On My Nightstand - November

'Boy21'- Matthew Quick

Oh.  My heart, it is broke.  'Boy21' was all sorts of unexpected.  After reading 'Silver Linings',  I did expect to find the twisting together of brutal and honest and vulnerable, with the faintest fragile glimmer of hope - all of which were present.  I didn't expect Finley or Boy21 or Erin, each of whom carved a place in my heart.  I now must read each and every Matthew Quick novel immediately.  Between this and 'Silver Linings', I just... I have to.  

Maybe two thirds through the book there's a pretty hefty change of tack which a) explains much of what is unexplained at the start and b) veers away from what the novel has spent some time setting up.  I was unprepared, but I got it, and I'm okay with it, mostly - I just thought I better warn anyone planning to read this.  I urge YA fans to try this one out, I really found it beautiful.

There's much more I could say, but brevity is my mantra for book reviews.  I'll just very quickly add that the Harry Potter references were so very welcome.  

'The Elite' - Kiera Cass

I'm afraid to say I liked this much less than 'The Selection', to the point of forcing myself through it so that I could move on to my next read.  I actually started (and finished) 'Boy21' part way through because my brain needed a break.  Or the opposite.  There's really not much to say... There's really not much that happened, story-wise.  In fact, I would venture to say that nothing happened.  Nothing that changed the course of the story anyway.  The big question (who will she choose?  Well, we already know - and plus, does anyone really care?) that centres the plot, is supposed to carry us from start to finish.  But it's done badly.  So badly.  And becomes the major negative.  Annoyingly, I will probably read the final book before the end of the year, because I can't not read the third in a trilogy.

'Gone Girl' - Gillian Flynn

I reaaaaally enjoyed reading this, from start to finish.  I spotted the big 'twist' a mile off (you will too),   but that was okay, because the chapter that succeeded the twist was great!  Super satisfying.

Buuuuuut, after I woke from this bookdreamnightmare, I felt like my brain needed to be washed out with soap.  Hanging out with a bunch of truly toxic characters for that amount of time was hard-out, I definitely needed to find some likeable literary characters immediately afterward (thank you, Cinder!).  There were various foul descriptions of women, these repulsed me (and I really didn't feel like Flynn was doing anything to counteract these statements - you know?  If anything, I felt like she was confirming their truth, which is - despicable).  One in particular almost convinced me to stop reading, it was so offensive.  And well the ending... just... nope.

So why did I enjoy it?  Well, the twists and turns!  It never stops!  It's a hurtling train!  Gillian Flynn's writing is so confident, you feel like you're in safe hands as you frantically try to find an escape route for her characters.  It's compulsive reading, and Flynn is always a step ahead (although in saying this, there are some instances where convenience seems to guide some of her choices).  So I don't know if I loved it or hated it.  Have you read it?  How do you feel about it?

28/40 - Just a few more books to go - can I make it??  Read more reviews here.

YA novels

The Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt (read)

Taming of the Tights - Louise Rennison (read)

The Maze Runner - James Dashner (read)

Birthmarked - Caragh M. O'Brien (read)

Across the Universe - Beth Revis (read)

Iron King - Julia Kagawa (read)

Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta

Where Things Come Back - John Corey Whaley (read)

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff (read)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor (read)

Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor (read)

Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor (read)

Prized - Carah M. O'Brien (read)

Promised - Carah M. O'Brien (read)

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Forest Born - Shannon Hale

Cinder - Marissa Meyer (reading)

If I Stay - Gayle Forman (read)

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green (read)

The Jewel - Amy Ewing (read)

The Selection - Kiera Cass (read)
The Elite - Kiera Cass (read)
The One - Kiera Cass
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (read)
Boy 21 - Matthew Quick (read)
Love Letters To The Dead - Ava Dellaira (read)
We Were Liars - E. Lockhart (reading)
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Okay For Now - Gary D. Schmidt

Contemporary/Adult lit

Hyperbole and a Half Allie Brosh (read) 

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick (read)

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes (read)

The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer (DNF)
Rules of Civility - Amor Towles
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (read)
One More Thing - BJ Novak (reading)
The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

NZ fiction

(Middle Grade) The Volume of Possible Endings - Barbara Else (read)

The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton 

The Conductor - Sarah Quigley

Spark - Rachael Craw (read)

Non-Fiction

Is It Just Me? - Miranda Hart (read)

I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

On My Nightstand - Oct + Gecko Press review

Hmm.  There's no way I'm gonna make my goal, but whatevs.  I'm sure the internets will survive, and I know I will.  Anyway, these are my latest reads...

The Volume of Possible Endings (A Tale of Fontania) - Barbara Else

It was fun to slip into some middle grade fiction for a little while.  There are some refreshing differences between MG and YA (and Adult for that matter), my favourite of which was the POV.  Third person, after sooooo many first person narratives!  I know it's a little (and possibly quite geeky) thing to get excited about but yanno.

The Volume of Possible Endings was a fun, fast-paced adventure with some truly quirky characters.  12-year-old Dorrity is courageous and quick-thinking, and must uncover all the secrets from her past in order to rescue Fontania from an evil Count.  There is a real Steam Punk vibe to the story, a quaint setting, and many little adventures, each playing their part in the slow build towards the climax.  There was one aspect of the resolution that I was a little sad about, but as this stand-alone belongs to a bigger series about Fontania, I'm kinda hoping that this thread-line will be picked up in the next (assuming there is a next - I hope so).  I would recommend this to any MG reader, and it would make a fun read-aloud too!  Very magical :-)

Love Letters to the Dead - Ava Dellaira

Laurel writes letters to dead celebs, describing her journey through Freshman Year in high school (friends, boys, parties, ), and gradually unravelling the truth about her sister's possible suicide.

There was a lot that I loved about this novel.  The writing is fresh, and the concept is fun (especially the references to celebs I idolised in my youth :-)).  Some of the phrasing was really beautiful, with some very poignant moments as Laurel worked through her grief.  The pacing worked for me, slower to begin with, gradually picking up momentum as I read.  There were gentle nudges towards the truth throughout, which did mean I figured out the backstory early on, but this didn't make the gradual uncovering of truth any less effective.

Laurel's voice was very young compared to other YA novels I've read recently, and especially considering some of the life events that have shaped her thus far.  This, unfortunately, was distracting.  To me, she sounded like a 12-13 year old (I think she was 15) which made for some uncomfortable reading in certain scenes.  Actually, there were a lot of uncomfortable scenes.  Too many for me.  There's a real sinister edge the entire way through, and while I often read (and enjoy) sad/tragic/dark novels, this one just felt a bit icky.  There were lots of creeps.  And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Overall I liked it, but I wouldn't recommend it to teenagers younger than 16-17.  I'm putting this one in the 'hmmmmm' pile.

The Selection - Kiera Cass

I knew what to expect; a light romance set in a dystopian world.  Sounded fun, and I was prepared for the bad bits.  I liked: The setting - I'm a closet (not anymore!) fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, and love a good dystopian, so this was a perfect marriage!  Plus, castles and glitter and pretty dresses.  I'm a magpie, basically.  I quite liked most of the main characters - Maxon in particular.  He's a tad boring, but still likeable.  The pace worked, and I was hooked from beginning to end - I love a fast read!

Didn't like: The protagonist.  I didn't actively dislike her for the most part, with the exception of some especially annoying sequences in which she proved her worthiness as a 'woman of the people.'  Excerpt:

       "America, you're so nice.  All those people at the airport loved you."  
       "Oh, I was just being friendly.  You met people, too," I countered.  
       "Yeah, but not half as many as you."  
        I lowered my head, a little embarrassed for being complimented over something that seemed so obvious.

*gag*.  Unfortunately these moments of 'humility' were scattered the entire way through.  That and an extreme emphasis on physical beauty.  Conversely, being 'curvaceous' appeared to translate as 'unattractive', which made me grind my teeth just a little.

Well anyway I'm hooked now, and even though I already know exactly what is going to happen the entire way through (the mechanics are glaring), I will see this through to the very bitter end.


The list:

YA novels

The Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt (read)

Taming of the Tights - Louise Rennison (read)

The Maze Runner - James Dashner (read)

Birthmarked - Caragh M. O'Brien (read)

Across the Universe - Beth Revis (read)

Iron King - Julia Kagawa (read)

Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta

Where Things Come Back - John Corey Whaley (read)

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff (read)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor (read)

Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor (read)

Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor (read)

Prized - Carah M. O'Brien (read)

Promised - Carah M. O'Brien (read)

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (reading)

Forest Born - Shannon Hale

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

If I Stay - Gayle Forman (read)

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green (read)

The Jewel - Amy Ewing (read)

The Selection - Kiera Cass (read)
The Elite - Kiera Cass (reading)
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (read)
Boy 21 - Matthew Quick (reading)
Love Letters To The Dead - Ava Dellaira

Contemporary/Adult lit

Hyperbole and a Half Allie Brosh (read) 

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick (read)

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes (read)

Schooling - Heather McGowan

The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer (DNF)
Rules of Civility - Amor Towles

NZ fiction

(Middle Grade) The Volume of Possible Endings - Barbara Else (read)

The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton (reading)

The Conductor - Sarah Quigley

Spark - Rachael Craw (read)

Classics

The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner

The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot 

Non-Fiction

Is It Just Me? - Miranda Hart (read)

I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

Thank you to Gecko Press for providing a review copy of The Volume of Possible Endings :-) Tres grateful.

On My Nightstand - Aug/Sept/Oct

So at the beginning of the year I set myself the challenge of reading 40 books in 2014.  During the past few months I hit a reading slump, switching reading with binge-watching comedy series.  You know what?  No regrets.

I had a number of books on my 'to read' list, many of which were YA (genuine love for this book category, and shorter book length totes helps with this challenge *smileyface*), and I've had some excellent recommendations along the way.  I've also switched out some of my original selection to make way for some newly acquired reads.  Basically, I still have a ton of reading to do before we hit the end of Dec, so I'll prob stick to YA, yeah?

And before I forget - the winner of 'Spark' has been drawn (yes, I did forget).  Congrats Alisa!  Please email me your address - thegoldenadventures(at)gmail(dot)com

'Is It Just Me?' - Miranda Hart

This was a fun, light read, and exactly what Miranda fans would expect to find.  Lots of silliness (the good kind), self-deprecation (my fave kind of comedy) and thoughts on life.  I enjoyed it, though I wouldn't say I loved it.  I think I love Miranda best onscreen, and many of the sequences in the book  were more like skits anyway, so I don't know that it offered anything fresh.  You know, the perfect book for reading in a hammock under the apple tree, but nothing you are likely to remember past closing the final page.

'Spark' - Rachael Craw

Reviewed here.

'The Jewel' - Amy Ewing

Reviewed here.

'The Graveyard Book' - Neil Gaiman

Ermagerd I LOVED this book!  Which was a bit of a surprise because the jacket description left me cold.  Who knew a graveyard would make such an appealing setting for a novel?  So, Bod (short for Nobody), is raised in a graveyard by a bunch of ghosts and so on.  Sound like a delightful read?  It actually is!  Gaiman manages to make sleeping in a coffin/tomb sound super cozy and safe, rather than supremely creepy (the actual truth). Each chapter is a self-contained story, and each contributes in it's own way to the grand finale.  Gaiman's writing is flawless and also brilliant.  I paused on a sentence every now and then, just to let the weight of it sink in.  And they may be few (and spliced between some truly horrifying sequences) but there are some sweetly comedic bits too.  Just perfect.

Plus, Silas.  #newfavouritecharacterever

I will say, I really don't know that I would recommend this to any child (even though Bod is himself a child for most of the novel), and with hesitance to many younger young adults.  I'm quite amazed by Gaiman's ability to turn some truly dark subject matter into a fun, adventurous, emotion stirring story, but eeek, the chapter bookends are super chilling.  And I'm a fan of CSI.

Stoked to have found this in an opshop for 50c (opshops ftw), and super looking forward to the film release.  Assuming it actually gets released at some point.  Fingers crossed.


More book reviews here.  xx

YA novels

The Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt (read)

Taming of the Tights - Louise Rennison (read)

The Maze Runner - James Dashner (read)

Birthmarked - Caragh M. O'Brien (read)

Across the Universe - Beth Revis (read)

Iron King - Julia Kagawa (read)

Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta

Where Things Come Back - John Corey Whaley (read)

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff (read)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor (read)

Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor (read)

Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor (read)

Prized - Carah M. O'Brien (read)

Promised - Carah M. O'Brien (read)

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (reading)

Forest Born - Shannon Hale

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

If I Stay - Gayle Forman (read)

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green (read)

The Jewel - Amy Ewing (read)

The Selection Series - Kiera Cass
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (read)
Boy 21 - Matthew Quick

Contemporary/Adult lit

Hyperbole and a Half Allie Brosh (read) 

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick (read)

Me Before You - Jojo Moyes (read)

Schooling - Heather McGowan

The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer (DNF)
Rules of Civility - Amor Towles

NZ fiction

(Middle Grade) The Volume of Possible Endings - Barbara Else (reading)

The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton (reading)

The Conductor - Sarah Quigley

Spark - Rachel Craw (read)

Classics

The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner

The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot 

Non-Fiction

Is It Just Me? - Miranda Hart (read)

I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

On My Nightstand - August (review)

'The Jewel' - Amy Ewing

Okay, so the same day this ARC arrived in the post, I also received a package of jewels intended for Eleanor's birthday celebrations.  I mean, c'mon!  Naturally:

This cover is already pretty (gold lettering?  Um, yes please!), but the plastic jewels...  Ahhhhh....  I get my kicks where I can.

Jewels and pretty covers aside, I felt this was another solid YA debut novel.  The book blurb had me at 'auctioned as a surrogate', which is weird, because normally that line wouldn't exactly float my boat ;-).  But when it comes to YA fiction, the crazier, the better (general rule, only).

I was lured in by the premise, and after a slightly shaky start, Ewing ensured there was tension and intrigue aplenty throughout the novel.  I especially enjoyed the relationship between Violet and her 'owner' (yeah, creepy alright), and some of the side characters were favourited early on (for those who read it - Raven & Garnet - let's discuss).  The setting was luxe and this is one aspect that I particularly look forward to seeing described further in the next two novels.

The writing, though in general very smooth (the pacing really hit the sweet spot - not too crazy-fast, and def not slow), contained a few descriptions that were either clunky or unnecessary.  This occasionally grated.  Also, I would've loved to see more fleshing out of Ash's (romantic lead) character.  It didn't feel as though there was time enough for me to fall in love with Ash, so I mean, how could Violet?  Lolz (but true).

On the flip side, this really didn't resonate as a romantic novel (though the final act dedicated a bit of time to the romance, it still felt secondary), and to me that was actually a strength.  I think this story would have been every bit as interesting without any romancing, and that's to Ewing's credit.  The other relationships had enough substance to add flesh to an already interesting plot, and there were definitely enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.

I have to say, I dug the cliffhanger at the end and I'm definitely keen to see where things are taken in the follow-up novels.  Exciting possibilities = opened up.

On reading the synopsis, my mind immediately swept to 'The Handmaids Tale', but there actually isn't much that is similar.  There have been comparisons drawn with 'The Selection' (reviewed here by Angela of Striking Keys), and 'The Hunger Games' - To that I would add the 'Birthmarked' series too, both in terms of setting and themes.   This should give you a fair idea of whether you have a place for 'The Jewel' on your bookshelf.

'The Jewel' by Amy Ewing (published by Harper Collins) will be available September 2nd :-)

Harper Collins provided me with a review copy of this book.  All opinions are my own.

On My Nightstand - July (review + giveaway)

'Spark' - Rachael Craw

So a few months ago, my reading challenge ground to a standstill.  I'd just finished some really great books, and couldn't quickly enough find myself a new one.  So, I just... stopped.  Luckily for me, a book on my To Read list was released not long ago.  This one came pre-recommended by Miriam of Create Hope Inspire, and received a glowing review from Angela of Striking Keys, two bloggers that I wholeheartedly trust.

Okay, preamble over.  Needless to say, I immediately got my hands on a copy (two, actually, as it turns out), and finally broke the book drought.  Double-yay!  And the book was great!  Triple-yay!

Image from the Rachael Craw author website

'Spark' sets out with an unusual and super interesting premise, wherein 17 year old Evie (protag) discovers that she must act as a human shield for her bestie, thanks to some government-experiment-gone-wrong-and-now-I-am-a-human-weapon revelation.  There's also this wannabe-and-trying-really-hard-to-be assassin for her to deal with STAT, offering immense amounts of intrigue and tension.  Because, dude's a psycho, and unfortunately he has the same freaky-deaky powers that Evie does.

Oh man, I had a thousand theories about who the assassin was, which is the bestest funtimes when you are reading/watching a story unfold.  I'm a closet CSI fan (um, not so closet any more), so yep, this book was fun.  And nope, I predicted none of the happenings in the final leg of the novel.

As for the romancey side of things, this was well drawn out, and had all the barely-contained tension that you'd expect from a YA novel.  Oh those young adults *shakes head*.  But really, I thought he was a well-worthy romantic lead (and sometimes they're not, amiright?), and I'm definitely curious to see where this goes next.

Which brings me to, the next up...  Two more books to look forward to, yuss!!  Oh the trilogy, happiest of story formats.  Craw has left plenty of room to explore and world-build, and I for one will be lining up for the next instalment... And did I mention that this is a debut novel?  By a New Zealand author?  Props!  'Spark' will definitely hold its own on the international stage, yay kiwis!

Okay, so in my rush to read this book I purchased myself a copy - completely forgetting that I'd requested a review copy from Walker Books.  Hmph.  So now I have a brand, spanking new copy of 'Spark' to give away to a keen reader!  Or parent of a keen reader (because much as I refute it, I'm not actually still a young adult).  Just leave a comment here, and I'll draw a winner sometime soon (deliberately vague - I know myself well enough not to give an exact date).  Open to anyone living EnZed-side xx

Thank you to Walker Books for sending out a review copy of 'Spark' by Rachel Craw. 

Best YA Books (IMHO)

There's a lady I go to whenever I need a book recommendation, and boy has she been giving me some GREAT ones!  Recently we were chatting books, as we often do, and compiling lists of our favourite young adult reads (last year we simultaneously posted our favourite Christmas picture books).  It seemed like it would make a fun blog post, so today I'm sharing my favourite ever Young Adult novels.

I'm sure I've missed a couple out, but this is my top 15 - in a vague order of favourite-ness.  Many of these have been read and reread, and some are still on my read-again list.

1. A Solitary Blue - Cynthia Voight.  I'm a huge Cynthia Voight fan and The Tillerman Saga is such a favourite.  I discovered these when I was in my early teens and love them just as much now as I did then.   A Solitary Blue is a side-along novel to The Tillerman Saga and is a beautiful stand-alone novel too.  I fell absolutely in love with the protagonist, who is introduced in Dicey's Song, and loved seeing the Tillerman's from his perspective.  Utterly beautiful, poignant and absorbing.

2. I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith.  Elevated to Classic status, and with such good reason.  Super funny, the cast of characters are unrivaled in their authenticity and hilarity and the setting (a tumble-down castle) is so divine.  This has a movie tie-in which is very sweet too (though of course I'm going to say that the book is better - it really is).  A read-reread-read-again-and-again novel.  Yep.

3. On The Jellicoe Rd - Melina Marchetta.  Melina Marchetta is one of my favourite YA authors, and in my opinion, this is her best.  Such a kick-ass protagonist and riveting story, filled with secrets, intrigue and a pretty great romance too.  I hear that there's to be a movie for this book soon and I cannot wait!

4. Harry Potter - JK Rowling.  I doubt I need to write anything at all about this series.  If you haven't read it by now, you probably don't want to (or maybe you are just about to - yuss).  I will say this, for those who have contemplated it but thought twice.  I took a lot of convincing, the cover and concept did absolutely nothing for me, and even when I started reading I spent the entire first two books trying to convince myself not to give up.  Glad I made it past my own preconceptions and the weaker of the novels, because I am a fanatic now.  I cannot count how many times I've read this series (including listening to the Stephen Fry audio books - "HI!  I'M A GEEK!") and I love it just as much each time.  I'm quite proud to announce that I recently converted my younger sister to this series too, woot!

5. Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor.  This was the first recommendation I took from Angela, and since reading it will pretty much read anything that lady recommends me.  It took a few chapters to hook me, and then I was way past the point of no return.  Utterly addictive stuff.  Funny, complex, romantic and heart-stopping.  Eagerly awaiting the third in this series...

6. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins.  I joined the bandwagon for this series sometime during my pregnancy with Garland, and have recently finished rereading them.  Again, I hardly need to say anything about these books - either you've read/watched already, or they're not your genre.  I'm a fan.

7. His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman.  I know there's a lot of controversy over these books, and I strug.gled through the first one, but the second two.  Wow.  Mind. Blown.  Pullman has created such an intricate world, with sweeping landscapes and a riveting plot.  Some of the pages in the final installment totally brought me to tears.  Beautiful.

8. Dream Hunter - Elizabeth Knox.  I don't know what I expected this novel to be, but I was super pleasantly surprised by it.  I found the story riveting and spooky, with a certain quality I would liken to a dream (funny that, considering the title).  I was transfixed by this story and it's sequel and found them to be the perfect gateway into some of Knox's other works, which are also superb.

9. The 10pm Question - Kate De Goldi.  Funny and bittersweet.  The characters in this story are so lovable, and it sensitively deals with an issue that effects so many of us (self included).  I must reread this one because I don't remember all the details, but I do know that it was very easy to read and very hard to put down.  A total classic.

10. Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore.  This is another Angela recommendation (thank YOU Angela!).  I loved the entire trilogy, but this last was my fave.  These books are a little scary (for me anyway), but the protagonists are so kick-ass and Cashore has nailed her plot-lines.  Each in the series is centred around a different character, and really, they are kind of stand-alone novels in many respects.  Love that she created such fierce female protagonists, but also love that Bitterblue shows some vulnerability too.  This installment in particular is quite chilling, but super exciting.

11. Jacob Have I Loved - Katherine Paterson.  I read this a couple of times when I was younger and really loved it.  It's kinda happy-sad, and really interesting.  The story is centered around a pair of twins, one of whom lives in the shadow of the other, and has to find her place in the world, separate from her sister.  It's one of those books that sticks around in your head forever, kinda like a prelude to The Shipping News or something.

12. Tomorrow When the War Began - John Marsden.  I adored this series when I was a teenager and would read them again now, if I could track them all down.  I actually used to read a ton of John Marsden books, but these were my favourites.  Super enthralling, despite being all about war and so on.  Ellie is badass, and I actually really enjoyed all the action scenes (which is lucky because there are a lot of them).  Edge-of-your-seat unputdownable.

13. Divergent - Veronica Roth.  I just finished this one, on recommendation by Angela (also recommended by blog reader, Jenn - thanks Jenn!  Please recommend any other faves!) and really enjoyed it.  Pleasantly melodramatic and a pretty exciting concept for a novel too (a futuristic city divided into five factions, according to personality and aptitude - the protagonist chooses the darkest and most dangerous faction - chaos ensues).  This totally filled the gap when I was mourning finishing The Hunger Games for the second time, and I'm willing to bet I will reread these again in a year or two.

14. Feeling Sorry For Celia - Jaclyn Moriarty.  I read this in my teen years so I don't remember a great deal about it, but wanted to include it in the list because I know that I really enjoyed it at the time.  I do know that the entire story is told in a series of letters, notes, postcards and emails.  I have since read the rest of the Ashbury High series, some of which I liked better than others, but I think this was the best of them all, and definitely the funniest.  Loves me a comedic YA novel.

15. Withering Tights - Louise Rennison.  Speaking of which, Rennison is the super hilarious author who penned the Georgia Nicholson stories (Angus, Thongs, etc).  I loved the Georgia books, but the protagonist in Withering Tights is much more likable, and just as funny.  Tallulah is a boarder at a performing arts college, which is a really fun set-up for a novel.   I *need* to get hold of the sequel to this...

Others of note (mostly for younger readers):  Rowen of Rin - Emily Rodda.  I own this whole series.  LOVE (hate the cover in the above link).  The Borrowers - Mary Norton.  Same as previous.  The Silver Crown - Robert C O'Brian.  Exciting and chilling.  This Time Of Darkness - H. M. Hoover.  AMAZING!!  My first introduction to Sci-Fi/Dystopian novels as a pre-teen - would LOVE to get hold of this.  River Secrets - Shannon Hale.  Via Angela - this was my fave out of the three I've read, now hanging out to read the last.

Next on my reading list:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone final installment - Laini Taylor
Divergent final installment - Veronica Roth
Forest Born - Shannon Hale
Midsummer Tights Dream - Louise Rennison
Enders Game - Orson Scott Card
The Maze Runner series - James Dashner
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine
The Uglies Series - Scott Westerfeld
How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff
Where Things Come Back - John Corey Whaley
Angelfall - Susan Ee

And a bunch of others that I can't remember just now...

For more great recommendations check out this diagram on Upworthy.

So what are you reading next?  x