Please note that there has been absolutely no attempt to balance this list by age, gender or genre. These are just my “from-the-gut†favorites of the books I read this year. (While I love all my Top Ten books the same, I just might love BEFORE I FALL a tiny bit more:) Click on the title to go right to the review.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. FORGE.
Bacigalupi, Paolo. SHIP BREAKER.
Black, Holly & Justine Larbalestier, eds. ZOMBIES VS UNICORNS.
Emond, Stephen. HAPPYFACE.
Green, John & David Levithan. WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON.
Hemphill, Stephanie. WICKED GIRLS.
Oliver, Lauren. BEFORE I FALL.
Oppel, Kenneth. HALF BROTHER.
Yancey, Rick. THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST: CURSE OF THE WENDIGO.
Yovanoff, Brenna. THE REPLACEMENT.
At last–one of my favorite “Best Reads” list has arrived! I’m off to the bookstore to stock up. Thanks Jen!
When I read before I Fall, I wasn’t too keen on it, but as time has gone by and I recommend it to my students and THEY LOVE IT, I am ready to try her other books. Thanks for this great list, I have a few of your recommends in my library, the others are going on our book order!
Before I Fall was a fantastic read, so glad it made your list!
Thanks, Cindy!
BJ & Michelle, good to know there are more Before I Fall fans. My students also love it as much as I do–
REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly is at the top of my top ten list. I will be taking your list with me to the bookstore tomorrow to stock up for my students.
Will also share the list with my YA teen book club. We are always looking for smashingly good new books. Thanks ever so!
So glad HAPPYFACE made it on your list! That was one of my favorites that seemed to go unnoticed…
Oh, and Monstrumologist/Wendigo was an amazing book…made the first one seem like a pleasant Sunday drive in comparison!!
Love the list, but I keep looking for Suzanne Collin’s “Mockingjay” and can’t seem to find it. 🙂
I really liked Before I Fall too! And there are several on this list that I still need to read!
my favoite book is in the romance catagory, tell me if you have sudgestions.
😀
if any one has sudgestions please recommend
read tearjerkers those are always good…i mean they may be sad but end up good:)
oh wow thanx i will try to check this certain book out
😉 is this a series
My class has a book club and I was wondering which one of these books would you recommend, because it has to be for boys and girls both. 😉
Wondered if you read/considered Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston or Virginia Lovers by Michael Parker? The latter would definitely be for older teens, but a powerful book and such an amazing writer. So sad I only just discovered your site. My novels are written for adults, but the latest, CATCHER, CAUGHT is being marketed by publisher mostly for YA, and is being taught in some schools already. Joy, oh, joy. Librarians say male protagonists are more rare, so my Daniel Landon with leukemia has been popular.