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| The Broke and Bookish |
Top Ten Young Adult Books of 2010
(Books I read in 2010, not necessarily published in 2010)
1. Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes---This is my favorite book of the year by far. It won the Printz Honor last year and it deserved it! (c. 2009)2. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson---Not only is this book a teen romance story, it is a story about grief and loss and finding ones way. Every single girl I've recommend it to has liked it. (c. 2010)
3. The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork---This modern tale includes lots of literary allusions to Don Quixote. I quoted from this book often in the weeks following my reading of it. (Audiobook; c. 2010)
4. (Tie) Graceling (c.2008) and Fire (c. 2009) by Kristin Cashore--- Very imaginative and captivating fantasy series with Fire being the prequel to Graceling. (Audiobooks)
5. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar---This book, about a boy who learns how to play bridge and in the process learns a lot about himself and the world, really caught me by the surprise how much I liked it. Sachar said that it is his best book and he wrote Holes. What does that say? (c. 2010)
6. Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel---I learned a lot about animal rights from this book. It seems like a hokey premise to raise a chimp as a son/brother, but it works and I really cared about the outcome. (Audiobook; c. 2010)
7. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness--- The first book in the Chaos Walking series this book had me from the very first line and kept me in its grip throughout. (c. 2008)
8. (Tie) Deadline (c.2007) and Staying Fat for Sarah Brynes by Chris Crutcher (c.1993)---I became a Chris Crutcher fan because of these two books.
9. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan---I clutched this book to my chest the minute I finished reading it. I was irritated by all the foul language (authors, why do you do that?) but the storyline soared to a fabulous crescendo. (c. 2010)
10. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi---Science fiction, adventure, environmentalism, romance, suspense...this book has it all. It was a National Book Award finalist in the children's division this year. (Audiobook; c. 2010)
Honorable Mention: Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick (c. 2010); Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (c. 2010); Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick (c. 2009)
*If I have some time later I will come back and create another Top Ten list of books we read for book club.
