My Top Books of 2009

Last year I mentioned my favorite books of 2008 and I thought I would do the same thing again. Although I will write my New Year post next week, I thought I would post about my favorite books in '09. What are your favorites of 2009? Please share with us in the comments section!

Unfortunately, I ran out of time to give my impressions of each, so I will do that next week! So, in no particular order, here are my favorite books of 2009 (I was going to only do five but there were so many out there that I loved!):


Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.






Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
Kara hasn't been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park....Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.


The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?


Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.


Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets. Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.


The Maze Runner by James Dashner
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.


Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape—and to survive.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

2K10 Author Feature: Alexandra Diaz

The Class of 2k10 is a collective of 23 debut YA and MG authors who pool resources to cross promote their books. The Class program was founded in 2007 by Greg Fishbone. It will continue into 2011 and hopefully beyond. I'll be featuring my fellow classmates as their release dates approach. You'll learn all about these brave new authors right here on YAedge! Here we go....

When a rumor starts circulating that Tara’s boyfriend has been with one of the guy cheerleaders, the innuendo doesn’t just hurt Tara. It marks the beginning of the end for three lifelong friends.

Tara’s training for a marathon, but also running from her fear of abandonment from her father.

Whitney Blaire seems to have everything, but an empty mansion and absentee parents leave her looking for her own value in the wrong places.

And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mama she’s never stopped missing.

Then the new girl arrives in school and Tara starts to feel things she’s never felt for before for a girl. Can the girls’ friendship survive when all the rules have changed?

Of All the Stupid Things is a brilliant read. I just finished the ARC. Thanks for sharing it with the members of the Class of 2k10, Alexandra. ;) I was so very impressed with how you handled the story’s heavy issues and I loved how your characters’ lives bled into each other.

It will be available in stores December 22! Now for the questions.
1. Your accent is lovely – you should definitely do some podcasts on your awesome website (hint, hint!) – and your bio says you’ve travelled the world. Can you tell us a bit about your globetrotting?

I’m glad you found my accent lovely; I hate the sound of my own voice when I hear it on recordings! I guess my accent is different since Spanish is my first language (though I speak English better) and after living in England, I do have a slight British tinge. Growing up, my family moved quite a bit between Puerto Rico and the US. Once my mom settled in Santa Fe, NM, I felt the traveling bug never left me. I kept looking for different ways to explore the world which led to living in Austria for 3 months and England for 3 ½ years. One of my goals is going to 25 countries and all seven continents (including Antarctica) before I’m 50. Any excuse to travel is a good thing.

2. Scholastic recently took a lot of flack for their decision to remove a title from their book fair selection which featured a main character with same sex parents. Scholastic subsequently reversed their stance and the book will be on book fair shelves. Are you concerned that Of All the Stupid Things may be challenged for its gay/lesbian content?

Although I was very keen and excited to write the story that came to me, I was initially hesitant to tell people about the lesbian relationship because I didn’t know how that would reflect on me. Now I take my book’s content as a matter of fact and let people think what they want. I know it’s not for everyone, but it’s still the book I had to write and I’m proud of it. If it attracts enough attention to get “banned”, I’m not too worried; the only thing banning ever accomplishes is more interest!

3. Of All the Stupid Things is told through the voices of three characters. Was it difficult to decide when to shine the spotlight on a specific character? And which of the three girls was the most fun to write?

The original idea was that they would go in consecutive order throughout the book, but was quickly abandoned to help the flow better. Depending what needed to happen next, that’s who narrated it; I didn’t think about it too much, just whoever seemed right for the next scene. I did a bit of shuffling around of the scenes, but that happens anyway even with single POV novels.
Pinkie was always the easiest one to write, Tara the most intriguing, and Whitney Blaire the one who challenged me. In terms of “fun”, they each had their moments, including making fun of me.

4. Your website has the tagline “Writing: to experience life in someone else’s shoes”. If you could walk a mile in the shoes of anyone living today or an historical figure - whose shoes would you wear?

Ooh, I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to be fictional people, not real people.
And even if I had a chance to “be” someone real, I still think I’d prefer observing instead. That way, I can still image what it’s like to “be” that person without their own personal conflicts. More entertaining that way.

5. In addition to following your dream of becoming a writer and getting a fabulous education, you’ve worked as a film extra, website designer, nanny, teacher…and more. That’s quite the diverse resume. ;) If you had the opportunity to work as an extra in any movie since the dawn of silent pictures (I’m kinda fixated on the film extra job…lol…) what would it be?

Bend it Like Beckham as one of the Hounslow Harriers or a wedding guest, I’m not picky! They just seemed to have such a good time filming and I always wanted to play “football”.

6. The cover for Of All the Stupid Things is clean, cute, and colourful - and loaded with sexual connotations. I’d have snapped it off the shelves right away…lol… Is there a story to the cover? Did you have input?

The cover was done entirely at my publisher’s end. Apparently there were predecessors, but I never saw them because they weren’t “right”. When they fell in love with this one, that’s when they asked for my approval which I was happy to give.

Thanks so much for hanging with us at YAedge! Have an amazing year with the Class of 2k10 and we wish you many devoted readers. Check out Alexandra's website for more details.

Paper or Plastic?

Hello from the world of ebooks. As of today, I have ventured into the slightly scary world of plastic and not paper. That is, I am now a proud owner of Barnes and Noble's nook (as you can see from the picture to the left which I took with my iPhone).

I have to admit, I have been against ebooks up until now. I am old fashion. Give me oil paint on canvas over digital painting. I always thought the same with books. I love the feel, smell and experience of a real book. I love to go to the bookstore and browse the shelves. I love used bookstores.

That was until I looked around and realized I have close to 1,000 books stored between my house and my parent's house. To move all of those books at some point would be a pain and put a pretty large dent in my wallet.

That doesn't mean I won't buy real books anymore. I will buy my favorite authors in hardback/paperback and will reserve my ereader for books that I don't plan to get signed or collect. I liken it to my cd collection. I used to buy way too many cds and found them bulky. Where to store all the jewel cases? Even if you recycle those, you need folders and folders to keep the actual disk. Since iPods (or mp3 players that is), I only buy the artists that I love. I enjoy looking at the cd jacket and having the physical cd. The rest of my music collection? I either buy used or download when they're released.

As far as buying nook, there were many reasons I chose it over the Kindle. I won't get into that now (maybe a later post), but I hope that nook lives up to my expectations. They are low, I must admit. This is my first venture into an ereader, so just having book digitally and being able to download/buy them at a touch of a button is huge. Sitting at work, I purchased two books and within 30 seconds I had them on the device to read.

I leave for vacation in a few days, and I must say, I'm excited to put nook to the test. I hope that my choice of plastic over paper pays off.

2010 Debut Author Challenge

Kristi at The Story Siren has started a blogging phenomenon called the 2010 Debut Author Challenge. Bloggers, reviewers and YA and MG book readers register on her blog and sign up to read at least 12 (up to as many as you wish) novels by new authors.

It's amazing to see how many challenge participants have already selected titles from the Class of 2k10! I see Under My Skin is popping up on a few! I'll be donating an ARC, as well as a bit of SWAG, for the challenge. ;)

If you're a YA/MG fiction junkie, check out the challenge and get ready for a year of amazing, hip, funny, freaky, historic, romantic, beastly and NEW voices. This is such a cool way to promote reading, new authors, and the love of a good story. There's no deadline to joining, so check it out!

I Won...I Need a Vacation!

If you feel like I do, you are happy you finished NaNoWrimo but are a little tired. After writing 50,000+ words in the month of November, the last thing you want to do is write some more. Here's the catch. If you want to be a published author one day, or already are, you know that you can't just stop. Sure, breaks are healthy and much needed but when the book is fresh in your mind, now is the time to finish it!

Think of NaNoWrimo as draft zero. Draft zero you ask? Why not draft one? Well, if you go back and read what you wrote during those 30 days, you will understand. At least, for me this is the case. NaNoWrimo is such a marathon, it's hard to get 50,000 words that are useful out of it. The way I look at it, I now have a great block to build on. My draft zero will make my first draft all that much easier!

Through the last month, I have realized what will work and what won't from my original idea and synposis. I've learned what my characters are all about, the good and the bad. The picture is clearer, my characters can now stand alone with pride, personality and a voice.

Despite throwing away a lot of words from November, in the end, it will make my novel better. I hope you all feel the same.

For those who didn't hit 50,000, don't worry. It isn't so much about the amount of words, it's that NaNoWrimo got you to put your butt in the seat and write SOMETHING. Even if you wrote a few thousand words, perhaps that is a few thousand more than you would have. If it helped you with your story, than it was worth it!

So, congrats to everyone! Take a few days off and rest, but back to the grindstone before you lose your momentum! Oh, and for the record, I wrote 50,109 words (or 50,112 in Word) and a few chapters away from finishing draft zero! :)

Class of 2k10 set to launch!

I can't believe it's almost that time, but December 1st doth approach and the Class of 2k10 has some awesome stuff planned. Our beautiful website is live and waiting for you to discover 23 debut YA and MG authors with amazing stories to dig into for 2010.

Check out the author bios, book blurbs, covers, reader guides and trailers. The site is packed with literary goodness. I'll also be featuring 2k10 authors here on YAedge...I promise, you'll get insider information on this new crop of must read titles. ;)

2k10 will be hosting a month long Grad Party for the Class of 2k9 authors - watch for book giveaways and swag contests!

The class is planning to do some high profile author panels during Book Expo America in New York (May 2010) - if you're in the area, we'd love to have you hang with us. Watch out 2010, here we come!

NaNoWrimo Week 4- The Home Stretch

Wow, NaNoWrimo went fast this year! I can't believe it is the last weekend of November. I hope all of our US readers had a safe and fabulous Thanksgiving yesterday. I know I did. :)

Week 4 is a breeze, regardless of where you are in your word count. You know where you stand and you know what is ahead of you. Your word count is staring you in the face, challenging you to find a way to get to the end with 50,000 words. It's all about buckling down, opening up Write or Die and cranking the rest out. I know that's what I have to do this weekend.

Speaking of my story, I've come to realize I have just that, a story. It may not be written great and there might be slow moving points that need to see the chopping block before they make it into another draft, but it's nice to have something. So far, I have 42,180 words and probably only a few thousand are worth anything. That's okay, it's not like I thought I would have a beautifully crafted novel after 30 days of writing like a madwoman. Instead, I have learned so much about my plot and characters. It was nice to have a synopsis to fall back on, but I let my characters lead the way, regardless if it was in my original plot breakdown. It's freeing, yet nice to have that crutch.

I must now buckle down with the rest of you and write my heart out. I have a little less than 8,000 words to write in the remaining 4 days. Easy, right?

Good luck to everyone out there! I know you can all do it. For those of you who won't be hitting 50,000 no matter how hard you try, don't worry. If NaNoWrimo got you to put you butt in the seat and write even a few words, it was worth it!

Next week, I'll wrap up November with NaNoWrimo. Can't wait to hear all of your journeys this month.

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