Favorite Things 2012 - Books Edition

I realized that with my first Favorite Thing post, I devoted it entirely to one book, The Cranes Dance. I really loved it, don't get me wrong, but now I have kind of set up my other favorite books of 2012 to look like I didn't like them as much because I won't be devoting a whole blog post to each of them. Lesson learned. Having said that, I hereby affirm that each of the books listed below were loved by me just as much as I loved The Cranes Dance.

First up, my favorites in juvenile fiction:

A Hero for Wondla, Brian DiTerlizzi. The sequel to A Search for Wondla. I love these books. Just a wonderful adventure with a wonderful heroine.

Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick. By the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this is another novel that mixes words with pictures in a wonderful way. The story can be told without the words, or without the pictures, but together the story is all the more rich and exciting.

The Ink Drinker, Eric Sanvoisin. A tiny little book, and a wicked one at that. It tells the story of a vampire, but this vampire doesn't drink blood; he drinks the ink out of books!

An Elephant in the Garden, Michael Morpurgo. Takes place during WWII, and is based on the true story of how the Dresden Zoo was bombed and how the elephant was spared.

Next, my favorites in young adult fiction:

Cinder, Marissa Meyer. A fantastic, very modern (meaning this one has robots and cyborgs and flying cars!) take on the classic Cinderella story.

The Selection, Kiera Cass. Taking place in the future, but very inspired by today's "The Bachelor", it's the ultimate dating competition as the prince looks to find his princess.

The Goddess Test, Aimee Carter. This is actually a three book series, and I read them all within a span of about a month. Great series about the Greek Gods living in and dealing with modern times.

Suite Scarlett, Maureen Johnson. A fluffy book about a 15-year old girl, named Scarlett, whose family owns a NYC hotel. Naturally she has to work there in the summer instead of going on a great summer vacation, but maybe, just maybe, this year won't be so bad now that the glamorous Mrs. Amberson has rented a room.

Glass Houses, Rachel Caine. College freshman Claire Danvers needs a new place to live because her dorm is turning deadly. The town she's in isn't exactly a safe haven either since the vampires running the place would love to get their teeth in her. Even though one of her new roommates is a ghost, maybe Glass House will keep her alive. First book in a series.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor. This was such a refreshing read. It is almost impossible to even say what it is about, because it is so different from all other YA books. Angels and monsters, a heroine who has to collect human teeth for her adopted father (who just happens to be a devil), star-crossed love...like I said, difficult to adequately describe so just go ahead and read it for yourself.

Gregor the Overlander, Suzanne Collins. How do I love this series...let me count the ways. Actually, I don't think I can. Let me just say that this is an amazing series, with fantastic characters that you will genuinely care for and with adventures that have real consequences for the young hero Gregor. I shed many a tear, both happy and sad, throughout this series. I keep hoping that Collins will write just one more book about Gregor; I miss him that much.

And finally, grown-up fiction:

The Twelve, Justin Cronin. This is the sequel to the unbelievably good The Passage, which came out in 2010 and which kept me up for many a night. Pretty simple premise, vampires are real, but they're real because we CREATED them. A lab experiment gone horribly wrong, vampires took over the world and both these books tell of the time after their creation. I loved this sequel so much because it didn't tell so much about the vampires anymore, but more about the surviving humans and about how they were just as much monsters as the real ones.

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. Movie rights for this were snapped up almost as soon as this was published, ironically by David Heyman who produced the Harry Potter films. The Night Circus has often been compared to Harry Potter, thanks to the central plot of two magicians in a battle. But the real magic in this book, corny as it may sound, is love. The language in this book is dreamlike and ethereal. You can see the world even as you are reading about it. A beautiful story.

The Age of Miracles, Karen Thompson Walker. I am of the opinion that this should actually be a YA novel, but apparently the Library of Congress disagrees. Oh well. What if the earth's rotation started slowing down? How would every day life be affected? This all-too-real story is told through the eyes of a young girl named Julia, only 11 years old. Time slows down and days literally turn into weeks. Everyone and everything is affected and all too soon, it is difficult to remember the carefree life they knew before. A haunting story that ends too soon.

Gone Girl, GIllian Flynn. I don't think there is anything I can say to add to the heaps of praise this book has received. A truly twisted tale of marriage gone wrong - gone right? - that will have you thinking and talking long after you turn the final page. All that praise? Totally worth it.

Ready, Player One, Ernest Cline. As a child of the 80's, I LOVED this book. The world has become almost entirely plugged in. Everything is done on a seriously amped up internet. The whole world is connected through a virtual world. Students go to school, but never leave the comfort of their couch. Adventurers go to other worlds, can even make their own world. Of course, none of this is free, and so when the creator of the technology (think Steve Jobs) that created this virtual world dies and leaves behind the ultimate treasure hunt, those that seek the treasure will find that there are those who will go to any extreme to win. This one grabbed me from the first page and never let go. I have been talking about this one all year long. LOVED it.

Whew. So there you have it. My favorite books of last year. I have a feeling you've already put them all on your to-read list. : )