Sylke's favourites and least favourites of 2012

In 2012 I have read a total of 21 new books, not counting rereads. For me, it's more about quality than quantity. Last year has brought a lot of amazing books and some mediocre and disappointing ones. These are my favourite and least favourite reads of 2012.

Favourites:
Best overall

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Honestly, this book will probably be on top of my list for the next years to come. I have read it three times in 2012, making a total of seven. The idea of this future world is so intriguing and beautifully shaped by Collins. Every time I find myself flying through the pages, loving this horrible society the capitol has created. The fear, the determination, the hope. The Hunger Games is simply an incredible story.

Best fantasy
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - A door to a magical shop. Wishes shaped like beads. Jars full of teeth. A sketch book full of monsters. Daughter of Smoke and Bone may sound like a bizarre story, which is true. But I promise you, this story will enchant you. Laini Taylor is a genius and I am afraid I'll go crazy if I don't get my hands on a copy of Days of Blood and Starlight soon.

Best dystopia
Insurgent by Veronica Roth - After the events in Divergent, Tris is fighting a war with herself. Her recklessness causes rigidity and tension in her relationship with Tobias. Growing up in a broken world is hard and Veronica Roth manages to keep the balance between a dangerous subject like war and grief and finding your own identity and loving. Packed with action and change this novel is a worthy sequel of Divergent.

Best sequel
Stealing Phoenix by Joss Stirling - The sequel to Finding Sky, this book tells the story of Phoenix, a young girl living on the streets of London. Under the spells of The Seer, a strong and dangerous Savant she has no choice but to follow his orders. Until she meets Yves and finds her Soulfinder in him. The way Joss Stirling has formed Phoenix's character amazed me. She is strong, despite being broken and does everything she can to keep others safe. Yves was also a charmer, as always.

Best upcoming
Linked by Imogen Howson - I was lucky enough to be sent a e-copy of this book last May and I must admit I still think about it every so often. Elissa never asked for anything, she just wanted to be fixed. When suddenly she discovers a girl who looks exactly like her they have to run from her twin's torturers. The universe enfolds itself with interplanetary traveling and flying sidewalks and captivated me. Being a twin myself, this story was just that bit more special for me. This book will be published the 11th of June 2013.

Least favourites:
Tempest by Julie Cross - Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe this just wasn't the book for me. Where a lot of people seem to like this book, I just couldn't get over certain character traits and Jackson in general. I couldn't finish this book.

Blood Magic by Tessa Graton - Blood Magic is a book about witches, which is exactly the reason why I decided to give it a try. The story wasn't too slow or too fast, the writing wasn't too good or too bad. This book as a whole was just very average for me.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - I am very sorry to name this book. It is most definitely a very moving story and Lauren Oliver is a great author, but this book just didn't work for me. Maybe it was just Sam, a popular, shallow, self-centered young girl who has it all and also narrator of this story. From other reviews I understood she actually changes throughout the book, but I didn't make it that far. Maybe I will give it a try again this year, because I do want to like this book as much as everyone else.

What were your favourite and least favourite reads of 2012? I'd love to hear.

Mari's favorites and least favorite YA novels of 2012

Back in 2012 I read a total of 92 books. My goal was to try and read 100 books but I'm very happy about 92. The most important thing for me is that I find enjoyable reads. Do you want to know which YA novels I loved the most in 2012 and which ones I felt really wasn't worth my time? Yes, of course you do, silly question.

Best sequel:

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - "I continue to let myself be amazed by how seamless Lauren Oliver manages to create her dystopian world by drawing from a mixture of history (quite clearly inspired by WWII) and the constant threats of a world wide pandemonium. The setting feels both alien and familiar at the same time, which gives the reader a perfect blend of thrilling and ominous feelings."

Best fantasy written by Scandinavian authors(and it was translated into English last year so go check it out!):

The UK cover is the one to the left, the Swedish cover is the on the right side.  The Swedish cover is by far my favorite one.

The Circle by Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg - "I was glued to the page from the very dramatic beginning, it starts out with a suicide and that was a bit difficult to read about(but that's life, it is not always easy). There is no sugarcoating in this novel, which is part of why I love it so much, this is real yet this is also fantasy. "

Cutest contemporary(perhaps ever):
Meant to be by Lauren Morrill - I haven't reviewed this novel, but I should have. It was amazingly cute.


Runner up: Statistical probability of love at first sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Best retro read(new book, retro feel):

The Intern by Dillon Khan - Dillon Khan's many pop cultural references took me right back to a wonderful time of my life. I have a great life now, don't get me wrong, but a time where I was carefree with no big responsibilities. It was like walking down the memory lane, lots of musical references and each chapter was named after a song title. The last chapter was titled Bitter Sweet Symphony and for me that was just the perfect ending of a great story! I love that song.

The best "what on earth is going on here, oh, never mind because this sure is gooood and suspenseful":
Night School by C.J. Daugherty - I was never quite sure what I was reading and for that I loved this story. Is it a thriller or a paranormal mystery? I'm not sure yet, the jury will come with a verdict but that will have to wait until the next book in this series is out.

Best sci-fi/fairytale retelling:
Cinder by Marissa Meyer - AWESOME!

Best fantasy:

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman - I feel awful because I haven't written up a review of Seraphina, so to justify this excellent fantasy novel I will do a short praise of it now. Rachel Hartman is a master of language and music, a creator of memorable characters and fantastical dragons. Seraphina is the new bright and shining star on the sky of fantasy.

Best dystopian:

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts - A wonderful, frightening dystopian debut novel. I liked how we got to view the changes in the human race from alternating perspectives(told by the four different main characters). Pandemonium doesn't count here

Runner up:
The Pledge by Kimberly Derting - Kimberly Derting can write an entertaining story, that's for sure.

Best author aka. the Queen of YA contemporary:
Melina Marchetta


BEST OVERALL READ in 2012(aka you don't want to miss this one):

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - This story is both beautiful and heartbreaking and I L O V E it DEARLY! The story will appeal to young and old alike, especially women as this is also a story about strong women and friendship.




Most disappointing:
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth - Jennifer seems like one of the sweetest persons on earth + she has Norwegian heritage(how awesome is that?!) unfortunately Struck didn't blow me away.
Switched by Amanda Hocking -I’m sorry to say that although was super exited by the blurb for Switched, the story just never met my expectations. Honestly I’m pondering how on earth this could be a bestseller.

What did you think about my 2012 picks?

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Silje: Most anticipated books and movies of 2013

I haven't had the time to look at all the YA-titles of 2013 at Goodreads of course but I have gone through a few lists. I will share some of them here with you together with some of the movies I'm looking forward to this year. It seems like a lot of YA-books and fantasy/sci-fi-books are coming on the big screen these days so there's plenty to watch and plenty to read until the movie comes out as well;-) Here we go:

Books:

Contemporary:
This year I have really excperienced  how much I can enjoy contemporary YA and that Paranormal Romance might not be my thing. So here are a few contemporary titles I'm especially looking forward too this year:

Just One Day by Gayle Forman: I liked her books about Mia and Adam a lot. It's something about the way she writes about emotions that feels so real and I just care so much for the characters. This was released this week.


Forgive me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick: this is said to be an original, emotional and also hard to read story about a young man with some imposible choices to make. Release date: august 13.


That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J.Howard: the title piqued my interest and a funny story where a romance, music and a circus plays an important part sounds pretty good don't you think? This a debut-novel and it's release date is in april.


Sequels:
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris: these books had an uprising when I started to listen to the audiobooks. I think it's so much fun to listen to Johanna Parker read and even though the story has taken an awful lot of turns and is not at it's best anymore I still like to know what happens to Sookie, Eric, Sam, Bill and some of the others. The last book ended with a little surprising twist so I'm especially curious this time. Expected publication on May 7th.
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When it comes to sequels I'm usually a bit behind so I'm not anticipating that many this year. I do have to mention some anticipated ones though that are translated and released in norwegian this year: Reached by Ally Condie, City of Glass by Cassandra Clare and Feedback by Robison Wells.

Paranormal:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: I only just read my first book by this author and that made me very curious to read more. I do have a lot of other Gaiman-books to choose from but there's something about the brand new books that noone has yet made their favorites, disliked or told you you have to read. I like that most of his books are stand-alones and the writing creates a certain magical mood I really enjoy. This book is a fable that's suppose to be both terryfying and moving. Expected publication June 18th.


Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff: what got to me here is that it's called a poetic tale about love and death, and it also includes ghosts. I haven't read anything by the author before but her name and book titles have been noticed several times. Release date January 8th.



Movies:
A new version of Stephen King-book Carrie is released on March 15: I recently read this book and have not seen the previous movie.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the movie-version of Cassandra Clares book is released in august and the director is the norwegian Harald Zwart!

Catching Fire, part 2 of The Hunger Games-trilogy comes in the theatres in november. I actually liked the first movie better the second time I watched it. I hpoe they've had enough time to make a descent seguel.

What are your most anticipated books and movies this year?

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Book Review: A Shimmer of Angels by Lisa M. Basso

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

 Since the death of her mother Rayna has been able to see angels. Most people don't consider such an ability as normal and it landed Rayna a spot in a mental health clinic. Now that she's out she doesn't plan to go back there and desperately tries to fit in. Just when she thought she was done with her past a winged boy shows up at her school. And guess what? He's real.

The little blurb and the stunning cover immediately caught my attention when I came across A Shimmer of Angels. I must say, the story didn't fail to intrigue me. Especially the first fifty pages. Basso's writing style was very pleasurable, drawing the reader into the story.

Rayna is real. She's a sixteen-year-old struggling to be normal, trying to get her life together. Jumpy and terrified yet sweet, gentle and strong. At the beginning of the book she seems to be crazy and as the book continues she carries the reader into her past filled with wings and starts to make sense more and more. But because she doesn't necessarily sees herself as a victim I didn't either.
Cam and Kade. Light and Dark. They both become entwined in Rayna's life. While I liked Cam, I feel like he didn't get the attention he deserves. There's nearly no characterization for him, while we get to know loads about Kade's past. Considering the gaps between the Winged and the Fallen I was personally very interested to see the difference between those two. I'm also fearing the neverending love triangle.
Other characters, such as Rayna's best friend Lee and classmate Luke, kept the story real. Everybody recognises the stiff relations between those teens.

A Shimmer of Angels has a very promising start, a shaky middle where Rayna handles certain things a little badly and a rather unexpected ending. Kade's past with Rayna's mother, Cam's struggle to keep distant from human emotions and Rayna's new future all opt for an awesome sequel. After reading A Shimmer of Angels I was disappointed to be left with a lot of questions, but those may all be explained in A Slither of Hope...
I must say I really enjoy saying those titles. :)

My rating of this book

Source

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


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