Top 10 Books I've Read in 2011

Boy was this hard... there were so many AMAZING books that I read in 2011 (and I know I still have a few days left too).  But after much thought I think I've finally chosen my top 10 of 2011...

((IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER - that would too hard!))

 Cathcing Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Sourcebooks Fire (December 1st 2011)

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Why: As a debut author, Miranda Kenneally blew me away with her talent at writing as well as character development.  The main character, Jordan, is not only very strong but very real and relateable.  There really was not one thing wrong with this book.

Summary: What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

Dutton Juvenile (February 17th 2011)

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Why:  This book was real, gritty, raw, and even hard to read at times, but I promise it will stick with you for a long time if not for a lifetime.  As a YA Debut Author for 2011, Joshua C. Cohen has shown he is not afraid to write about what is real, shoving such issues in your face - making him a favorite author and a favorite read.

Summary:  The football field is a battlefield

There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on - and off - the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy - including the most innocent bystanders.

When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.

Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.

The Secret of the Keepers (Kailmeyra #2) by Elizabeth Isaacs
EFIsaacs (November 1st 2011)
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Why: Where to begin with my I loved this book (and series) so much... it is really hard to explain why it is one of all time favorites.  Elizabeth shows a unique talent and craft for writing, making nature itself come alive.  While reading you become part of the story. 

Summary: Life for Nora couldn't be better; she has married the man of her dreams and loves living in the pristine land of Kailmeyra.

That is, until the darkness threatens her perfect world.

Now war is upon the land. She and Gavin must strengthen their clan and prepare to fight. But the enemy has an ally—one that not only wields power, but holds knowledge of the ancients' secrets. Secrets that could destroy creation itself.

As the darkness grows, doubt seeps in ... protectiveness hinders progress ... and the unthinkable comes to pass.

Bewildered and alone, Nora shoulders the responsibility of leading an entire race to war. As she struggles with decisions that seem impossible to make, she is haunted by one choice.

Impulse (Impulse #1) by Ellen Hopkins
Simon Pulse (January 23rd 2007)
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Why: Ellen Hopkins has become a favorite author in 2011, Impulse being my favorite of her's... so far.  I felt very connected to each character and their unique "impulse".  Each character also was very well developed through verse. 

Summary: Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.


Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.


Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.


And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.


In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa T. Bergren
Cook, David C. (February 1st 2011)
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Why: Waterfall is probably one of the first Historical novels that I have actually liked, and in this case loved.  You have suspense, romantic history, romance, and so much more!

Summary: What do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (May 3rd 2011)
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Why: Jessi Kirby's YA debut blew me away.  You feel like you are really on the beach along with Ann, experiencing every emotion as if they were your own.

Summary:   From Jessi Kirby, a debut novel about confronting the past in order to move ahead.

I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.

Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.

While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever.

Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6) by Richelle Mead
Penguin Group (December 7th 2010)
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Why: There is finally closure while leaving you to wonder what happens next.  The character development is amazing, even to the very last page.  Rose is one of the strongest characters I have ever read.

Summary:  The astonishing final novel in Richelle Mead's epic series!


Murder. Love. Jealousy. And the ultimate sacrifice. Now, with Rose on trial for her life and Lissa first in line for the Royal Throne, nothing will ever be the same between them.

Unraveled (Intertwined #2) by Gena Showalter
Harlequin (August 31st 2010)
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Why:  Intertwined is another favorite YA Series recently discovered.  I love that this series is told mainly from a man's P.O.V..  I also really loved the voices inside Aden's head - they were a hoot.

Summary: Since coming to Crossroads, Oklahoma, former outcast Aden Stone has been living the good life. Never mind that one of his best friends is a werewolf, his girlfriend is a vampire princess who hungers for his blood, and he's supposed to be crowned Vampire King—while still a human! Well, kind of. With four—oops, three now—human souls living inside his head, Aden has always been "different" himself. These souls can time-travel, raise the dead, possess another's mind and, his least favorite these days, tell the future.
The forecast for Aden? A knife through the heart.
Because a war is brewing between the creatures of the dark, and Aden is somehow at the center of it all. But he isn't about to lie down and accept his destiny without a fight. Not when his new friends have his back, not when Victoria has risked her own future to be with him, and not when he has a reason to live for the first time in his life….

Legend of the Oceina Dragon (Dragon Sagas #1) by J.F. Jenkins

Astraea Press, LLC  (February 21st 2011)
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Why: Even though this was about Dragons I didn't get the 'tacky' imagery in my mind while reading this book. J.F. Jenkins really makes the Dragons human.

Summary: Darien Oceina is the youngest son of the Great Dragon Lord of the Water. For years he's loved and cherished Tai Dawson from afar. Tai is a simple, ordinary girl who doesn't even know Darien exists. On his eighteenth birthday, he chooses her as his wife. But there’s one problem: She thinks his choice means she's going to be offered as a sacrifice to the Dragon Lord, but instead, she’s forced to move to his home, far away, to give up her life and be his bride.

When she first sees Darien after the ceremony, she doesn’t expect to feel anything but hatred toward him. The two are struggling with the complications of a new marriage when their nation is attacked by a rival dragon species. Together they learn to love one another while they struggle to stay one step ahead in a game where the prize is their survival.

 

 

If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) by Rachel Vincent

Harlequin  (September 27th 2011)

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Why: Soul Screamers is one of my favorite YA Series.  Kaylee finally shows her true strength, fighting for her life by own strength and will.

Summary:  The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

** Top 10 of 2011 is co-hosted by Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic, Lisa from A Life Bound By Books, Rachel from Fiktshun & Jamie & Patricia from Two Chicks on Books.