10 Favorite Fiction Books

Since the start of 2011, I have read 71 Young Adult fiction books.  So, instead of another (fourth) travel related book list this week, I thought I would post my top ten favorite Young Adult fiction reads from the past six months.  Some of the books on the list are newly published, and others are older titles that I have just gotten around to reading.  The descriptive terms beneath the title are my quick thoughts about the book.  The story abstract's (except for Abhorsen Trilogy) are from the Library's online catalog.  I gave all of these books a minimum of 4 stars, or the max (5 stars), in Library Thing.

Kim's 6 Months Top 10 YA Fiction Reads :

 

Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.   Fantasy, Adventure, Necromancer, the line between good and evil, life and death, magic and mundane.  Over the course of three books, a family of necromancers battle against evil by entering the land of the dead.

 

BADD by Tim Tharp.  Contemporary Realistic, PTSD, Iraq War, Brother-Sister relationship, Humorous.  A teen girl's beloved brother returns home from the Iraq War completely unlike the person she remembers.

Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones.  Suspense, Crime, Runaways, Contemporary, set in Canada.  Two teenagers who are living on the streets and barely getting by become involved in a complicated criminal plot, and make an unexpected connection with each other.

Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce.  Fantasy, Supernatural, touch of Science Fiction, some Horror (Vampire, Wraiths, Gargoyles), Romance.  The servant girl Aeriel must choose between destroying her vampire master for his evil deeds or saving him for the sake of his beauty and the spark of goodness she has seen in him.

Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge.  Steampunk Fantasy, 1950s alternate history, Supernatural, set in Boston.  In an alternate 1950s, mechanically gifted 15-year-old Aoife Grayson, whose family has a history of going mad at sixteen, must leave the totalitarian city of Lovecraft and venture into the world of magic to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance and the mysteries surrounding her father and the Land of Thorn.

The Luxe series, by Anna Godbersen.

Historical Romance, social classes, set in New York and California.  
In Manhattan in 1899, five teens of different social classes lead dangerously scandalous lives, despite the strict rules of society and the best-laid plans of parents and others.

Orchards by Holly Thompson.  Contemporary Realistic, Bullying, Suicide, bi-polar, written in free verse, set in States and Japan.  Sent to Japan for the summer after an eighth-grade classmate's suicide, half-Japanese, half-Jewish Kana Goldberg tries to fit in with relatives she barely knows and reflects on the guilt she feels over the tragedy back home.

Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt.  Contemporary Realistic, Road Trip, Iraq War, Marines, PTSD, Brother-Brother relationship, set in Massachusetts.  Although they have never gotten along well, seventeen-year-old Levi follows his older brother Boaz, an ex-Marine, on a walking trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. in hopes of learning why Boaz is completely withdrawn.

Trash by Andy Mulligan.  Mystery, Adventure, Poverty, Corruption, Friendship, set in Phillipines.  Fourteen-year-olds Raphael and Gardo team up with a younger boy, Rat, to figure out the mysteries surrounding a bag Raphael finds during their daily life of sorthing through trash in a third-world country's dump.

You Don't Know About Me by Brian Meehl.  Contemporary Realistic, Road Trip, Humorous, Doubt vs. Faith, Mark Twain, Homophobia, Geochaching, Mother-Son relationship.  Billy has spent his almost-sixteen years with four cardinal points--Mother, Christ, Bible, and Home-school--but when he sets off on a wild road trip to find the father he thought was dead, he learns much about himself and life.

Featured Author: Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare, 2010.  

Clockwork Angel is the beginning of a new series called The Infernal Devices, by Cassandra Clare.  It takes place 150 years before Clare's Mortal Instruments series:  City of Bones, City of Ashes, & City of Glass. The fourth book in the Mortal Instrument series: City of Fallen Angels is scheduled for publication in April 2011.  If you liked Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series you may also enjoy reading Cassandra Clare's books.  Personally I like The Mortal Instruments series more than the Twilight series.  Compared to the Twilight series the Mortal Instruments are similarly dark and romantic (with a love triangle), however, there are more twists, mystery, and magic in the Mortal Instruments, with a large cast of characters including vampires, warlocks, werewolves, shadowhunters, and demons.

Clockwork Angel is a supernatural urban fantasy, and since it is set in the Victorian era with futuristic technology, in this case automatons (robots), it also falls into the steampunk genre.  The story begins with 16 year old Tessa Gray, who has traveled from New York to London in search of her older brother.  As soon as she steps off the ship in London she is kidnapped by the Dark Sisters.  The Sisters force her to begin training to use a rare ability to shape shift; an ability of which she was previously unaware. Tessa is soon rescued from the Dark Sisters by the Shadowhunters.  Shadowhunters are warriors, half angel and half human, dedicated to ridding the world of demons.  Tessa is sheltered by the Shadowhunters in their hidden London Institute, where she continues the search for her brother, her own identity, and battles further abduction attempts. Clockwork Angel is like an excellent box of dark chocolates, with just the right amount of crunchy and smooth filling.  My rating 4 stars.

Cassandra Clare books and audiobooks available through the Library Consortium.
Cassandra Clare's website

Holly Black interviews Cassandra Clare. July 28, 2009:

Cassandra Clare answers questions from her fans. October 9, 2009:

Two New Science Fiction books in the Young Adult collection

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher        

Highly recommend these two books.  
Four stars! (out of 5)
 

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Incarceron is labeled Fantasy Fiction in the Library's online catalog.  There are elements of fantasy in Incarceron, however, I think it is Science Fiction in the Steampunk sub-genre.  What do you think - is it Fantasy or Science Fiction? 

When You Reach Me is cataloged as Space and Time Fiction.  It won the 2010 Newbery Medal.  NY Times Article