Saturday, December 31, 2011

I'm sorry, I can't hear you... and my TOP READS of 2011!

The thing you need to understand is I have abnormally small ears.  Like tiny child ears.  I mean they work and everything (usually), but I still get ear infections (yes, as an adult) and they tend to get all clogged up. In a bizarre medical mishap on Thursday, my ear drum suffered some trauma as it was being irrigated and I have lost the hearing in my left ear.  I believe this will be temporary.  There was also a lot of pain and some embarrassing sobbing as I drove home, but after two days of being confined to bed with dizziness and pain, I have made it to the couch and am ready to share my favorite reads from 2011!!

In no particular order, here are the ten best YA/MG books I read for the first time in 2011:

Withering Tights (Misadventures of Tallulah Casey, #1)
1. WITHERING TIGHTS by Louise Rennison 
I LOVE LOVE her books.  In this one, she introduces a new main character, the adorable younger cousin of Georgia Nicolson, Tallulah Casey.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1)
2. THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan.
The scariest book I have read in years.  I had to sleep with the light on.  The two sequels were fantastic as well. All three are must reads.

Divergent (Divergent, #1)
3. DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth.
A champion entry into the dystopian genre.  Tris was one of my favorite female characters of the year.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
4. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
Just so good.  So good.  I laughed and cried (a lot of both).

Anna and the French Kiss
5. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
As I mentioned in my previous post, this was my favorite contemporary novel of the year (yes, I know it came out in 2010, but I just read it).  The characters and romance were terrific.

Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1)
6. BORN AT MIDNIGHT by C.C. Hunter
This and its sequel (AWAKE AT DAWN) were my favorite paranormal books of 2011 by a landslide.  This was one of those novels that I finished and immediately turned to page one to start again.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
7. WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by John Green and David Levithan
This book got its hooks into my heart in chapter one and held tight the entire way through.

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, #2)
8. THE SON OF NEPTUNE by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is the boy I wish I knew in middle and high school. I could not contain my happiness that he returned in this new series.

Shelter
9. SHELTER by Harlan Coben
My favorite mystery of 2011, by one of my favorite adult novelists- the masterful Harlan Coben.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, #1)Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Gallagher Girls, #2)Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Gallagher Girls, #3)
10. THE GALLAGHER GIRL novels by Ally Carter
Okay, so this is cheating, but these four books were my FAVORITE overall of 2011 and since they are a series, I am combining them for one spot on my list.  I am counting the days until the 5th book in this series debuts in March!!

So, those are my favorites, if you haven't posted yours- feel free to leave them in the comments.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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2 comments:

  1. Michelle @ Book BriefsDecember 31, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    I really want to read born at midnight and Divergent.

    Great picks.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and Happy New Year to you too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. McKenzie McCannJanuary 1, 2012 at 1:19 AM

    I've considered reading Will Grayson, will grayson. Thanks for the recommendation.

    I've read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian before. I also loved it to death. Sherman Alexie managed to make even horribly sad things impossibly hysterical "But I FEEL Indian in my BONES." Hee, hee. My favorite line.

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