Books read in 2011

[odette_river]

Possible spoiler alert for anything.

january ;

	1. Sphinx's Queen by Esther Friesner young adult | historical fiction | 347 pages January 1 Good, but it dragged in places. Esther Friesner created really realistic circumstances where Nefertiti really wasn't able to do anything, but that also made for really boring parts at times.
	2. The Unidentified by Rae Mariz young adult | future fiction | 296 pages January 3 Really great world building, but I honestly didn't understand the point. I mean, clearly it was about opposing society, etc., etc., but I just never felt any sort of motivation for the kids being subversive, except boredom. And they also had no clear goal in mind, except to be subversive because they were bored. Which, ultimately, doesn't do anything for me
	3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro adult | realistic fiction/science fiction | 288 pages January 15 I liked the concept of this, but I felt like the execution was lacking something. Very similar to On the Beach, it seemed like the characters just didn't care, which got aggravating after a while. I mean, maybe that was the point--the system was so ingrained that they didn't even think to care. But I don't know. I wanted something more.

february ;

	4. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma young adult | realistic fiction February 8 I did just read this. I did just read it again. Ugh, these two. They kill me.
	5. The Blazing Air by Oswald Wynd adult | historical fiction | 311 pages February 22 Angus!!!

march ;

	6. In The Time of the Dinosaurs by K. A. Applegate juvenile | realistic fiction/science fiction March 3 Animorphs: The Radio Drama, UNCENSORED finally came out with the last episode of this book. I finally listened to it. It was awesome.
	7. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson young adult | realistic fiction | 344 pages March 11 This was actually pretty good. I mean, it was a simple little story that was a lot like a movie and pretty predictable, but it was still a fun predictable ride.
	8. The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell adult | realistic fiction/horror March 27 In some of the reviews, people were saying that this is like Southern Gothic with zombies. And they're right. It's also wonderful, perhaps because I've always been a fan of Southern Gothic. But man, let me tell you. The character-driven-ness. The symbolism. The strong female lead. Everything. I'm in love.
	9. The Invasion by K. A. Applegate juvenile | realistic fiction/science fiction | 185 pages March 27 The Sega bites the dust. Also the largest KASU is fixed.
	10. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson young adult | realistic fiction | 370 pages March 28 Again. What? When you have ~drama, you turn to this. It's inevitable.
	11. Secrets of the Jedi by Jude Watson juvenile | science fiction | 203 pages March 30 I wish there was an adult book about Obi-Wan and Siri. Why do all the best plot lines have to be relegated to kids' books?

april ;

	12. The Visitor by K. A. Applegate juvenile | science fiction/realistic fiction | 174 pages April 11 In which the Animorphs take crazy risks because they don't know better, the Yeerk hierarchy seems much more complicated than it actually turns out to be, and Marco drives. You know that was Marco driving.
	13. The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell adult | realistic fiction/horror | 225 pages April 22 I read it again. I am not ashamed. So good.

may ;

	14. Wither by Lauren DeStefano young adult | future fiction | 358 pages May 14 The thing is, nothing happened in this. Nothing at all. The main character wanted to escape so badly, and yet she just kept sitting around. And the world building didn't make much sense. Al-in-all, I was unimpressed.
	15. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan young adult | horror | 374 pages May 23 I've rapidly lost interest in this series, because it started to become so much about the love triangle and so little about anything else. I want to see more world building! I want to see more fighting zombies! I want to see anything but girls sitting around obsessing over boys!
	16. Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee young adult | realistic fiction | 360 pages May 25 I really enjoyed this one. The main character was very, very flawed and thus totally believable. She felt like a real teenager to me, in the way that real teenagers are severely flawed and don't notice. And the content was really good too, and applicable.
	17. Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst by Lois Lowry juvenile | realistic fiction | 119 pages May 30 This was awesome. I don't know why I didn't start reading this series earlier. It seemed to be written for a pretty young age level, but it was still exploring some pretty applicable things. And it was hilarious.

june ;

	18. Plague by Michael Grant young adult | realistic fiction/science fiction | 492 pages June 1 Caine/Diana. I will ship it forever and ever and ever. I want more of them. More! More! They are so flawed, and it makes them SO GOOD. Plus, now there's actually reason for me to write NC-17 fic. There's so much left unexplored.
	19. Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde young adult | fantasy | 127 pages June 1 This was actually pretty bad. I really liked The Rumplestilskin Problem, and I think the difference between these two is that there wasn't enough to really distinguish the stories in this one. That, and maybe Little Red Riding Hood just isn't interesting enough to be retold over and over again.
	20. Trapped by Michael Northrop young adult | realistic fiction | 232 pages June 3 I was really underwhelmed by this one. It had a lot of potential, but then sort of fizzled. And I was never too concerned about people surviving. I had no stake in the thing.
	21. Carmen by Walter Dean Myers young adult | realistic fiction | 122 pages June 3 I was really looking forward to this, because Carmen set in the present (or retold in any way at all) is awesome. But what was this? This was just a script. And there was so little changed that I just couldn't get into it. And some of the takes on characters felt off to me. The only thing I could really get behind is the idea that Carmen doesn't actually love Escamillo. But ehk, I don't know. I wasn't feeling it.
	22. This is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone young adult | realistic fiction | 233 pages June 7 I liked this well enough. The narrative style was interesting and the plot was pretty good. Also pretty predictable, but.

july ;

	23. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips adult | realistic fiction/mythology | 292 pages July 28 Pretty much mindless fluff about the Gods romping around in the modern world. But hey! That's what we like.
	24. We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han young adult | realistic fiction | 291 pages July 31 These books are so bad. Why do I keep reading them? I don't know. But this was definitely the worst of them all. Belly, do I believe you made a good decision? No, no I really don't.

august ;

Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker young adult | realistic fiction August 27 This was really good. Why was this really good? This was really good because it was about Christianity and questioning your Christian faith and coming to the realization that you don't have to give it up if you don't want to. That message needs to happen more, I think.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty young adult | future fiction August 21 I loved the Jessica Darling series, and I have to say I was a little let down by this. It was okay,and of course the writing was fine, because Megan McCafferty can write. But I don't know, it felt fluffy and stopped very suddenly. It stopped very suddenly because it turns out this is the first in a series, but I'm not sure what to make of the fluff. Was the Jessica Darling series fluffy? I guess so. But what struck me about those books was how smart they were despite their fluffy précis. I don't know. We'll see how the rest of the series goes.

september ;

	Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs young adult | realistic fiction/fantasy September 1 This was interesting, but ended up being very predictable without a lot of true emotion. The beginning was fantastic. Once things started being revealed, there wasn't the emotional fallout that I would have expected. And, like I said, very predictable plot.
	Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson young adult | realistic fiction September 2 This was your standard YA breakup book, but there was one thing I really liked about it: believable student/teacher relationships where the teachers actually have a rapport and mentor the students. I know that occurred in high school, but the further I get from it the less I can imagine that as being reality. But this book reminded me that it can be reality.
	Lucy by Laurence Gonzales young adult | realistic fiction/science fiction September 4 Really, really good. This was a really good look at how society would behave if this situation were to actually occur. At times, I think another author would have been tempted to go easy on things, but Laurence Gonzales didn't, which made the whole thing feel that much more realistic.
	Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech young adult | realistic fiction | pages September So I think there was a plot outside of Mary Lou Finney and her friends. But honestly I wasn't paying attention to it. I was just happy to see Mary Lou again, since Absolutely Normal Chaos is a fantastic book.

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