Tuesday, 21 December 2010

FIVE Great Debuts

It is December 21st which means it is the first day of the FIVE Challenge. What is the FIVE challenge I hear you ask....click here for an explanation. Until the end of the month I will be counting down by top 5 lists in a variety of categories.

Today is Great Debuts. In no particular order here are my selections.


Anna and The French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins
Oooh la la. Take one well rounded teen girl, plonk her in a foreign land and have her meet a guy called St Clair. Together this equates to one of the best developed relationships (not just romance but relationship/friendship) that I have read in the past few years. This is a story about a girl acclimatising to change in a way that accurate depicts how it feels to be in a beautiful place but feel isolated by means of language, geography and courage. Perkins’ debut is smashing and should be read immediately. (Persnickety Snark review.)



Stolen - Lucy Christopher
As I have said over and over and over again, this book is intense. It is visceral. It manages to make its audience feel the heat and grit of the Australian outback, emphasize with a conflicted kidnap victim and sympathise with the vile kidnapper. A captivating (ha, I made a pun) read that will make you eager to read more of Christopher’s work. (Persnickety Snark review.)



A Match Made in High School - Kristin Walker
Hear ye, hear ye. Walker’s debut is fun, fun, fun. It is also a debut that people have seemingly forgotten about with the end of year debut rush. There is a friendship that develops (that of the non-romantic kind) between the protagonist and a guy that really rang true for me. The relationships is characterised by pranks and snarky comments but deep down is loyal and warm. Definitely worth tracking down as students in this school are married off for the sake of the principal’s disenchantment with marriage - no, I am not kidding. Get your hands on this book now! (Persnickety Snark review.)



The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
Bliss. It was a fantastic read to start the year off and not many have been able to equal it. Grief, poetry and yearning - it is one beautifully composed tale of sisters, love and those that move on. I just want to sigh every time I think about it. (Persnickety Snark review.)

Six Impossible Things - Fiona Wood
Wood has experience in writing scripts for television and it shows. Her story moves along with humour and angst all through the eyes of a thoroughly normal kid who’s having a particularly bad run of things. What is most remarkable is that she presents the quirkiness and light of teen boys while depicting their sensitivity and heart. Worth a big, fat kiss….and buy it too! (Persnickety Snark review.)

Tomorrow - FIVE Great Covers

If you are taking part in this challenge please link in the Mr Linky widget so others can navigate their way to you better :)

17 comments:

Audrey (holes In My brain) said...

the sky is everywhere is on my list too! And i really enjoyed Stolen. nice choices :)

Chachic said...

Thanks for hosting this challenge, Adele! I had such a hard time choosing what books to include in my list. Anna and the French Kiss is one of my picks and I wanted to include The Sky is Everywhere but it got bumped off the list by other books.

Tez Miller said...

I cheated: Instead of having all YA, I had 2 YA and 3 adult, and I am SHAMELESS! ;-)

kate.o.d said...

didn't stolen come out way over a year ago? at least in australia? title page says july 09. i was thinking about that during the inkys. not that i begrudge your choice - i loved it and i love lucy - but just a-wonderin.

Tesni said...

I'm currently reading The Sky is Everywhere, and I absolutely love it so far. I've got a copy of Stolen on my bookcase waiting to be read, and I've heard loads of good things about Anna and the French Kiss as well, but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

What is wrong with me that I still haven't read any of these titles! *head desk*

Great picks, definitely ones that I've been interested in.

Thanks for hosting this challenge. It is super fun.

Khy said...

yay for Anna love!

Also, A Match Made in High School love! That book is HILARIOUS.

Melissa @ Mel's Books and Info said...

You just gave me a whole list of books to read! Thanks for the Challenge, this is a great idea!

Little Miss Becky said...

What a great list! I haven't read any of these yet! I'll definitely be adding them to my tbr list! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

A Match Made In High School sounds like something I had better check out in the new year...

Sadly, I don't have five debuts of 2010 to post but I came up with a list of five new-to-me books that I read this year! Fun challenge - lists like these are always so much fun to make.

Nomes said...

yep ~ awesome picks. i've read all of these and can't wait for the authors follow-up work!

so looking forward to the rest of your 5 series.

Nomes said...

Oh ~ and Stolen debuted in 2009 ~ but I agree, it is awesome! :)

x

Adele said...

I cheated and used the US release date :P

kate.o.d said...

nice. that's the kind of cheating i like!

Michelle said...

There are a couple of books on this list that I've not had the opportunity to read yet. I'm going to have to add them to my list. :)

Yan said...

I absolutely love this list!!!

CeeCee said...

I have read one anna and the french kiss which I loved will have to look for the others.
I also love your five challenge lists in general.