To be honest, so do I!

Welcome to the final day of the 2011 best-of blog circus! I hope you’ve had as much fun as I’ve had–these past five days have made me feel a little bit like a character from High Fidelity (the book, not the movie version; I could never be John Cusack). Up today, my top 5 anticipated reads of 2012!

5. Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

YA sci-fi by an author with big, gorgeous tattoos, a graduate degree, and multi-colored hair. How could I not be excited? Plus, the cover was just released, and it’s purple and pretty! Yes, I’m shallow. Sorry.

4. Level Two by Lenore Appelhans

This is a dystopian tale by the blogger behind Presenting Lenore. Her reviews are great–objective and thoughtful–and the buzz behind Level 2 is already quite large. It deals with characters in the liminal space between life and death. I’m a fan of liminality. Lookin’ forward to it.

3. Crewel by Genn Albin

Yet another YA sci-fi title (are you noticing a trend yet?) with quite a bit of buzz. Crewel deals with women recruited into a secret society who stitch up time and space. A kind of atropos thing. It sounds complex and creative. Very psyched.

2. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

I adore Diana’s killer unicorn books–they were surprisingly meaty, with good philosophical weight. Now she’s doing sci-fi. Apparently, it’s a Jane Austen retelling. I don’t know from Austen, but it’s got a gorgeous title, a gorgeous cover, and an intriguing premise. I expect more excellence from one of my favorite YA authors.

1. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

I met Rachel on goodreads, and I’m very happy to call her my friend; we’ve sort of bumbled through the beginnings of our publishing journeys together. She’s a ridiculously sharp reader, lucid reviewer, and generally hilarious person. I had her read a short story of mine once and she quickly challenged me on the neurological implications of my premise. That’s the kind of writer she is–deep, thoughtful. When I found out that she wrote a book about dragons, I was beyond psyched. Fantasy tends to be hit or miss for me, but I have faith that a writer like Rachel will do it right.

Plus, I already bought her book. As she knows, because I sent her the following image several months ago:

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Check out what other books peeps are looking forward to in 2012!

[Caroline Richmond] [Corrine Jackson] [Erin Bowman] [Kaitlin Ward] [Kate Hart] [Kathleen Peacock] [Kirsten Hubbard] [Kristen Halbrook] [Kristin Otts] [Lee Bross] [Lindsey Roth Culli] [Phoebe North] [Sarah Enni] [Stephanie Keuhn] [Sumayyah Doud] [Veronica Roth]

Today in the best-of blog circus, I’ll be covering my top 5 recommended books of 2011! These books weren’t necessarily my favorites, but they’re easily the novels that I talked up more than any others.

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Because of The Hunger Games, this was pretty much the year of the dystopian. As a YA author, I get asked about comp titles to big, buzzed books  a lot. If you recall my review of Divergent earlier this year, I didn’t think it was perfect, particularly in the world building department. However, what it was, instead, was solid. It has the same heavy emphasis on action as The Hunger Games, the same potential appeal to a cross-gender audience. And unlike some dystopian titles, it’s grown in esteem for me as time’s gone on. The reason was largely Tris, a strong sympathetic heroine who was very realistically rendered. Despite its flaws, I’d easily recommend Divergent to any dystopian reader–and frequently do!

4. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Like Divergent, this title was one I frequently recommended to dystopian readers. It’s the beautiful prose and daring concept that distinguishes it from most dystopian titles for me–the story of a girl kidnapped into a plural marriage. Though, like Divergent, the world building wasn’t quite airtight, it nevertheless is a beautiful, lyrical, and absorbing read.

3. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

As an MFA grad, I frequently get asked about the literary merit of YA novels. It’s books like Imaginary Girls that prove to me that YA writers deserve literary props. Beautifully written, flawlessly conceived, and incredibly spooky, Imaginary Girls is a title that should work for any reader of adult lit fic in a pinch.

2. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This is yet another title I frequently pitch to readers of The Hunger Games–and one that I feel doesn’t get nearly enough press. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a complex science fiction story with incredible concepts underlying the adventure plot. With mysterious aliens, talking animals, and psychic men populating his world, Ness proves that YA readers can handle complexity in science fiction.

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

2011 saw quite a bit of whining about how little YA SF is out there. And every single time, I found myself countering: pick up Beth Revis. Across the Universe is classic space opera, and enormously successful space opera, at that. This unsettling, ambitious book is one that should be on every sci-fi reader’s radar.

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Check out what other writers recommended in 2011!

[Caroline Richmond] [Corrine Jackson] [Erin Bowman] [Kaitlin Ward] [Kate Hart] [Kathleen Peacock] [Kirsten Hubbard] [Kristen Halbrook] [Kristin Otts] [Lee Bross] [Lindsey Roth Culli] [Phoebe North] [Sarah Enni] [Stephanie Keuhn] [Sumayyah Doud] [Veronica Roth]

Today as part of the 2011 best-of blog series, I’ll be covering my 5 favorite reads of the year! (This is a time when those goodreads stats sure come in handy!) Hope you enjoy.

5. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle

Swiftly is, of course, also my favorite book of all time. Every few years I reread it, thinking that I’ll love it a little less. I especially expected that this year–I’m now an old, hardened, picky curmudgeon when it comes to YA (as many authors I’ve reviewed will tell you).

But it’s still pretty wonderful–delicate, complex, well-wrought, vivid, magical. I’m old enough now to know that not everything gets better with age; it’s a wonderful surprise when something does.

4. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

People have been telling me to read Meg Rosoff for years. People were absolutely right. This is a thorny, messy, and absolutely beautiful book–with just a touch of magical realism to up the intensity. When adult readers try to argue that YA is all sparklepires, I counter with How I Live Now.

3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I enjoyed Patrick Ness’s The Knife of Never Letting Go, but it didn’t destroy me. A Monster Calls, on the other hand, reduced me to a weepy, puddly mess. Not only a great middle grade novel, this is, quite possibly, the best book about losing one’s parents. I’d easily recommend it to anyone who has faced loss (though they should probably get their kleenex ready before they do).

2. The Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout

I’ve been talking up this middle grade title tons on the Intergalactic Academy recently. Though it’s a middle grade book, with accessibly language and characters, it also encompasses a great number of SF concepts. The characters are vivid and distinctive; our hero, Fisher’s emotional isolation intense. This is what middle grade should be–with plenty of humor for young readers and plenty of complexity for the parents that read to them. Plus robots!

1. The Magician King by Lev Grossman

I have an affection so strong for Grossman’s Fillory novels that, in my mind, I kind of consider them mine. They combine an affection with fantasy with a sort of post-academic experience processing. This is fantasy for those jaded by the Ivory Towers. And I’m one of those people. Plus, beautiful prose and references to a thousand well-loved franchises.

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Check out what other books were adored in 2011!

[Caroline Richmond] [Corrine Jackson] [Erin Bowman] [Kaitlin Ward] [Kate Hart] [Kathleen Peacock] [Kirsten Hubbard] [Kristen Halbrook] [Kristin Otts] [Lee Bross] [Lindsey Roth Culli] [Phoebe North] [Sarah Enni] [Stephanie Keuhn] [Sumayyah Doud] [Veronica Roth]