New Year's Lists, Gotta Make Mine!

Well, I won't make a list as such, but I will highlight a handful of my favourite books from 2009. And when I say "from 2009" I mean that I read in 2009; they all aren't necessarily published within the last year. I am a big backlist reader, expecially for authors I've just found out about.

So here are a few books I particularly enjoyed this year (in no particular order):

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. I'm not sure if I'll ever come to the end of praising this book. I really and truly loved it. I also don't think I've given it a proper review on my blog, either, so I'll have to do that for 2010. Maybe a re-read is in order (Hey, would anyone like to read How I Live Now for the first time, as I re-read? We could make a special blog post about it. Let me know).

The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It took about 50-80 pages to really get into this one but once it kicked in I was actually obsessed with finishing it. I also think I loved it more than I loved The Hunger Games. The story was so mysterious, I had to know how it ends. And I was totally satisfied with the ending, both as a stand-alone book and as the first of a trilogy. Which is a difficult thing to accomplish. So, yeah, The Maze Runner makes this faux list.

Unwind and Everlost by Neal Shusterman. I picked both because I loved both titles. I think I just want to say "Neal Shusterman" for this entry. I have a copy of Downsiders at home that I'm very excited to get into, not to mention Everwild, the sequel to Everlost. There's just something so inquisitive about his writing that gets me. And his stories are so fleshed out.

Skin Deep by E.M. Crane. Again, I haven't reviewed this one properly for my blog and I'll do it in 2010 for sure. This one hasn't really got the recognition it should. It's such a beautiful, quiet story about a girl finding her heart, the sense of herself. She is taking care of a lady who is dying of cancer, helping her with her pottery and her gardening. The characterization is impeccable and I really loved reading her story.

The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz. Mostly for making me laugh out loud and sigh from a warm heart, Veep makes this list. This one caught me off guard with its awesomeness. I loved her voice, the setting, and her opinions. I love when a book creates a whole world to sink into.

And some Very close runners up:

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard. Again, this one surprised me. I was very down with the mysterious plot and came around to most of the characters. I can't wait to read the ultimate ending to the mystery, What happened to Alison and who exactly is "A"?

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. I loved Patch as a throwback to Spike from Buffy, and also loved the humour that Becca snuck into her story--refreshing.

But again, it's so hard to make lists and leave everything else off. Like The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, which surprised me, or The Heights by Brian James, which made me actually like Catherine from Wuthering Heights. So this is just a sampling of books I've enjoyed in 2009.

What did you enjoy about reading in 2009?

Mandy