Monday, December 26, 2011

Top Ten Books I've Read in 2011

Top 10 of 2011 is an event going on all week long hosted by Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic, Lisa from A Life Bound By Books, Rachel from Fiktshun and Jamie and Patricia from Two Chicks on Books. It's a feature where we are talking about our favorites of this year and next year for an entire week!
Top Books I've Read in 2011
1) Divergent by Veronica Roth- There have been some incredible novels out this year but nothing swept me away as much as Divergent did. From the strong and courageous heroine to the swoon-worthy and respectable love interest, Divergent was a winner. I loved being plunged into Divergent's world and fell in love with Roth's prose.

2) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin- This is a very close second. Sincerely, it's like a sneeze away from being first. I wanted to be friends with all these characters. Mara, Noah and Jamie had me laughing out loud and trying to figure out if Mara really was going crazy had me staying up way, way past my bedtime.

3) Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi- Ms. Mafi's gorgeous prose, so like poetry and so different than anything I've ever read before, makes this read a must on my list of favorites. I feel in love with Juliette and Adam and rooted for them from the beginning.

4) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs- Wacky, a little strange and beautifully written, Miss Peregrine's captured my imagination. Combined with the super creepy photos, I fall in love with this novel!

5) Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake- I've always been a fan of books that are told with male narrators in YA and this horror is no different! Cas was everything I liked about both Supernatural brothers rolled into one and his adventures with Anna are awesome!

6) Wither by Lauren DeStefano- Sad, inspiring and beautifully written, Wither shocked and surprised me with its sincerity. I loved how vivacious and alive Rhine was for someone who had so little life left.

7) Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey- I cracked this novel open expected a cute, light read and what I got was something so much more. At times light, this novel is all about loss and healing. I loved every moment!

8) Across The Universe by Beth Revis- As Beth Revis says "murder mystery in space". Need I say more? Being serious though, this novel is about a lot more than catching a killer. It's a story of a girl in a completely foreign place and all alone. It's beautiful and sad and touching.

9) Matched by Ally Condie- The novel had the potential to go huge with loads of action. And yet, it's quiet. The rebellion happens in the main character in a way that is so quiet and moving.

10) The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting- I wasn't expecting to like this novel nearly half as much as I did. Violet and Jay made me so happy because they are adorable together and I fell in love with Kimberly Derting's prose.

Honorable Mentions:

1) The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver- This is another novel I wasn't expecting to fall head over heels for. But Riley and Beck are too easy to fall in love with and the world is too well thought out not to be transported there.

2) Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs- I loved this story of mythology turned on its head with three amazing sisters.The fact the Ms. Childs could look at mythology an entirely new way than her other series really impressed me.

3) Stork by Wendy Delsol- The blend of Norse mythology, a spunky main character and an anything goes plot made this one heck of an amazing read!

4) Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers- I couldn't help but love Frannie, Luc and Gab in this vivid world that Lisa Desrochers created. Heaven, hell and everything in between hasn't been this fun in a long time!

5) From Bad To Cursed by Katie Alender- It's rare when sequels are just as good as first novels so I was pleasantly surprised to find that From Bad To Cursed brought me all the things I liked about the first novel but in a surprising and new way. Creepy and amazing, this is one novel not to be missed!

Those are my picks for 2011. What are yours?

13 comments:

  1. Truthfully, i inspired to read Divergent, Wither, and soon : Mara Dyer and Matched because of your reviews :D
    So thank you so much for that, and I totally agree that Divergent and Wither is the best book this year :)

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  2. Across the Universe ALMOST made my list, but A Million Suns definitely will next year! It was even better than the first one!

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  3. Across the Universe, Divergent and Anna Dressed in Blood all made my list. Matched was a close one. I have Shatter Me, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Personal Demons and The Body Finder are all on my TBR list. Sweet Venom looks good and I might actually have that one already on my TBR list as well.
    My Top 10 of 2011

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  4. Amber!! amazing list!!! =DDDDD great picks my dear for this year that was filled with so many awesome books!! I read almost every book onn your read and I really want to read Miss Peregrine but Im such a chicken XDD LOL! I' ve seen the book at the store and the pictures just scare the pee out of me >_< LOL I havent been able to make myself read it. So Im really glad someone else wasnt such a chicken to actually pick it up and read it!

    I wish you a great holidays my dear!! muah!!!!

    Dazzling Reads

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  5. It's so hard to just pick 10 books! But Divergent, Shatter Me, and Wither are on my list too!

    Come check out the rest of my picks!!

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  6. Great list! I've only read Divergent from your top ten - and I loved it - but the others are all on my wishlist or in my TBR pile.

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  7. Great list! I loved Divergent, Shatter Me, Anna Dressed in Blood, Wither and Across the Universe. Cold Kiss and Matched were both really good as well :)

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  8. I loved Shatter me and Stork too! All of the other books are either waiting for me on my bookshelves or are top of my TBR wish list.

    my top 10 in 2011

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  9. gr8 list
    somany i still want 2 read; stork ,cold kiss and divergent
    my top ten

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  10. You have such a great list. So many I still need to read. So happy to see The Body Finder on your list. Loved it.

    Amy @ www.bookgoonie.com

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  11. Divergent, Mara Dyer, The Demon Trapper's Daughter, Across the Universe are all <333333. I've got Shatter Me and Sweet Venom and will be reading them in January, I'm excited to get to them. Great list!

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  12. I still need to read Divergent! It seems to be a book that is on the top of the list for almost everyone. Maybe it will make my 2012 list. Mara Dyer was my top pick this year, such an amazing ending!

    Thanks for posting your favs, I hope you find some great books in 2012! :)

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  13. Wonderful list! I've read some of them, but not all. I'm looking forward to reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. That cover just begs me to read the book. :)

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