Favorite Read of 2009?

[Anna]

What was your favorite book of 2009? also how did you "find" it--a gift, a recommendation, from a book club?

[bjneary]

Anna, I wish I could tell you my favorite read of 2009, but unfortun ately I can't because I have read so many great books, both YA and Adult! But off the top of my head, 3 stand outs are Shiver, Split and Wake. In the adult realm, I would have to say, The Art of Racing in the Rain.

[Cynthia]

I agree that it's hard to name just one favorite read of 2009. I really enjoyed THE CHOSEN ONE, which someone recommended to me, WINTERGIRLS, which I picked up because of the buzz about it, and THE HELP (adult) which was also recommended to me.

[bjneary]

Sorry Cindy and Anna, I found out about Split because Swati is a Goodreads author and so is Wake by Lisa McMann and someone gave me the ARC of Shiver. The Art of Racing in the Rain I got off the NYT Bestseller list in the spring.

[Cynthia]

Number one: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins


Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Eyes Like Stars: Theatre Illuminata, Part I by Lisa Mantchev
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia by Cindy Pon
The Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
Daughter of the Flames by Zoë Marriott
Lips Touch by Laini Taylor
The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Holly Black
The Just One Wish by Janette Rallison
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro
A Map Of The Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Marcelo In The Real World by Francisco Stork
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff
Pop by Gordon Korman

[bjneary]

Sorry Cynthia, I wanted to love Liar, I just didn't. I have Girl in the Arena so I will move that up, based on it being a favorite of yours.

[Swati]

Wow. These aregreat lists. Thanks for including SPlit,BJ!

[bjneary]

Swati, Split is awesome and I can't wait til our students are reading, sharing and talking about it! Happy New Year!

[Kimberley]

Cynthia wrote: "Number one: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins


Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Eyes Like Stars: Theatre Illuminata, Part I by Lisa Mantchev
The Forest of Hands an..."

Catching Fire is my #1 too!

[Andrea]

My favourite read of 2009 would probably have to be Kissed by An Angel by Elizibeth Chandler, or Gone by Micheal Grant. Can't decide which I love more!

[Cathy]

Catching Fire
Shiver

[[deleted user]]

Mine would be the The Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, by a mile. It was fantastic. I highly recommend it. Probably the only book series that gets close to HP for me.

[Eshusdaughter]

Jillian - I completely agree! I adored the Uglies series though it wasn't one of my 2009 reads I did re-read all of them a couple times last year.

[L.M.]

Maximum ride series, Uglies series, Percy Jackson series - What can I say - I'm an action junkie

[Leslie]

Did anyone read My Most Excellent Year? I'm about half way through, and it's wonderful! To be this far through a YA novel and nothing awful has happened to the characters (yet) is soooo refreshing! Not to mention that I really LIKE the parents in this novel. Imagine that, a book with involved, supportive adults! Sometimes in the world of YA, I begin to doubt such creatures exist.

[bjneary]

No but as a result of what you have sadi--I definitely want to read it! I just have to decide if I wait (putit on my library order in school) or use my B&N gift card, hmmmm...

[[deleted user]]

My fav book of the year was From Bagdad, With Love by Jay Kopelman. It was really an inspiring story about Marines in Iraq finding a puppy in a abandoned house.

[Leslie]

Erin wrote: "My fav book of the year was From Bagdad, With Love by Jay Kopelman. It was really an inspiring story about Marines in Iraq finding a puppy in a abandoned house."

Erin, Is this one a true story? It sounds cool!

[Emily]

I really liked Drood by Dan Simmons and Columbine (author escapes me)- both adult novels. As for YA, the Hunger Games books are awesome and I also really liked Honey, Baby, Sweetheart.

[Katie]

No More Us For You by David Hernandez. LOVE this author.

[Kelly]

My favorite is a tie between North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly and Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen. Some other books I liked are:
Broken Soup - Jenny Valentine
The Uninvited - Tim Wynne-Jones
If the Witness Lied - Caroline B. Cooney
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba - Margarita Engle
I find many of the books I read (and order as a YA librarian) through VOYA reviews. Their ratings are very reliable.

[bjneary]

I have been enjoying some of the books in series, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, The Gone Trilogy by Michael Grant and the Wake Trilogy by Lisa McMann (a Goodreads author)

[Michelle]

I have a huge list actually. :D

How It Ends-Laura Wiess
Willow-Julia Hoban
Liar-Justine Larbalestier
The Hate List- Jennifer Brown
Almost Perfect- Brian Katcher
Along For The Ride- Sarah Dessen
The September Sisters- Jillian Cantor
Perfect Chemistry- Simone Elkeles
Twenty Boy Summer-Sarah Ockler
Hold Still- Nina LaCour
The Summer I Turned Pretty- Jenny Han
Once Was Lost- Sara Zarr
Wintergirls- Laurie Halse Anderson
Going Too Far- Jennifer Echols
Cracked Up To Be- Courtney Summers
If I Stay- Gayle Forman
Hush, Hush- Becca Fitzpatrick
Love You Hate You Miss You- Elizabeth Scott

A lot of these I just found off of goodreads. I also have a YA book blog and follow other book blogs so there are a lot of recommendations that I pick up from that as well.

[bjneary]

Michelle, I didn't in the end like Liar, but I Loved Wintergirls, If I Stay and Loved Willow---I am going to look into your titles, they look like some I have marked to read this summer. I love Elizabeth Scott but haven't read Love You...Thanks for the list!
Can you give me your YA book blog, I am a HS librarian and always looking for great recs of books to purhcase for the students!

[Angela Sunshine]

I really liked a lot of books too. But my top 10 are:

The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Honorable mentions:

Fire by Kristin Cashore
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I'm not sure when all of these were published, but I read them all in 2009.

I'm going to look at your list too, Michelle, since we have some faves in common!

[Crystal]

My favortie read of 2009 would be "Willow" By: Julia Hoban. I got it at my local library & fell in love with it (:

[Sarah]

I loved a lot of books in 2009, but I think Fade Out by Rachel Caine, Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, and The Hollow by Jessica Verday are at the very tops!

[Jen]

Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Shiver

[Jackie]

I also loved many of the book previously mentioned, i.e. Hunger Games, Shiver, Unwind and Graceling, Almost Perfect,The Miles Between, Hate List etc.

Has anyone read "Dust of 100 Dogs? It appears to only be in paperback. I found it charming. The protagonist has a sardonic wit that I found irresitable. Link to youtube book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l7pgm.... I couldn't buy it for the high school library but I would recommend it.

[Clara]

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti. I thought about Catching Fire, but I was irritated by the characters behavior off and on. Sorry.

[Catherine]

Clara wrote: "The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti. I thought about Catching Fire, but I was irritated by the characters behavior off and on. Sorry."
I loved the Secret Life of Prince Charming too, and all Caletti's other books of course. I Just read The six rules of maybe.

[Rachel]

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and The Hunger Games

[Tia]

LOVED !! City of Bones and Hunger Games are some of my fav. books! Someone also mentioned Shiver which is also a fantastic book !

[Tayla]

Hey everyone, im Tayla and I come from New Zealand, I love reading! I don;t think IM to young for this group? IM 13, 14 in september. :)
My favourite read for 2009 was probably, Before I doe by Jenny Downham and Holes by Louis Sachar!
I recommened them both, but they are COMPLETLY different books! :)

[Dana]

Jillian wrote: "Mine would be the The Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, by a mile. It was fantastic. I highly recommend it. Probably the only book series that gets close to HP for me."

I totally agree with you. I actually read that series sometime in 2008 but absolutely loved it. I really wish they would make it into a movie. It kind of reminds me of the book "The Giver" in ways.

Who were you hoping Tally would end up with more? David or Zane?

I was team David all the way... and Shay use to get on my nerves!!!

The last book "Extras" wasn't as good as the first three but it was still very interesting.

[Dana]

My fav books that I read during 2009 are the House of Night books (all of them) by P.C. Cast and the Sookie Stackhouse (or Southern Vampire Series) series by Charlaine Harris.

I've been on a vamp kick in 2009... well I still am. :o)

[Tia]

Dana wrote:"...The last book "Extras" wasn't as good as the first three but it was still very interesting."
I didnt like the third one because it made Tally look like the bad guy. And new things started popping up like flowers during spring.

[Dana]

Tia wrote: "Dana wrote:"...The last book "Extras" wasn't as good as the first three but it was still very interesting."
I didnt like the third one because it made Tally look like the bad guy. And new things s..."

Yea... I think the first one was probably the best. Even though the third makes her out to be the bad guy, it still is pretty interesting.

I've heard the movie rights have been bought for this series but do you think they are going to make a movie out of it? I hope so but don't see anything on the web except that it's suppose to come out in 2011 (posted on IMDB.com).

[Brie]

Lmpreston wrote: "Maximum ride series, Uglies series, Percy Jackson series - What can I say - I'm an action junkie" LOVE THOSE BOOK! Those 3 series are my favorites ever! (also uglies and harry potter rank pretty high up on that list too)

[Tia]

There are 4 books actually. And I hope they do a movie but I dont thinks they will. I'll be a hard book to put in a movie.

[Brie]

I hope they don't do a movie because they always ruin the book. Once I see the movie, I can never read the book again because then you just think of everything differently. Take HP for instance.

[Natacha]

Catching Fire is definitely my # 1 too!

Also loved:

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments book #3) -Cassandra
Clare
Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan

Shiver - Maggie Steifvater

I read a lot of 2007/2008 books in 2009!

[Kate]

The Hunger Games !

[Melle]

Catching Fire
Forest of Hands and Teeth
Land of a Hundred Wonders
A Northern Light
Gone with the Wind

[Shelby]

100 % to Shiver!
Maximum ride
the last song

[Trier]

Oh, this is a hard one! Definitely the Harry Potter series, but besides that would probably be "City of Ashes" by Cassandra Clare. So many books to choose from though, that was just the first that came to mind!

[Shelby]

Also, Harry potter
twilight saga
Madison Finn series

[Gaby]

hi
i really liked forever by, july blume. i also liked the secreat for teens .

[Cynthia]

twilight saga and looking for alask and meg cabot

[Brittany]

YA- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Adult- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein