My Reads in 2009

This is a list of all the books I read in 2009. They are in the order that I read them (which kinda gives me a nervous twitch for not putting them in any alpha order).

I started the year doing the 999 Challenge with LibraryThing. Follow the link to get the full details of it, but my nine categories were all in YA Lit (obvs). Realistic Fiction, Mystery and Adventure, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Graphics, African American, Chick Lit, and Classics.

Unfortunately, I finished the year lacking two classics. Alas. There were just way to many other things I wanted to read and actually had access to. But I suppose this means I didn't complete the challenge. Perhaps I should count a few of the books as modern classics - things I know that are going to be considered classics in years to come. :)

Any titles with * beside them means that I really loved the book. I would probably re-read it.

Any titles with ** are my favorite picks of the year. Absolutely recommended, find them now :).

Dragon’s Keep by Janet Lee Carey
*Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
**The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
At Face Value by Emily Franklin
Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Meade
Caught Between the Pages by Marlene Carvell
Skinned by Robin Wasserman
Girl v. Boy by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout
*Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley
Ivy by Julie Hearn
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Undone by Brooke Taylor
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer
*Envy: a Luxe Novel by Anna Godbersen
Hot Girl by Dream Jordan
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Gem X by Nicky Springer
Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez
Cracked up to Be by Courtney Summers
*Max (Maximum Ride) by James Patterson
Breaking Up by Aimee Friedman
Jellicoe Road by Malina Marchetta
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci
*City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Hunted (House of Night) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Jet Set by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman
Life Sucks by Jessica Abel
Work What You Got by Stephanie Perry Moore
Cairo by G. Willow Wilson
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi
Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson
The Season by Sarah MacLean
**Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber
**Tyrell by Coe Booth
*Being Nikki by Meg Cabot
*Kin: The Good Neighbors by Holly Black
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Gentlemen by Michael Northrop
Girls by Tucker Shaw
Japan Ai by Aimee Major Steinberger
1984 by George Orwell
Shortie Like Mine by Ni-Ni Simone
**Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper
Hotlanta by Denene Millner and Mitzy Miller
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
*Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Push by Sapphire
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
Neptune’s Children by Bonnie Dobkin
Jason and Kyra by Dana Davidson
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas by Gerard Way
Peeled by Joan Bauer
The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli
Beauty Shop for Rent… Fully Equipped, Inquire Within by Laura Bowers
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
*The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
Shooter by Walter Dean Myers
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress by Maria Padian
Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
**Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
Messed Up by Janet Nichols Lynch
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
**Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson by Barbara Dana
Heroes: Volume One by Various and Time Sale
*Evermore by Alyson Noel
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Death by Latte by Linda Gerber
**Blood Promise (Vampire Academy) by Richelle Mead
*Alphas by Lisi Harrison
Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin
Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
*Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
Stargazer by Claudia Gray
serafina67 *urgently requires life* by Susie Day
Weregirls: Birth of the Pack by Petru Popescu
Death by Denim by Linda Gerber
Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
*The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods) by Melissa de la Cruz
Must Love Black by Kelly McClymer
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinx
Me, My Elf, and I by Heather Swain
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
*Kith: The Good Neighbors by Holly Black
Crashed (Skinned) by Robin Wasserman
*Tempted (House of Night) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Vamps by Nancy A. Collins
**Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Never Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers
*Splendor (Luxe) by Anna Godbersen
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle
Meridian by Amber Kizer
Fade Out (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
Malice by Chris Wooding
The First Escape (Dopple Gagner Chronicles) by G.P. Taylor
Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Title: Radiant Darkness
Author: Emily Whitman
ISBN: 9780061724497
Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Summary:
"Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more - something dangerous and exciting - something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.

In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who - and what - she really is."
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Review:

I've really gotten into the genre of retold stories, but up until now they've all been fairy tales. As a kid, I loved all things mythology. And I've read the stories that include mythological characters... but never a retold story from mythology! I thought this was the perfect intro to that genre I could have found. Are there even any others?

This story is so well written - as the story is written about the earth and plants and gardens... It's a sensual story in that way. There are some wonderful descriptions that make you wish you were experiencing them as well. I'm ready to move in to the vale! :).

One thing that I'm not sure I totally buy into is the description of the underworld. I guess I always pictured it in the dark, dank, spooky way that Persephone begins worrying about. But the thing is, I had a hard time realizing it as a place that someone might actually want to be. It works for the story - I mean, why else would Persephone want to stay there?! But that was all just me picturing it differently, but I really enjoyed the way it was described in the book.

This is a great book for any age reader - starting, really, with 6th or 7th grade. I think it would be interesting in a discussion about mythology in school. The more modern twist in this book would probably pull in other readers that wouldn't have been interested otherwise. By modern twist, I don't mean that it's set in a different world - it's just the attitudes and the language that are more modern. I very much tip my hat to the author on that front.

So, I recommend this one, for sure. And it was a very quick read. What more could you want?! Check out the author's website.
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The First Escape by G.P. Taylor

Title: The First Escape: The Dopple Ganger Chronicles
Author: G.P. Taylor
ISBN: 9781414319476
Publisher: SaltRiver/ Tyndale House Publishers

Summary:
"At Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children, life is trouble for fourteen-year-old twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple and their friend, former thief Erik Morrissey Ganger. But what starts out as a perfectly normal day of food fights, rioting classmates, and (yawn) threats of expulsion goes suddenly and horribly wrong when a mysterious, wealthy woman appears at the school and adopts Saskia... without her sister.

On her own in a mansion full of dark secrets, Saskia stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens her very life. Meanwhile, desperate to find Saskia, Sadie and Erik escape from the orphanage with a gang of enemies in hot pursuit. Faced with perils beyond their imaginations, the trio must decide who to trust - and what to believe - if they are to survive long enough to find each other again."
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Review:

My last review was all about graphic formats and such with the latest Chris Wooding book (Malice), so I'm going to try to stay away from format talk on this one. But I have to mention it, because it was the reason I picked up this book. When I was looking at purchasing this book for my library, I was really struck by the word "illustronovella" that was mentioned in connection with this book. I fell in love with the word and the idea, so I got excited about this book :).

It honestly didn't disappoint! I've read a few reviews that weren't inspired, but I was really into this story. A great story that is packed with adventure and intrigue. The pictures very much added to the story and put me in a specific mindset while I was reading. I don't think I would have seen the characters exactly as they were drawn, but I loved the drawings and appreciated the look into the world of the story.

I just have to mention how fast this book was. I wasn't really expecting it to read as quickly as a normal graphic novel, but it really only took me a couple of hours on a lazy Sunday morning. I was surprised, but glad for it. I could have definitely staying in this story a bit longer, so I'll probably go looking for the next book soon (I think we got it at our library this past week).

I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone - it's a great adventure/mystery/graphic novel. There was a weird little dip into a religious theme for a while that didn't seem to fit in the story very well, but otherwise it was wonderful! (I think the author is a minister of some sort, so this does make some sense.) I'm thinking this might be best for the middle grades, but teens could get into it as well.

There is a whole online world for this book, so go check that out.
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Malice by Chris Wooding

Title: Malice
Author: Chris Wooding
ISBN: 9780545160438
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Summary:
"Once you get into the story, there's no way out...

Everyone's heard the rumors: If you gather the right things and say the right words, you'll be taken to Malice, a world that exists inside a horrifying comic book. It's a world that few kids know about... and even fewer survive.

Seth and Kady think it's all a silly myth. But then their friend disappears, and suddenly the rumors don't seem silly after all.

Malice is real. Malice is deadly. And Seth and Kady are about to be trapped inside it."
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Review:

Chris Wooding is one of those authors who tends to write outside the box, but his books are always intriguing and very well written. I was very interested in this book when I found out that it was part novel and part graphic. I think this is starting a bit of a trend in YA fantasy or sci fi books. But I was a little worried about how this would happen - how the graphic part would be placed within the story. I didn't want things to get choppy or weird because of the need for this new thing.

There are some stories that lend themselves to a new format, and this one definitely falls into that category. It's perfect to have a story about a graphic novel to have some bits that are graphic themselves. At no point did the graphics take away from the story that was written in regular prose. There were a few moments where I hoped for a bit more of the graphics - because I enjoyed getting a visual of some of the creatures they were fighting.

I know there have been stories written before about people getting stuck in books and having grand adventures and such, but there was something about this book that made the concept seem new again. And for that, I very much appreciate it.

This review has been a lot about the format, but that's almost what makes this book so interesting. The story is definitely well written and interesting, so I plan on recommending it to anyone looking for sci fic or fantasy. It can almost go either way. But I think anyone who enjoys drawing comics would love this one too. I'm absolutely waiting for the next installment of this story to come out - I think it's going to be epic!

Check out Chris Wooding's website for more info!
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Fade Out by Rachel Caine

Title: Fade Out (The Morganville Vampires)
Author: Rachel Caine
ISBN: 9780451228666
Publisher: Signet/Penguin

Summary:
"In Morganville terms, someone is always watching.

Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, life has changed - dramatically. The resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again - almost.

Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the local theater company. Yet when one of Eve's cast mates goes missing after starting work on a short documentary, Eve suspects the worst. As she and Claire investigate, they soon realize that not only is the subject of the film the vampires themselves, but that this project is a whole lot bigger - and way more dangerous - than anyone expected."
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Review:

The Morganville Vampires series has never steered me wrong before - and continue their streak with this book. At this point, I can't even remember what number this book is. Are we on seven yet? Ha! I was right - Amazon just told me this is the seventh book. Crazy. I wonder how many more we are going to get.

I do love how this story is more calm and less "OMG and then this happened... and then this... and you won't believe it, but this...". It was nice to have a more calm beginning to the story - where life has gone back to normal. I also enjoyed that the main enemy in the end of this one wasn't a vampire. I know this is a story all about life with vampires and such, but it's nice to be changed up every once in a while.

Usually these books tend to leave me in a cliffhanger where I'm saying "WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??!?"... but that almost wasn't the case with this one. I mean, it lacked a cliffhanger, but only in that it wasn't a huge event at the end that just cut off like it has before. There is definitely a huge event, but it concludes in this one. The thing that got me was that there were other story lines that were totally left out to dry. I know they will get picked up in the next book, but this one left me with "So, what happened with that dude?!" I guess we'll see where Book 8 takes us!

I do recommend this series to anyone loving vampire books. It's a great series and well written. So give them a shot - you won't be sorry.

Oh, and check out Rachel Caine's Website
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