2009

I know, guys, I stuck at updating this. But I've been really really busy with school. But there's good news, tomorrow (I'm writing this on 12/20) I'm heading home for winter break. I'm not going to make any promises, but there might be updates. I will work on the Twitter Directories. So make sure you let me know if you're a YA author/book blogger/book character on twitter.




I keep meticulous (ish) track of what I read. For years, I've been using my calendar to keep track of the books, authors and page counts of what I read. And at the end of every year, I like to post a nice little list of what I've read. I used to read a lot more. But this whole college thing really gets in the way of my reading time. That being said, here is my list for 2009:


1. January 5th- Blue Bloods: Revelations By Melissa De La Cruz- 264 pages
2. February 9th- Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town That Talks to the Dead by Christine Wicker- 282 pages
3. February 12th- Play Me by Laura Ruby- 311 pages
4. February 14th- The Morganville Vampires: Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine- 244 pages
5. March 9th- Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson- 309 pages
6. March 9th- Dark Guardian: Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne- 263 pages
7. March 9th- Damosel by Stephanie Spinner- 198 pages
8. March 10th- Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey- 354 pages
9. March 11th- Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George- 280 pages
10. March 18th- The Immortals: Evermore by Alyson Noel- 306 pages
11. March 19th- Coming Home to the Cattleman by Judy Christenberry- 185
12. March 21st- Puppy Love by Nancy Krulik- 260 pages
13. March 24th- Killer Cruise by Jennifer Shaw- 344 pages
14. March 28th- Sleepless by Terri Clark- 257 pages
15. April 5th- Reavealers by Amanda Marrone- 268 pages
16. May 8th- Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald- 297 pages
17. May 9th- Witch High edited by Denise Little- 307 pages
18. May 12th- Darkest Powers: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong- 360 pages
19. May 15th- Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur- 244 pages
20. May 18th- Local Girls: An Island Summer Novel by Jenny O'Connell- 299 pages
21. May 22nd- Flirting with Boys by Hailey Abbott- 240 pages
22. May 26th- Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty- 258 pages
23. June 2nd- Taken by Storm by Angel Morrison- 304 pages
24. June 10th- Morganville Vampires: Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine- 256 pages
25. June 22nd- Vampire Kisses: Royal Blood by Ellen Schreiber- 196 pages
26. June 24th- Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti- 320 pages
27. June 26th- Diamond Secret by Suzane Weyn- 209 pages
28. June 30th- Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler- 290 pages
29. July 12th- Secret Society by Tom Dolby- 341 pages
30. July 14th- Goddess Boot Camp by Tera Lynn Childs- 264 pages
31. July 16th- Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith- 307 pages
32. July 23rd- Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder- 488 pages
33. July 24th- Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter- 263 pages
34. July 26th- Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev- 356 pages
35. Jul 28th- Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder- 361 pages
36. July 30th- Sea Change by Aimee Friedman- 294 pages
37. August 1st- Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder- 392 pages
38. August 3rd- Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder- 441 pages
39. August 6th- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater- 400 pages
40. August 8th- Love Off Limits by Whitney Lyles- 268 pages
41. August 10th- Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen- 385 pages
42. August 13th- Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman- 274 pages
43. August 23rd- Stray by Rachel Vincent- 618 pages
44. August 23rd- Dark Guardian: Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne- 263 pages
45. September 9th- Rogue by Rachel Vincent- 394 pages
46. September 13th- Pride by Rachel Vincent- 425 pages
47. October 8th- Vampire Academy: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead- 503 pages
48. October 12th- Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder- 379 pages
49. October 17th- Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater- 352 pages
50. October 20th- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare- 512 pages
51. October 24th- City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare- 496 pages
52. October 26th- City of Glass by Cassandra Clare- 560 pages
53. November 26th- Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis- 216 pages
54. November 27th- Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chaddha- 327 pages
55. November 29th- Demon Chick by Marilyn Kaye- 215 pages
56. December 14th- Morganville Vampires: Fade Out by Rachel Caine- 239 pages
57. December 22nd- The Dark Divine by Bree Despain- 375 pages
58. December 24th- Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell- 416 pages
59. December 25th- As You Wish by Jackson Pearce- 298 pages
60. December 27th- At Face Value by Emily Franklin- 257 pages

Sixty books. My lowest total in the four years I've been keeping track. 2006 was 116 books, 2007 was 148 book and last year was 131 books. I'm happy to say, however, that the lower number of books this year is a direct effect of my increased life living. My page count for the year is 19,382.



I take it you want my favorite books of the year? Here are my top 10 of 2009:
Runner Up- Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead (Runner up because I had eleven books and the other 10 are all fiction. Also, it's not YA)
10- Storm Glass (#10 because my local B&N shelves it in the adult section. Make sure you read Poison Study and it's two sequels before this one.)
9- Witch High
8- Twenty Boy Summer
7- Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
6- Radiant Darkness
5- Sophomore Switch
4- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
3- Waiting For You (Check out my review of it here.)
2- Along for the Ride
1- Shiver

NOTE: I don't include sequels in this list. Mostly because it's easier for me to choose favorites if I cut out sequels.

So that's my year in books. And my last update for the year. Remember, I'm always looking for additions to all my lists, so let me know if I'm missing a book/something/someone. And have a great year.

Books: Novels in Verse

So I've been working on this intro for a while now and I've decided there are two major reasons why Novels in Verse are great to read. First, their poetry format makes them easy to understand. I know that you may be thinking the exact opposite, but trust me on this. The emotion in these books in palpable and easy to undersand. Second, they're quick reads. This is good if you've got a short attention span, aren't really a book person or only have a little time to kill with reading. So get your hands on one of these books, and realize that poetry can be more enjoyable than the pieces forced upon you by English teachers.


Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

By Francesca Lia Block
Weetzie Bat
Witch Baby
Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys
Missing Angel Juan
Baby Be-Bop
Psyche in a Dress

All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg

Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell

Because I am the Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Splintering by Eireann Corrigan

After the Death of Anna Gonzalez by Terri Fields

Keesha's House by Helen Frost

By Mel Glenn
Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?: A Mystery in Poems
The Taking of Room 114: A Hosage Drama in Poems
Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems
Foreign Exchange: A Mystery in Poems
Split Image: A Story in Poems

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

By Stephanie Hemphill
Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Poems
Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath

By Steven Herrick
Love, Ghosts and Facial Hair
A Place Like This
By the River

Witness by Karen Hesse

Sister Slam and the Poetic Motormouth Road Trip by Linda Oatman High

By Ellen Hopkins
Tricks
Crank
Glass
Identical
Impulse
Burned

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Street Love by Walter Dean Myers

By Cynthia Rylant
God Went to Beauty School
Boris

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

By Lisa Schroeder
I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Far From You
Chasing Brooklyn (Out 01/05/10)

By Sonya Sones
Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy
What My Mother Doesn't Know
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know

A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland

By Margaret Wild
Jinx
One Night

By Virgina Euwer Wolff
Make Lemonade
True Believer
This Full House


Know any Novels in Verse that I missed? Let me know in the comments.

Books: Stories Retold

Some stories we've heard a thousand times. The pumpkin that turns into a carriage, the kiss that wakes up the princess, the magic mirror on the wall. We've heard them over and over again since childhood and know exactly how everything happens. Usually. There are now many books which take those well-known stories of our childhoods and turn them on their heads. Often called fractured fairy tales, they can change a story's setting, tell the story from someone else's point of view or do any number of different things to change the way we view the childhood classics. This list contains not just fairy tale retellings, but retellings of Shakespearean classics, and the historical story of the the last royals of Russia. Everything is organized by story, in case you are looking for something in particular. Some books are listed more than once, as they are adaptations of multiple stories.

Arabian Nights
The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

The Ballad of Mulan
Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey

Beauty and the Beast
Belle by Cameron Dokey
Spirited by Nancy Holder
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli

Cinderella
Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer

East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
East by Edith Pattou

The Frog Prince
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
Water Song by Suzanne Weyn

The Little Mermaid
Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguié

Little Red Riding Hood
Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié

The Magic Flute
Sunlight and Shadow by Cameron Dokey

Rapunzel
Golden by Cameron Dokey
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Out of the Wild by Sarah Best Durst
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

Rumpelstiltskin
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss
The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn

The Six Swans
The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott

Sleeping Beauty
Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss

Snow White
Snow by Tracy Lynn

Twelve Dancing Princesses
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn

The White Bride and the Black Bride
The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder

Multiple Fairy Tales
The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Out of the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss

History
Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn (Anastasia- the last Grand Duchess)

Shakespeare
Romeo's Ex: Rosaline's Story by Lisa Fielder (Romeo and Juliet)
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors (Romeo and Juliet)
Ophelia by Lisa Klein (Hamlet)

Books: Faeries

Perhaps the most exciting things about faery books (or fairy, or faerie, or fae) is the multitude of ways in which authors interpret them. Some authors write faeries as the winged creatures of childhoos fantasies, others stick close to the Celtic mythology surrounding the creatures, and still others keep their versions somewhere in the middle or go off in completely original directions. This list keeps track of all the YA faery books I have read and recommend.

Modern Tales of Faerie by Holly Black
Tithe
Valiant
Ironside

I was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow

The Faerie Path Series by Frewin Jones
The Faerie Path
The Lost Queen
The Sorcerer King
The Immortal Realm
The Enchanted Quest (Out 1/26/10)

The Wildwood Books by Juliet Marillier
Wildwood Dancing
Cybele's Secret

The Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr
Wicked Lovely
Ink Exchange
Fragile Eternity
Radiant Shadows (Out April 2010)

The Chronicles of Faerie by O.R. Melling
The Hunter's Moon
The Summer King
The Light-Bearer's Daughter
The Book of Dreams

By Maggie Stiefvater
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie

By Maryrose Wood
Why I Let My Hair Grow Out
How I Found the Perfect Dress
What I Wore to Save the World

Books: Vampires

If you read YA and have an internet connection, you've probably been through countless book lists on this theme. Vampires. They seem to be the "it" theme for YA books at the moment, with hundreds published in the last year alone. I imagine most of you have read quite a few variations on this theme. I know I have. Most of you will read through this list and only find a few books you haven't read. That's okay. These are the YA vampire books that I have read an enjoyed.



Den of Shadows Quartet by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

In the Forests of the Night

Demon in My View

Shattered Mirror

Midnight Predator



Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine:

Glass Houses

The Dead Girls' Dance

Midnight Alley

Feast of Fools

Lord of Misrule

Carpe Corpus

Fade Out (Out 11/03/09)



House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Marked

Betrayed

Chosen

Untamed

Hunted

Tempted (Out 10/27/09)



High School Bites by Liza Conrad



Blue Bloods Series by Melissa De La Cruz:

Blue Bloods
Blue Bloods: Masquerade

Blue Bloods: Revelations

Blue Bloods: The Van Alen Legacy (Out 10/06/09)



Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey



Evernight Series by Claudia Gray

Evernight

Stargazer

Hourglass (Out 04/09/10)



Good Ghoul's Series by Julie Kenner

The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even

Good Ghoul's Do



The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause



The Blood Coven Series by Mari Mancusi

Boys that Bite

Stake That

Girls that Growl



Uninvited by Amanda Marrone



Goth Books by Katie Maxwell

Got Fangs?

Circus of the Darned



Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy

Frostbite

Shadow Kiss

Blood Promise



Sucks to be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) by Kimberly Pauley



The Colby Blanchard Series by Serena Robar

Braced 2 Bite

Fangs 4 Freaks

Dating 4 Demons



Vampire Kisses Series by Ellen Schreiber:

Vampire Kisses

Kissing Coffins

Vampireville

Dance with a Vampire

The Coffin Club

Royal Blood

Secret Society by Tom Dolby

Once you get in... you can never get out. Do you ever wonder how some people have it all? The best schools, the hottest parties, the priciest clothes, the easiest jobs? Maybe it's because they're part of a secret group. A secret society.
-Secret Society, back cover

I just finished reading an ARC of Tom Dolby's Secret Society. Set in New York City, it is the story of 4 students at one of Manhattan's most elite private schools. Nick is the son of one of the city's wealthiest families, hoping to amount to something of his own choosing- club promotion. Phoebe is a recent transplant from LA and an aspiring artist. Lauren is a teenage socialite whose interest in fashion is something more than the shallow amusement of her peers. Patch comes from a family of faded prominence and is hoping his filmmaking skills will get him some of the privileges sees his fellow students abuse.

When three of the four high school juniors are tapped as Initiates of the Society, everyones lives begin to change. First comes the privilege, as gifts and oppurtunities come their way effortlessly. Then comes fear, as they realize how much influence the Society has over their lives, and those of everyone around them. As the situation becomes fatal; Nick, Phoebe, Lauren and Patch have to decide who to rely on, and whether it is safe to cross the Society.

I've had an interest in secret societies for years, so when the oppurtunity came to get my hands on a book about them, I jumped on it. I began reading as soon as the book showed up at my door. The characters are a bit cliched, but the situation they are thrust into is unique and the way they deal with things is realistic. I would definitely reccommend this book looking for an entertaining read that isn't complete fluff.


*Contest: In Secret Society, the Society tattoos all Initiates with a small Ankh on the back of their necks. The Ankh is an Egyptian symbol for life. I'll be giving away an ARC of Tom Dolby's Secret Society, signed by the author. In order to be entered in the contest you must identify the following 3 symbols, their cultute of origin and their meaning. Comment with the answers to be entered.

1.

2.

3.

Congratulations contest winner writeinspired. Email me at bloggingya@gmail.com with your name and address so I can mail your ARC to you ASAP.

The correct answers were:

#1 Buddhist symbol Lotus means purity

#2 The asclepius wand, or asclepius rod is is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and with healing the sick through medicine. The rod of Asclepius symbolizes the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its skin is a symbol of rebirth and fertility, with the staff, a symbol of authority befitting the god of Medicine. (ancientsymbols.com)

#3Udjat: The sound eye of Horus. Symbolizes healing and protection.

Book Trailers

I'm putting together a new list. It's going to be a bit different this time. I'd like to link to/embed the book trailers anyone has for upcoming releases. I figure I'll do these every so-often, to keep up with with new books.

Right now the only one I have is the following.

1. Shiver By Maggie Stiefvater


2. Devil's Kiss By Sarwat Chadda


3. Another Faust By Daniel and Dina Nayeri


4. Beautiful Creatures By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl


5. When Mike Kissed Emma By Christina Marciniak


6. So Punk Rock: And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother By Micol & David Ostow



7. Under My Skin By Judith Graves


So comment with links to any other book trailers you know of. My only stipulations are a) It muyst be for a YA Book and b)It must not have come out yet (if it comes out tomorrow, that's fine).

Indie Bookstores

There's nothing better than an independent bookstore. My town has The Book Revue. It's the largest indie bookseller on Long Island. Comment about your local indie. Pictures appreciated.