50 Books Post - 2008
Spoiler alert.
1. Fury by Aaron Allston (A | SF | 274)--I really want to give Jacen a good shake. Or whatever his Sith name is now. I forget. Also, this definitely didn't have enough Tenel Ka in it, which is starting to really irk me. But I think it's cool how she had to raise Allana, with code words and all that.
2. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (YA | RF | 356)--I could see this coming from the last book, and, frankly, hoped that it wouldn't come to this. But it did. I don't know why, but J.P. just bothers me a little more than he should, I suppose. He rubs me in the wrong way, for some reason. Which is weird, because he likes Beauty and the Beast. I did, however, like the part about the girl who died from the Black Plague.
3. Mystify the Magician by K. A. Applegate (YA | SF/F | 200)--A really good one. So I like the fact that April's doing Rent and looking up medical stuff and fighting a war at the same time.
4. Desert Survivor's Guide by Rory Storm (J | NF | 119)--I didn't know this existed. But now I do.
5. Mountain Survivor's Guide by Rory Storm (J | NF | 126)--Also didn't know this one existed.
6. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (A | RF/H/F | 708)--This was very good. I liked the whole playing around with time thing. (Though this was probably mainly because I like the Middle Ages.) I wasn't huge into the modern day stuff, but it was interesting.
7. Wizards at War by Diane Duane (YA | SF/F | 582)--So good. Still.
8. The Princess Bride by William Goldman/S. Morgenstern (A | F |398)--I liked the part in the Pit of Death a lot. I forgot how much I liked that part.
9. The Prophecy by K. A. Applegate (J | SF |141)--The one with Aldrea. Who is seriously amazing.
10. Forever... by Judy Blume (YA | RF | 220)--Well, that was one depressing take on long-distance relationships.
11. Sold by Patricia McCormick (YA | RF | 263)--This is so good. I cried through most of it, again. But still. It was so good. Everyone should read this book.
12. Marly's Ghost by David Levithan (YA | RF/SF/F | 167)--This was cute. Really sad, at times, but also cute. Plus, I like the idea of a remix novel. I could totally remix A Tale of Two Cities. Maybe.
13. What the Sea Wants by Tracy E. Banhart (YA | RF/F | 71)--An interesting little piece. A good style of telling.
14. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (YA | RF | 288)--Finally this came in at the library and I got to read it. I liked it a lot, although the whole thing with Skye threw me a little bit. But, nevertheless, the premise was really interesting, and it was really well-written. Everything fit together nicely, but you didn't see all the puzzle pieces right away. I liked that.
15. Swan Sister edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (YA | F | 165)--This was not as dark and mordern and gritty as I'd hoped. But, still, it had a re-telling of Wild Swans in it, so I can't argue that much.
16. Lyric's World by Nancy Richardson (J | SF | 113)--So I read this mainly to figure out how old the Melodies are when they undergo the whole changing thing. And they're twenty? Meaning Lyric is twenty? She didn't really act like a twenty year old, hanging out with Anakin and Tahiri. Or maybe she did, and they were the only ones around for her to hang out with, so she was stuck? Although I swear older people (Jacen/Jaina/Tenel Ka/whoever) were around, too. And she could definitely have hung out with them. Anyway. What I'd like to read now is some fanfiction about Sannah. Which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. Too bad.
17. Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy (YA | RF | 319)--Very intriguing. I could definitely understand why she did it, and that she'd changed, too. Although I didn't get what the other kids were in jail for, that they'd think her killing someone was so bad. Unless it was the fact that she'd killed her friend, and they'd all killed people for nobler reasons, or something.
18. Empress of the World by Sara Ryan (YA | RF | 213)--This was pretty good. It wasn't exceedingly well-written or anything, but it was an interesting story.
19. Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters (YA | RF | 250)--I'm not so sure about this one. It seemed a bit over the top. Although I guess it could be pretty realistic, I can't really say.
20. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse A | RF/H/F | 565)--I liked Labyrinth better. Probably because I like the Middle Ages better. I had a hard time figuring out how everything fit together in this one, even when I got to the end. And I'm also kind of surprised that Audric Baillard changed his name only once, apparently, to Audric Baillard and then just...kept it.
21. Life as we Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (YA | RF | 337)--Peter! Ahh! I didn't realize how much I liked him! And yay for apocalypse fiction.
22. Bunker 10 by J.A. Henderson (YA | RF/SF | 253)--Despite the fact that I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight, this actually turned out to be really good. Especially when I started going, Maybe the other people are the computer programs. No, maybe they are. No...wait...what?! Yeah, it was pretty good.
23. Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block (YA | RF | 150)--Not (well, maybe sort of) what I was expecting, but still very good and interesting. The style of the telling was very nice and not as confusing as it could have been. (Though in the beginning it was pretty confusing.) The end seemed sort of like a cop-out, though.
24. Escape from Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA | RF/SF | 220)--I really, really like Alexei and Toria. Seriously. By sixteen/eighteen, they'd gone through all this awful stuff, and yet they managed to live and love and have a family. I like that a lot.
25. Avalon High Coronation: The Merlin Prophecy by Meg Cabot (YA | RF/F | 109)--Erm. Weird. It made a lot more sense the first time through. Now all of a sudden there's deadlines? Right.
26. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA | RF | 153)--This is a really good look at how things could be. And I don't know what the right answers are. Not at all.
27. Bright Purple by Melody Carlson (YA | RF | 203)--This book was crazy. I had an extremely hard time believing that anyone close to my age, crazy Christian or not, would act that way. Then again, I'm Methodist, so what do I know? Actually, now that I think about it, her argument is completely false. If you can choose to be homosexual, then it's nothing like race. I didn't choose to be biracial, etc., etc.
28. Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli (YA | H | 271)--I freaking love Bortolo. That is all.
29. Among the Imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA | RF | 172)--You know what? A grand total of nothing happened in this book, and yet it was still pretty good.
30. Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman (YA | RF/SF/F | 96)--I thought it was very cute how Iorek and Lee got each other's names wrong. But I have a big problem picturing Lee as a twenty-four year old. Or however old he was, I forgot.
31. Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley (YA | RF | 230)--The thing I don't understand is why it's such a big deal that her mother was given away. Yes, from an American perspective, I can see why that's weird. I think it's weird when I think about it like an American. But when I think about it from a Chinese perspective--at least a Malaysian Chinese perspective, I can't speak for all the rest of Chinese culture--I don't think it's weird at all. So I don't get why that was such a huge deal. Yeah, she got a pretty bad end of the bargain in a lot of ways. But still. That's what happened. A lot.
32. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (YA | RF/F | 328)--I find it interesting how disturbed Ash was about becoming queen compared to Kyra. Although, I suppose Kyra isn't being asked to become mortal and give up a boyfriend, or anything like that. I liked Donia the best.
33. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (YA | RF | 274)--Heh, Boris trying to be sneaky and not tell Mia the whole truth and Mia totally missing it.
34. Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner (YA | H/F | 296)--It's about Helen of Troy (or, in this case, Sparta), and pretty cool.
35. Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner (YA | H/F | 302) (June 10)--Despite the fact that I see Helen as a ditz, I can deal with this Helen, too. She's pretty cool.
36. Invincible by Troy Denning (A | SF | 299) (June 11)--Well, the final fight between Jacen and Jaina was really anti-climatic. And seriously, Tahiri? I could kill you. You're acting like such an idiot, which you're not. You weren't always a dumb blonde. Remember that. Also, Tenel Ka really deserves a bigger part. Like, what in the word did she do when Jacen called out to her through the Force (which was really the only redeeming part of the book)? It would have been nice to have just a little more info on that point. Finally, what kind of a name is Amelia?
37. Good Enough by Paula Yoo (YA | RF | 322) (June 12)--That was kind of depressing. It wasn't meant to be, but in the end, yay! She got to pick the college where she'd be happy! ...I have no idea what college that is for me.
38. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (YA | RF/SF | 265) (June 14)--Oh man, Lily was a cool character. She wasn't as one-sided as the mother and father were. She liked Claire and she liked Jenna. It was crazy. And way cool. Other than that, yeah, science is scary, but man, it's cool, too.
39. The Hunter's Moon by O. R. Melling (YA | RF/F | 261) (June 19)--I kind of thought this was stupid the second time through. It all seemed so fatalistic and cliché. Findabhair's grief made her full of grace, etc., etc. The only part I liked is that Granny was once in Findabhair's position.
40. How to Survive a Horror Movie by Seth Grahame-Smith (YA | NF | 175) (June 20)--Very helpful, actually. Assuming I ever get stuck in a horror movie.
41. Jenna Starborn by Sharon Shinn (A | SF | 381) (June 25)--Jane Eyre. In space. Oh, yeah.
43. The Mayflower Project by K. A. Applegate (YA | RF/SF | 170) (June 26)--I remember why I didn't like the Remnants books now. All those random, stupid nicknames. It makes it way hard to keep people straight.
44. The Rules for Hearts by Sara Ryan (YA | RF | 222) (June 27)--This was okay. Nothing was really resolved at all, which bothered me a lot, but other than that it was okay.
45. The Answer by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 157) (June 27)--Oh man. The possibility for AU's is amazing. What would have happened if the Andalites managed to pull on Earth what they did on the Hork-Bajir homeworld?!
46. The Beginning by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 159) (June 27)--I loved how Ax came into his own. I loved how Cassie moved on. It broke my heart.
47. Them by K. A. Applegate (YA | RF/SF | 163) (June 30)--This is why I don't like Remnants. Too many characters. Too many weird names. Too much virtual reality what's-going-on?! nonsense.
48. Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler (YA | RF | 250) (July 1)--This was cute. But I couldn't really figure out why they couldn't get it together. While I liked that they couldn't, there wasn't really any reason for it.
49. Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper (YA | H | 245) (July 2)--I wanted to like this, since it was a very cool concept. Unfortunately, nothing much of anything happened at it was...really boring.
50. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (YA | RF/F | 325) (July 4)--I didn't like this as much as her other book, because Leslie didn't seem to have as much of a fighting spirit as Aislinn did. I did, however, like how Aislinn really came into her own as queen, and all that fun stuff.
51. The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci (YA | RF | 202) (July 4)--This is such a good book. It's so closely constructed and well-written and beautiful. I love it.
52. Cosmogirl! Quiz Book: All About Guys (NF) (July 8)--Does this really need an explanation?
53. Cosmogirl! Quiz Book: All About You (NF) (July 9)--See above.
54. Teach Me by R. A. Nelson (YA | RF | 264) (July 12)--This was a really well-written and compelling book. Even if all I could picture was Mr. Thomas. The whole time.
55. Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci (YA | RF | 424) (July 16)--I was hoping for something a lot like The Night My Sister Went Missing and I got something pretty different. Not to say that it was bad, at all, however. I did call the big plot twist, though, which made me pretty proud.
56. Gone by Michael Grant (YA | RF/SF | 558) (July 20)--I finally got my hands on this. I'm not so sure about a lot of characters yet, though the plot was great. Mainly, I'm drawn to Diana. She has so much potential and is so very, very interesting.
57. Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine (YA | NF | 161) (July 24)--Had some good prompts in it. Other than that, not so much.
58. Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami (YA | RF | 184) (July 26)--I did not know that this existed. I was very happy to have found it.
59. The Writer's Book of Wisdom by Steven Taylor Goldsberry (A | NF | 224) (July 28)
60. Bollywood Babes by Narinder Dhami (YA | RF)--The story seems simplistic, but a lot of the characters confound me.
61. Bhangra Babes by Narinder Dhami (YA | RF | 185)--Their Auntie/Mr. Arora is amazing. It's such a great ship and I have no idea why.
62. Feathered by Laura Kasischke (YA | RF/F | 261) (July 30)--This was an amazing book. One of those that could be taken two completely different ways. I, of course, went with the whole ancient gods, ancient magic, ancient religions theme, but you totally didn't have to. I wish I could write things this ambiguous that are still good.
63. The Departure by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 159) (August 3)--The one with Karen. For research purposes.
64. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson (YA | RF | 370) (August 7)--A sort of serious book. That is actually just another teen romance book. Except not. Interesting, if you're into that sort of thing.
65. Hush by Donna Jo Napoli (YA | HF | 308) (August 11)--Really interestng concept written in a very lyrical prose. It was beautifully done, and an interesting look into the past. I felt like the whole world was created, not just two dimensional backdrops. It was a little hard to get into Melkorka's character itself, but the secondary characters were amazingly done, particularly Maeve.
66. Alice in the Know by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA | RF | 277) (August 15)--Yeah. We make a big deal about race. Fun stuff.
67. Dangerously Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA | RF | 294) (August 17)--The guy who wants to be a priest but isn't sure about his girlfriend! It's like Peter and Jenny! Not really, but sort of! Ahh!
68. Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasseman (YA | RF | 320) (August 20)--I especially liked the message that the whole system is bogus, because it really is. I was glad someone finally admitted it.
69. Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt (A | NF) (August 22)--An interesting system. Not sure if it'll work, but nice charts to fill out nonetheless.
70. Almost Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA | RF | 272) (August 23)--David and Connie!!! I swear, they were the best part of this book.
71. The Ultimate Teen Book Guide edited by Daniel Hahn and Leonie Flynn (YA | NF | 404) (August 23)--A lot of interesting books were recommended. And some bad ones, too.
72. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer (YA | RF | 308) (August 26)--Whoo! This was awesome. And I really want to write my zombie story now...
73. The Light-Bearer's Daughter by O. R. Melling (YA | RF/F | 330) (August 28)--I really liked that secondary characters had huge backstories. Because you know that's how it is with everyone in Faerie. They all have crazy stories. It's just that you don't have time to learn them all in one story. I also really liked the Indian lady.
74. She's So Money by Cherry Cheva (YA | RF | 290) (August 28)--On one hand I really liked this. On the other hand, I found some of it unrealistic. Especially the fact that she didn't tell her brother. If it was me, I would have told my brother, and he's not even as close in age as the two of them were.
75. The Weakness by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 129) (September 4)--The one where Rachel is in charge. It was...sort of anti-climatic. But maybe that's because I read it in about half an hour, tops.
76. Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman (YA | RF/F/SF | 143) (September 8)--This was awesome! You couldn't really tell what it was going to be about from looking at the cover. I originally thought it was going to be about a Chinese girl who was adopted by Americans finding her birth family. Um. Really far from the truth. But it was really good anyway.
77. The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott (YA | F | 258) (September 10)--This was distinctly okay. The characters weren't very compelling. Maybe I'm reading into it too much, due to me re-writing the same fairy tale and struggling with the same thing, but I didn't find the villain very terrifying. She was bad, yes, but I wasn't too worried that she'd be defeated. It also seemed to me that Alexandra talked down about herself a lot. And Alexandra was such a weird name for this particular fantasy world.
78. Visser by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 192) (September 12)--I love this book. There's just so much there. Why has no one written fanfic???
79. Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples (YA | RF | 240) (September 15)--This was actually really boring. There were some good parts, but overall, I didn't feel engaged in the story. At all. Maybe the other books will be better? They're why I started reading this one.
80. First Love by Adrienne Sharp (A | RF | 335) (September 24)--Wow, this was depressing. I mean, I guess that's the way the ballet world works, but still. Really depressing. You give it all up and you don't get anything back. Jeez.
81. Forever by Judy Blume (YA | RF | 220) (October 6)--I don't know. This is a banned book and people think it's really realistic, but I'm just not feeling it. Some of it I can believe. Her being attracted to a guy over the summer I can totally see. But how their whole relationship progressed is a little beyond me. They met at a party. They kissed the next day. They were having sex in, like, three weeks. They barely knew each other! Of course it wasn't going to end well.
82. The Test by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 135) (October 7)--Tobias, I just don't know. I mean, I know you're emo before emo was cool, and that's cool, but still. And, oh man, Cassie! My heart breaks for her all the time.
83. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (A | RF/HF | 432) (October 12)--I don't know what to say about this. Taking a step back, it doesn't seem like a very gripping book. I wasn't very invested in the main characters. And yet... I cried through the last fifty pages or so, so that has to mean something. Or else I read it and I saw Penang and I saw my grandfather and I couldn't separate fact from fiction. Either way, it was a good experience, I suppose.
84. The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf (A | HF/F | 358) (October 15)--This was okay. I really, really liked it for making Morgan/Arthur canon in a caring, beautiful way. But other than that, nothing too spectacular happened. I guess I'm getting like Garth Nix - all disillusioned about Arthurian retellings.
85. Secrets of the Jedi by Jude Watson (J | SF | 203) (October 18)--Trying to get Siri in character. And I can almost make my events square with what happens in the book. Which I guess is a good thing.
86. The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block (YA | F/RF | 229) (October 18)--Really weird. I kinda liked it. But it still felt like I could have written it without any struggle. So I'm not sure. A little too intangible for me, I suppose.
87. Forbidden by Judy Waite (YA | RF | 249) (October 19)--Examines a cult. I felt that it was done pretty well, except for one thing - they kept taking in people from the outside, and yet the girl never questioned where she came from (parentage, etc.). That seemed a little strange to me. Still, it was good.
88. Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block (YA | RF | 150) (October 20)--I kind of like this style. But it also kind of aggravates me. A lot. You can only go "what the frell?" so many times.
89. The Deep by Gordon Korman (J | RF | 148)--The sneaky, sneaky library bought this when I wasn't looking. I probably like this trilogy the least of the three. The kids are all a little too neurotic. Still, not bad, though.
90. How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt (YA | RF)--This was awesome. RISE story, anyone?
91. The Danger by Gordon Korman (J | RF | 150)--Jeez, a lot of people died this time. And that lady was way crazy. And it's really sad about Star.
92. Tintin and the Blue Lotus by Hergé (A | GN | 62) (October 22)--I ♥ Tintin. That is all. Well, okay. Awful as it is, the way the ethnic characters are drawn does make a lot of sense for caricatures of the various races. I mean, the Chinese look Chinese. The Japanese look Japanese. Weird, but true.
93. Teach Me by R. A. Nelson (YA | RF | 264) (October 24)--Yup, that one about the teacher-student relationship. She goes crazy, but it's still well-written, and I don't think her reaction is over the top, either. I mean, I would never do that, but then again, I wouldn't get involved with a teacher in the first place.
94. Boy Toy by Barry Lyga (YA | RF | 410) (November 14)--There was a lot of weird psychological stuff that I didn't understand, but it was interesting. And I didn't have a problem reading about something from a guy's perspective, which was nice. But the teacher? Yeah. She was way messed up.
95. The Diversion by K. A. Applegate (J | SF/RF | 164)--The little fanfare to the fact that they've suddenly pulled their parents out of the real world and that they're now in hiding is so interesting to me. It just happened. The end.
96. Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon (YA | SF) (November 22)--This was way, way short. And I read it solely for the Mal/Inara. Because they are made of win.
97. Empress of the World by Sara Ryan (YA | RF | 213) (November 24)--I need to stop reading and start doing work.
98. Feathered by Laura Kasischke (YA | RF | 261) (November 30)--A re-read, knowing what would happen, made this a very different book. There was a lot less of the "He's a freaking god!" and a lot more of the "Whoa, creepy vibe there." I think I'd probably have been like Michelle, though. Ander sounds like just the kind of person I'd like to hang out with. Weird as that sounds.
99. Sold by Patricia McCormick (YA | RF | 263) (December 10)--I didn't cry as much this time through. It was surprising.
100. The Ultimate by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 139) (December 14)--There is no way that Cassie knew giving up the morphing cube would be a good thing. No way at all.
101. The Absolute by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 149) (December 17)--Mainly, I like it when they steal the tank. But the governor is also pretty awesome.
102. Tintin and the Prisoners of the Sun by Hergé (A | GN | 63) (December 19)--I just realized how historically inaccurate this is. But I also really don't care. Professor Calculus rocks!!
103. The Sacrifice by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 151) (December 21)--The ghost writer for this book really didn't have Ax's voice down. He sounded very odd. I get that she was trying to make him an alien, but it didn't work too well.
104. In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg (YA | RF | 203) (December 23)--Very cute. Little substance.
105. Shift by Charlotte Agell (YA | RF/SF | 230) (December 24)--There wasn't enough real danger in this for me, but it was an interesting idea. It would have been cool to know what had happened to the rest of the world.
106. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (YA | RF | 274) (December 25)--In preparation for the last book.
107. Creepers by Joanne Dohme (YA | RF/F | 231) (December 25)--I totally called one of the big plot twists, which made me pretty proud. I guess it's just natural for me to go for things like that, though. I'd have believed it even if it wasn't part of the plot. I'm not sure I understand everything that happened, though. And seriously, I can see femmeslash everywhere now. Everywhere.
108. Young Warriors edited by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman (YA | HF/F | 312) (December 26)--Some of the stories here were pretty good. Particularly the one about Helen, which amused me. Simply because I'd read the other two books about Helen already.
109. The Good Neighbors: Kin by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (YA | GN | 117) (December 26)--Very interesting. The sheer amount of books about people who suddenly find they have connections to Faerie is a little sad. But I don't get tired of them.
110. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (YA | RF | 170) (December 27)--Really intense. Definitely read it, but be prepared to be freaked out.
111. Half-human edited by Bruce Coville (YA | RF/F | 207) (December 28)--I really like this compilation. All of it. Which doesn't happen often.
post for 2007
to read
1. Fury by Aaron Allston (A | SF | 274)--I really want to give Jacen a good shake. Or whatever his Sith name is now. I forget. Also, this definitely didn't have enough Tenel Ka in it, which is starting to really irk me. But I think it's cool how she had to raise Allana, with code words and all that.
2. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (YA | RF | 356)--I could see this coming from the last book, and, frankly, hoped that it wouldn't come to this. But it did. I don't know why, but J.P. just bothers me a little more than he should, I suppose. He rubs me in the wrong way, for some reason. Which is weird, because he likes Beauty and the Beast. I did, however, like the part about the girl who died from the Black Plague.
3. Mystify the Magician by K. A. Applegate (YA | SF/F | 200)--A really good one. So I like the fact that April's doing Rent and looking up medical stuff and fighting a war at the same time.
4. Desert Survivor's Guide by Rory Storm (J | NF | 119)--I didn't know this existed. But now I do.
5. Mountain Survivor's Guide by Rory Storm (J | NF | 126)--Also didn't know this one existed.
6. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (A | RF/H/F | 708)--This was very good. I liked the whole playing around with time thing. (Though this was probably mainly because I like the Middle Ages.) I wasn't huge into the modern day stuff, but it was interesting.
7. Wizards at War by Diane Duane (YA | SF/F | 582)--So good. Still.
8. The Princess Bride by William Goldman/S. Morgenstern (A | F |398)--I liked the part in the Pit of Death a lot. I forgot how much I liked that part.
9. The Prophecy by K. A. Applegate (J | SF |141)--The one with Aldrea. Who is seriously amazing.
10. Forever... by Judy Blume (YA | RF | 220)--Well, that was one depressing take on long-distance relationships.
11. Sold by Patricia McCormick (YA | RF | 263)--This is so good. I cried through most of it, again. But still. It was so good. Everyone should read this book.
12. Marly's Ghost by David Levithan (YA | RF/SF/F | 167)--This was cute. Really sad, at times, but also cute. Plus, I like the idea of a remix novel. I could totally remix A Tale of Two Cities. Maybe.
13. What the Sea Wants by Tracy E. Banhart (YA | RF/F | 71)--An interesting little piece. A good style of telling.
14. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (YA | RF | 288)--Finally this came in at the library and I got to read it. I liked it a lot, although the whole thing with Skye threw me a little bit. But, nevertheless, the premise was really interesting, and it was really well-written. Everything fit together nicely, but you didn't see all the puzzle pieces right away. I liked that.
15. Swan Sister edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (YA | F | 165)--This was not as dark and mordern and gritty as I'd hoped. But, still, it had a re-telling of Wild Swans in it, so I can't argue that much.
16. Lyric's World by Nancy Richardson (J | SF | 113)--So I read this mainly to figure out how old the Melodies are when they undergo the whole changing thing. And they're twenty? Meaning Lyric is twenty? She didn't really act like a twenty year old, hanging out with Anakin and Tahiri. Or maybe she did, and they were the only ones around for her to hang out with, so she was stuck? Although I swear older people (Jacen/Jaina/Tenel Ka/whoever) were around, too. And she could definitely have hung out with them. Anyway. What I'd like to read now is some fanfiction about Sannah. Which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. Too bad.
17. Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy (YA | RF | 319)--Very intriguing. I could definitely understand why she did it, and that she'd changed, too. Although I didn't get what the other kids were in jail for, that they'd think her killing someone was so bad. Unless it was the fact that she'd killed her friend, and they'd all killed people for nobler reasons, or something.
18. Empress of the World by Sara Ryan (YA | RF | 213)--This was pretty good. It wasn't exceedingly well-written or anything, but it was an interesting story.
19. Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters (YA | RF | 250)--I'm not so sure about this one. It seemed a bit over the top. Although I guess it could be pretty realistic, I can't really say.
20. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse A | RF/H/F | 565)--I liked Labyrinth better. Probably because I like the Middle Ages better. I had a hard time figuring out how everything fit together in this one, even when I got to the end. And I'm also kind of surprised that Audric Baillard changed his name only once, apparently, to Audric Baillard and then just...kept it.
21. Life as we Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (YA | RF | 337)--Peter! Ahh! I didn't realize how much I liked him! And yay for apocalypse fiction.
22. Bunker 10 by J.A. Henderson (YA | RF/SF | 253)--Despite the fact that I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight, this actually turned out to be really good. Especially when I started going, Maybe the other people are the computer programs. No, maybe they are. No...wait...what?! Yeah, it was pretty good.
23. Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block (YA | RF | 150)--Not (well, maybe sort of) what I was expecting, but still very good and interesting. The style of the telling was very nice and not as confusing as it could have been. (Though in the beginning it was pretty confusing.) The end seemed sort of like a cop-out, though.
24. Escape from Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA | RF/SF | 220)--I really, really like Alexei and Toria. Seriously. By sixteen/eighteen, they'd gone through all this awful stuff, and yet they managed to live and love and have a family. I like that a lot.
25. Avalon High Coronation: The Merlin Prophecy by Meg Cabot (YA | RF/F | 109)--Erm. Weird. It made a lot more sense the first time through. Now all of a sudden there's deadlines? Right.
26. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA | RF | 153)--This is a really good look at how things could be. And I don't know what the right answers are. Not at all.
27. Bright Purple by Melody Carlson (YA | RF | 203)--This book was crazy. I had an extremely hard time believing that anyone close to my age, crazy Christian or not, would act that way. Then again, I'm Methodist, so what do I know? Actually, now that I think about it, her argument is completely false. If you can choose to be homosexual, then it's nothing like race. I didn't choose to be biracial, etc., etc.
28. Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli (YA | H | 271)--I freaking love Bortolo. That is all.
29. Among the Imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA | RF | 172)--You know what? A grand total of nothing happened in this book, and yet it was still pretty good.
30. Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman (YA | RF/SF/F | 96)--I thought it was very cute how Iorek and Lee got each other's names wrong. But I have a big problem picturing Lee as a twenty-four year old. Or however old he was, I forgot.
31. Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley (YA | RF | 230)--The thing I don't understand is why it's such a big deal that her mother was given away. Yes, from an American perspective, I can see why that's weird. I think it's weird when I think about it like an American. But when I think about it from a Chinese perspective--at least a Malaysian Chinese perspective, I can't speak for all the rest of Chinese culture--I don't think it's weird at all. So I don't get why that was such a huge deal. Yeah, she got a pretty bad end of the bargain in a lot of ways. But still. That's what happened. A lot.
32. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (YA | RF/F | 328)--I find it interesting how disturbed Ash was about becoming queen compared to Kyra. Although, I suppose Kyra isn't being asked to become mortal and give up a boyfriend, or anything like that. I liked Donia the best.
33. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (YA | RF | 274)--Heh, Boris trying to be sneaky and not tell Mia the whole truth and Mia totally missing it.
34. Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner (YA | H/F | 296)--It's about Helen of Troy (or, in this case, Sparta), and pretty cool.
35. Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner (YA | H/F | 302) (June 10)--Despite the fact that I see Helen as a ditz, I can deal with this Helen, too. She's pretty cool.
36. Invincible by Troy Denning (A | SF | 299) (June 11)--Well, the final fight between Jacen and Jaina was really anti-climatic. And seriously, Tahiri? I could kill you. You're acting like such an idiot, which you're not. You weren't always a dumb blonde. Remember that. Also, Tenel Ka really deserves a bigger part. Like, what in the word did she do when Jacen called out to her through the Force (which was really the only redeeming part of the book)? It would have been nice to have just a little more info on that point. Finally, what kind of a name is Amelia?
37. Good Enough by Paula Yoo (YA | RF | 322) (June 12)--That was kind of depressing. It wasn't meant to be, but in the end, yay! She got to pick the college where she'd be happy! ...I have no idea what college that is for me.
38. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (YA | RF/SF | 265) (June 14)--Oh man, Lily was a cool character. She wasn't as one-sided as the mother and father were. She liked Claire and she liked Jenna. It was crazy. And way cool. Other than that, yeah, science is scary, but man, it's cool, too.
39. The Hunter's Moon by O. R. Melling (YA | RF/F | 261) (June 19)--I kind of thought this was stupid the second time through. It all seemed so fatalistic and cliché. Findabhair's grief made her full of grace, etc., etc. The only part I liked is that Granny was once in Findabhair's position.
40. How to Survive a Horror Movie by Seth Grahame-Smith (YA | NF | 175) (June 20)--Very helpful, actually. Assuming I ever get stuck in a horror movie.
41. Jenna Starborn by Sharon Shinn (A | SF | 381) (June 25)--Jane Eyre. In space. Oh, yeah.
43. The Mayflower Project by K. A. Applegate (YA | RF/SF | 170) (June 26)--I remember why I didn't like the Remnants books now. All those random, stupid nicknames. It makes it way hard to keep people straight.
44. The Rules for Hearts by Sara Ryan (YA | RF | 222) (June 27)--This was okay. Nothing was really resolved at all, which bothered me a lot, but other than that it was okay.
45. The Answer by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 157) (June 27)--Oh man. The possibility for AU's is amazing. What would have happened if the Andalites managed to pull on Earth what they did on the Hork-Bajir homeworld?!
46. The Beginning by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 159) (June 27)--I loved how Ax came into his own. I loved how Cassie moved on. It broke my heart.
47. Them by K. A. Applegate (YA | RF/SF | 163) (June 30)--This is why I don't like Remnants. Too many characters. Too many weird names. Too much virtual reality what's-going-on?! nonsense.
48. Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler (YA | RF | 250) (July 1)--This was cute. But I couldn't really figure out why they couldn't get it together. While I liked that they couldn't, there wasn't really any reason for it.
49. Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper (YA | H | 245) (July 2)--I wanted to like this, since it was a very cool concept. Unfortunately, nothing much of anything happened at it was...really boring.
50. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (YA | RF/F | 325) (July 4)--I didn't like this as much as her other book, because Leslie didn't seem to have as much of a fighting spirit as Aislinn did. I did, however, like how Aislinn really came into her own as queen, and all that fun stuff.
51. The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci (YA | RF | 202) (July 4)--This is such a good book. It's so closely constructed and well-written and beautiful. I love it.
52. Cosmogirl! Quiz Book: All About Guys (NF) (July 8)--Does this really need an explanation?
53. Cosmogirl! Quiz Book: All About You (NF) (July 9)--See above.
54. Teach Me by R. A. Nelson (YA | RF | 264) (July 12)--This was a really well-written and compelling book. Even if all I could picture was Mr. Thomas. The whole time.
55. Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci (YA | RF | 424) (July 16)--I was hoping for something a lot like The Night My Sister Went Missing and I got something pretty different. Not to say that it was bad, at all, however. I did call the big plot twist, though, which made me pretty proud.
56. Gone by Michael Grant (YA | RF/SF | 558) (July 20)--I finally got my hands on this. I'm not so sure about a lot of characters yet, though the plot was great. Mainly, I'm drawn to Diana. She has so much potential and is so very, very interesting.
57. Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine (YA | NF | 161) (July 24)--Had some good prompts in it. Other than that, not so much.
58. Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami (YA | RF | 184) (July 26)--I did not know that this existed. I was very happy to have found it.
59. The Writer's Book of Wisdom by Steven Taylor Goldsberry (A | NF | 224) (July 28)
60. Bollywood Babes by Narinder Dhami (YA | RF)--The story seems simplistic, but a lot of the characters confound me.
61. Bhangra Babes by Narinder Dhami (YA | RF | 185)--Their Auntie/Mr. Arora is amazing. It's such a great ship and I have no idea why.
62. Feathered by Laura Kasischke (YA | RF/F | 261) (July 30)--This was an amazing book. One of those that could be taken two completely different ways. I, of course, went with the whole ancient gods, ancient magic, ancient religions theme, but you totally didn't have to. I wish I could write things this ambiguous that are still good.
63. The Departure by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 159) (August 3)--The one with Karen. For research purposes.
64. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson (YA | RF | 370) (August 7)--A sort of serious book. That is actually just another teen romance book. Except not. Interesting, if you're into that sort of thing.
65. Hush by Donna Jo Napoli (YA | HF | 308) (August 11)--Really interestng concept written in a very lyrical prose. It was beautifully done, and an interesting look into the past. I felt like the whole world was created, not just two dimensional backdrops. It was a little hard to get into Melkorka's character itself, but the secondary characters were amazingly done, particularly Maeve.
66. Alice in the Know by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA | RF | 277) (August 15)--Yeah. We make a big deal about race. Fun stuff.
67. Dangerously Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA | RF | 294) (August 17)--The guy who wants to be a priest but isn't sure about his girlfriend! It's like Peter and Jenny! Not really, but sort of! Ahh!
68. Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasseman (YA | RF | 320) (August 20)--I especially liked the message that the whole system is bogus, because it really is. I was glad someone finally admitted it.
69. Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt (A | NF) (August 22)--An interesting system. Not sure if it'll work, but nice charts to fill out nonetheless.
70. Almost Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (YA | RF | 272) (August 23)--David and Connie!!! I swear, they were the best part of this book.
71. The Ultimate Teen Book Guide edited by Daniel Hahn and Leonie Flynn (YA | NF | 404) (August 23)--A lot of interesting books were recommended. And some bad ones, too.
72. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer (YA | RF | 308) (August 26)--Whoo! This was awesome. And I really want to write my zombie story now...
73. The Light-Bearer's Daughter by O. R. Melling (YA | RF/F | 330) (August 28)--I really liked that secondary characters had huge backstories. Because you know that's how it is with everyone in Faerie. They all have crazy stories. It's just that you don't have time to learn them all in one story. I also really liked the Indian lady.
74. She's So Money by Cherry Cheva (YA | RF | 290) (August 28)--On one hand I really liked this. On the other hand, I found some of it unrealistic. Especially the fact that she didn't tell her brother. If it was me, I would have told my brother, and he's not even as close in age as the two of them were.
75. The Weakness by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 129) (September 4)--The one where Rachel is in charge. It was...sort of anti-climatic. But maybe that's because I read it in about half an hour, tops.
76. Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman (YA | RF/F/SF | 143) (September 8)--This was awesome! You couldn't really tell what it was going to be about from looking at the cover. I originally thought it was going to be about a Chinese girl who was adopted by Americans finding her birth family. Um. Really far from the truth. But it was really good anyway.
77. The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott (YA | F | 258) (September 10)--This was distinctly okay. The characters weren't very compelling. Maybe I'm reading into it too much, due to me re-writing the same fairy tale and struggling with the same thing, but I didn't find the villain very terrifying. She was bad, yes, but I wasn't too worried that she'd be defeated. It also seemed to me that Alexandra talked down about herself a lot. And Alexandra was such a weird name for this particular fantasy world.
78. Visser by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 192) (September 12)--I love this book. There's just so much there. Why has no one written fanfic???
79. Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples (YA | RF | 240) (September 15)--This was actually really boring. There were some good parts, but overall, I didn't feel engaged in the story. At all. Maybe the other books will be better? They're why I started reading this one.
80. First Love by Adrienne Sharp (A | RF | 335) (September 24)--Wow, this was depressing. I mean, I guess that's the way the ballet world works, but still. Really depressing. You give it all up and you don't get anything back. Jeez.
81. Forever by Judy Blume (YA | RF | 220) (October 6)--I don't know. This is a banned book and people think it's really realistic, but I'm just not feeling it. Some of it I can believe. Her being attracted to a guy over the summer I can totally see. But how their whole relationship progressed is a little beyond me. They met at a party. They kissed the next day. They were having sex in, like, three weeks. They barely knew each other! Of course it wasn't going to end well.
82. The Test by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 135) (October 7)--Tobias, I just don't know. I mean, I know you're emo before emo was cool, and that's cool, but still. And, oh man, Cassie! My heart breaks for her all the time.
83. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (A | RF/HF | 432) (October 12)--I don't know what to say about this. Taking a step back, it doesn't seem like a very gripping book. I wasn't very invested in the main characters. And yet... I cried through the last fifty pages or so, so that has to mean something. Or else I read it and I saw Penang and I saw my grandfather and I couldn't separate fact from fiction. Either way, it was a good experience, I suppose.
84. The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf (A | HF/F | 358) (October 15)--This was okay. I really, really liked it for making Morgan/Arthur canon in a caring, beautiful way. But other than that, nothing too spectacular happened. I guess I'm getting like Garth Nix - all disillusioned about Arthurian retellings.
85. Secrets of the Jedi by Jude Watson (J | SF | 203) (October 18)--Trying to get Siri in character. And I can almost make my events square with what happens in the book. Which I guess is a good thing.
86. The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block (YA | F/RF | 229) (October 18)--Really weird. I kinda liked it. But it still felt like I could have written it without any struggle. So I'm not sure. A little too intangible for me, I suppose.
87. Forbidden by Judy Waite (YA | RF | 249) (October 19)--Examines a cult. I felt that it was done pretty well, except for one thing - they kept taking in people from the outside, and yet the girl never questioned where she came from (parentage, etc.). That seemed a little strange to me. Still, it was good.
88. Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block (YA | RF | 150) (October 20)--I kind of like this style. But it also kind of aggravates me. A lot. You can only go "what the frell?" so many times.
89. The Deep by Gordon Korman (J | RF | 148)--The sneaky, sneaky library bought this when I wasn't looking. I probably like this trilogy the least of the three. The kids are all a little too neurotic. Still, not bad, though.
90. How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt (YA | RF)--This was awesome. RISE story, anyone?
91. The Danger by Gordon Korman (J | RF | 150)--Jeez, a lot of people died this time. And that lady was way crazy. And it's really sad about Star.
92. Tintin and the Blue Lotus by Hergé (A | GN | 62) (October 22)--I ♥ Tintin. That is all. Well, okay. Awful as it is, the way the ethnic characters are drawn does make a lot of sense for caricatures of the various races. I mean, the Chinese look Chinese. The Japanese look Japanese. Weird, but true.
93. Teach Me by R. A. Nelson (YA | RF | 264) (October 24)--Yup, that one about the teacher-student relationship. She goes crazy, but it's still well-written, and I don't think her reaction is over the top, either. I mean, I would never do that, but then again, I wouldn't get involved with a teacher in the first place.
94. Boy Toy by Barry Lyga (YA | RF | 410) (November 14)--There was a lot of weird psychological stuff that I didn't understand, but it was interesting. And I didn't have a problem reading about something from a guy's perspective, which was nice. But the teacher? Yeah. She was way messed up.
95. The Diversion by K. A. Applegate (J | SF/RF | 164)--The little fanfare to the fact that they've suddenly pulled their parents out of the real world and that they're now in hiding is so interesting to me. It just happened. The end.
96. Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon (YA | SF) (November 22)--This was way, way short. And I read it solely for the Mal/Inara. Because they are made of win.
97. Empress of the World by Sara Ryan (YA | RF | 213) (November 24)--I need to stop reading and start doing work.
98. Feathered by Laura Kasischke (YA | RF | 261) (November 30)--A re-read, knowing what would happen, made this a very different book. There was a lot less of the "He's a freaking god!" and a lot more of the "Whoa, creepy vibe there." I think I'd probably have been like Michelle, though. Ander sounds like just the kind of person I'd like to hang out with. Weird as that sounds.
99. Sold by Patricia McCormick (YA | RF | 263) (December 10)--I didn't cry as much this time through. It was surprising.
100. The Ultimate by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 139) (December 14)--There is no way that Cassie knew giving up the morphing cube would be a good thing. No way at all.
101. The Absolute by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 149) (December 17)--Mainly, I like it when they steal the tank. But the governor is also pretty awesome.
102. Tintin and the Prisoners of the Sun by Hergé (A | GN | 63) (December 19)--I just realized how historically inaccurate this is. But I also really don't care. Professor Calculus rocks!!
103. The Sacrifice by K. A. Applegate (J | RF/SF | 151) (December 21)--The ghost writer for this book really didn't have Ax's voice down. He sounded very odd. I get that she was trying to make him an alien, but it didn't work too well.
104. In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg (YA | RF | 203) (December 23)--Very cute. Little substance.
105. Shift by Charlotte Agell (YA | RF/SF | 230) (December 24)--There wasn't enough real danger in this for me, but it was an interesting idea. It would have been cool to know what had happened to the rest of the world.
106. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (YA | RF | 274) (December 25)--In preparation for the last book.
107. Creepers by Joanne Dohme (YA | RF/F | 231) (December 25)--I totally called one of the big plot twists, which made me pretty proud. I guess it's just natural for me to go for things like that, though. I'd have believed it even if it wasn't part of the plot. I'm not sure I understand everything that happened, though. And seriously, I can see femmeslash everywhere now. Everywhere.
108. Young Warriors edited by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman (YA | HF/F | 312) (December 26)--Some of the stories here were pretty good. Particularly the one about Helen, which amused me. Simply because I'd read the other two books about Helen already.
109. The Good Neighbors: Kin by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (YA | GN | 117) (December 26)--Very interesting. The sheer amount of books about people who suddenly find they have connections to Faerie is a little sad. But I don't get tired of them.
110. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (YA | RF | 170) (December 27)--Really intense. Definitely read it, but be prepared to be freaked out.
111. Half-human edited by Bruce Coville (YA | RF/F | 207) (December 28)--I really like this compilation. All of it. Which doesn't happen often.
post for 2007
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