Book roundup: Favorite Books of 2009

The end of another year means a million and one lists extolling the best of anything and everything in 2009. On top of that, this year we have best of lists for the last decade. I have a terrible memory, and spent a significant portion of the decade in college where my leisure reading was sadly limited, so I'm going to restrain myself and simply list what are, in my opinion, the best books of 2009 in alphabetical order (because asking me to rank them would be impossible - they're all so different it's hard to compare).

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher. Issues of class kept coming up in my blogging thoughts this year, so I loved how this book sensitively and realistically portrayed a struggling working class family and how his class had obviously shaped Logan's life. I also loved how the relationship between Sage, a young transgendered woman, and Logan was developed - painfully realistic.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. This book is the reason I got my bosses to pull some strings to I could attend the Book Expo in New York this spring, since that's where the galley was first released. Getting up super early on a Saturday morning and waiting in a massive line at the Scholastic booth was totally worth it. I started to read it in the then-new beach chairs in Times Square, but eventually had to go home to read it because my gasps and giggles were making me feel conspicuous. And when you feel conspicuous in Times Square, you know something's up!

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. Justine Larbalestier wants to write fan fiction for this book. Can anything I say top a recommendation like that?

Geektastic ed. by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. I was giggling hysterically through many of the stories in this collection, either from the inherent absurdity of the situations or recognizing myself in the characters (because I'm nothing if not a geek myself).

Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga. Sequel to the fun and poignant Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl, Kyra reminded me so much of myself in high school that it was kind of eerie. Lyga's teen girl consultant obviously did her job well.

Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore. This one was an interesting pair of books - Fire not being a direct sequel, or even really a prequel, but more of a companion to Graceling, since it takes its premise from something of a throwaway line in Graceling. Cashore created two very different yet complimentary heroines in Katsa and Fire - I still think I like Fire more!

The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness. The good thing about reading the first in a trilogy several months after its publication date: the sequel is that much closer. But then I read the sequel shortly after publication, and now all I want to know is when I get the third one!!!

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. If for nothing else, this book deserves a place on the list just from how physically beautiful it is. The cover is awesome and shiny, it's slightly larger and on heavier paper than most novels, and then there's the endpapers. I love it. Justine Larbalestier has an interesting post here about the audience for Leviathan - it's picking up lots of new fans (especially boys) who haven't looked at Scott's other stuff. Interesting!

Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Speaking of Justine...here's her book this year. I still don't think I've wrapped my head around it. I borrowed this from the library, but I think I'm going to have to buy it soon so that I can re-read it whenever I want, trying to read with a different interpretation every time and figure out what the hell really happened. A friend and I IMed back and forth after she'd read the book...and I don't think we actually came to any conclusions.

Rage: A Love Story by Julie Ann Peters. I just finished reading enduring Twilight, and Edward's behavior reminded me so much of Reeve it freaked me out, considering one character was written to be the poster child of teenage domestic violence and the other is supposed to be a romantic hero. I can't believe I haven't seen this on more awards lists - I've only seen it nominated for the Amelia Bloomer list.

Review: Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

I've always had issues with Francesca Lia Block books. Not the stories themselves - the ones I've read I've always liked (including this one!); it's how the book looks physically that always irked me. Her stories are relatively short, and the books are small, and the text is almost double spaced...yet for such a small book I'm expected to pay the same price I would for a book like Liar? According to Amazon, Pretty Dead has 208 pages and is 7.2" x 5.3". Liar is 384 pages and measures 7.8" x 5.2". And yet both are $16.99 ($11.55 on Amazon). This is why I never buy my Francesca Lia Block books - I feel like I'm getting ripped off.

But maybe that's just me?

Anyway, reviewing the actual story now:

Charlotte Emerson is a vampire, and she has been one for a long, long time. She has travelled the world, seen the wonders of the world, as well as the attrocities humanity has committed. Desiring some semblance of a normal life (despite living in a mansion with an exotic collection of clothing one can only accumulate by living the equivalent of several lifetimes), Charlotte has most recently settled on the role of high school student, and befriended Emily, a quiet and shy girl who is almost homely compared to the otherworldly glamor that is Charlotte.

But after Emily dies of an apparently suicide, Charlotte begins to feel herself changing. She breaks a nail. She no longer thirsts for blood. She feels when she's near Emily's boyfriend, a boy who seems to have figured out Charlotte's secret, and wants nothing more than to be a vampire himself. Charlotte doesn't want to turn him, but then again, she doesn't even know if she herself is truly a vampire anymore...or something else.

Reviewers on Amazon seem to feel that this was written as some sort of reaction to how hot vampires are in literature right now - and if it is, so what? It's actually a pretty good take on the vampire mythos if you ask me - it really shows some of the tragedy of being a vampire, as Charlotte never ages beyond being a teenager yet everyone she knows and loves ages and eventually dies. She only has one person she can relate to, the man who turned her into a vampire, but who really wants to spend eternity with one person? Especially if that one person isn't what he first seemed to be.

There's also some lighter moments - Charlotte knows the myth that a vampire will burst into flames in the sunlight - it hasn't happened to her, but just to be sure she wears a high SPF sun lotion and long sleeves whenever she's outside. Then again, if she's nervous about that myth, maybe LA isn't where she should be hanging out?

It's also nice to a see a woman as the vampire for once - I'm thinking about all of the vampire books I've read and they're usually about young women attracted to the mysterious male vampire. As a human Charlotte is that girl, but that's merely a brief portion of the story; the rest is about Charlotte's vampire life, and how it seems to be unraveling. The mystery of what's causing her to act more and more human is interesting and definitely kept me guessing.

Teaser Tuesday!

It's Teaser Tuesday

a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works: Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

"As usual, Toby's letter was coded in Kernetin, which Toby and my cousin Veronica and I invented years ago so we could write notes to each other without the grown-ups being able to read them. Kernetin is based on Cornish and Latin, with some Greek letters and random meaningless squiggles thrown in to be extra-confusing. Also, it is boustrophedonic (I adore that word and try to say it as often as possible, but unfortunately it hasn't many everyday uses)." Page 5 A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper (Just started this one this morning!)

Review: Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

Hope everyone's been having a happy holiday season so far! Christmas week was off to a rough start for me last week, knocking me off my feet with a cold that left me too tired to read. That's just cruel, right?

But I'm back on my feet, and I have a light week at work, so reviews are back!

Lia and Alice Milthorpe's family has been touched by tragedy far too often. Their mother died of mysterious circumstances years ago and as the novel opens the girls and their little brother are burying their father. Lia's anxiety is hightened by the small symbol that has appeared on her wrist since her father's death, and the bizarre book containing a dangerous-sounding prophecy that the boy she likes found in her father's library.

Intrigued by the prophecy and trying to understand what it means, Lia discovers that the prophecy that speaks of two sisters, one who shall be the guardian of Earth and the other who is the gate that shall let the devil back onto earth, is actually about her and Alice, and they are merely the latest in a long line of twins (including their mother and the aunt who now serves as their guardian) to be bound to the prophecy.

Terrified of her place in the prophecy, and the ends her sister will go to in order to ensure the prophecy comes true, Lia sets out to learn all she can, and hopefully put an end to the prophecy once and for all.

Zink has created a very moody atmosphere for her story, which works great as a background. Unfortunately, the characters didn't grab and hold me - Alice feels far too two-dimensional and Lia, our narrator, is only a bit more interesting. While Lia has an epic task in front of her, far too many pieces seem to fall into place easily for her, hampering any real feeling of drama.

This is the first book in a trilogy (because what fantasy stories don't come as trilogies these days?), but I think this may be one trilogy that I'm going to sit out.

Book Thoughts: Awards season!

(I hate it when I read books faster than the library can send me new ones. I've spent this week feeding my inner-geek by reading Twist of Faith, the Star Trek: Deep Space 9 omnibus of the first four re-launch novels. Technically I've read three and a half books this week...but they're all in that one omnibus so I feel like it's taking ages to finish the book! So instead of a new review today, check out some of the awards coming out this year)

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, lots of award lists are going up, either announcing the best of the year or listing the finalists before the actual best-of lists happen.

Here are links to some of the awards I follow most closely - I might even make some additional posts where I link to my reviews of the nominees/winners to keep track of everything around here!

Best Books for Young Adults This is the award list that put me on my current reading path, so now I draw most of my reading from the nominations list and look forward to what makes the final list! It seems to me that this year has a preponderance of stories dealing with the death of a family member - haven't had a chance to do any real analysis, but it sure FEELS like every other nominee includes a death in the annotation. Is it just me?

Amelia Bloomer Project I LOVE THIS LIST. Any and all feminist-themed titles end up here (or so it seems). Categories range from children's picture books through young adults, so you can find feminist-friendly titles for children of any age.

William C. Morris Debut Award This is an actual award, rather than a list like the first two awards. Goes to the "a previously unpublished author, or authors, who have made a strong literary debut in writing for young adult readers."

National Book Award this one's already been given out (Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice won for young people's literature) but it still deserves a highlight. The National Book Award is a prestigious prize, but at the same time one shrouded in secrecy: the guidelines for the award aren't as clear as others, which leads to a book like Stitches, considered by many to be an adult title, to receive a nomination in young people's literature.

YALSA award for excellence in non-fiction for young adults New award starting this year! The name kind of explains it all. This has been a great year for non-fiction in YA, so it'll be interesting to see what takes home the prize!

Review: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

I realized after reading this book that I might have to revise my "I don't like fantasy" stance, because I keep finding fantasy books that I actually do enjoy! I think it's just classic High Fantasy that I don't like - sword and sorcery stories where women are usually reduced to being damsels in distress.

Bones of Faerie definitely isn't that sort of story - in fact, I think it could make a great introduction to fantasy for younger teens who like sci fi but avoid fantasy, because this is essentially a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel.

Liza lives in a world still struggling in the aftermath of the faerie war that ended 20 years ago. While the faeries were driven back, the world is still tainted with magic - trees in the forest will attack wayward travelers; crops stubbornly refuse to be harvested; and occasionally a child will be born with gray eyes or clear hair, the signs that magic has touched the child and it must be killed, before it kills everyone else.

Liza knows magic is dangerous - she has seen people killed by magic-touched children. Her father was forced to leave her infant sister out by the edge of the woods after she was born with clear hair. That loss caused her mother to run away, and shortly after Liza begins to have magical visions. Terrified that this means her father will kill her, Liza runs blindly into the forest. Matthew, a boy in the village who knows first hand how dangerous magic can be, follows her, though neither know how to survive in the enchanted forest. They are rescued by a mysterious woman with magical powers of her own, and discover a whole town where magic is not feared, but is respected as a tool. Liza's visions grow more powerful, leading her to believe she knows how to find her mother, leading her to start an epic quest with Matthew and Allie, another girl with magic powers, in tow.

Atmospherically and somewhat thematically, this reminded me a lot of Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth, especially as both protagonists discover there's a whole wide world outside of their constrictive home towns.

It seemed like this wanted to become an epic quest story, but it never quite had a chance to grow beyond a bare skeleton of a quest narrative. Descriptions, especially of magic in action, are fuzzy and I often had to re-read paragraphs to figure out how something happened (and even then it wouldn't always be clear). Someone who wants to know all the little details of this post-apocalyptic world is going to be disappointed, but as an introduction to the genre (post-apocalyptic and/or fantasy) it's a good jumping off point.

Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Found via: BBYA 2010 nominations

Over the weekend, I read a piece in Writer's Digest on the one and only Gregory Maguire. In it, the writer shares a brilliant quote that perfectly explains for me why fairy tale retellings can be so compelling:

Childhood is the source of the only common language we possess. Why not use it to make a fictional point? Children’s fables and stories supply perhaps the only genuinely universal bank of references that a contemporary adult reading audience might be expected to share. We no longer can rely (if ever we could) upon all readers to pick up allusions to the ancient Greek myths, the Roman orations, the Old Testament histories, the New Testament parables. But we can reasonably assume that saying, ‘I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,’ is going to fall on appreciative ears.”

So when you pick up a book like Ash and start seeing elements like dead parents, a mean stepmother with two daughters, a prince looking for a wife, a ball, and magical fairy help, everyone knows we're revisiting the story of Cinderella. But Lo adds delightful twists to ensure that this isn't the Cinderella you grew up with.

Aisling, called Ash, lives in a country that is somewhat conflicted. The King has invited philosophers from the south into his kingdom, philosophers that are determined to convert the people from believing in fairies to believing in the philosophers' ancient texts. In the cities, the ways of the philosophers begin to take hold, but in rural, out of the way villages close to the dark Wood, tales of fairies live on. So when Ash's mother dies, her father follows the old ways, to ensure her mother's body and soul isn't taken by the fairies - just in case those stories really are true.

Not too long after her mother's death, her father goes on a business trip - and returns with a new stepmother and two stepsisters for Ash, women from the city who find life in the village to be backwards. When Ash's father dies suddenly, her stepmother whisks the family back to civilization, leaving Ash with nothing but a few fairy tale books her mother had once read to her.

In her grief, Ash clings to the fairy tales, seeing them almost as instructional stories, rather than the cautions that even she knows they're intended as. While the stories say never to go into the Wood alone at night, Ash takes every opportunity she can to escape the cruelty of her step-family in the Wood, and eventually meets a fairy of her own: the dangerous and enigmatic Sidhean. Ash knows that joining the fairies is practically a death sentence - but considering her parents are dead, she'd rather be with them and Sidhean than working as a servant for her step-family.

But someone else also wanders in the Wood - the King's Huntress, Kaisa. As Ash grows up and learns to live with her grief bit by bit, she finds herself fascinated with the strong and beautiful Kaisa, and risking everything to be near her - not just the wrath of her stepmother, but her very life as she makes a bargain with Sidhean in order for her deepest wishes in her human life to be granted.

Ash's transformation from a sad and scared little girl to a mature, if risk-taking, young woman is slow and absolutely beautiful. When Ash meets Sidhean, it's totally understandable why she would want to go with him and you fell her frustration when Sidhean repeatedly refuses to take her with him into the fairy realm. But then she meets Kaisa and their relationship is so beautiful that it's heartbreaking when Ash asks Sidhean to help her be with Kaisa, because we know from the stories that Ash has read that fairies never offer something without a price attached.

The repeated use of fairy tales within a fairy tale was a fun device, as different characters would share their favorite fairy tales, giving us a glimpse into their personalities. It also allows us to see part of Ash's growing up process, as Kaisa gives her something to live for in the real world, her tastes in fairy tales changes.

For anyone looking for a truly magical twist on the Cinderella story, Ash is definitely for you. It's also exciting to note that Ash has been nominated for the Morris Award for teen books by previously unpublished authors. I haven't read any of the other nominated titles (how do I read so much and yet still miss titles worthy of these awards?!), but Ash definitely deserves a place on that list.

End of the Day Addition: Work was hectic today so I didn't have a chance to post this earlier, but today the YALSA blog interviewed Malinda Lo! It includes details about early drafts of Ash AND a sequel!