Top 100 Ya Books for 2009

Legend:
The ones listed in bold are ones I have read.
The books listed in italics are books on my TBR list.



Top 100 YA novels of 2010:
1. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorceror’s) Stone – J.K. Rowling
3. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
4. Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Northern Lights (The Golden Compass)- Philip Pullman
6. The Truth About Forever – Sarah Dessen
7. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
8. The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
9. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
10. This Lullaby – Sarah Dessen
11. Looking for Alaska – John Green
12. Just Listen – Sarah Dessen
13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
14. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
15. City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
16. On the (Jellicoe Road) – Melina Marchetta
17. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
19. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
20. Along for the Ride – Sarah Dessen
21. Shiver – Maggie Stiefvater
22. Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead
23. Graceling – Kristin Cashore
24. Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher
25. Sloppy Firsts – Megan McCafferty
26. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
27. Alanna: The First Adventure – Tamora Pierce
28. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
29. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
30. Uglies – Scott Westerfeld
31. A Great and Terrible Beauty – Libba Bray
32. Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden
33. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks – E. Lockhart
34. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
35. The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin
36. Paper Towns – John Green
37. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
38. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
39. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn – Betty Smith
40. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie
41. Lock and Key – Sarah Dessen
42. The Amber Spyglass – Philip Pullman
43. Evernight – Claudia Gray
44. Sabriel – Garth Nix
45. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
46. Beautiful Creatures – Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
47. Forever – Judy Blume
48. I Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith
49. Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine
50. The Princess Diaries – Meg Cabot
51. Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli
52. Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones
53. The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper
54. Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick
55. Saving Francesca – Melina Marchetta
56. Second Helpings – Megan McCafferty
57. Dreamland – Sarah Dessen
58. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
59. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist – Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
60. Fire – Kristin Cashore
61. The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier
62. Weetzie Bat – Francesca Lia Block
63. The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank
64. Looking for Alibrandi – Melina Marchetta
65. How I Live Now – Meg Rosoff
66. City of Glass – Cassandra Clare
67. Keeping the Moon – Sarah Dessen
68. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
69. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging – Louise Rennison
70. If I Stay – Gayle Forman
71. The King of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner
72. Wintergirls – Laurie Halse Anderson
73. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast – Robin McKinley
74. The Blue Sword – Robin McKinley
75. Feed – M.T. Anderson
76. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants – Ann Brashares
77. Go Ask Alice – Anonymous
78. Wicked Lovely – Melissa Marr
79. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
80. Someone Like You – Sarah Dessen
81. The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan
82. Jacob Have I Loved – Katherine Paterson
83. The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness
84. Poison Study – Maria V. Snyder
85. Shadow Kiss – Richelle Mead
86. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi
87. An Abundance of Katherines – John Green
88. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
89. A Ring of Endless Light – Madeleine L’Engle
90. Glass Houses – Rachel Caine
91. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party – M.T. Anderson
92. Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech
93. Whale Talk – Chris Crutcher
94. Perfect Chemistry – Simone Elkeles
95. Going Too Far – Jennifer Echols
96. The Last Song – Nicholas Sparks
97. Before I Fall – Lauren Oliver
98. Hatchet – Gary Paulsen
99. The Pigman – Paul Zindel
100. The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley

I have read 23 out of 100. I guess that's... okay... I could do better!

Teaser Tuesday (1)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Here are the rules:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



' The mirror returned to Sloane's apartment. Trey was the one with Sloane.
After a minute, Kendra said, "What's next for you? Are you going back to school?"'

~
Beastly by Alex Flinn, p.g. 73

In My Mailbox (4)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. It explores what books readers have gotten in their mailboxes, bought, & borrowed from the library.
__________________________________

No books in my mailbox this week, folks! Sorry! But there should be some coming soon, because I need to get Mockingjay within my reach before I go into a panic attack. But, for now, it's Sierra with The Reading Chic, and I ask you, what did you get in your mailbox?

Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

*This is a second book in a series. To avoid spoilers, please do not continue reading if you have not read the first book in the series entitled Diary of a Wimpy Kid.*

Secrets have a way of getting out, especially when a diary is involved.

Whatever you do, don’t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it.

As Greg enters the new school year, he’s eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event in particular.

Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps. But secrets have a way of getting out . . . especially when a diary is involved.

Released: February 1st, 2008
Published by: Amulet
Series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, 2
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
Page Amount:

Plot 3/10
Likable Characters 7/10
Problem Development 2/10
Solution Effectiveness 1/10
Writing Style 9/10
Character Development 4/10
Cover 5/10
Setting 5/10
Ending 2/10
Beginning 3/10
=
41%

I am incredibly disappointed with Kinney and the second novel in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules. This one I found was just, eh.

There was no real plot to this novel, which I also found with the first novel in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid novels, it was just like, oh… look at this! Then it starts going on about something totally different. Things like that really annoy me about a lot of novels.

The character likeability was… eh. I found a lot of characters in this novel rude, sarcastic (in a bad way), annoying, and down right mean to the bone. The first novel’s characters were much less these types of people, which I liked better.

There wasn’t a problem really in this novel, so I can’t judge the novel about it’s problem development, sorry!

Since there was no problem, I can’t judge on the solution effectiveness either, sorry again!

Considering how this novel wasn’t on my best terms, I did find it funny at some points of the novel so Kinney gets props for that.

Greg didn’t really develop in this novel. So character development is a hard one to judge upon. He was the same person through this whole novel.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this cover. How I don’t like it is how it has Greg and Rodrick, and Rodrick is pushing Greg. I mean, were is the goodness in that. How I like it is how it looks like a ripped piece of paper that was taped (you can see the tape and everything!) onto the cover. This cover ended up on a 50/50 for me.

The setting of this novel was sort of described, but not thoroughly enough to actually enjoy.

The ending was… eh. That is all I can say, really, other than it was an obvious ending to a book that has more books in a series or trilogy.

The beginning really didn’t catch me, either. I found that it didn’t pick up from were Diary of a Wimpy Kid ended, which is defiantly something I really like in a book that is a series.

Overall, I was not impress by Rodrick Rules. I would say, if you want to see what happen and what these books are all about, to pick up the first one, but I will not be continuing on with this series by choice, maybe if I have nothing to read and that is the only thing that I haven’t read, but I will defiantly not be picking these of the bookstore shelves by my own will.

New Template... Yeah, Again

Oh... my... gosh! I am offically in love! Don't you guys love my new template? I love it too!
What do you guys think? I love it!

Love you guys!

~

Sierra

Formspring help?

Hey guys,

I have a favor to ask you.

If you have the time, could you please ask me questions on Formspring? Formspring is a website were you can ask questions and get answers and follow people & the questions they answer! You don't even have to have a account!

If you could, please ask me questions! I love you guys!

~
Sierra
URL:
http://www.formspring.me/thereadingchic

In My Mailbox (3)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

I DID get books in my mailbox this week! I got two books, plus a bind-up! Here's what I got!

Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.

Lori can't wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wake boarding and hanging with her friends—including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she's turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that's not going to happen—not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori's romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

I don't know much about these novels, but I have heard from reviews from GoodReads that they are good, so since it is a bind-up and you can get two books for like, twelve bucks, I decided that I would give it a whirl and find out for myself if this book is good.

I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.

I heard from Jessica at Chapter Chicks that this book was worth a read, and the movie is coming out next March and I didn't want to get the movie cover, so I decided to pick it up. I can't wait to read it!

& last but not least...

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village. By day he tends the lawns and monuments of the ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the accident, he can still see, talk, and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. But townsfolk whisper that Charlie has never recovered from his loss.

Into his carefully ordered life comes Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventuresome woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that blows her back to harbor, to a charged encounter with Charlie, and to a surprise more overwhelming than the violent sea itself. Charlie and Tess discover a beautiful and uncommon connection that leads to a race against time and a desperate choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go.
I wasn't able to go to the movie at my local theatre, but I am glad I got the book. I wanted to read the book before I watched the movie, so when I wasn't able to get the the movie theatre I jumped at the chance to get the book. When I saw it for ten bucks I quickly picked it up and threw it into the cart. I am so excited to read this one!

So, that's all for me this week for In My Mailbox. What did you get in yours?