Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Top 12 YA Books of 2012

Today's challenge was very difficult for me!  I had to choose my top 12 books of 2012.  I decided to focus only on Young Adult novels, eventhough I have read some great adult novels this year, such as all of Gillian Flynn's books, Stephen King's new book, A Game of Thrones, the Outlander series, etc.

My Top 12 YA Books of 2012:

#12

I love a good mystery!  This book kept me guessing about who killed Lindsey, eventhough the ending could have used a little work.

 

 

#11



I thought this book was thought provoking, and action-packed.  I am looking forward to the sequel.

#10

I love John Green!  He always seems to have such realistic, intelligent characters.  This book was no exception. 

#9

Shadows is the sequel to Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick.  I love this series, and I can't wait for the third book in the trilogy!

#8

 

After reading Anna Dressed in Blood, I could not wait to read this book!  It was almost as good as the first one, but not quite.

 

#7

 



It seems I have a lot of trilogies on my list!  I love this series!  I can't wait to read the next one.  This book definitely lived up to the first book in the series!

#6

Here is another great trilogy, and another second book that definitely lived up to my expectations.  If you haven't read this series, you should.  It's definitely thought-provoking, and full of action.

#5

This book by Courtney Summers, surprised me, because I did not expect to like it as much as I did.  I am not sure if this will be a series or not, but I have to say that I sort of hope that it isn't.  I like the open-ended nature of this book.

#4

I could not put this book down.  Ilsa J. Bick is very descriptive and gory in this book, but you can't help but keep reading to find out what will happen to Alex, Tom and Ellie!

#3

Last year, my top choice for 2011 was The Hunger Games, this series is unique, but it also reminds me of The Hunger Games because of the dystopian society, and the intensity of the action.  It was a great read!

#2

This book was shocking, and thought-provoking.  I love a good book that makes you think!

And Finally.....My #1 Book of 2012

I loved this book because it was so different from most YA books I've read recently.  It was truly terrifying and gory in places, but it was such a page-turner that I flew through it.  The characters were interesting, the plot was unpredictable, and the imagery was unique.  I love a good scary story!  This was one that had me sitting up late to finish, and then not being able to sleep because I kept thinking it over! 

Well, that's it!  Now, I'd better publish this post before I start second guessing myself and making changes! 

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 15 - Favorite Series or Book

Today's challenge was to post about one of my favorite series or books when I was a young adult.  Coincidentally, the example given was the Trixie Belden series, which was a series I loved back then.  Mom had a box of these books and I read every one that I could get my hands on, and then I started seeking out as many of the rest as I could.  I loved them!  Strangely, I never liked Nancy Drew as well as Trixie Belden.

 

As far as a favorite book, I loved Where the Red Fern Grows.  I read it for the first time when I was a kid, but I reread it several times in the years that followed. 

 

 

Holiday Reading Break - Day 14- Favorite Book Turned Into a Movie

 

Today's challenge was very difficult for me.  I am supposed to share a favorite book that has been turned into a movie. The example that was given for today was Pride and Prejudice, which is one of my favorites as well, but the movie version I like is the Keira Knightly version:

 

I thought I might list a few of my favorite books to movies in no particular order:

 

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper - although this movie is not very true to the book, I really enjoyed this movie.

 



 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I love this book, and I love this movie.  The movie leave a lot out, but it is so well-done, that it is a masterpiece in its own right.

 

 

 

Gone With the Wind  by Margaret Mitchell - Once again, this is one of those movies that stands apart from its book.  It is a classic on its own, even though it leaves a lot out that is in the book.

 

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -  I was extremely excited about this movie.  I am glad to see that it did not disappoint me!

 



 

 

 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - Really, I have to say that I am impressed with the entire Lord of the Rings movie versions, but I'll stick with this one for now, since it is the newest!

 

 

 

And finally, I love the Harry Potter movie/book series.  I thought I'd pick the last one, since it impressed me the most.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  by JK Rowling

 

 And that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great movie/book adaptations!



 

 



Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 13 - Create a Bookmark

 

Today's challenge was to create a bookmark.  I have recently started crocheting, so I thought I would crochet a bookmark using some of my leftover yarn.  I'm not very happy with the result, but I still enjoyed doing it. 

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 12 - A Book in Pictures

The challenge for day 12 is to create a summary of the book I'm currently reading using pictures.  I actually just finished a book late yesterday, and I started reading A Storm of Swords (book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire) this morning.  Since I'm only into the prologue of my new book (and it's very complex with lots of characters), I thought Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini.  Unfortunately, I wasn't overly impressed with this book.

 

 



Jeremy Heere is a the quiet, loser of his school.  He keeps tracks of the insults thrown at him by his peers on self-made humiliation sheets.  All he wants is to be with Christine, but she is dating Jake, the popular guy.

 

Jeremy attempts to talk to Christine at play rehearsal.  They are in A Midsummer Night's Dream together.  However, he knows that he can't compete with Jake Dillinger.

 

 

 

Jeremy goes to the Halloween dance to see Christine, but he runs into Rich, a popular boy who has always been mean to him.  Rich tells him that he used to be uncool too, but he got a squip, a nanocomputer that comes in the form a pill.  The computer attaches to the person's brain and helps them become cool.  All Jeremy has to do is pay $600 dollars for his very own squip.

 





 

Jeremy gets the squip and begins to change.  The squip advises him on what clothes to wear, what to say and not say, and how to treat people.  He treats his best friend badly, and almost ends up with gorgeous girls who he really doesn't care about.  He finds that for some reason the squip can't help him get Christine.  Nothing seems to work on her.  He discovers that he has a defective squip when he makes a fool of himself in the play and loses Christine, possibly for good. 

 

The book leaves the reader wondering if Jeremy is able to fix his mistakes and reconcile with Christine. 

While the book was good in places, I had a hard time with it.  It was basically the old story of the loser kid who becomes cool and forgets the things that are truly important.  However, unlike all those stories, Jeremy doesn't really learn anything from his experience.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 11 - 26th Page, 26th Line

Today's Reading Challenge was to post the 26th line on the 26th page of the book I'm currently reading.  I am reading a book that was recommended to me by one of my ex-students.  I'm almost finished with it, and I hope to finish it today (especially since I have the third Game of Thrones book on hold online that I need to download today!). 

I am reading Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini. 

Page 26 is actually the end of a chapter, so I started counting on 26, and carried over to page 27, and 28.  Here is the 26th line:

"...this, this deer-in-the-headlights freeze state that I go..."

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 10 - Books As Gifts!

 



For today's challenge, I am supposed to blog about books I am giving as gifts, or books that I have received as a gift this year.  Unfortunately, I haven't received any books yet (I am going to my parents' house later, so maybe there). 

I gave two books for gifts this year.  One is for my dad, and since he hasn't opened it yet, and there is a slight chance that he might read this blog, I'm going to leave it at that.

The other book I gave as a gift this year was an ebook for my daughter.  She got a new tablet, and she has been wanting to read Book 9 of the 39 Clues series, so I downloaded it for her. 

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 9 - Favorite Christmas Book

Today's challenge is to post about a Christmas book that I have read this year, or to post about a favorite Christmas book.  I will have to go with a favorite Christmas book, because I don't think I've read a Christmas book at all this year.

I will have to pick Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.  I thought this was such a fun book.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 8 - Hit and Miss

Today's challenge is to share a book that knocked me off my feet, and one that disappointed me.  It was difficult to choose a hit this year, because there were so many that I really loved.  I loved Anna Dressed in Blood, Unwind, Unwholly, Divergent, Insurgent, Article 5, Ashes, etc., but for my hit, I decided to choose a book that I didn't expect to like.

Hit for 2012:

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did.  Sure, it has zombies in it, so I thought I would like it, but it also features a girl who does NOT want to survive the zombies, a girl who wants to end her own life.  My thought was, that this was going to be a very depressing read, and it was in places.  But, it was also a wonderful look at interesting characters who are trying to cope with an impossible situation.  I'm glad I read this book.

 

 

Miss for 2012:

 



There were few books that were misses for me this year, but this one is the only book that I couldn't bring myself to finish.  I just wonder if my expectations were too high, because I had heard so many great things about this book.  Or, it could have been that I listened to the audio version.  Maybe I would have liked the book better if I had read it instead of listened to it.  Who knows.

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 7 - Authors

Today's challenge is to make a list of authors you follow on Facebook and Twitter.  I have a few, but I'm sure I'll forget some of them!

Stephen King

Dean Koontz

Maya Angelou

John Green

Marissa Meyer

Diana Gabaldon

Robert Jordan


I think that's it!  I may have to add more later if I remember others that I've left off!

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 6 - Book Riddles

The challenge for day 6 was a lot of fun!  I had to figure out the actual title of the eight young adult books from the synonym titles listed on the site.  I feel pretty confident that I got them all right, but there were a couple that were pretty tricky!!!  My answers are below!  I don't mind posting them now, since the challenge day is past!  I know!  I'm a couple of days behind on posting!  Trying to get caught up!  Once again, it's not too late to join the challenge!  Click Here!

Uprising Diecinueve  = Revolution 19

Swashbuckler Movie = Pirate Cinema (I had trouble with this one!  I didn't know there was a book with this title!)

Black Interior = Dark Inside

Fibber & Sleuth = Liar & Spy

Rejects in the Universe = Losers in Space

The Cemetary Tome = The Graveyard Book (this is the only one of these books I've read!)

Jealousy = Envy

Infantrodent = Babymouse

Holiday Break Reading Challenge - Day 5 - Create-A-Cover

 

It's time for this years Holiday Break Reading Challenge!  I completely missed the first few days, but I'm ready to get started now!  If you want to join me, click here!

Today's challenge was to create a book cover using the following instructions:

1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

The name that appears is your author name.

2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml

The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4 – Use Picnik, or something similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5 - Link your Book Cover post using Simply Linked.

And here is my entry:

 

Detach by Dolores H. Cox

Susan never thought she would hit rock bottom.  She had everything - popularity, the captain of the football team, great grades, and a chance to get into the college of her dreams!  But it wasn't enough to make her happy.  No matter what she achieved, she always felt empty and numb, until a friend introduced her to a new drug that made her feel again, and made her lose everything she thought didn't matter to her. 

This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

This Is Not a Test is a zombie novel on the surface, but it is also so much more than you would expect from this type of novel.  Yes, this book has zombies in it, but no, they are not the main focus of this book. I know that sounds weird, but this book focuses more on the unique, flawed characters as they try to cope with their situation. The main character, Sloane, is caught up in the zombie apocalypse on the day she planned to commit suicide to escape her abusive father. Her father has physically abused Sloane and her sister Lilly from a young age, after their mother's death.  Sloane and Lilly planned to escape him when Sloane turned 18, but since Lilly was older, she left Sloane behind.  She left Sloane a note telling her that she couldn't handle everything anymore, and she disappeared, even knowing that Sloane needed her desperately.  Sloane has been on a downhill spiral since her sister abandoned her, and she finally decided that the only way to truly escape the pain of the abuse, and the pain of her sister's abandonment is to kill herself.  Then, everything changes.  Zombies start attacking people. Sloane has given up on living and she is more than happy to just lie down and die, but a group of survivors find her.  She, and five other students, take cover and barricade themselves into the high school, where many of them start unraveling and becoming unpredictable and sometimes violent.  Sloane still does not want to live, but the others do.  She doesn't want to put them at risk, because she doesn't want to be selfish like her sister.  She is not the typical survivor of an apocalypse, but just as everyone else is losing everything, she starts to find things that make life worth living.
I read this book in one day.  I could not put it down.  The character development is excellent, the action scenes are exciting and memorable, and the ending is not predictable.  I really enjoyed this book from start to finish.

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

After a war with China, the United States has been almost totally destroyed.  Two-thirds of the population were killed by a plague released by the enemy.  Fifteen year old, Quinn, was born after "the collapse" to two survivors of the war.  His family has become salvagers to survive.  They salvage items and trade them at a survivor colony.  The one rule is to always keep moving to avoid slave traders, who would capture them for profit.  When an accident forces Quinn and his father to rely on a group of survivors who have built their own remote village, Quinn begins to undestand that there are more important things in life than just surviving.  He begins to make friends, but he also accidentally brings danger to the group. 

I liked the book, but I did have a little trouble getting into it at first.  I think that there were some parts that were a little slow.  It could be that I have read too many of these apocalyptic survival stories lately, and this one just didn't measure up to some of the other ones I've read recently.  Still, it was an interesting story that could easily happen in our future.  It was recommended to me by a student who loved it.  At the time, I was trying to hurry and finish it, so I could start a different book, so that could have played into my initial lack of enthusiasm for it.