FIVE Most Anticipated Titles for 2011

Happy holidays to everyone...and now onto the titles that are getting me excited for 2011.

Between Now and Forever - Elizabeth Scott
Synopsis - Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

Release Date - May 24, 2011

Where She Went – Gayle Forman

Synopsis - It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future and each other.

Release Date - April 5, 2011

And Then Things Fall Apart - Arlaina Tibensky (Debut)

Synopsis - "The story of a fifteen year-old, whose parents are splitting up, whose boyfriend is trying to wrestle her out of her pants at every opportunity, and who's suffering through late onset chicken pox while languishing in the Chicago suburbs with only an ancient IBM typewriter, her chain-smoking grandmother, and her beloved well-worn copy of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar to console her." (ArlainaTibenskyBlogspot.com)

Release Date - US Summer/Fall 2011

The Iron Witch - Karen Mahoney (Debut)

Synopsis - FREAK. That’s what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna’s own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Release Date - January 11, 2011

Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

Synopsis - It's a companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss (2010)

Release Date - September 19, 2010;

Tomorrow - FIVE Hopes for YA in 2011

FIVE Great Re-Reads

Re-Reads is quantified as books you've LOVED so much you went back for more.  I didn't read as much this year but there were four titles that entinced me to read them again.

The Piper’s Son – Melina Marchetta
Marchetta is an author that seems to pull up better on a reread that the first. While in most author’s cases this would be detrimental, in her case it exemplified her layered approach to storytelling. The smallest detail or emotional beat can be overlooked and discovered five reads later. I find this fascinating and so enjoyable as a book nerd. The Piper’s Son (released in the US in 2011) is a sort-a-kind-a-maybe sequel to Marchetta’s sophomoric title Saving Francesca. Like everything this author does, she changed her approach up again to present a duel perspective novel from an actual young adult (SF’s Tom is 21) and an adult (Tom’s aunt, Georgie). It’s grimmer than you might expect but that makes the laughter, the music and the hope so much better. Definitely worth getting your hands on! (PSnark review)

If I Stay – Gayle Forman
This made my re-read list last year and has again this year. Where She Went comes out in 2011 and presents a different look at the world of Mia and Adam. I reread IIS as I found the US paperback release in Japan (so pretty) and wanted to dive back into that place in between. I was lucky enough to read WSW shortly after and it is such an interesting exploration of contrasts – Adam’s perspective, grief over what is no longer and how to deal with a tumult of emotions where both decisions are risky. (PSnark review)

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side – Beth Fantaskey
Another book that has made my list for a second year in a row. I kept mentioning it to a colleague knowing that it would be her kind of read…and she loved it. I had to reread it. I find Lucius’ letters equally amusing on a repeat reading and am more impressed by Fantaskey’s portrayal of Jessica and her family with each read. She subverts the bit-lit (vampire literature) clichés nimbly and presents an assertive, everyday girl who can’t be bothered with the nonsense and becomes involved anyway. (PSnark review)

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake - Sarah MacLean
This doesn't fit in the YA bracket but it does find itself in my guilty pleasure - historical romance.  Beautifully written with spark, sass and sensuality it is a fun read.  A fun....very hot read.

What about you?

Tomorrow - FIVE Most Anticipated Titles of 2011

FIVE Great Series

Richelle Mead's The Vampire Academy.
I started off highly sceptical with this series and with every title fall more in “fun” with it. I have not had the pleasure of reading the final edition of the series but I have high hopes. The steamy scenes, the tightly wound world of politics, social hierarchy and racism are presented through the eyes of a protagonist who constantly deals with the unusual but remains pleasingly pragmatic. (Persnickety Snark review.)

Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty series
This is a series of books that became less and less impressive with each title. The first is particularly strong and managed to emotionally engage me to the point where I was propelled into reading the next two. While most readers will no doubt be captivated by the brothers, I found Belly’s relationship with her mother to be the most compelling. Subtle, nuanced and prickly – this series has a wonderful lilt and sunlight to its story of one girl, two brothers and a changeable summer. (Persnickety Snark review.)

Prophecy of the Sisters series – Michelle Zink
Boy do I want to read the final title after closing Guardian of the Gate. I came into the second title having not read Prophecy of the Sisters for well over and year and I was able to pick up without 1) having the author plunking through Babysitter’s Club-esque character recaps and exposition and 2) being completely lost. That’s hard to do, people. Zink’s series is one of the densest in terms of the building of the world, its inhabitants and the prophecy itself. There is an attention to detail (and logic) that surprisingly works well with the more mystical aspects of the events. Hanging out for title three! (Persnickety Snark review.)

Theatre Illuminata series – Lisa Mantchev
What the heck is going to happen to Bertie, her parents and the fate of the theatre? Plus…how many more fantastically wicked insults can those delightful faeries spout? How many more insults can I steal from fictional faeries to use in everyday life? Mantchev’s novels are so jam packed with frivolity, shenanigans and catastrophe that it is easy to overlook her wonderful use of language (though the faeries and their foul mouths are well known). She has managed to present a world that lends from Shakespeare and modern life that is beautiful and endlessly entertaining. (Persnickety Snark review.)

Endless Summer – Jennifer Echols
The Boys Next Door was a fabulous little read that I stumbled upon in the beginning days of PSnark. It looked like a harmless little thing with its cartoonish cover art and somewhat generic title…and yet I completely loved every moment. Echols has a fantastic ability to bring humour and angst into the same breath and we empathise with all the players that populate this story. I have one brother so I am endlessly fascinated by brother interplay and loved the way it offset the story of the protagonist and her love interest. The sequel wasn’t on par with the first title BUT it definitely presented the idea that working out who you love doesn’t automatically equate to happily ever after. Love takes work…and some craft machinations. (Persnickety Snark review.)

What were your thoughts on the great series revisited this year?

Tomorrow - FIVE Great Re-reads

FIVE Challenge: Great Covers

What were the five covers that really struck the right note with me?

Graffiti Moon - Cath Crowley

Strikes the right mix of setting the mood, capturing the novel and catching my eye.

Perchance to Dream - Lisa Mantchev

It hints at the wonder and romance of the novel as well as the slightly off kilter adventires.  Plus...there are faeries!

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (OZ cover)

There are so many reasons ...

Matched - Ally Condie

There's just something about the layout, colour and the deliciously wispy 'i' and 'y'.

Grace - Elizabeth Scott
The shading, the colour and those eyes...

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

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