My favorite books over the years as a librarian

Last Friday I announced that I will retire at the end of the school year. I made the announcement to my students through the display case just outside the library doors in the school hallway. In it are piles of books representing my favorites of each of the twelve years I have served as the school librarian. Upon describing this to a friend, he requested that the list of books be published so he can see what they are. Below is that list with a note: the books on the list are all available in the GKHS library, making most of them as YA titles. If I read or listened to a favorite book but didn't purchase it for the library, it will not be on the list.

Mrs. Bennett's favorite books each year she served as the librarian of GKHS:

2005-06 

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon *
• Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini *
• Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen (Memoir) *

2006-07

• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides
• Looking for Alaska by John Green (YA) *

2007-08

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Aubrey Niffenegger
• Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (YA) *
• Feed by M.T. Anderson (YA)

2008-09

• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (YA) *
• The Absolutely True Diary of the Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie (YA) *
• Stiches by David Small (Graphic biography)

2009-10

• The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien *
• Going Bovine by Libba Bray (YA)
• The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

2010-11

• Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes (YA) 
• Stolen by Lucy Christopher (YA) *
• A Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan *
• A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams *

2011-12

• A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchet (YA)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett *
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (YA) *
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Juster Norton (Junior)

2012-13

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline *
• Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (YA)
• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly *
• Sabriel by Garth Nix (YA)

2013-14

• Artistotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (YA) *
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• Round House by Louise Erdrich
• Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd (YA, nonfiction)

2014-15

• This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki (Graphic novel, YA)
• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (YA)
• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya 
• The Martian by Andy Weir *

2015-16

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinken (YA, nonfiction) 
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr *
• The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patient's Lives by Theresa Brown (nonfiction)

2016-17 (so far)

• When We Collided by Emery Lord (YA)
• The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry (YA)
• We Are the Ants by Shaun Daivid Huttchinson (YA)
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (YA)

* Books which have stood up to the test of time and students continue to check them out.

Hope you find something you enjoy from this list. Happy reading.

-Anne