Top 10 Books I Read in 2011

December 26, 2011 by 25 Comments


Event hosted by A Life Bound by Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Fiktshun, and Two Chicks On Books

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! It’s time to start recapping my favorites of this year and look forward to what’s in store in 2012. Today’s post is for my top ten favorite reads. It seemed impossible to do, but I finally narrowed it down:


• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – (Review) – The biggest and best surprise of the year for me. This book is quietly stunning and even now, weeks after I read it, it still has a pull on me. A favorite for all time and that last line? Perfection.

• Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor – (Review) – This is a fantastically layered book that has some familiar elements found in other novels but Laini Taylor offers a new edge. The world is so imaginative, enthralling, and, as I’ve mentioned them before, those “Hello”s are a killer. Swoon!

• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – (Review) – This was only my most anticipated book of the year, so… high expectations, right? No need to fear, Stephanie Perkins delivered with another lovely story with the right amount of sweetness, yearning, and everything wonderful.

• Divergent by Veronica Roth – (Review) – So.much.fierceness! While this is definitely action packed and thrilling, Veronica Roth matched that with equally compelling characters. In addition to that, the romance offers a slow burn based on mutual respect.

• The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson – (Review) – I fangirled over this book after I read it and I’m happy to do it again: AMAZING READ, OMG. Elisa’s character arc was incredible and I could gush all day about the unexpected — but awesome — places Rae Carson took the story.

• Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick – (Review) – I sped through this book as if it were water and I was dying of thirst. I could not read it fast enough and yet I dreaded every page turn because things were so C-R-A-Z-Y. This was definitely the most intense read for me this year and it was so good.

• A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee – (Review) – Not only was the mystery fun to unravel, but Mary and James are great leads and their chemistry is some of the best everrrrrrr. Seriously, it pretty much oozes off the page and, psst, it only gets better in book two (and I’m sure book three which I will get too soon!).

• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Review – I didn’t review this one because I wouldn’t be able to detail how affecting the book is. Beautiful and brutal.

• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand – (Review) – Cynthia Hand more than made up for the horrible angel books I read prior to hers and I actually love this one more with each re-read. The mythology is interesting, her characters are fully fleshed out, and she still manages to keep an air of mystery surrounding everything. Also, Tucker!!!

• Blood Red Road by Moira Young – (Review) – Blood Red Road is awesome because it has: a lot of adventure, a unique writing style, a prickly and flawed main character, a handsome and charming guy, an awesome pet crow, a group of kickass females, and other excellent elements that I will not detail because you should read this ASAP!

I wouldn’t be me without cheating somehow, so here are some honorable mentions as well:

• Angelfall by Susan Ee – I just finished this yesterday and I’m still in a state of CAPS LOCK over it. My review will be up soon, but you should just go ahead it buy it for your Kindle or Nook. 99 cents, people! Don’t miss out!

• Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren – (Review) – Exciting adventure, great romance, and a story full of heart. This book has everything!

• Unwind by Neal Shusterman – (Review) – Terrifying and haunting, this book has one of the most chilling scenes I’ve ever read.

• Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – (Review) – So much Jem goodness! Plus, this really was an excellent followup to the first book.

What are your favorite reads of the year? Do we share any of the same books? Let me know!

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In My Mailbox (10)

May 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren that allows us to share the books we’ve received during the week via our purchases, review copies, library checkouts, borrowing from friends, etc.

I actually haven’t bought much since my last IMM last month. Even though it’s obviously giving me money, work has kept me super busy so I’ve had a lot less time to read. Thus, I still have plenty of books already that I need to get around to. Here are the recent additions to my personal library, though:

ARCs:
• Divergent by Veronica Roth – Thanks again to my buddy Lis for sending me this one. You can check out my review here. I can’t wait to get my final copy on Tuesday! :D

Purchased:
• The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter – My final copy of the book! You can check out my review for this one here.
• Where She Went by Gayle Forman – My review is on its way, but I will say the following: GAH, GAYLE FORMAN, YOU GENIUS.
• City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare – My review for this one is right here.

• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion – I’ve been waiting for this one since I came across the short story last year and, yay, it’s finally here. Reading it right now.
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman – This was amazing. Check out my review here.
• A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R. Martin – I’m already hooked on the show, heh, so I thought I would read the book. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out because it’s fairly outside of my comfort zone. So far so good, though!

From Netgalley:

• Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
• The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

What did you get this week? Share your link and I’ll be sure to stop by.

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Book Review: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

April 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Release Date: November 6th, 2007
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Pages: 335
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: ★★★★★ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child “unwound,” whereby all of the child’s organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn’t technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive. – Goodreads

Unwind will be going down as one of my favorite reads of this year. It’s terrifying, haunting, and 100% engrossing. I found it very easy to get wrapped up in the story and, although it took me a few nights to finish it, it was constantly on my mind in the moments when had to I put it down.

Set in the future, Unwind follows three kids set to be unwound. Through the Bill of Life, unwinding is the compromise the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice groups reached after the Heartland War. According to this bill, there are to be no abortions but, from the ages of 13-18, parents have the right to have their child harvested for body parts and organs. Connor, Risa, and Lev’s fates have been determined, but we get to see their fight on this journey.

The book has a few different POVs, which is something that I usually hate because it can make for a disconnect from the characters. However, though it took a bit of time to get used to, I grew to appreciate Shusterman’s use of this style. I felt that I got to know each of the characters and at no point did the story drag; despite the different possible circumstances, Shusterman kept the tension raised for each situation and character.

There is a glimpse into the process of unwinding and it’s absolutely chilling. It wasn’t overly descriptive, but it didn’t need to be; it leaves most of the details to the reader’s imagination, but there was enough to make my skin crawl and make me want to cry. This wasn’t a character I loved and yet, in those moments, I absolutely felt for him.

Though it’s been a few days now since I finished the book, I still constantly think about it and these characters. It felt it was realistic, both in the ideas and the emotions. A sequel is set for next year and, though I felt Unwind wrapped up well, I’m anxious to see where the next installment takes us.

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