top reads of 2012

hello lovely readers! for the sixth

year in a row, i’m listing my top favorite

reads of the year. you can find all my previous

favorites near the bottom of my about page here.

i won’t go into too much detail about these books

that made my favorites list–only know that i think

they are stories amazingly written and amazingly told.

and the majority also happen to be inclusive of PoC characters

and/or LGBT characters. whipped cream on the mocha

for me. (i don’t like icing. =)

in the order i read them in 2012:

*who isn’t fascinated by serial killers?

but what if the killer was your own father?

intense, at times funny and scary, and fabulously

written. i loved this book so much i made sure

*i* hunted barry lyga down at comic con to tell him

so in person.

*wow. just wow.

this was the first book i read by butler

and it floored me. historical, multicultural,

with hints of gods and demons and shape shifters.

it really doesn’t get better than this. i bought Kindred

immediately after and look forward to the read this

year, in 2013.

*i picked this arc up at ALA and also met kirstin

for the first time–even though we have been deb friends

for years now. gabe, born as elizabeth, tells his story so

honestly, and the voice is spot on, the story relateable,

funny, tender, heart wrenching all at once. kudos to kirstin

as i found this read utterly inspiring.

*i was spying on twitter. (as i always do.)

and heard holly black talk about this book with another

tweep. curiosity piqued, i read the description and

bought it straight away. hackers mixed with middle

eastern jinn and mythos. utterly original and fantastic!

*the last book to round off the quartet in chima’s

series–one of my favorite fantasy series of all time.

it was bittersweet to read–but cinda did not let us down.

*e. m. kokie is a friend and i’d been waiting for her

debut for ages! it was the only one that brought me to

tears this year. so well done–the story about the journey

of a boy and his growth after losing his older brother in Iraq.

a complex and hard story, ultimately about acceptance and love.