I wishing you all a woderfully Happy New Year!

In 2008 I got to read a lot of great YA books. I decided to make a list and here are my Top 15 (that I read in ’08 and are in no particular order):

1. I know It’s Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
2. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert
3. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
4. Madapple by Christina Meldrum
5. Undone by Brooke Taylor
6. Violet series by Melissa Walker
7. Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine
8. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
9. The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong
10. Unraveling by Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman
11. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
12. Paper Towns by John Green
13. Skinned by Robin Wasserman
14. The Devouring by Simon Holt
15. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

What were some of the books that you read in 2008 that made it in your favorite list?

Last week I forgot to post the books that I got so they’ll be included in this post.

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash
Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
Triple Shot Bettys in Love by Jody Gehrman
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Betraying Season by Marissa Doyle
The Guardian by Joyce Sweeney
Cold Hands, Warm Heart by Jill Wolfson
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson
3 Willows by Ann Brashares
Dirty Laundry by Daniel Ehrenhart
What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook
Getting in Tune by Roger Trott
Parties & Potions by Sarah Mlynowski

Wake by Lisa McMann
David Inside Out by Lee Bantle
Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
Seeds of Yesterday by V.C. Andrews
Wicked 2 : Legacy and Spellbound by Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
If there be Thorns by V.C. Andrews
Privilege by Kate Brian

So what books did you guys get this week?

Tall, gangly and big-eared, Charles James Stewart, Jr., aka Charlie the Second, could be a poster boy for teenaged geeks. All of his efforts to fit in at school have failed, but what’s freaking him out most is that while his hormones are racing and his peers are pairing off, he remains alone with his fantasies.

But all of this changes when a new guy at school begins to liven things up on the soccer team—and in Charlie’s life. For the first time, Charlie will learn how it feels to be a star, at least off the field. But he’ll discover that even cool guys have problems as he embarks on a deliciously sexy, risk-filled journey from which there is no turning back…

Review:

Charlie was a funny, sarcastic asshole, but he was also kind and full of love. It made him hard to like because he was almost always putting people down or just being rude. He does, eventually, grow on you.He was like any other teenage, nerdy boy so he felt real and his voice was strong. You will either like Charlie or hate him–there’s no middle ground.

The other characters were also well-developed and they were good characters. They were distinct and funny in their own way.

This book is more of a coming-of-age story than a coming-out story since Charlie had already came out in the beginning of the story. It was also a first love book–a very graphic one at that. It was hilarious, touching, sarcastic, and just great.

The relationship between Rob and Charlie did resemble an actual relationship. It was very graphic but it did make their relationship realistic. The way they acted towards each other did feel as if they were in love.

Overall this was a very great book but I would only recommend it to people who don’t mind graphic sex scenes between two guys, people who don’t mind reading gay books, or people who are gay.

P.S. Contest(s) winners will be posted soon.

My resolutions are:

1. Make my blog better (changing the layout,writing better reviews, posting more, etc.).
2. Reply to my e-mails much faster.
3. Comment more on other blogs.
4. Be less shy.
5. Write reviews as soon as I finish the book and not just read then forget to write reviews.
6. Get a job (to pay for my unhealthy book addiction).
7. Make new friends.
8. Actually achieve all these resolutions.

I tag:

Chelsea (The Page Flipper)
Steph (Reviewer X)
Khyrinthia (Frenetic Reader)
and the authors that read my blog.

WHAT’S THE WORST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE?
When “Perfect” Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter’s High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher’s pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?
Parker doesn’t want to talk about it. She’d just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her counselors are demanding the truth. Worse, there’s a nice guy falling in love with her and he’s making her feel things again when she’d really rather not be feeling anything at all.
Nobody would have guessed she’s turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.
Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.

Review:

I absolutely adored Cracked Up to Be. This book easily made it into my Top 10 favorite books ever. Seriously. And why shouldn’t it?

It had a sarcastic, witty, awesome main character; a wonderful plot that made me devour the book; and it was so well-written that I finished it in one sitting.

Parker had an amazing voice that just leapt off the page and it seemed as if I were her or in the book with her. She just felt like a real teenager, though there are times where she isn’t likeable and you want to smack her on the head. She was so well-developed and the fact that she couldn’t run away from That Day– or couldn’t control when the flashbacks happened– made her so much real.

I liked how Courtney Summers kept taunting us throughout the book, only showing us glimpses of what happened that night. She expertly weaved the flashbacks into in the story, showing us glimpses where it was expected and where it was least expected. I found it hard to believe that this was her debut novel.

When Parker first got her flashback, I thought that I had the whole book figured out. I was wrong! There are some twists throughout the book and what really happened was so bad (and I won’t say what it was!) that I was shocked when I found out the truth. When you find out what really happened, you just can’t help but feel sorry for Parker and hope that she gets over what happened.

Cracked Up to Be did remind me a bit of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Even though it did have some similarities, it was different than Speak. I would definitely recommend this book, in fact, I say that you should go to the bookstore nearest you and buy it. It’s that amazing.

Sorry it took me long to choose (and by choose I mean use random.org to find a winner) the winner of the Thanksgiving contest. Now without further ado the winner is…

Christy!

Congrats Christy! You’ll be receiving Geek High by Piper Banks, Geek Abroad by Piper Banks, and In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg!

I emailed ya, so look for my e-mail in your Inbox!

Now, I’m feeling quite generous so if you leave a comment with a number from 1-97 (excluding number 58), I will put those numbers in a hat, and the 5 that I draw will receive a book from their Thanksgiving contest entry! You have until Christmas (Dec. 25, 11:59 P.M. Central Time) to leave a comment with a number.

Make sure that you don’t pick the same number as anyone else and you can only pick one number. (I hope that this is coherent enough–it’s late and I’m sleepy so sorry if it sounds all confusing.)

Oh yeah, one last thing. Don’t try to go to the Thanksgiving contest post and look for the number your comment was, because when I entered them in my spreadsheet, I mixed them up.

Good luck,

Carol

P.S. The November contest winners will be posted sometime tomorrow (preferably night time).

Good luck to all of you!
Carol

Danika McAllister has everything a 12-year old would want including a seat at the popular girls’ table at lunch and a shot at winning the Miss Teeny Pop crown! But the pressure of her fake, popular personality is building. She ends up exploding and tossing her mom’s famous Purple Flurp dessert. It accidentally hits her lunch lady in the head and now she’s in big trouble.Not only is she headed to detention, but her dreams of the Teeny Pop crown are in trouble. She learns that needs a new circle of friends so she can be the real Danika. When her true personality emerges, she discovers that she’s not a follower at all… and the adventures of the Secret Keeper Girl Club begin!

This book achieves its purpose: to help young girls–who are in middle school or are going to start middle school — deal with popularity, how to be a true friend, and to be true to yourself. It does give help young girls and at the same time it lets them read a good middle grade book.

This book is part of a series but you don’t have to read the book before it to understand this book–you won’t feel lost if you start the series with this book. This book does have a website where you can take tests to see if what you’re wearing is appropriate, play games, and do a lot of activities. In the book you’ll find a code word that you can type in a find a recipe to make so Purple Flurp.

Danika’s… is more for the younger set of girls and although it is full of coincidences and some shallow characters, girls in the 4th-7th grade will still like this book.

Death by Denim by Linda Gerber
Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
Evermore by Alyson Noel

Something Rotten by Alan Gratz
Something Wicked by Alan Gratz
What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones (Paperback and it has a different cover)

Fortune’s Folly by Deva Fagan
What my Mother doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
On the Bright Side, I’m now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

So what books did you guys get this week?