Ahhhh… It’s our very last day!
The Class of 2012: YA Superlative Blogfest (hosted by Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and me) runs Monday, December 17th through Thursday, December 20th. All of the awesome people who are participating in the blogfest (YOU, I hope!) will highlight favorite books published 2012 using a variety of super fun superlative categories. The Class of 2012: YA Superlative Blogfest is about promoting extraordinary young adult books, so if you haven’t already, draft a post, hop down to the end of this post, and sign up to participate. We can’t wait to see your favorite reads of 2012!
The 2012 YA novels I’ve read, listed in no particular order: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, A Million Suns, The Fault in Our Stars, The Disenchantments, Something Strange and Deadly, Pandemonium, Wanderlove, Under the Never Sky, Ten, This is Not a Test, Happy Families, Insurgent, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone, Monstrous Beauty, Bitterblue, Time Between Us, My Life Next Door, Breathe, Pushing the Limits, Skylark, The Raven Boys, Live Through This, Bittersweet, Flawed, Ditched, Starters, Reached, Lovely, Dark and Deep, Meant to Be, and Days of Blood and Starlight…
And here’s how I chose to award today’s categories:
Best in Show
Favorite Cover
These covers are practically opposites (bright and fun/dark and mysterious), but they both convey the tone of the stories beneath them so perfectly, I couldn’t choose just one.
Cutest Couple
Samantha and Jase… So sweet and considerate of one another, with chemistry that sings. They bring out the best in each other.
Most Likely to Succeed (Or, Pick a Printz)
This was a tough choice… I read SO MANY award-worthy books this year. But The Fault in Our Stars seems to most exemplify the qualities “literary merit” that the American Library Association looks for.
Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime
These two… Could NOT put them down!
Best Repeat Performance (Favorite Sequel or Follow-Up)
I was nervous about reading both of these books. I love their predecessors SO MUCH, and I had very high expectations. Luckily, Days of Blood and Starlight and Bitterblue lived up to the excellence of the books that came before them.
Favorite Finale or End of Series
A very satisfying conclusion to a trilogy I’ve followed since Matched‘s debut.
Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath
Echo and Noah have some pretty intense sexual tension, which made their otherwise dark and serious story a lot of fun to read.
Break Out Novel (Favorite Book by a Debut Author)
Yeah… This one pretty much blew me away. Beautiful writing, characters I cared so much about, and a romance that had me swooning. Love.
Favorite Old-Timer (Favorite of the Year, Published BEFORE 2012)
I waited far too long to read The Book Thief — now I know why it is so highly regarded. And Saving June, wow… A pretty darn perfect contemporary young adult romance.
Book Most Likely to Make a Grown Man Cry
This one didn’t make me cry, but I’ve heard from a lot of others that they had to raid their tissue boxes, especially toward the end.
Most Pleasant Surprise (Book I didn’t think I’d Like, But Did)
Zombies? Eh. But I love the way Courtney Summers writes far too much to pass up any of her new releases. So glad I gave her version of zombies a chance — this book rocks!
Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle
I think the love triangle between Blue, Gansey, and Adam will develop further as this series goes on, but so far I’m totally on-board with the dynamic between these three. Maggie Stiefvater is masterful.
Sleeper Hit (Book I Found So Awesome I Wish it Was Hyped More)
I know, I know… I’ve talked a lot about this one. But guys, it’s just SO GOOD! If you like contemporary and romance and serious themes, pick Lovely, Dark and Deep up as soon as possible!
Favorite Outlier (Favorite 2012 MG or Adult Book)
Yowza… This story is a total trip. The characters are pretty much all deplorable, but one is such a complete sociopath, she would NOT let me put this book down.
Using time travel to tell a story of intense, lasting love has been done before, but I especially love the way Tamara Ireland Stone uses Bennett’s special “talent” to challenge Anna and everything she thinks she knows.
From Smarteyes and Realms to Aether storms and savages and potentially dangerous air, Veronica Rossi has created a detailed and dynamic world where almost nobody can be trusted.
Aah, beaches and hiking and fun in the sun — this book’s title is spot-on. I’d love to backpack with Bria and Rowan.
The night before Amelia Anne Richardson bled her life away on a parched dirt road outside of town, I bled out my dignity in the back of a pickup truck under a star-pricked sky. ~ The whole book is written this beautifully.
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