Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Stolen by Lucy Christopher
published May 2010 by Chicken House
304 pages (hardcover)
Kindle edition published February 2011

On route to a summer holiday in Vietnam with her parents, sixteen year-old Gemma is kidnapped from the Bangkok Airport over a simple cup of coffee. One minute she's staring into a handsome face with beautiful blue eyes, and the next she's lying in a bed wearing unfamiliar clothes and feeling the aftereffects of some nasty drugs. Terrified and confused, Gemma slowly realizes that there is little hope for escape in this Australian never-ending desert, and that Ty, her captor, actually means her no harm. Told as a letter written to Ty, this story is unlike other kidnapping tales in that he's not actually a bad guy. Really.

For the record, I've never been kidnapped. So, I don't personally know how it feels. But if I ever do, I sure hope it's by someone like Ty. The guy has good intentions, mind you. He wants to save Gemma from her life of plastic parents and ugly concrete London. He's been watching her, and he can sense that she's different like him, that she just might want to run away to the desert and live in isolation on the land. Maybe that sounds crazy. But he's convinced, and he had me convinced too. And Gemma? She's a trooper. She must have aged ten years in the short time they spent together, with all the emotions she went through. She responded quite appropriately to finding out she had been kidnapped - hurt captor, run away. She repeated these actions until they proved useless. Until she grew weary of the fight and realized Ty wasn't fighting back. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that Gemma and Ty had a complicated relationship. You're supposed to root for Gemma, to want her to escape and find her way home. That's a normal response. But goodness, how could you not feel for Ty? He was severely misguided, yes, but he has such a good heart.

I never understood it when people finished reading a book and then immediately went back to re-read it. Yeah, I get it now. Maybe not tonight, but I will revisit it soon because I loved it that much. Not just loved it either. I love a lot of books. I can't help it that I love stories so. But because it moved me (I know that's corny, but how else to say it?). It made me feel and think things I didn't think I could, and that is a rare gift. Maybe it's not a feel-good story, but it's a feel-something story, and I do appreciate it.

Thank you to Chelsea from Coffee and Cliffhangers for blogging about this book last week and unintentionally giving me exactly the recommendation I didn't know I was looking for. :)

Do I even have to say it? Five purple crayons for reminding me what it means to be human.

May/June Reading Recap

Shine by Lauren Myracle
This is the first book I've read by Lauren Myracle, and I can't say that I enjoyed it because the subject matter was heavy, but I'm glad I read it. I've been watching a lot of TV lately, The Killing and Twin Peaks come to mind, and this really reminded me of those shows because of the murder mystery feel to it, though it's much more than that.

Oubliette by Megg Jensen
Book two in the Cloud Prophet trilogy - oh, how I hate having to wait for book three! Go check out Megg's blog because she's pretty awesome, and she loves to give stuff away! :)

Anathema by Megg Jensen
Ooh, I have such love for this book! It's the first book in the Cloud Prophet trilogy, and I love me a trilogy. I started writing a review for this and the next book, but I have yet to finish it. Perhaps when I read the last book.

Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa
This is an Iron Fey novella. Here we have Ash and Puck off on an adventure together. Wait, what? Yes, the two fellas are working together, even though they want to kill each other. Read it on my Kindle because it was free - yay!

Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos
I wanted to connect with this book more than I did. It's told in three voices of immigrant girls who become friends at school because of their inabilities to fit in with the Americans. More about it here.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Whoever led me to believe this was a love story did not read the same book. No, it's the story of a man looking back on his life, focusing on memories of his time in the circus as a young twenty-something (where he happens to fall in love). I liked it okay. Haven't seen the movie yet, which is mostly why I read it when I did.

The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez
I'm so happy I had the chance to judge this book for Nerds Heart YA because I may not have read it otherwise, and that would be a shame. Review here.

Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne 
I liked Moonlight and was still in the mood for some werewolves, so I picked up the next book in the Dark Guardian series. Each story follows a different girl who is approaching her first transformation and in need of a boy to coach her through it. It sounds awful, I know. But the way it's written is not so. :)

Huntress by Malinda Lo
I read this at the wrong time. I didn't have the attention span for it, and I never felt propelled forward in the story. But the writing is so beautiful! More here.

Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne
I was in the mood for a werewolf book, and this one fit the mold nicely. More about it here.

Nerds Heart YA - First round winner!

Today is the day! The first judging decisions of the Nerds Heart YA Tournament are revealed!

To review, the Nerds Heart YA Tournament is a way to publicize fantastic YA books with diverse characters and settings that didn't get a whole lot of buzz last year. Nominations were accepted online, and the Nerds Heart YA team, composed of dedicated book bloggers, narrowed the list down to 32 titles. From these 32 books, there will emerge the 2011 Nerds Heart YA Champion!

Heather from Book Addiction and I co-judged the following two books in this first round of judging. Take a look at the brackets to see what else is coming up soon!

THE BATTLE

VS. 

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

published May 2010 by Random House

288 pages (hardcover), MG/YA

Fourteen year-old Lucia, her little brother Frankie, and her parents are living in Cuba at the start of Castro's Revolution in 1961. This doesn't mean much for Lucia because she's your average Cuban girl - interested in fashion, American magazines, and of course, boys. But the Revolution recruited followers for only so long before it became mandatory to outwardly support Castro or be labeled a rebel and punished as an enemy. This means that either Lucia and her brother sign up for Castro's youth camps or they get sent to the U.S. to try to find a better life. Lucia's parents made the painful decision to send their children away as a part of Operation Pedro Pan, so they flew to Miami, Florida and were taken in by a Catholic church with many Cuban members. From there, the brother and sister were moved to a foster family in Nebraska, who took them in and treated them as their own.

Goodness gracious, how I loved this book! I'm astonished at how much I liked it since historical fiction isn't a genre I normally read. But I felt like this book wasn't boxed in by genre labels. The Cuban Revolution provided a very distinct context for the story, but the story itself - a family torn apart because of their beliefs, immigrating to another country for a better life, and hoping to reunite - could be plopped into a variety of cultures and/or time periods. Knowing that the book was largely based on the author's parents' personal experiences was a huge bonus because it added that authenticity I would have questioned otherwise. And when a book is that personal, I think the writing really shines. It was such an emotionally-charged story, and the characters and settings were so well-developed that I felt like I knew Lucia and could walk through her Cuban town. When they moved to the U.S., I felt how scared they were that they wouldn't see their parents, that they would even be separated from each other, but how brave they were trying to be so that they could make it on their own. And thank goodness a wonderful and kind family fostered them because I was not going to have a sad ending in this book! That's all I'll say - please go read it if you haven't! It's a gem.

Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos
published May 2010 by Simon & Schuster
297 pages (hardcover), MG/YA

This book is told in different perspectives by three eighth-grade immigrant girls who find comfort in their shared otherness and become friends - Jaya, Maria, and Lola. They live in Meadowbrook, New Jersey but come from different parts of the world, and their mothers are all nannies and/or maids. The girls struggle to fit in at school and to experience what it's truly like to be American.

I liked this book. In my mind, I kept comparing it to The Help by Kathryn Stockett (which if you haven't read, you need to go do so - like right now) because the mothers in Tell Us We're Home were, in fact, the help. I could relate to much of the book because I come from an immigrant family too, and even though our life situations were different, the feelings of being an outsider and not quite understanding the culture were very familiar. Although I liked getting to know three characters from distinct backgrounds, I felt like I often got their cultures confused, got the characters themselves confused because each chapter jumped from one character to another. And there wasn't one that I was really interested in - they each had a unique story, I guess I just didn't connect with that part. That being said, I think it's a good story, and a story that needs more telling because the immigrant experience is so vast and diverse.

THE WINNER

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez wins in the First Round of Nerds Heart YA!

While Heather and I liked both books, we both LOVED The Red Umbrella and declared it our clear winner. Yay! I can't wait to see how the other battles go...

I love my Kindle.

No, Amazon didn't pay me to say that. And they certainly didn't pay me to write this post. But I felt compelled to. Mostly because it's taken me SO long to get on board with e-readers. Especially with this Kindle thingamajig that just kept disappointing me at every turn. No library lending? No Harry Potter? Bad editing? Hmmph! What do I need it for?

But it's little. And it doesn't weigh very much. Less than the lightest of paperbacks. Yet I can store as many books as I want on it. Huh. What a thought. Stop rolling your eyes at me; I know I'm a bit slow. Or if you're rolling because you're a non-believer, well, I understand. I was one too. All I can say to that is you just have to try it to believe it. The reading experience is not so different from print books. And dare I say it's enhanced? Yes, I just might. I haven't figured out all of the advanced features, but I do appreciate the built-in dictionary and the ability to highlight favorite passages. I like also that I could change the orientation from portrait to landscape, so that it felt more like I was holding a real book. Yes, it still feels fake to me. I'll get over it, eventually, maybe.

So, the first book I read on my Kindle was Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos. It was a good choice because I had to read it for Nerds Heart YA (and you'll hear more about the actual book in a couple days), which meant that I had to read it. The one thing I missed was the actual feel of turning pages (not quite the same as clicking a button) and being able to physically see how much I've read (a percentage bar of progress isn't enough for me). As for the display screen, it felt just like a book. I read it in bright sunlight without any glare and at night with a lamp just fine. Love it!

But then comes the lending problem. I'm a library user - hello, I'm a librarian. I buy books for my school library, not for myself. So what's a girl to do with this Kindle when Amazon promises to play nice with libraries soon but never specifies when that will actually happen? Be a savvy shopper, that's what! I certainly can't afford to buy all the new releases, but there are some great books out there that are free or relatively inexpensive, and I was thrilled about this. Because I don't have the luxury of going to my fabulous library here in Italy. They do have libraries, but see, their books are written in Italian. And I don't speak Italian. Mmhmm. So yes, I was saying - let's find some free/cheap Kindle books!

Here's what I downloaded last night:

Shine by Lauren Myracle
published May 2011 by Amulet

$2.99 on Kindle

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

The Allegra Biscotti Collection by Olivia Bennett
published November 2010 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

$0.00 on Kindle - that means FREE!

This one sounds like a fluffy beach read. Lots of fashion and fun for the younger teen crowd. And it's free!

Summer's Crossing: An Iron Fey Novella by Julie Kagawa
published June 2011 by Harlequin Teen

$0.00 on Kindle - FREE!

A Midsummer's Nightmare? Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Summer Court prankster, King Oberon's right hand, bane of many a faery queen's existence—and secret friend to Prince Ash of the Winter Court. Until one girl's death came between them, and another girl stole both their hearts.

Now Ash has granted one favor too many and someone's come to collect, forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help—into the heart of the Summer Court. And Puck faces the ultimate choice—betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help his former friend turned bitter enemy pull off a deception that no true faery prankster could possibly resist.

Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents by Elizabeth Eaves
published May 2011 by Seal Press

$0.99 for Kindle

Spanning fifteen years of travel, beginning when she is a sophomore in college, Wanderlust documents Elisabeth Eaves’s insatiable hunger for the rush of the unfamiliar and the experience of encountering new people and cultures. Young and independent, she crisscrosses five continents and chases the exotic, both in culture and in romance. In the jungles of Papua New Guinea, she loses herself—literally—to an Australian tour guide; in Cairo, she reconnects with her high school sweetheart, only to discover the beginning of a pattern that will characterize her life over the long-term: while long-distance relationships work well for her, traditional relationships do not. 

Seduced by the Wolf by Terry Spear
published August 2010 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

$0.00 for Kindle - yes, that means FREE!

This looks more like a book my mom would read, with the half-naked man on the cover and all. But look at the pretty wolf! And I have been in a werewolf mood recently. So, hopefully the romance isn't too sleazy for my taste.



That's FIVE books for less than FOUR dollars! Pretty fantastic, if you ask me. AND! That's not all! There are SO many cheap or free books in the Kindle store that I've already read and wish I hadn't, so that I could read them on my Kindle (because I don't usually re-read, that's not my thing).

Check out these links for more info:

• Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Children's Books
• Sunshine Deals for YA lit - books for $0.99, $1.99, $2.99
• Sunshine Deals for Children's Books

Oh! And I didn't even mention all of the classics that are in the public domain that are free too. I downloaded Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, Bulfinch's Mythology, and The Tales of the Brothers Grimm. And there are free word games too! Okay, okay, I'm done. Really. :)

Read recently

Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne
published March 2009 by Harper Collins
272 pages (paperback), YA
YA Reading Challenge ; Shifter Challenge

A little while ago, I had a serious werewolf book craving. I haven't been reading very much lately as life has kept me plenty busy, so having any sort of literary craving was good news to me. Except that I couldn't believe how difficult it was for me to find the kind of story I was looking for - that I hadn't read already. Has there not been a werewolf craze yet? Really? There's a handful of our furry friends in contemporary YA novels, and the rest are all adult romance - which I like too, but it wasn't what my mood called for. Anyhow, I was happy to find this series, the Dark Guardians, by Rachel Hawthorne because it was unique and exciting enough to captivate my attention.

So, I use the term werewolf incorrectly because in this story, the characters label themselves as shifters - even though they do in fact change into wolves. This pack lives and works in a national forest, where they preserve nature and their own secrets. Kayla visited the park last year with her adoptive parents in order to deal with her devastating past - when she was very young, her parents were killed by hunters in that forest. This year, she has come back on her own as a summer employee to enjoy the beauty, make friends, and continue to heal. The group ventures deep into the forest, leading a group of academics doing research, unaware of the danger that awaits them.

Hmm, a synopsis isn't quite enough for this story. I liked it quite well. It was fast-paced when it needed to be and slow and thoughtful at other times. I do want to read the rest of the series because each book follows a different character, which I do appreciate.

Huntress by Malinda Lo
published April 2011 by Little, Brown
384 pages (hardcover), YA
YA Reading Challenge

I remember really loving Ash by Malinda Lo when I first read it. I recommended it to just about everyone and could not stop gushing about it. I didn't re-read it because this book takes place centuries before Ash, even though the setting is the same.

Huntress is the story of a kingdom that is slowly dying - the Xi (the Fay) have been toying with magic and upsetting the balance of the earth. The seasons are off kilter, which disrupts food production, leaving the people hungry, poor, and a little angry. So the King sends his son and two girls who are studying to be sages (one with quite a bit of talent and the other with fairly none at all) on a journey to meet with the Fairy Queen, where they will hopefully figure out what is causing this unbalance in their world. Kaede is the untalented one, though she has spirit and some basic fighting skills. She is forced along on this trip because Taisin, the gifted sage-in-training, saw her in a vision of this quest, an upsetting vision in which the prince and Taisin must leave Kaede alone to paddle across an icy river to a foreboding fortress of ice. 

I read an absolutely beautiful review of this book recently, over at Reading in Color, and I recommend that you go read it too. Admittedly, I didn't love this book as much as Ash, and I know it's unfair for me to compare. I'm not really into the quest storyline, so this book was slow going for me. I liked the characters but wanted to know them better. It took me over a week to read it, but what I loved is that I was instantly transported back into the story every time I picked it up. That's something serious! I just wish I could have connected more to it - but that also has a lot to do with me and not necessarily a flaw of the writing.

In other news...
I've been away so much because the end of the school year is rapidly approaching (five more days!), and I have tons to do. And instead of being a lazy bum this summer, lounging around my town and reading all that I didn't have time for before, I decided to spend two months in Italy. I leave in a week and a half! I'm excited and fretful and a bundle of nerves, and one of my major worries was actually - how am I going to read without my public library!?

So, my mom generously bought me a Kindle for my birthday, and while I won't be doing all of my reading on it, it is so nice to know that if I run out of print books, I have a backup! Is that horrible to consider my Kindle a backup? Sorry e-reader enthusiasts, but I still love me some paper. I have a handful of books that I plan on taking with me, if I can make those luggage weight limits. So if it seems like I've fallen off the face of the planet, I haven't - I'm just across an ocean, enjoying my summer. :)

Nerds Heart YA Shortlist + I'm judging!

If you haven't heard yet, the Nerds Heart YA Shortlist was posted recently! Okay, so maybe you have heard that - but do you know what it is?

The Nerds Heart YA Tournament is a battle of the books for underrepresented YA literature. Specifically, it highlights books that:
Were published in 2010
Have received minimum press on blogs
Feature characters, or are penned by authors, who fall within the following categories: Person(s) of Color (POC); GLBT; Disability; Mental Illness; Religious Lifestyle; Lower Socioeconomic Status; Plus-size

I am SUPER excited about this tournament because I'm a first-round judge! Heather from Book Addiction and I will be co-judging the two books below and sending one on to the second round, where Kai from Fiction State of Mind will take over. 

Tell Us We're Home by Marina Budhos

(So, I'm showing you the paperback cover because, personally, I like it so SO much better than the hardcover, which you can go look up on your own if you really want to.)

Here's what seems to be the inside flap or back cover synopsis:

Jaya, Maria, and Lola are just like the other eighth-grade girls in the wealthy suburb of Meadowbrook, New Jersey. They want to go to the spring dance, they love spending time with their best friends after school, sharing frappÉs and complaining about the other kids. But there’s one big difference: all three are daughters of maids and nannies. And they go to school with the very same kids whose families their mothers work for.

That difference grows even bigger—and more painful—when Jaya’s mother is accused of theft and Jaya’s small, fragile world collapses.
When tensions about immigrants start to erupt, fracturing this perfect, serene suburb, all three girls are tested, as outsiders—and as friends. Each of them must learn to find a place for themselves in a town that barely notices they exist.
Marina Budhos gives us a heartbreaking and eye-opening story of friendship, belonging, and finding the way home.

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

(Lots of people I know have read and enjoyed this one, and I actually haven't yet, so I can't wait!)

From the publisher:

The Red Umbrella is the moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution.

In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched.

As the revolution's impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own.

Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?

Expect to hear more about these two books sometime in early June, and see which one will move on to the next round!

April Reading Recap

Books Read in April

 Chapter Books, mostly

Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks

Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson

The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise

 Picture Books from my library

Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor

The Three Little Tamales by Eric A. Kimmel

There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards

The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth

Picture Books from the public library

 Vampire Boy's Good Night by Lisa Brown

Floop Does the Laundry by Carole Tremblay

Bedtime for Bear by Brett Helquist

Let's Do Nothing! by Tony Fucile

The Three Bully Goats by Leslie Kimmelman

Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Raji Codell

YA

 Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Standouts

Yes, Eric E. Stead won the Caldecott this year for his heartwarming illustrations, so hello, why did it take me so long to read this book?!

You know how you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover? I confess - I do it (c'mon, so do you), and I didn't particularly fancy this one. It looked old-fashioned and not kid-friendly at all. But the story! The sweetest thing you will ever read. And with Eric's beautifully nostalgic illustrations, it has that much more impact. 

This is a five purple crayon book for sure - I want my own copy!

Some other honorable mentions... The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth is a Ukrainian folktale about a boy who loses his mitten while playing out in the snow - he returns home and Grandma notices that it's missing, so they go out looking for it. I cannot wait to share this with students next year, since it's a Monarch Award nominee. My students just love folktales, and I know they'll enjoy this one too. 

Do I have to say anything about Fancy Nancy? Kids love her, teachers love her, and I'm happy to say that I love her too! 

Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Raji Codell has lots of teacher potential. If you're studying classic fairy tales, use this at the end of the unit to inspire students to come up with their own original fairy tale creations. You'll have to check it out to see what I mean. :) 


Readalouds
I'm reading Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up to first grade students, and they absolutely love it! It's our only chapter book readaloud for the year, so they realize it's something special. But they can totally relate to Keena too, which is what holds their attention. Keena makes some bad choices at the beginning of the book and has to figure out how to set them right - a universal theme, especially for this age group. Plus, it starts out just as Keena is beginning second grade, so it gives students a glimpse into their futures for next year. 

I read The Dunderheads to third grade students, and it's probably the most engaged I've seen them all year long! The book is about a group of students, affectionately (not) nicknamed The Dunderheads by their mean teacher Mrs. Breakbone (who reminded students of Mrs. Trumbull from Matilda - yay for literary connections!). Breakbone confiscates Junkyard's birthday gift for his mom, so the gang plans a way to sneak into Breakbone's house to get it back, along with all the other goodies that she's taken from the kids. They're a motley crew of characters, each with special talents that help them to break into her house. Love it! 

What happened?

Oh, so you noticed the lack of YA this month? Yeah. Just yeah. I've been in a reading slump. Nothing seems to hold my attention. I get 50 pages in, and then I'm done. Bored. Frustrated. Uninspired. It's not that I'm picking up bad books! But I'm in a hard-to-please place. I'm looking for something to wow me, to captivate me, and I just haven't found anything like that lately. I enjoyed Delirium quite a bit, but I need a break from YA dystopia. And I feel like that's all there is lately! I want to get swept away like I did with Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy or Anna Godbersen's Luxe series. I hope I can find that right book at the right time to dig me out of this slump. 

ALA Teens' Top Ten 2011 Nominees

Although I've temporarily severed my ties with the American Library Association (a bit too expensive for my budget this year), I'm always interested in their book awards and lists. For the Teens' Top Ten, teens across the country will vote in late August/early September for their favorite book from this list of 25. Here they are, straight from YALSA's website:

• Bachorz, Pam. Drought. Egmont USA. 2011. (978606840160).
• Beam, Cris. I Am J. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2011. (9780316053617).
• Beaudoin, Sean. You Killed Wesley Payne. 2011. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316077422).
• Black, Holly and Justine Larbalestier. Zombies vs. Unicorns. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2010. (9781416989530).
• Card, Orson Scott. The Lost Gate. Tor Books. 2011. (9780765326577).
• Clare, Cassandra. The Clockwork Angel. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry. 2010. (9781416975861).
• Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. Scholastic. 2010. (9780439023511).
• Collins, Yvonne. Love, Inc. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423131151).
• Condie, Ally. Matched. 2010. Penguin/Dutton. (9780525423645).
• Cremer, Andrea. Nightshade. Penguin/Philomel. 2010. (9780399254826).
• Fitzpatrick, Becca. Crescendo. Simon & Schuster Children’s. 2010. (9781416989431).
• Grant, Michael. Lies. 2010. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. (9780061449093).
• Hawkins, Rachel. Demonglass. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423121312).
• Hakwins, Rachel. Hex Hall. Disney/Hyperion. 2010. (9781423121305).
• Kagawa, Julie. The Iron King. 2010. Harlequin. (9780373210084).
• Lore, Pittacus. I Am Number Four. HarperCollins. 2010. (9780061969553).
• Moore, Peter. Red Moon Rising. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423116653).
• Nelson, Jandy. The Sky is Everywhere. 2010. Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers. (9780142417805).
• Oliver, Lauren. Before I Fall. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061726804).
• O’Neal, Ellis. The False Princess. Egmont USA. 2011. (9781606840795).
• Patterson, James. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel. Little, Brown & Company. 2011. (9780316036207).
• Pearce, Jackson. Sisters Red. Little, Brown and Company. 2010. (9780316068680).
• Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Blessed. Candlewick Press. 2011. (9780763643263).
• Westerfeld, Scott. Behemoth. Simon Pulse. 2010. (9781416971757).
• White, Kiersten. Paranormalcy. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061985843). 

I can't believe I've read 10 out of 25! That's pretty impressive for me. I doubt I'll read many more, though.

How many have you read? Which were your favorite?

My favorite of the ones I've read? It's no contest -