Favorite Books of 2012

#1: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

This was the book I recommended the most this year. I read it to two of my kids and then my oldest read it. We all loved it. You can't go wrong with a book about kindness and a kid as charming as August. 

#2: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This is a book about teenagers with cancer. It's sad but uplifting at the same time. I definitely cried but I laughed a lot, too. There is a bit of language and one sexual encounter but the thing I loved most about these kids is that they tried to truly live even while they're dying. I also like that you don't know the ending of one of the character's story when you finish the book.

#3: The Hunger Games Trilogy

You should read this series again from start to finish if you first had to wait a year in between books like I did. I was too hard on Mockingjay the first time around and I now appreciate this series for what it is: a tragedy. 

#4: Outpost by Ann Aguirre

This was the best middle book in a series that I've read in a long time. It takes you on some new twists and turns, gives you likable, memorable and multi-dimensional characters, and leaves you anxious for the finale. September(?) is a long time away.

 #5: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This was also a good middle book. The ending threw you for a loop and sets up an interesting twist for the final book. I'm not totally convinced I liked the twist, but this author is great and I have confidence she'll make the last book as action-packed as the first two. I like that she's taking her time with the last book, even if that means I have to wait until the fall. This is the first dystopian series I've read in a long time that didn't have a love triangle. That's refreshing. 

#6: Between Shades of Gray (Not Fifty Shades of Gray) by Ruta Sepetys

A story of life for Lithuanians in Russian work camps during WWII. Lina's mom is my favorite character in this book. She is compassion personified. 

#7: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

This is a charming fantasy about a girl who meets a dragon on her way to change her family's fortune and how she learns that what she had was pretty great to begin with. There are lovely full-color illustrations throughout this book. I just wish her other books got better reviews. They don't seem to be as good as this one. 

Favorite Books of 2011

I realized last year that once I delete these from my sidebar I don't have a short list of my favorites to refer back to. The search engine on this blog is lazy, as in it doesn't work. Some of the books that were on the list for the year didn't hold up as being one of my favorites by the end of the year. These did:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: A classic. If Scrooge can change so can I.

The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner: As a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel I was delighted to find a kindred spirit for Sir Percy in Gen.

Divergent by Veronica Roth: The best dystopian novel I read this year and I read a lot of them. (Crossed, Enclave, Uglies series, Ship Breaker, The Maze Runner trilogy, there might even be more, I can't remember.)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Rarely do you meet/re-visit literary characters as great as these.

A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck: Peck is the master of funny, every day characters that endear themselves to the reader in just a few short pages and make you laugh out loud.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett: Read it if you haven't already and then watch the movie. You will laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time.

Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan: Ten books (plus a bonus one) in the series and none of them disappoint. Tons of adventure. It's like Lord of the Rings for a younger reader.

Life is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman: Life is so good if you look for it.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba: You'll have a renewed sense of gratitude for the blessings in your life and be inspired by the strength of the human spirit.

Food Rules by Michael Pollan: If you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't eat it.

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner: It's like Lost - you'll enjoy the ride even if you don't quite understand it and you'll love or hate the ending.

Most of the books on this list are favorites because of the characters. I love well-written characters that come to life as you read. I'd thoroughly enjoy going to lunch with any one of them.