Bibliophile Support Group

It’s that time of year again! You (hopefully) have your gift cards and holiday money clasped excitedly in your hand after last week’s festivities and you’re wondering: just what do you want to buy? Well, books of course! So, here I am with my fourth annual Stand-Out Books of the Year post – compiling my personal recommendations for your convenience. Just as in every year – there are way too many good/great/excellent reads to list out – so I have picked just 35 novels that stood out to me as I look over the last year of reading. Even though a book may not be on here, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t like/love it. These are choices among the books I reviewed, not only read. Some books I read in 2013 aren’t going to have reviews post until 2014 – so I don’t want to confuse everything by including those in this year’s post. Also, the books listed may or may not have actually been released in 2013 – I just read them in 2013. My stats are down a little bit this year, but I did st...

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales is a YA fantasy/speculative fiction anthology edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt. In this novel we have a collection of retold fairy tales, science fiction, dystopia, etc. written by a mass of modern day, award winning, best-selling authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Neil Gaiman, Kami Garcia, Holly Black, Carrie Ryan and more! As always in an anthology there are the stories you find stronger than others, but overall I found Rags & Bones to be a solid, impressive collection. By taking familiar (sometimes not so familiar) tales and boiling them down to their rags and bones (an apt description from the inside jacket cover) we are presented with something new. It’s an eccentric, varied group. Below I’ll go over some highlights. Carrie Ryan’s story, given first, That the Machine May Progress Eternally was creepy and thought-provoking. A dystopian world made more real by man’s own weakness. I have yet to encounter a short story...

Who Needs Magic? is a YA contemporary fantasy novel, and the sequel to Don’t Expect Magic , by Kathy McCullough. I really, really enjoyed Don’t Expect Magic – a new twist on fairy godmothers – so, if you haven’t read it, I suggest you read my review here . And maybe avoid this review of the sequel… Delaney Collins knows she is a fairy godmother (f.g.) – in fact, she’s sort of embraced it. After all, it brought her together with her boyfriend and kinda/sorta helped to repair her relationship with her dad. So, she’s ready for her next client. Ready to make some magic. But months have gone by with… nothing. While working at Treasures, the second hand shop that allows her to do her retooling of vintage boots, Delaney meets Ariella – apparently another f.g. She’s everything you’d expect for an f.g. Perky, pink, and powerful. Once Delaney runs across Jeni and finally feels that f.g. pull to make some magic, she finds that having another f.g around might not be helpful. ...

The Man Who Was Poe is a middle grade/YA historical mystery novel by AVI. It’s been two days since Sis and Edmund’s aunt left them to hide in a solitary room. The food’s run out and though Edmund desperately wants to follow his aunt’s final directions of not leaving the room until she returns, he sneaks into the shadowy streets of 19th century Providence, Rhode Island to buy some bread. He’s only gone minutes. But when he returns, though the door is still locked – Sis is gone. When a strange man offers to help Edmund find his sister, Edmund’s desperate fear causes him to agree. Yet the man is volatile, gloomy and seems to have his own agenda. Will this man help Edmund find Sis? Does Edmund have a choice but to let him try? The Man Who Was Poe has a lightly spooky, lightly atmospheric tone. This tone increases as Mr. Dupin, the man who offers to help Edmund – and who may also be actually Edgar Allan Poe – becomes more illuminated. Mr. Dupin is creepy, disturbingly unstabl...

Golden Girl is a YA 30s era fantasy novel, the second in The American Fairy Trilogy , by Sarah Zettel. I am a broken record. Doesn’t change the importance of the message though: Do not read this review on Golden Girl until you have already read the first book Dust Girl ! Haven’t read Dust Girl ? Check out my review here . It’s a terrific book! If you have read Dust Girl , then go ahead and proceed to a brief synopsis and then review of Golden Girl … It was not long ago that Callie LeRoux was in Kansas, deep in the midst of the Dust Bowl. Now Callie is in search of her mother and a father she’s never known – whom she now knows is a fairy prince. Making her half-fairy. And heir to his throne. Her search has brought her and her friend Jack to California, knowing that amidst the great weather and glamorous starlets the fairies are sure to be thriving. It doesn’t take long to realize that Callie is now in enemy territory. It’d be great if that prophecy about her started ...

Unbreakable is the start to a new YA supernatural contemporary series called The Legion by Kami Garcia, co-author to the popular book Beautiful Creatures . Kennedy’s life has changed drastically. When one night her beloved cat Elvis slipped out of the house (out of the ordinary as it is) and she chased him to a cemetery (not the best place to be at night, kinda creepy), her eyes became glued on an apparition. A girl. Floating. Maybe transparent. After grabbing her cat and heading home, Kennedy convinced herself that what she saw wasn’t really what she saw and headed out to the movie theater with her best friend in new boots her awesome Mom just bought her. It was when she came home that the world shattered around her. Her Mom was dead. They said heart failure. But then, four weeks later, as Kennedy is spending her last, tearful night in her bedroom before starting what she thinks will be her new life at a boarding school, identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart b...

Darkbeast Rebellion is a middle grade fantasy novel, and the sequel to Darkbeast , by Morgan Keyes. Yet again this is a review that you want to avoid unless you’ve read Darkbeast first (review here ). Deal? Keara and Caw are fleeing for their lives with their previous Traveler companions Goran and Taggart. Only recently has Keara found that they too spared their darkbeasts instead of sacrificing them on their twelfth birthday as is the law. Caw is more than a creature that takes on her darker deeds and thoughts and gives her an emotional boost. He’s her friend. She could not, and will not, kill him. Now that they are being hunted by the ruthless Inquisitors, Taggart is convinced that he can take them all to a safe haven for darkers – a group of people who have spared their darkbeasts and live in secrecy. But they are freezing and exhausted and the journey just might kill them… Just as in the first novel Darkbeast , Darkbeast Rebellion portrays a sweet bonding bet...

Untold is the second book in the gothic YA supernatural Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan. The first book, Unspoken, was amazing – as you can read in my review here . The second book, Untold, is also amazing – which you can read below. HOWEVER, if you haven’t read Unspoken yet don’t you dare!!! You don’t want to know ANYTHING about book two before you read book one, ya hear? Okay then. If you’re still reading this that better mean you’ve read Unspoken… Sorry-in-the-Vale is a small, quiet town in England. Or so it seems. Actually it is the center of a terrifying sorceress family called the Lynburn’s, where they ruled for generations through blood and power. It’s been some time since it’s been that way. But Rob Lynburn is determined to bring the old ways back. That’s why Rob brought his family back to Sorry-in-the-Vale, including his troubled nephew Jared – though they didn’t know that was the reason initially. The battle for Sorry-in-the-Vale is gearing up to be ...

Midnight for Charlie Bone is a middle grade fantasy novel and the first in the Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo. Having lived with his odd, less-than-pleasant paternal grandmother (along with his mother, fraternal grandmother, and secretive uncle), Charlie has always known that she has thought little of him. That he wasn’t “special”. What Charlie didn’t realize is just how “special” she expected him to be. When he discovers a sudden ability to hear the conversations of people in photographs when he looks at them, his grandmother makes it clear this is what she’s been waiting for. Suddenly he’s being pushed to go to an elite private school for the magically endowed – a place Charlie would rather not go. But once he’s roped into a mystery involving a dangerously sought after item and a missing girl, Charlie realizes he may find more answers at the school… A British children’s fantasy? I was VERY ready to give it a shot. It had a little bit of an eccentric, p...

Faerie After is the YA post-apocalyptic fantasy conclusion to Janni Lee Simner’s Bones of Faerie trilogy. Of course, you want to read Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter before Faerie After – click on the titles to read my reviews. In my opinion spoilers are never good, so even though it probably wouldn’t be dire to the overall story, I recommend you don’t read my review/synopsis of Faerie After until you’ve read those first two books… Liza has been away from her home, learning more about her magic from Karin over the last few months. Though she misses her mother, Matthew, Kyle and others at home, life has been steadier than it was for quite some time. And the spring seems strong. But when Liza stumbles across a new danger – piles of ash where living creatures once stood – Liza comes to the realization that both the world of Faerie and the human realm are still deteriorating since the War. Everything will eventually turn to dust. Searching for a solution may mean crossing...

The Dream Thieves is an incredible YA contemporary fantasy, the second in The Raven Cycle , by the ever-awesome Maggie Stiefvater. The Raven Boys , the first book in this cycle, is undeniably fantastic – so if you have yet to read it, check out my review here and then go grab a copy, you crazy person!!! In other words, you may want to avoid this review of the second book until you’ve already sunk your teeth into book one. Only looking out for you, bibliophile! Final chance to turn away… Blue and her Raven Boys all have secrets. Ronan’s is that he can steal things from dreams. While Blue, haunted Ronan, damaged Adam and the always-charismatic Gansey continue their search for the dead king Glendower amidst the enigmatic ley lines of their small town, Ronan begins to realize that his ability to take things out of his dreams may be an ability sought after by others. And may be connected to his father’s brutal murder… Okay, this synopsis is pretty bare-bones, I agree. Bu...

A Spark Unseen is a YA historical suspense novel by Sharon Cameron, as well as a sequel to The Dark Unwinding . You know what I’m going to say. If you haven’t yet read The Dark Unwinding , you should avoid this review for potential spoilers of the first book. Read my review of The Dark Unwinding here . Last chance to avert your eyes before the synopsis begins! Katherine Tulman has been in life threatening situations before. That’s why when she wakes in the middle of the night to hear strange men’s voices, she is instantly alert. It doesn’t take much to deduce that they want to kidnap her uncle – a man with childlike innocence yet a mind with genius enviable by nations at war. Katherine’s Uncle Tully’s sprawling manor Stranwyne Keep is not as secure as they need as the Crimean War creates an ever stronger desire for his elusive inventions. So, Katherine decides to have them flee to Paris. And while she is there she will search for Lane – the young man who knows her Unc...

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears is the third and final book in the YA contemporary fantasy trilogy The Goblin Wars . I am absolutely serious when I say this trilogy is far too remarkable to spoil yourself by reading this review – or book – without reading the first two books. So, if you are a lucky duck and haven’t yet read The Goblin Wars novels, therefore getting a chance to experience them for the first time, you can check out my review of Tyger Tyger here and In the Forests of the Night here . Don’t go perusing this review and ruining any surprises! They are TOO excellent for that!!! Okay, now on to When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears : Teagan has declared war on the Dark Man – knowing that her family will always be hunted unless she faces those who wish them harm head-on. But the danger is very real. Creatures of destruction and death are spilling out of Mag Mell into the streets of Chicago, Teagan’s little brother Aiden has been marked with a new so...

Gorgeous is a YA contemporary fantasy by Paul Rudnick. When Becky Randle reaches her eighteenth birthday, life isn’t so great. Her mom has died, and she won’t be able to afford the trailer she’s lived in all her life if her fast food job lays her off. Then she meets Tom Kelly. A recognizable name to almost anyone in the world – Tom Kelly has a hand in almost any industry, but primarily is known for fashion – and being insanely wealthy. He offers to make her three dresses – one red, one white, and one black. He tells her that by wearing these dresses Becky will be transformed into the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Thinking he’s insane, but not seeing a better offer, Becky accepts. And Becky becomes Rebecca – gorgeous, stunning, publicity-hounded Rebecca. Underneath, though, isn’t she still just Becky? First off I want to say that the cover of Gorgeous , I think, is very pretty and eye-catching. Agree? Second, what was the first thought that came to mind wh...

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a YA contemporary fantasy novel by Holly Black. In Tana’s world, Coldtowns exist. They are walled cities in which quarantines were set up to house the monsters that came into the spotlight long ago – blood thirsty vampires, and the humans that are desperate to be them – or were trapped behind the walls when they went up. With a tragic past that left an ugly scar on her arm, Tana knows the effects of getting Cold, the vampire infection that occurs when you are bit, first hand. When one morning Tana wakes up, disoriented after a long night of partying, she finds herself surrounded by corpses. Everywhere she looks she sees people she’s gone to school with for years – bloody and lifeless. A vampire attack. At first it seems she is the only survivor of the massacre, but then she finds her ex-boyfriend tied up in a room, fighting the first impulses of going Cold. He was bit. With him is a painfully gorgeous, terrifyingly dangerous vampire – also...

The Path of Names is a middle grade contemporary fantasy novel by Ari Goelman. Dahlia Sherman doesn’t want to go to a sleep away camp highlighting learning Hebrew and focusing on her Jewish roots. She loves magic – magic tricks, sleight of hand, math and video games. Yet her parents did not give her much of a choice when they dropped her off at Camp Arara. Amidst her glowering and sulking, Dahlia can’t help but acknowledge that there are a few things of interest going on. Such as two little girls who appear to walk right through the wall of a cabin. Also, she starts to have vivid dreams of a young Jewish man decades ago being chased through New York. Someone she’s never seen in her life. Not to mention a huge maze with a mysterious caretaker that won’t let anyone near it… Dahlia figures she can manage a few weeks at Camp Arara if she has something to do. The Path of Names lacked the humor, zaniness and quirkiness I expected from the cover and premise, sadly. It focus...

Half Lives is a YA sci-fi apocalyptic novel by Sara Grant. It was an ordinary day for Icie. She was being consoled by her best friend over the break-up text message she had gotten when her parents started to urgently reach out to her – telling her she had to get home immediately. When she did, she didn’t expect to be strapped with cash and given a backpack full of survival supplies – but that’s what happened. Then the gravity of what her parents were telling her started to sink in. They were privy to knowledge that a major, world-changing bio-terror event would be happening very soon and they wanted to get to a bunker in Vegas before it happened. Or rather, get Icie to a bunker. Getting there and then staying there ends up being more terrifying than she could imagine. Hundreds of years in the future, life has changed. People live and worship in the very bunker Icie is desperate to reach. They don’t leave. They fear terrorists. Their leader is Beckett, a teenager th...

The Watcher in the Shadows is a YA supernatural thriller novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. In the summer of 1937, fourteen-year-old Irene Sauvelle’s family has moved to the coast of Normandy for a fresh start. Still mourning the death of her father, they are struggling to find happiness once more – a new normal. When Irene’s mother receives a job offer from a wealthy, reclusive toymaker she takes it. The toys he makes are automatons – some of which almost appear to have a life of their own… Their slowly healing family gets a shock when a young girl is found dead in the forests surrounding the toymaker’s mansion. Suddenly all of the ghost stories they’ve heard since moving to their foggy home become more possible. It seems that there is an evil – and a mystery surrounding it – pervading their new town. In order to keep her family from undergoing yet another loss, Irene knows that she must figure out what it is… The Watcher in the Shadows is very successful at being quietly s...

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton is a contemporary fantasy, and first book in The Goblin Wars trilogy, that is unique, amazing, suspenseful and AWESOME!!! In fact, to hear me go on and on, read my review of Tyger Tyger here . I don't want ANY of you to miss out on this week's opportunity! This week only, get your copy of Tyger Tyger FREE when you go to iTunes, Barnes & Nobles Nook or Amazon's Kindle! Learn more HERE ! DON'T MISS THIS! I am actually rereading the first two books in this trilogy RIGHT NOW (really, no joke) to ready myself for the last book, When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears. The Goblin Wars trilogy is just too fantastic to deny! Enjoy - and spread the word!

Happy Halloween, Everybody! Well, on Thursday, that is. In honor of the spooky holiday, I am reviewing TWO of Scholastic’s Point Horror novels, YA suspense. First up is Identity Theft by Anna Davies. Hayley gave up what is considered a normal teenage life a while back to pursue what she felt she did best: academics. As a finalist for a prestigious college scholarship, she is getting closer to her goals and believes soon all of her sacrifices of friendship and free time will be rewarded with a great future. But she has to continue to keep a spotless profile in the meantime. When a Facebook profile in her name suddenly shows up online with pictures of her partying and altogether NOT acting like herself – she is astounded. Clearly someone is using Photoshop to sabotage her. But things get more disturbing when pictures of a birthmark no one knows she has appear in the pictures and the Facebook page seems to appear and disappear randomly. Something is going on that Hayley...

Since You Asked… is a YA contemporary humor novel by Maureen Goo. It all started when happily-under-the-radar fifteen-year-old Holly Kim was bored to tears while performing her duties as copyeditor for her high school newspaper. Reading about some senior’s love of “the best years of their lives” was enough to make her gag and fall asleep. So, once she was done copyediting it to perfection – as her education-minded Korean family would expect – she decided to have a little fun by doing another copyedit – and changing the SATs-are-fun! vibe to her much more sardonic humor. Guess which version accidentally makes it into the newspaper? Suddenly Holly is not so under-the-radar anymore. In fact, she is actively hated by a substantial group of students – but abruptly offered her own column in the paper. This’ll be an interesting year… I really, really, REALLY liked Since You Asked… Holly is a funny, cheerful, invisible good girl with just enough snark to be entertaining with...

The Drowned Vault is the second novel in N. D. Wilson’s middle grade/YA supernatural adventure series Ashtown Burials . Personally, I thought that the first Ashtown Burials book, The Dragon Tooth , was awesome. So, if you haven’t read it yet check out my review here , and avoid this review for potential spoilers! All you savvy bibliophiles have already read The Dragon Tooth , though, right? ;) It’s been nearly a year since Cyrus and his sister Antigone found a home at Ashtown – though not necessarily one where they are welcome. Nearly a year since they’ve been introduced to a life of mystery, adventure and mythology come to life as they earned a status of Journeyman amongst the order of explorers who’ve guarded the world’s secrets and treasures for generations. As Cyrus failed to protect the Dragon’s Tooth against villainous Dr. Phoenix, and the simple fact that they are Smiths’, they are not well liked at Ashtown. In fact, they are in extreme danger. It’s not long befo...

Vote is a middle grade humorous novel by Gary Paulsen. It’s also the fourth book featuring main characters Kevin Spencer. Personally, I recommend you read them in order – Liar, Liar ; Flat Broke ; and then Crush . You can click on each title to find my reviews. Now that fourteen-year-old Kevin has become the boyfriend of Tina, the World’s Most Beautiful, Most Perfect, and Best-Smelling Girl – he needs to figure out how he can stay that way. How will he hold her interest? When Kevin’s nemesis, irritably good-looking new guy Cash Devine, announces his campaign for class president – Kevin gets a flash of genius. He should run, too! Recognizing his strength of always being a great leader, he knows this was inevitable. The first step in a long, rewarding political career. And a way to impress Tina. In order to do that, though… well, he’s going to have to win. Therein lays the problem. Since I read Liar, Liar I have always been eager to read another Kevin Spencer book. ...

A Reluctant Courtship is the third novel in The Daughters of Bainbridge House trilogy, a Regency era historical romance series, by Laurie Alice Eakes. Though each novel focuses on a different Bainbridge sister, and therefore has its own story, reading A Reluctant Courtship before the other two books could potentially give you spoilers of events in the previous books. I recommend reading the books in order. First is A Necessary Deception and then A Flight of Fancy . Click on the titles to read the reviews. Honore Bainbridge, the youngest of the sisters, has been left to the country estate – in hopes she’ll stay out of trouble. And out of the public eye. After two scandalously bad courtships – one of whom was a traitor, the other a murderer – it seems that Honore’s taste in gentlemen constantly leads her astray. So, when she meets Lord Ashmoor – tall, dark and handsome – it’s almost a given that he also would be unsuitable. Of course he is. His American upbringing and f...

Red is a YA contemporary novel by Alison Cherry. Felicity has grown up in Scarletville – a town that was founded as a sanctuary for redheaded people, in order to recognize their true potential outside of the discrimination they usually found in the world. Not to mention to foster the redheaded gene. Here redheads are the popular ones. The ones with the best jobs. The best opportunities. It’s been that way since Felicity was a baby. This is why her mother started dying Felicity’s hair a constant shade darker of red in a very measured way to make it look natural. Now, Felicity gets touch ups and dye jobs like a spy – sneaking around, never letting anyone know her true hair color – not even her best friends. If anyone were to find out, her life would be over. Scarletville hates arties (artificial redheads). So, when a note is slipped in Felicity’s locker advising her that they know her secret and if she wants to keep it that way she has to do what they say – Felicity alre...

Icons is a YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel by Margaret Stohl, of co-author of Beautiful Creatures fame. Dol is haunted by vivid memories of The Day. Of her father, her mother – her family – dying in that moment that took so many lives. The Day the world changed. Even though her life now is simple and quiet, hidden in the countryside along with her best friend Ro and others, the memories still hit her hard and strong, all these years later. It’s because of what she is. Telepathic-like abilities and the power of feeling others emotions plague her, just as strong anger and violent tendencies do Ro They’re different. And they don’t know why. But when she and Ro are captured on one initially normal day they’re taken to the Embassy where they meet Lucas and Tima – both with abilities of their own. Questions, secrets, and dangers abound as they search for answers and a chance of survival under the shadow of one of the largest Icons… I have a copy of Beautiful Creatures ...