Top Ten List

I read A LOT in 2012. It became my year of self-medicating through reading YA books. Since I have all this fabulous wisdom just out of sheer volume of attempts at finding good stuff to read I thought I should share it in a top ten list, these are not books necessarily published in 2012 that just happens to be when I read them. Top Ten Books I read in 2012 1,2,3 Lumatere Chronicles -Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn The best trilogy I've read yet. Fell in love with Melina Marchetta as an author and inhaled each of her books like a long awaited lobotomy. Genre: YA fantasy it's complicated and a little dark Favorite Part: I've never loved characters more. And even though it is super complex with a million characters and hard to keep track of it all ties together with a cherry on top in a way that you didn't expect. Brilliant. 4. The Fault In Our Stars-also fell in love with John Green. We have the exact same birthday. I read all his books and this was my favorite. Augustus may be my favorite male character ever. The clever repartee just never gets old for me. I wish people in my life talked this way. I have a feeling that John Green really does. 5. Code Name Verity-so well done when it's over you are not sure what hit you. Must be prepared to think a little. World War II story. Friendship, loyalty, sacrifice...even humor (no nooky) 6. The Scorpio Races-Maggie Stiefvater Makes me smile just thinking about it. It a fantasy story that doesn't feel like fantasy at all. Beautiful sibling relationships and secondary characters. I love alternating boy/girl chapters as a format. 7. Tie. Graceling & Fire by Kristin Cashore. They are companion novels. YA Fantasy Loved them both, Fire's character was a little whiny but Brigan was superb. Katsa and Po are perfect but in a just right imperfect kind of way. Even though they have magic powers and all still come across as relatable. I love epic journeys and self-sacrifice. 8. Birthmarked series- Caragh O'Brien. YA dystopian. Love that she is scarred and in the second two books no one cares. I love that she is a midwife and that makes her powerful. I love codes and the figuring out of unsolvable mysteries. Some parts of these took themselves too seriously. Mostly though she it was a really good story altogether with many unique parts. 9. Under the Never Sky-Veronica Rossi. Not the most original or well written story but I just liked it. It had all the right things. Alternating boy/girl chapters again. I am in love with Perry. Archery, epic adventure, family loyalty, good secondary characters and a future that I can imagine in a terrible way. 10. The Demon's Lexicon Trilogy-Sarah Rees Brennan Now this series actually involves demons. Pause for effect. But I loved it anyway! The broromance is seriously incredible and the relationships, dialogue, odd quirky details....britishness of it all, brilliant. If you can make a demon book cute and quirky and lovable that seems impressive... My top ten list actually has 15 books on it and I only didn't put On the Jellicoe Road on the list because I already put 3 of Melina Marchetta's other books but it was amazing and made it hard for me to read anything else for weeks. Books are so amazing. Nothing is as personal as reading a book, being inside someone else's head and feelings, oftentimes more so than they themselves can manage. They help me escape, answer life's big questions, inspire me, make me feel understood in a way that rarely happens in real life....