the road back to friendship will be."

Almost Perfect was just that, almost perfect. 

Recommended for people: dealing with gender issues; stepping out of the box; love and friendship; getting out of a small town; looking for acceptance. Ages 15+

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

I am prepared to go all fangirlish on you but I’m refraining (even though it’s quite hard). Action—check; romance—check; pacing—check, characters—check; plotline—check; ending—ehhh; Overall—is ubercheck an option because it should be!

Recommended for people: trying out fantasy for the first time; who liked Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl's Moving Castle; interested in action, adventure, and romance. Ages 12+

2010 Covers

I love book covers [hence the blog name] so I can't help but list some of my favorite covers of 2010. Please note I am only listing the books I have read; I realize that there are other stunning covers, but I cannot rate covers until I've read the book. Sometimes the covers have nothing to do with the book which takes the gorgeousness of the cover down a couple notches. All images link to Amazon, all title link to reviews, all summaries are from goodreads. In no particular order:

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Things in Delilah Hannaford's life have a tendency to fall apart.

She used to be a good student, but she can't seem to keep it together anymore. Her "boyfriend" isn't much of a boyfriend. And her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided their family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, is a Hannaford tradition.

Over a summer of new friendships, unexpected romance, and moments that test the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, Delilah must face her family's painful past. Can even her most shattered relationships be pieced together again?

John Belushi is Dead by Kathy Charles

Pink-haired Hilda and oddball loner Benji are not your typical teenagers. Instead of going to parties or hanging out at the mall, they comb the city streets and suburban culs-de-sac of Los Angeles for sites of celebrity murder and suicide. Bound by their interest in the macabre, Hilda and Benji neglect their schoolwork and their social lives in favor of prowling the most notorious crime scenes in Hollywood history and collecting odd mementos of celebrity death.

Hilda and Benji’s morbid pastime takes an unexpected turn when they meet Hank, the elderly, reclusive tenant of a dilapidated Echo Park apartment where a silent movie star once stabbed himself to death with a pair of scissors. Hilda feels a strange connection with Hank and comes to care deeply for her paranoid new friend as they watch old movies together and chat the sweltering afternoons away. But when Hank’s downstairs neighbor Jake, a handsome screenwriter, inserts himself into the equation and begins to hint at Hank’s terrible secrets, Hilda must decide what it is she’s come to Echo Park searching for . . . and whether her fascination with death is worth missing out on life.

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder [no review yet]

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own...until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

Other by Karen Kincy

Gwen Williams is like any other modern teenager with one exception: she's a shapeshifter. Never having known her Pooka-spirit father, Gwen must struggle with the wild, wonderful magic inside of her alone—and in secret. While society may tolerate vampires, centaurs, and "Others" like Gwen, there are plenty of folks in Klikamuks, Washington, who don't care for her kind.

Now there's a new werewolf pack in town, and Others are getting killed, including Gwen's dryad friend. The police are doing zilch. In the midst of terrible loss and danger, Gwen meets a cute Japanese fox spirit who's refreshingly comfortable with his Otherness. Can Gwen find the courage to embrace her true self and find the killer—before she becomes the next victim?

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker. 

Faithful by Janet Fox

Sixteen-year-old Maggie Bennet's life is in tatters. Her mother has disappeared, and is presumed dead. The next thing she knows, her father has dragged Maggie away from their elegant Newport home, off on some mad excursion to Yellowstone in Montana. Torn from the only life she's ever known, away from her friends, from society, and verging on no prospects, Maggie is furious and devastated by her father's betrayal. But when she arrives, she finds herself drawn to the frustratingly stubborn, handsome Tom Rowland, the son of a park geologist, and to the wild romantic beauty of Yellowstone itself. And as Tom and the promise of freedom capture Maggie's heart, Maggie is forced to choose between who she is and who she wants to be.

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

Kayla McHenry's sweet sixteen sucks! Her dad left, her grades dropped, and her BFF is dating the boy Kayla's secretly loved for years. Blowing out her candles, Kayla thinks: I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin' do.

Kayla wakes the next day to a life-sized, bright pink My Little Pony outside her window. Then a year's supply of gumballs arrives. A boy named Ken with a disturbing resemblance to the doll of the same name stalks her. As the ghosts of Kayla's wishes-past appear, they take her on a wild ride . . . but they MUST STOP. Because when she was fifteen? She wished Ben Mackenzie would kiss her. And Ben is her best friend's boyfriend.

The Rise by Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell

Sixteen-year-old Damien Locke has a plan: major in messing with people at the local supervillain university and become a professional evil genius, just like his supervillain mom. But when he discovers the shameful secret she's been hiding all these years, that the one-night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father's too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him and his goody-goody superhero family. Damien gets shipped off to stay with them in their suburban hellhole, and he has only six weeks to prove he's not a hero in any way, or else he's stuck living with them for the rest of his life, or until he turns eighteen, whichever comes first.

To get out of this mess, Damien has to survive his dad's "flying lessons" that involve throwing him off the tallest building in the city--despite his nearly debilitating fear of heights--thwarting the eccentric teen scientist who insists she's his sidekick, and keeping his supervillain girlfriend from finding out the truth. But when Damien uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all the superheroes into mindless zombie slaves, a plan hatched by his own mom, he discovers he cares about his new family more than he thought. Now he has to choose: go back to his life of villainy and let his family become zombies, or stand up to his mom and become a real hero.

2009: Stuck in my Head!

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly

Faery Rebels by R.J. Anderson

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

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The Study Series by Maria V. Snyder

P.S. I'm currently trying to add another 4 books under my repertoire on "Books Read in 2009" so I'm quiet today.