Favorite Books of 2013!

I set a goal again in 2013 to read 50 more books. I set this goal in 2012 and blogged about my 4- and 5-star books from that year. Now another year has gone by, and it's time to recommend my favorites from 2013! As always, you can find me on Goodreads if you want another friend to follow!

As I mentioned last year, to me, a 5-star review means that I loved it, couldn't stop thinking about it, and couldn't wait to get back to reading it. Also that I think most people would enjoy reading it. A 4-star review means that I really liked it, couldn't wait to finish it, and I think most people that like the same types of books that I do would enjoy reading it. And again I'll throw in a disclaimer that while I have a low threshold for gore and violence in books, I have a fairly high threshold for sex and language, so there are probably books on my list that would be R-rated in the movie world. Consider yourselves warned. :)

This year I'm going to rank them in order (roughly), starting with my favorite. I made sure to add a review for all my 5-star books if I hadn't already written one. But for my 4-star books, if I originally wrote a review, it's there. If not, it's not.

5-Star Books

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

By far my favorite book of 2013. I loved it so much that I bought it in hardcover, making it exactly the second book I have purchased in the past 5 years. This is the story of a 5th grader who was born with a facial deformity, and his experiences as he adjusts to going to school for the first time. I loved the characters, the dialogue, and the family dynamics of this book. As soon as I finished it, I was recommending it to everyone I knew!

View all my reviews The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a historical fiction account of Mrs. Tom Thumb, who essentially spent her life on display at the circus, and how she tried to rise above it. While this is not fact-based enough to be considered a biography, I learned a lot about the era, and the historical figures in the book. I couldn't shut up about this book for like a week after I read it - I wanted to talk about it to everybody!

View all my reviews Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Usually for me, a 5-star review is one where I honestly think that ANYBODY would enjoy the book - it's that good. I can't say that's the case here, but here are the reasons I had to rate it 5 stars anyway:
1. On page 3, Gary Schmidt was already describing Doug and his life so perfectly, I had to log back onto Goodreads to see if this book was a memoir. That's how well he captured this character.
2. It's not unusual for me to read late into the night, feeling guilty about it and knowing I'll be tired but it'll be worth it, blah blah blah. The difference last night is that I realized with a jolt at 1:30am that I was a separate person apart from this book - I was so completely immersed in Marysville, New York, circa 1968, that I literally forgot that I was even reading.

It did meet my other 5-star requirement of "not being able to stop talking about it." I wanted to discuss this book with everyone I encountered tonight after finishing it.

Gary Schmidt writes amazing characters. They're unique, they're lovable, they're vulnerable. I was so invested in these characters, that I found myself gasping out loud or breaking into ridiculously huge grins - not normal for me. Anyway, loved this book. Great read.

View all my reviews Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I literally could NOT put this book down. I devoured it in one sitting, and was left wanting more. Though some parts in the middle dragged, the originality of the storyline and the strength of the writing bumps this book up to 5-star territory for me. I was not surprised to read that the author is an elementary school teacher - he captures the elementary school experience so perfectly. In fact, the more I think about why I enjoyed it so much, I realize that he perfectly captured so many things I can relate to - working with students on the Autism spectrum, being a mother, the relationships between staff members at a school, the art of being a teacher, etc. Loved it.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I kind of wanted to rate this 4 stars, because the entire time I was reading this, I felt so sad, and it really wasn't a pleasant experience in that way. But I know this is a book that will stick with me, and some of the writing was just so amazing - so 4 stars just didn't really feel right. Poor little Oskar - he just got in my head. It was so heartbreaking to read about his guilt and regrets over the death of his dad. I loved his character. The only thing I didn't like about the book is that it changed narrators, and it was confusing to me at times who was speaking and when in the story they were narrating. I loved the extra story of his grandparents, and I'm glad it's in there, but maybe the audiobook would have been good for me so that I knew who was narrating. Anyway, this was a heavy book about loss and grief, but it was beautifully written and I think I loved it.

 4-Star Books

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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  The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars






 The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars






 Hold Still by Nina LaCour
My rating: 4 of 5 stars






 Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was really torn between 4 and 5 stars for this book. I loved Lou and Will's love story, and I thought the author painted what I imagine to be a realistic picture of someone in Will's situation. It was a unique and interesting love story and plot. But.... was it amazing? Probably not. But I did really, really enjoy it.

 Looking for Alaska by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

John Green was the author of my favorite book from last year, The Fault in Our Stars. I love him because he creates such realistic teenage characters and relationships. He really captures the dialogue, friendships, thoughts, and first loves of high schoolers, in a realistic and not-demeaning way. I didn't think this was as wonderful as The Fault in Our Stars, but it was WORLDS better than The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, another teenage/boarding school/feminist/teenage friendship/pranking book. They were so similar in many ways, but John Green just really nails the teenage experience in a way that no one else can. I think I would have been absolutely in love with this book had I read it as a teenager. His characters and their relationships remind me so much of my high school experience. Well, aside from all the drinking and smoking. ;)

 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an easy, quick Young Adult read - got through it in about two hours. I loved the characters and the plot, and never could have put it down.



 The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars






 Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
My rating: 4 of 5 stars







A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I fell in love with the three female characters in this book, and their relationships with each other. I'm such a sucker for books that involve a changing point-of-view, and the relationships between mothers and daughters. I thought the youngest of the three, Mosey, was written as a very true-to-life teenager, and I loved her exchanges with her mother and her grandmother. One of the characters narrating the story has had a stroke, and I found her chapters so interesting, to see how the author had her describe events and her life, even as she's had this "brain event." I was actually enjoying the book so much I toyed with giving it 5 stars, even though I feel stupid doing that for "chick lit" books, but then some of the events at the end got a little ridiculous, in my opinion. But a solid 4-stars. Not a life-changer, but I enjoyed every minute of reading it while snuggled up on the couch.

 Gold by Chris Cleave
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this won't go down in history as one of my favorites, I did really enjoy it. The ending was so suspenseful to me, I was skipping half a page at a time just trying to see what happened. And while I know that some people found the ending a little too tidy and "Hollywood," I'll be honest - I like my books to end that way. :)


The Voice by Jennifer Anne Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars







The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recent Reads

Here's my 5 latest:

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Matthew Logelin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've read Matt Logelin's blog a few times, and enjoyed his writing. I enjoyed this book because it told so much more back story of his life with Liz. I found myself insanely hoping that her childbirth would end differently - which, obviously, it didn't. Anyway, I enjoyed reading about their love story and more about her, but it's not really a book I'd necessarily recommend to anyone who didn't know his story or enjoy the blog.

View all my reviews Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Usually for me, a 5-star review is one where I honestly think that ANYBODY would enjoy the book - it's that good. I can't say that's the case here, but here are the reasons I had to rate it 5 stars anyway:
1. On page 3, Gary Schmidt was already describing Doug and his life so perfectly, I had to log back onto Goodreads to see if this book was a memoir. That's how well he captured this character.
2. It's not unusual for me to read late into the night, feeling guilty about it and knowing I'll be tired but it'll be worth it, blah blah blah. The difference last night is that I realized with a jolt at 1:30am that I was a separate person apart from this book - I was so completely immersed in Marysville, New York, circa 1968, that I literally forgot that I was even reading.

It did meet my other 5-star requirement of "not being able to stop talking about it." I wanted to discuss this book with everyone I encountered tonight after finishing it.

Gary Schmidt writes amazing characters. They're unique, they're lovable, they're vulnerable. I was so invested in these characters, that I found myself gasping out loud or breaking into ridiculously huge grins - not normal for me. Anyway, loved this book. Great read.

View all my reviews
  The Confession by John Grisham
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I didn't enjoy this book at all. I used to love John Grisham novels, but this one was just boring to me. I felt like I'd met his characters before in other books, and, without revealing any spoilers, I didn't like the direction of the plot. I actually didn't even finish it, which is very unusual, but I did read most of it.

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  The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It's never a good sign when I can't remember what book I'm reading, or if I can put it down for several days without coming back to it. This is a story about a high school girl at a wealthy boarding school, who tries to infiltrate her boyfriend's secret society. But I kept wondering why she was even with her boyfriend, as she never seemed to have any particular attachment to him, and I guess some part of me was hoping for a romantic storyline elsewhere in the book. And, I mean, it had a lot of good observations about gender roles, particularly within high school relationships, but it just didn't feel very relevant to me at this point in my life. I think I really would have enjoyed it when I was in high school though. This book also may have suffered a little bit coming right on the heels of Okay For Now, another coming-of-age, YA novel that was just far-and-away better than this one.

View all my reviews Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a cute, light read - fast-moving, funny, and enjoyable. It chronicles a family living in Seattle, and their adventures with each other, and the uppity families they live around. The only thing I found strange was that the plot sort of made it sound like Bernadette's disappearance was the main event of the book, and it didn't even happen until it was nearly over. When I kept expecting her to disappear "any page now," it sort of made it drag out. But I thought the plot was fresh and funny - I actually laughed out loud several times as I was reading it. Good family dynamics, flawed and lovable at the same time. Not a life-changing novel or anything, but I wholly enjoyed it.

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Recent Reads

Here's what I've been reading to start off 2013. I don't really enjoy recapping the plot of the books I read, so you'll just have to click through to Goodreads to read about the plot, and here you get to find out all my ever-so-interesting feelings about what I'm reading!

*Flowertown by S.G. Redling
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I thought this would be a typical YA dystopian book, which I enjoy if I'm in the mood for it, but it was a little on the graphic side for me with the language. I don't mind swearing in a book, but this seemed gratuitous, like she was trying really hard to establish a "bad girl" protagonist. The storyline was okay, and I wanted to finish it to find out how it ended, but I just wasn't super emotionally invested in the characters.

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*When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an easy, quick Young Adult read - got through it in about two hours. I loved the characters and the plot, and never could have put it down. Enjoyed the realistic writing about middle school-aged kids, their problems and outlook on life, particularly the main character Miranda, as she tries to figure out her friends, family, and crush - while simultaneously trying to solve the mystery of some secret notes someone has been leaving for her.

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*A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I fell in love with the three female characters in this book, and their relationships with each other. I'm such a sucker for books that involve a changing point-of-view, and the relationships between mothers and daughters. I thought the youngest of the three, Mosey, was written as a very true-to-life teenager, and I loved her exchanges with her mother and her grandmother. One of the characters narrating the story has had a stroke, and I found her chapters so interesting, to see how the author had her describe events and her life, even as she's had this "brain event." I was actually enjoying the book so much I toyed with giving it 5 stars, even though I feel stupid doing that for "chick lit" books, but then some of the events at the end got a little ridiculous, in my opinion. But a solid 4-stars. Not a life-changer, but I enjoyed every minute of reading it while snuggled up on the couch.

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  *Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hmmmmm.... not sure how to even rate or review this book. I didn't like the beginning, and I didn't like the end, but there must have been something to it, since I blew through all 470 pages of it in one night - holding my breath, waiting to see how it ended. The portrayal of high school life was so accurate that it almost made me dislike the book - I felt only vaguely interested, like I was hanging out in a cafeteria watching the action. The middle of the book did get more interesting, and of course I had to hang in there until the end. But even though I devoured it, I can't say that I'd recommend it to anyone. Maybe a teenager? I'm reading all these other glowing reviews and just feel like I'm missing something....

View all my reviews The Skinny Rules: The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to Thin by Greg Critser
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. While there's no way I'm willing to go as extreme as the rules he recommends (No potatoes - ever! No fast food - ever!), he had some great points about diet and nutrition, and cited some interesting studies. There was also a large recipe section in the back of the book, and the recipes look fairly simple, tasty, and nutritious! Will definitely be incorporating some of his rules into my diet as guidelines, but I'm just not willing to eat as "clean" as he recommends (though I don't doubt my body would be a lot more fit if I did!).

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50 Books in 2012!

Well, I did it! I met my goal of reading 50 books in 2012. Since getting my Nook a few years ago, I have really rediscovered my love of reading. Turns out I'm not actually too busy to read, I'm just too lazy to go to the library! So, armed with the internet and an e-reader, I have been re-experiencing as an adult the obsession with reading I had as a kid.

I use goodreads.com to track my books - I love how I can keep a list of books I want to read. I also tag books that they carry at my local library, so that when I do get off my lazy booty to go get real live books, I know which ones they have. I also like to tag books according to how I found out about them - a friend, message board, review in a magazine, browsing a bookstore, etc. If anyone wants to follow my reviews or friend me there, my profile is goodreads.com/katielyn619.

Goodreads also keeps track of the books you read and how you rated them, so here are my 4-star and 5-star reviews from 2012. To me, a 5-star review means that I loved it, couldn't stop thinking about it, and couldn't wait to get back to reading it. Also that I think most people would enjoy reading it. A 4-star review means that I really liked it, couldn't wait to finish it, and I think most people that like the same types of books that I do would enjoy reading it.

So here we go!

5-Star Books
*Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford
*Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See
*The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
*The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
*11/22/63, by Stephen King   

My favorites here were The Fault in Our Stars and The Night Circus. Both beautifully written, original books. The other 3 happen to be historical fiction, and I loved what they taught me about the time period, as well as enjoying the story.

4-Star Books
*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
*Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks
*The Girls, by Lori Lansens
*Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
*The Weight of Silence, by Heather Gudenkauf
*What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty
*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
*Matched, by Allie Condie
*Room, by Emma Donoghue
*Sister, by Rosamund Lupton
*Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
*A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness
*Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
*The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
*Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles
*The Soldier's Wife, by Margaret Leroy
*The Lost Wife, by Alyson Richman
*The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker
Even as I'm typing these out, I'm second guessing so many of my ratings. It's hard for me to differentiate between 4 and 5 star books. My favorites from this list, the 4.5 star ones, I guess, would probably be Year of Wonders, Gone Girl, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, The Language of Flowers, Rules of Civility, and The Age of Miracles.

And I do want to do a disclaimer here that I have a low threshold for violence and gore in books, but a pretty high threshold for language, and non-graphic sex scenes. So there are books on my list that I would consider R-rated, for those who are sensitive to those types of books.

Recent Reads

Remember when I was going to blog about the books I've been reading?  Yeah, so obviously it didn't happen. I mean, I wanted to, but.... Here's the reason I'm not a very good blogger - I let really little things stop me in my tracks. I feel like a book review is worthless without a picture of the cover. And last time I did book reviews, I had to hunt down the pictures, copy stuff out of different tabs from Goodreads, blah dee blah. I'm so lazy. But anyway, tonight I noticed a helpful little button on Goodreads that was new to me called "Blog Your Review." So book reviews are BACK!

I'm still aiming for 50 books in 2012. Goodreads says I'm 4 books behind, but I might sneak in some YA quickies to catch up! Shhhhh.... a legitimate reader would care more about the literature than the goal, but my competitiveness will win out over, well, everything every. single. time.

I've been reading pretty great stuff lately. Unfortunately (fortunately?) one of them was my favorite book of the year, The Fault in Our Stars, and after reading that, nothing else seemed very good. I finished it a few weeks ago, and since then nothing can compare (2 U!).

So here are my latest reviews. I kind of hate it when book reviews on Goodreads spend all kinds of time summarizing the plot, so sadly, you'll have to hunt down the plotlines yourself, but these are my thoughts on my latest reads...

 The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Though at times I found myself skimming over the descriptions of the beautiful Guernsey islands, I loved this book's description of Vivienne, a wife and mother who tries to find her way during the German Occupation of WWII. It was so easy to recognize myself in her relationship with her daughters, and I found myself wondering how I would react in the situations with which she was presented. Good moral questions, interesting characters, and rich relationships between then. I very much enjoyed this book and would read it again, even though it was a little bit slow at parts.



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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Started this book at 9:30 tonight. Started tearing up about halfway through. Started actually sobbing with like 100 pages still left to go, and didn't stop. Finished the book at 12:30am with red, puffy eyes and soaking wet sweatshirt sleeves. Not a spoiler, I hope - the book is about teenagers that meet in a cancer support group - you know it's going to be sad.

This was a heartbreaking, unflinching story about a teenage girl with terminal cancer. Her perceptions on how her eventual death will affect her parents about ripped my heart out. Her love story with Augustus is beautifully written. The characters are a little bit ridiculous in how they speak, in a Dawson's Creek, pretentious, wanna-be adult kind of way, but honestly, I grew up with some kids that talked like that, so it didn't feel fake to me.

I've thought a lot about how to write a love story, how to show in writing, that compatibility, that comfort, that perfect fit. And John Green's got it figured out. I loved the love story, loved the relationships of the two main characters with their parents, just kind of all-over loved it. One of my favorites of the year.



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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Gone Girl" is the story of a husband and wife with a strained marriage, which comes under scrutiny when the woman comes up missing.

I thought both main characters were well-written and believable, as was the disintegration of their marriage. I felt the issues they struggled with, and they way they handled them were believable. The plot kept me interested, and took twists and turns I didn't expect.

Part of me wishes I'd read the book earlier, before hearing that it was everyone's favorite read of 2012, because I think my expectations were a little too high. But I did enjoy it. I'd read it again if I came across it on vacation or something - and that is actually a compliment, since I really never re-read books. :) The book did have frequent strong language and swearing, so it's probably not for more conservative readers.



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The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was a story going back and forth in time between the narrator, and the life story of the woman she is interviewing. I loved the woman's life story, but I felt that when the story when back into "real time" that it interrupted the magic. Overall, not a favorite. I finished it because I wanted to find out what happened to the twins, but I ended up doing a lot of skimming over the interviewing parts.



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Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I feel like I'm missing something by not loving this book, as it's on so many "favorites" lists. I kept waiting for a plot point to suck me in, and it just never happened. I've read many other reviewers saying that they were sobbing throughout the story, and I didn't even get teary-eyed. Maybe I couldn't get into it completely because I read it over the course of a week or two, when normally I read books in a night or two, or maybe it was because I just read "The Fault in Our Stars," which seemed much, MUCH sadder to me, but for whatever reason, I didn't love this as much as everybody else did.

I liked the characters, I liked their relationships - I loved reading about the relationship between Greta and June. The storyline just wasn't very interesting to me, for whatever reason.

I wouldn't mind a re-read next year to see if maybe I like it better, because it sure seems like everybody else does.



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Latest book reviews

 So I made a goal this year to read 50 books, and I thought I'd review them little by little rather than my big Books of 2011 list. Here's the first few I read, more reviews to come!

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf - 4 Stars
This was a book right up my alley - intriguing cover art, a dramatic plot involving a family, and chapters that switch narrators. All my favorite things! I am trying to reserve 5-star reviews for books that I can't stop talking about, and recommend to pretty much anyone. This wasn't that good, but a solid 4 stars. It's about two 7-year-old best friends who go missing overnight, and how the search and subsequent discoveries affect their various family members. While there is the mystery of the missing girls, there are also family secrets revealed through flashbacks that flesh out the story and characters. I couldn't put it down, even taking my Nook to the gym so that I could finish it.

The Golden Compass, by Phillip Pulman -  2 Stars
This book was so not my type. Turns out when I thought I really didn't like fantasy... I don't. I stuck it out, but overall thought it was pretty lame. Not a 1-star, hated-it type book, just not my kind of thing.

The Dreamer, by Pam Munoz Ryan and Peter Sis - 3 Stars
This book was a story about the childhood of the poet Pablo Neruda. I believe it's Young Adult - I got it from my school's library. I loved the drawings and poems in the book, and it was an easy, quick read. It was okay, not great. Not sure who I'd ever recommend it to.

Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See - 5 Stars
I didn't realize until I started reading this book that it was the sequel to Shanghai Girls, which I read last year. This is the story of 19-year-old Joy, who runs away to China, under the idealistic impression that she will help to build the "New Society" in 1957 Communist China. This is the story of her loves, her losses, her complicated relationship with her family, and her life under a communist regime. This book was incredibly eye-opening to me. I couldn't believe that Lisa See was writing about events that had actually happened in my parents' lifetime. At times the description of what the Chinese villagers went through was so horrific that I had to skim over or skip, but I was so glad I read it, since it taught me so much about an era I previously knew nothing about. This was a couldn't-put-it-down read for me.

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese - 3 Stars
I'll start by saying this book got GREAT reviews on Goodreads. It's about twin boys born to a nun and a surgeon in Ethiopia, and their life story as they grow up on the brink of revolution, fall in love with the same woman, and try to make peace with their father's abandonment. Here's where I'm going to be honest. I like easier reads than this. Pages going into the political climate and events of Ethiopia just lose me. I liked the story, I loved reading about the bond between the twins, but the setting in this case was distracting to me. Pretty sure that makes me just too shallow to enjoy a book that everyone else did.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford - 5 Stars
I have to admit, I didn't finish this book until my 3rd try. The first two times I found it so totally boring. I wanted to like it, because it's got a great title. And everyone else in the world liked it, so clearly it had to be good (excellent logic, I know). And then I don't know what happened the third time - I LOVED it! It's a story of two kids in World War II-era America, and the boy is Chinese and the girl is Japanese. They attend the same, mostly-white school and form a friendship and the beginnings of young love. It then follows these two characters through the events of the Japanese internment, and how it affects both their families. I loved the first-love story, the educational historical aspect, and the overall plot line. Glad I gave it so many chances!

Books of 2011

So I got a Nook at the beginning of this year, thus touching off a year of reading unlike any other of my married life. Finally my two biggest hurdles to reading were cleared: the expense of buying a book I'd finish in a day or two, and the inconvenience of making it to the library, once to check out the book, and once to return it. I also work at an elementary school, giving me the opportunity to read a lot of Young Adult or Children's fiction, marked with (YA) on my list.

I love book lists, but feel like it would take forever to review everything I read this year! I'm going to start by listing them by their stars I gave them on Goodreads, and then if my kids aren't back in from the snow yet, I'll go back and add some notes!

I tend to gravitate toward family-type dramas, but those rarely actually end up on my favorites lists. I am trying to branch out and try some new things! I went through several periods of not reading at all this year, so I'm hoping to read even more this year. I also didn't rate anything as 1-star because I generally don't finish books I'm not liking, and I didn't bother to list all of those.

5-STAR (IT WAS AMAZING)
*Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand: This was a great book about a runner who goes to fight in World War II, and his bomber crashes in the middle of the ocean, touching off a long, excruciatingly difficult journey. While this book was a little on the long side, it was interesting and educational, and one of my favorites of the year.
*The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein: A story of a small family and its ups and downs, told by the perspective of the family pet. Because it mostly tells the story of the husband (and is narrated by a dog?!?), it wasn't one that normally would have appealed to me. But it was emotionally well-told, and kept me turning pages until I was done. Couldn't put it down.
*The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin: Non-fiction account of the author's year of setting goals to bring her more happiness in her life. Loved her insights, and it made me seriously re-evaluate some things about myself. Didn't hurt that it had an emphasis on goal-setting, which I love!
*The Help, by Kathryn Stockett: I think most people know this story already. Loved the characters, loved the story, even loved the movie. Can't get better than that!

4-STAR (REALLY LIKED IT)
*Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
*No Time to Wave Goodbye, by Jacquelyn Mitchard
*Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen: This was a SAD book about a family tragedy, told from the perspective of the mother. I love tear-jerker books, and this was well-written and compelling.
*The Birth House, by Ami McKay: A story of a midwife's apprentice in the time of World War I, and addresses the choices and opportunities women were dealing with in terms of their choices in birth control and childbirth. Well-told and interesting.
*Countdown, by Deborah Wiles (YA): Coming-of-age story of a 12-year-old girl who lives in Washington DC in 1962. The whole country is worried about the Cuban Missile Crisis and doing air raid drills, while Franny deals with family issues, political stress, and drama with friends and boys. Told in kind of a "scrapbook" style with lots of actual pictures, news clippings, quotes from political figures, etc. I actually learned a lot about that time period!
*Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick (YA): Cool book - two intertwining stories set 50 years apart. One is told entirely through beautiful illustrations, the other told traditionally in words. Both main characters are children who are deaf, adding another layer of interest to the book. It's long, at about 650 pages, but I made it through it in just a night since so much of the book is illustrated.
*Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli (YA)
*Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
*The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

3-STAR (LIKED IT)
*Labor Day, by Joyce Maynard
*The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, by Stieg Larsson: These were interesting books, but so much language and graphic sexual violence, I had a hard time with them. I did read the whole trilogy though, so I guess that says something.
*The Stuff That Never Happened, by Maddie Dawson
*The Climb and The Contest (Everest series), by Gordon Korman (YA): I'm actually embarrassed at how into these books I was. I read them at school during silent reading time, and couldn't wait to get back to them each afternoon. They weren't super well-written, but I did want to see where the story went!
*The Giver, by Lois Lowry (YA): I think I would have liked this better if I'd read it before The Hunger Games. Just not quite as exciting in terms of a futuristic society type of book.
*Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli (YA)
*Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Olsen and Learned to Love Being Hated, by Alison Arngrim
*Bossypants, by Tina Fey: I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was my first book I've ever actually purchased for the Nook. It had some great parts, like her prayer for her daughter, but otherwise I found it just okay.

2-STAR (IT WAS OKAY)
*Harvesting the Heart, by Jodi Picoult
*Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult
*Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin
*A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick
*Beginner's Luck, by Laura Pedersen