Thursday, December 20, 2012

Class of 2012: Best in Show

It is the final day of the YA Superlatives blogfest hosted by Jessica Love, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, and Tracey Neithercott.

Favorite Cover:
If I were to list all my favorite covers, we'd be here all day long so I picked my top three for the year. First up is Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins. I really do think she gets the best covers and I'm excited to see that her spin-off series is going to be following the same look. 
The cover for The Disenchantments totally threw me because I didn't know anything going into it and it was a major surprise (a good one though) to find out Colby was the narrator. I like this cover because it just reminds me of summer and fun.
Until I Die is just plain pretty. I love everything about it from the purples to the swirls around the title.

Cutest Couple:
Hazel and Augustus win this category hands down. Their relationship was just beautiful overall and they were just like two puzzle pieces that were made for each other. 

Most Likely to Succeed (Or, pick a Printz Winner):
I really don't think I have to say anything here.

Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime (The book you just couldn't put down!):
The Raven Boys did make me stay up to read until my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer. As soon as I was finished reading I wanted to open it back up to page one and start all over again. Just call me Veruca Salt because I want book two and I want it NOW!

Best Repeat Performance (Your favorite sequel or follow-up):
What I like about Jackson Pearce's re-tellings is that they're dark and they all somehow tie together. I almost didn't pick this one for this category but then I remembered how she tied this together with Sisters Red and Sweetly and that right there clenched it for me. 

Favorite Finale or End of Series Novel:
A LOT of stuff happened in The Savage Grace and the first thing I remember thinking when I finished reading it was, "now that's how you finish a series!"

Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath:
Whitley and Nathan FOR SURE. I mean, damn, the tension between those two leapt off the page *fans self*

Breakout Novel (Your favorite book by a debut author):
This was a no-brainer for me. This was one of my favorite stories of the year and I loved that it wasn't just a re-telling of Hades/Persephone but a loose re-imagining. 

Best Old-Timer (Your favorite read of the year, published BEFORE 2012):
OH, PERKS! How I love thee. I first read this book back in 2004 when a co-worker gave me her extra copy and I have loved it ever since. Very few books have stayed with me like The Perks of Being a Wallflower has and for a while there, I read this book at least once a year. I can't tell you how THRILLED I was when the movie finally came out in my city and to see that it was absolute perfection. That my friends, is how a movie adaptation is done.

Most Likely To Make a Grown Man Cry:
If you read this book and DON'T cry your name must be Chandler Bing. Seriously, you robot. 

Most Pleasant Surprise (The book you didn't think you'd like, but totally did):
Initially, the only reason I bought this book (and the first one) is because I was at Amy Plum's book signing* and after hearing her talk and see how she interacted with her fans, I knew I had to buy both. Plus, the cover is gorgeous. It was a few weeks before I actually started reading the series but I was surprised with just how much I loved it. 

Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle:
All I'm going to say about this one, in case someone hasn't read it, this is how a love triangle should be done. *bows to Maggie*

Sleeper Hit (Book you found so awesome you wish it had been hyped more):
I picked both of these books because not only did I love them but very few of my book nerd friends had heard of them/read them. I really enjoyed both books for different reasons and I can only hope that one person who hasn't read these will see this and decide to give them a try.

Favorite Outlier (Your favorite MG or adult 2012 book):
I mentioned it the other day but it's worth repeating: I am a complete sucker for the Percy Jackson books. I love everything about all books relating to Percy and friends and this is one reason I look forward to October rolling around. 
I also picked The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 1 because it is just SO DARN cute and you can't help but smile when flipping through it. It may only take five minutes to read, but the idea behind it is just so cool. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is involved so it can't be bad, right?
I don't typically read Romance but my friend Macy Beckett's debut novel, Sultry with a Twist was released earlier this year and even if she weren't my friend, I'd still love it. It's playful, funny, and hot and I know this girl is going to have an awesome writing career!

Pick your own superlative category! - Most Likely to End up in the Freezer:
If you know anything about the TV show FRIENDS, you know why a book would end up in the freezer. I even mentioned as much to my husband and he looked at me like I was crazy. 


Welp, that's it for the Class of 2012. I had a blast compiling my picks and seeing everything that other people chose. Happy reading!!


*Even though I had never heard of her before, Birmingham doesn't get very YA Authors for signings in town so when they come, I have to show my support. 

23 comments:

  1. Perks is so so good. I'm jealous of you for reading it this year. Maybe I should read it again...along with all the other awesome books people have been posting about this year. Also, LOVE ME SOME RAVEN BOYS.

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    1. I usually try to read/re-read books before the movie comes out. It's JUST as great the 34,302nd time reading!

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  2. Oh my god, no question, CODE NAME VERITY goes in the freezer. MY EMOTIONS.

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  3. We have A LOT of similar choices! Have a wonderful holiday! And so glad you could join us for the blogfest!

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    1. Thanks for co-hosting and happy holidays to you too!

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  4. Looks like we both picked THE RAVEN BOYS for the love triangle category. :) It's funny, because it didn't really play out at all in this book, but we know it's coming so it totally counts. I still haven't read the Amy Plum series, but I just picked up the first one recently. I'm excited to read it now that I see one of the other books in the series on your list twice! :)

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    1. You're right about not seeing it play out but all the speculation of what's going to happen and how will it get there is what makes that triangle SO AWESOME.

      I hope you like series!! I really got sucked into it and was not expecting to.

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  5. WANDERLOVE was an awesome book. I totally agree that it should win for sleeper hit!

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  6. I'm in the process of reading Raven Boys right now thanks to your reviews. It's great so far!

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    1. YAY! This makes me so happy and I REALLY hope you love it as much as I did!

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  7. Oh man I haven't seen Friends in so long! But yes, definitely TFIOS.

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    1. <3 FRIENDS. Up until this last year, I hadn't watched it since the final season and now I watch it again every night and even after so many years, I still know a lot of the dialogue.

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  8. Agh, PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER! I haven't read it and I've heard the movie is great. I try not to watch movies before I've read the book (I made an exception for Twilight). Since I haven't read Harry Potter, yet, no movies for me!

    You know, I wasn't crazy about FATHOMLESS. Maybe because I didn't read the first two? I heard Pearce speak at a book thing in October and loved her, thought the book sounded intriguing, I LOVE that cover, etc. but it didn't hook me. I'm glad you liked it!

    Also, bonus points for a Friends reference, always. :-)

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    1. *brainsplosion*

      I am completely and utterly speechless right now. The only thing I can say about that is you MUST, MUST, MUST read PERKS and HARRY POTTER. This shall be your 2013 quest!

      I normally try to do the same though and there have been VERY few instances were the movie trumps book (The Notebook) or the movie is equally as awesome as the novel (PERKS).

      I'll be honest, I wasn't either at first but I would recommend reading SISTERS RED and SWEETLY because then the ending of FATHOMLESS will make so much more sense. You don't necessarily have to read them in order but it does help. It was really that lightbulb moment that made me like it more than I would have without it. I agree, I LOVE listening to Jackson Pearce talk..she's just a cool person and HILARIOUS and that goes a long way with me.

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  9. HOW DID I FORGET SULTRY ON MY LIST?! Man, I suck.

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  10. Ha! I love your final category! I might have put DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT in the freezer if I'd thought of it. I LOVE that book, but it's so freaking intense!

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    1. Aw, thank you!

      Ending up in the freezer is the ultimate mark of a good book, IMO.

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  11. I just started RAVEN BOYS thanks to everyone's rave reviews!

    I really liked TFIOS but haven't read many of your other choices yet!

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  12. I LOVED Mark of Athena so much! And I've heard a lot of good things about The Fault in Our Stars, I think I'll have to try that one out since everyone seems to like it so much.

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