It’s that time of year again, you fiendish book
lovers!
As always, I hope you had a Christmas full of happiness, warmth and BOOKS. Whether those books were wrapped up under your tree or bought with some gift cards!
As always, I hope you had a Christmas full of happiness, warmth and BOOKS. Whether those books were wrapped up under your tree or bought with some gift cards!
Hopefully you haven’t burned through ALL your disposable
income, as this my sixth annual Stand-Out Books of the Year post! You know
you’re going to want to check out my recommendations…
Each year that I post this wrap-up, I seem to be
recording less and less reading. Well, that is MOST certainly the case for
2015. Now not only do I have that same full-time job, but I have been doing
overtime, went on a work trip and started college courses in September.
In other words… yikes!
Yet we must face that as we get older and gain more
responsibilities and goals, well – our free time sharply declines. So you shall
see that reflected in my numbers.
Also: I am only presenting 19 books as Stand-Out’s this year.
Standard rules apply – the books I post here do not have to have been released in 2015 – I’ll just have read and/or reviewed them in 2015. Another customary disclaimer: these 19 books are not the only books I liked/loved in 2015 – just the ones that particularly stood out when I look back over 2015.
Let’s do this!
How many books did I read?
60
That's 60 less than in 2014.
How many pages did I read?
21,683
That's 19,503 less than in 2014.
How many pages, on average, did I read per day?
59
That's 54 less than in 2014.
Don’t let the dwindling numbers fool you, I am a bibliophile through and through! You are just witnessing the results of being a slave to that wretchedly unforgiving beast: Time.
As you read through my list of Stand-Out Books of 2015, you can click on each title to be transported - almost magically you might say - to my original review of the book.
Crisp Contemporary
Fiction:
The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh
A piercingly raw middle-grade novel putting a family
relationship in the spotlight, this book takes those rough growing up and
pulling away moments and adds an extra dose of spice with secrets. For me, it
was a gripping story that hurt and healed – lovely.
Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
Apparently I had a thing about fractured family tales
this year. Believe me, this isn’t the last one. Here we have a YA novel by the
author of the best-selling The Duff (which I have now bought but have not yet
read) that takes on a story of a distant side character and puts her front and
center. Sonny’s habit of lying becomes more problematic than ever when she
inadvertently begins an online friendship with someone who thinks she is her
beautiful best friend. It’s painful, hilarious and altogether a great read
about mending and hope.
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
Pretty much anything by Sarah Dessen is a winner, but to
varying degrees. What I really felt stood out about this one was how we took a
girl in a longstanding high school relationship that had gotten almost too
comfortable and then added in a splash of a visiting city boy and the
excitement it brings – if only temporarily. But the most important visitor to
town is her biological father, with whom she has a strained relationship.
Without going into too much detail, I thought the end to this one was really
quite spectacular.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Here we embrace a girl who, essentially, lives in a
hypoallergenic bubble in her own home. She’s attended by a nurse and her
physician mother and is never allowed outside their specially designed home
because the world, quite literally, can kill her. She’s accepted her fate in
life, though, and looks at things with an inspiring positivity. Yet when an
intriguing boy moves in next door, she dares to begin to want something more…
This was a page-turner with a shocker I did not see coming!
Fractured Futures,
Fantasies and Fairytales:
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A wholly unique take on Cinderella, Meyer thrusts us into
a creepy, enticing futuristic world where Cinder is a cyborg – a human with
robotic parts. It’s a shameful thing to be in New Beijing, where full androids
are nothing but slaves. She uses her mechanical savvy to provide income to her
stepfamily – and this is where she meets the striking Prince Kai and learns
more about the impending potential war with the mad queen of Lunar. This was
awesome and I need to read the rest of the books!
The Mistborn series are some
serious high fantasy stuff, people. You have to commit to some HUGE novels with
a TON of characters and COMPLEX plotting. If you’re willing to be patient and
committed, there’s a huge payoff in these books. I was blown away by how it
kept surprising me and how intricately put together these books were.
Definitely recommended!!!
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
OMG, Jasper Fforde is officially one of my favorite
authors now. Wordplay, insane cleverness and just overall AWESOMENESS. What is
it about, you ask? This is a society based on a hierarchy of the color
perception you have. Eddie hopes to increase his aristocratic level with a
marriage to a color higher than he – but his plans are thwarted by a sudden
trip to East Carmine where generally held strict rules and mannerisms seem more
lax and he is intrigued by a Grey. A GREY! So difficult to convey the utter
perfection of this book – all I will say is that you must trust me and have a
grand ol’ time treating your brain if you read it.
Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
Along the same vein as her stunning For Darkness Shows
the Stars, Diana here takes on a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. It’s a
follow-up of sorts, featuring a great female espionage and romance story. It
beautifully renders a sci-fi, futuristic world where a revolution of the most
horror is occurring. It’s an unusual, arresting story with suspense and the
unsettling ugliness of revenge. Peterfreund is fantastic.
The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
Twylla is the seventeen year old embodiment of the
Goddess her society is centered on, which means that she is impervious to
poison but can kill others simply by touching them. Due to this, she is under
guard at the castle and has a position of a glorified executioner – but she
tries to find solace in her faith in the Goddess. But when she gets a new,
young guard who looks at her like a girl instead of a horrifying instrument of
death, something stirs in her. She cannot lie to herself any longer. I cannot
say more! This book ended up being SO MUCH MORE than I expected! Simply
intoxicating with suspense, royal intrigue, romance and excellently drawn
characters. There is supposed to be a follow-up and THERE BETTER BE!!!
This middle-grade trilogy is a fantastically new spin on
fairy tales, heroes and villains, princes and princesses, love and friendship!
When two best friends are thrust into the School for Good and Evil they are
shocked to find that Agatha – plain and generally not people friendly – is
enrolled in Good and Sophie – beautiful and perky – is enrolled in Evil. Not
only is this puzzling to them but they find that they are supposed to now be
enemies. Will their friendship overcome this error? These books encompass a lot
more than what I wrote here but they are a mishmash of surprisingly matire
character development and human insight in a world of fractured fairytales,
romance and twists. Great trilogy!!
Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal
Anyone who has been a faithful reader of the Bibliophile
Support Group knows that I am a HUGE FAN of Kowal’s Glamourist Histories
series, which provides an alternate Jane Austen like Regency era and adds doses
of naturalistic magic (a.k.a. glamour). Well, this is the final book and YES I
LOVED IT. It’s huge and suspenseful and, as I wrote in my original review, gave
me worse nerves than Mrs. Bennett! This an amazing end to an extraordinary
series!!
The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
Imagine this: It’s the 1930s and two immortal beings –
Love and Death – have set their set pieces in play, who will win? Poor Henry
and Flora have been selected and are in the midst of a planned game, one of
many throughout the history of time. They both have dreams and goals and
difficulties – and when they realize they are falling for each other all of
these things only increase. Because one is white and one is black, and that is
just not okay in 1937. Can they overcome the game they have been involuntarily
made a part of? Gorgeously written and heartbreakingly presented, this book
provided fully fleshed characters and a storyline that kept me hooked from
start to finish.
Psychological
Drama… or Ghost Story?
The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
CREEPY. That pretty much sums up this one. More details?
Okay fine. How about a girl with a split personality – but one where one
personality comes out during the day and the other only at night, without fail.
One where they are convinced it is not a split personality but rather two girls
trapped in one body who call themselves sisters? What if one of them
disappears? What if we know a deadly fire is going to happen and they will
never find her? What then? YOU READ THE CRAP OUT OF THE STORY, THAT’S WHAT. Presented
in interviews, news articles, mental health appointments and freaky diary
entries this frightening novel is likely to leave you a bit unsettled!
Proof That We
Should Read Books for ALL AGES
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Yes, I have seen the movie version of this – and it’s
actually a pretty good adaption! But we know the truth of the matter – the book
is always better! When young Coraline steps through a door in her home to find
a mirror image of everything, except with weird button eye and creepier personalities,
she realizes there is something sinister going on… Quite creepy and entrancing,
I loved Coraline and its cleverness!
The Lost Track of Time by Paige Britt
What if we could quite LITERALLY die of boredom? What if
you could ACTUALLY fall through a hole in your schedule? This middle-grade
novel of wordplay and subtle lessons, like The Phantom Tollbooth, shines with
intelligence and readability. It’s an excellent new addition to a genre of
children’s books that expects their readers to be smart and get new revelations
of double meaning with each read. Great!!
Okay, there you have it! A collection of different kinds
of books that I found to “stand out” this year!
Happy Reading! See you next year!!!
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