Ninja Angela's Top 5 books of 2009 and Top 5 books to look for in 2010

There’s nothing I like more than talking about my favorite books (as my coworkers, husband, and kids will attest to) so I was more than willing to compile a list of my favorite books of 2009. The problem was narrowing it down to just 5. So here it goes…

Angela's Top 5 Books of 2009
5.Since I am TOTALLY into books with a “Girl Power” theme, I will carry on the cheating tradition of a tie and name these two great books as my number 5:
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, this book was on the 2009 Lone Star Book List and is so awesome it is always on reserve and a bit hard to get your hands on at the library. It is the story of Katniss Everdeen and her struggle to survive in a harsh futuristic America. The sequel, Catching Fire is even better than the first book, but I didn’t actually read it until 2010 so I can’t include it in this list or I SO would. (previous review)

Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
This is the third installment in the Gallagher Girl series about Cammie Morgan and her adventures at an exclusive all-girls school for spies. I love this series because it couples the everyday struggles of being a teen with the additional pressures of living a secret life. What could be more empowering than learning how to disarm a bomb and kick butt at the same time (without being a ninja)?!?! (previous review)


4.The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
After the tragic murder of his family, Nobody Owens is raised by the ghosts and other occupants (hint: vampire and werewolves) that inhabit the local graveyard. The Graveyard Book was awarded the Newbery Award in 2009 for literary fiction. This story is expressive and at times almost poetic in its writing. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that it is at all boring—there’s plenty of fantasy and action to keep you turning the pages. This is the first Neil Gaiman book I’ve read and it definitely makes me want to read more. (previous review)

3. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Seventeen year old, Lucy, discovers that her family is the key to an ancient curse. In order to break the curse placed on them by the Elfin King, she must complete three impossible tasks. This book is beautifully written and completely engaging--you will fall in love with the characters. If you’re looking for a great story that doesn’t include vampires, give this book a try—you won’t regret it! (previous review)

2. The Season by Sarah Maclean
This book is on the 2010 Lone Star Reading List and I barely got it in under the wire having read it in December. The Season follows the lives of three friends as they make their debut into London’s aristocratic society—the ton. The characters are believable and likeable (especially the handsome and brooding, Lord Blackmoor). The writing is chalk full of fun bantering between the girls and their beaus. Set during the Regency time period, this book has it all: mystery, humor, romance, and men in knee britches. (previous review)

1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Outsiders is the story of three brothers trying to keep their family together after the death of their parents in 1960’s Oklahoma. The plight of the boys as they face social injustice and economic uncertainty weaves a tale of brotherly love that will have you riding a roller coaster of emotions from despair to elation. I saw the movie back when I was in high school but never read the book until this year. And, as usual, the book is better than the movie. This book was originally published in 1967, but the themes are as relevant today as they were then. That alone is the reason that I had to name The Outsiders as my favorite book of 2009—it truly stands the test of time! Here is the official book AND movie website.


Now, for the books I’m looking forward to most in 2010:

Book 3 The Hunger Games Series
I have to chime in with Amy and Jenny and say that I’m most looking forward to the third book in the Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins. I just finished Catching Fire and am so left hanging that I can barely stand it. But I will have to wait until August---ooohhh, the humanity!


The Heist Society by Ally Carter
This is a new character and series for Ally Carter and looks to be just as fun and exciting as the Gallagher Girls Series. It is the story about Kat, a girl who is a professional cat burglar. She is going legit and has left her life of crime behind her to enroll in an exclusive private school. But she quickly discovers that her life is not her own when she is forced back into a life of crime by a mobster threatening to kill her father. It is due out February 9th—oooh, just in time for Valentine’s Day!


Gone by Lisa McMann
This is the third book in the Wake Series. If you haven’t read these books, you really should. Janie is cursed with the ability to fall into other people’s dreams. This sounds really cool, but can be a terrible burden. Janie and Cabel have found a way to channel this ability in a good way but it just may get them killed. This book also comes out on February 9th—I know what I’ll be doing!



Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
This book is due out June 15th—just in time for some fun in the sun reading! This is the fourth installment of the Gallagher Girl Series. I can’t wait to see what dilemma Cammie finds herself in now and see if Zach is back…





Runaway by Meg Cabot
This is the third book in the Airhead series. Em Watts, egghead extraordinaire, has started to adjust to being in the body of a supermodel when she is blindsided yet again. She is kidnapped by the evil Stark Empire and discovers that all is not as it seems. Can't wait to find out how Meg ends this series--she is soooo good at wrapping up loose ends!

Ninja Sarah's Top 5 Books of 2009

Top 5 Books of 2009

5. Flygril by Sherri L. Smith
Even though I reviewed this book previously, I think it has been overlooked by a lot of readers. This book really plucked my heartstrings. It inspired me to really focus on my dreams. And anybody who likes historical fiction should definitely pick this one up.







4. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
(SOME SPOILERS BEWARE)
While this may be for younger readers, I thought the concept was absolutely fascinating. Not only does the main character have to deal with being adopted, but he doesn't even know from when he was taken. Ms. Haddix really threw me for a loop when I discovered the kids were taken from various times in history. Ya know how little girls (and some big ones too) always seem to want to be princesses. Well, in Found, the little girl just might be a princess. I think this series will really touch anyone who has had dreams of being discovered as the long lost whatever.


3. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Ever since reading The Midnighters series several years ago, I have been enthralled with this writer. Leviathan is his latest contribution to the literary scene and I am just as enthralled with this one as his previous works. It is also my first introduction to steampunk (which I am glad to say I will be looking for more). The world he creates is very similar to our own past, but rich with new scientific and biological discoveries following various what ifs. Like, what if Darwin was not only a biologist but a geneticist? I was so disappointed when I got to the end and discovered there were 3 more books in the series not even written!! All I can say is, "Mr. Westerfeld, please write faster." :)



2. Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter
As with one of Ninja Amy's books, this book is in the adult collection at our library. However, I think this could really appeal to teens who are "strongly encouraged" to read classics for school. Prospero Lost is a continuation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest". And when I say continuation, I mean it, right up to current times. Miranda, daughter of Prospero, runs Prospero Inc., a company which mellows out the more mythical aspects of the world, like the fire salamandars who are responsible for volcano eruptions, for humans to be able to follow scientific and social progress. At the beginning Miranda discovers a note left by her father Prospero saying he realeased the "three shadowed ones" and to warn her siblings scattered throughout the world. When Miranda attempts to contact her father, he is nowhere to be found. The book follows Miranda as she searches for the locations of her brothers and sisters she has not talked to for years.



1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Yes, I did just list 5 books for my number one slot. And, no, I don't think this is unreasonable. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is just plain awesome. Half way through the first book, I reserved the next 4. I finished all five books in one week! Yes, they are that good. So good, in fact, there is a movie coming out in February based on the first book, The Lightning Thief. And there is an actual summer camp based on the books called, Camp Half-Blood. So, even if action, romance, mystery, and mythical Greek gods are not your cup of tea, Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson just might change your mind.

Ninja Amy's Top 5 books of 2009 and Top 5 books to look for in 2010

It's totally not fair that Ninja Jenny and I read and love a lot of the same books. So, I am sorry if some of my books are the same as hers, but that just means they are so flippin' awesome that you should read them, too. Not all of my books were published in 2009, but I did read them in 2009. And I also cheated like Jenny (cheater!!) and chose two for my number 5 because I loved them both.


Amy's Top 5 Books of 2009
5. I chose two graphic novels for this slot because I couldn't leave either of them out. Stitches: a memoir by David Small is cataloged as an Adult book here at the Arlington Public Library, but some places consider it Young Adult. Stitches was one of five books nominated for the National Book Award in the category of Young People's Literature and I really wish it had won. I read it in one sitting and actually went back and re-read it because I couldn't believe it ended so quickly (despite being 329 pages - of course, it is a graphic novel). You won't believe the strange childhood the author/illustrator had. It has to be read and seen to be believed.Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan is much lighter fare than Stitches but still contains some melancholy themes now and again. But there are lots of funny parts, too. It contains 15 illustrated short stories set in the suburbs of Australia. I've been a fan of Shaun Tan since his book The Arrival, so I'm a bit biased. =)

4.I have to admit that I didn't like the first cover that Lament: the faerie queen's deception by Maggie Stiefvater was published with (not the one shown here), but I made myself pick it up just to give it a chance. Boy was I glad! Teen harpist Deirdre meets a strange flute-playing boy named Luke at a competition and gets roped into performing a song with him. Before she knows it, Deirdre is thrown into a world she didn't know existed: faeries and monsters and of all types, some of whom want to use her for rather nefarious purposes. Romance, action, and supernatural creatures abound.


3.Ninja Angela got me to read Wake by Lisa McMann, along with the sequel, Fade. Some people may be surprised to see this on my list, but the truth is that I was really floored by the simple yet very deliberate style in which McMann wrote the book. It was not what I expected and was much darker and inventive than a lot of the supernatural YA fiction out there. Main character Janie falls into people's dreams, but especially their nightmares, and doesn't seem to have control over it. Makes a school day rather difficult.

2.Yes, I know that Jenny chose this book, too! But this is the book that got me to eat healthier and stop drinking sodas. I'm not kidding. Fat Cat by Robin Brande might not change your life, but it is one of my very favorite books EVER and, if nothing else, Brande tells a great story with characters you can't help but love. Cat decides to get a little crazy with her 7-month-long science project and not only begins to eat as closely to the way our earliest ancestors (hominims, specifically the homo erectus) ate, she also gives up as much technology as possible. Crazy!

1.And where do I start with The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness? Oh, Patrick Ness, how I love thee (don't tell my boyfriend!). Set in a town where there are only men and everyone can hear each other's thoughts (even animals), Todd realizes that his upcoming birthday, which will "make him a man", is something to dread. Where did all the women go? And why can they all hear each other's thoughts? I read this. My mom read it. My brother read it. My best friend read it. My mom's boyfriend read it. And several librarians here have read it. When are you going to read it? Soon, I hope.


Amy's Top 5 Books to Look Forward to in 2010

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong	Thresholds by Nina Kiriki Hoffman	Gone by Lisa McMann
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness	Strange Fate by L.J. Smith	Book 3 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Okay, so I cheated and did 6, but I couldn't forget the third Hunger Games book even if Jenny already did that one, too. Grr!!! Also, I have been waiting for Strange Fate to be published since I was 18 years old. I will turn 30 before this book is published. Haven't I waited long enough, Simon & Schuster? Haven't I???