top favorites of 2010: books

I achieved my goal of reading 52 books this year. Huzzah! It's not much compared to some others, I know, but good enough for me. :D Here are my absolute favorites of this year that I would recommend to all:

YA/MG

East by Edith Pattou

A beautiful fairytale retelling with lyrical and soft language, lovely romance, engaging main characters, and a magnificent cover. While each retelling of the old Norse tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon were fabulous in their own way, I absolutely adored this one. :)

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

Add a tablespoon of Jane Austen, another tablespoon of Harry Potter-style magic, and a heap load of humor and you'll get S & C. An enchanting story (told through letters) of two cousins and the wacky adventures and mischief that they get through in Regency England. It was just spectacular.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

The last book in the MBS series! It has it all- exciting story, unsolvable riddles, endearing characters, and awesome chase sequences. It was a great ending to a delightful series.

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson

Like I said in my review, Mary Pearson wrote this realistic/contemporary story in a rather magical way. The characters were captivating; I loved the attachment between all of them, and how they grow together during their road trip. And the ending is so brilliant and lovely and magical and wonderful and all the other adjectives for the previous words. I really, really liked this one.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

So...I raved about it a lot during the last couple of months. Need I say more? :P I guess I just really liked how it was a WWI retelling (that era is fascinating), and the characters were beyond awesome, and though I'm really not into all that technological machinery type of things, I liked reading about them too.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I had my quibbles with it too, but all in all, it was a mind-blowing conclusion to this series. This one was the most thought-provoking out of all of them. I mean, even after four months

after I read it, I still think about it from time to time but maybe studying government in school has to do with a little bit of my

lingering obsession with this series.

And it's interesting to think how similar it was to the LOTR ending and how Katniss is very similar to Frodo, and then compare JRR Tolkien's background with Suzanne Collins. Tolkien was a soldier in WWI, and Collins knew about everything from her father serving in Vietnam, so no wonder their books had the same message and they chose to go the realistic way.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

One of my favorite fantasy novels of all time now. It was fantastic, and after I read, I had that "OMG, why hadn't I read this before?!?!?!" moments. (Right, and I watched the movie a couple days ago. It was strange but I liked it enough. :D)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

It just felt so refreshing, reading this book. It didn't have the main character fall in love with a Werewolf OR a Vampire, and she wasn't head over heels in love. Everything in this book felt so real. Loved the light-heartedness of it all, though the ending was really, really strange.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

I've loved fictional thieves or spies ever since I was little, and that's why Ally Carter's new book was perfect for me. It had everything a great heist story needs- a weird but loyal crew for the hero/heroine, a crazy villain, and a seemingly impossible heist that the crew needs to pull off by the end. It was riveting to the very end.

Classics

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

While I avoided Jane's book in freshmen year when I was supposed to, the story kept following me around, and I even promised Jane that I would read it one day (umm...I just felt guilty about putting it aside). And lo, that day came when I sprained my ankle one day and had to stay home. I don't think I need to say more about it since it's been out for about 200 years, but no wonder it's a classic and well-loved all around the world even today. The characters are hilarious and very relatable to. It's just timeless.

The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald

I ended up liking this more than I thought I would. The writing suited the age very well, and gosh, it was tragic. I know I need to reread this a second time.

Plays

You Can't Take It With You by Moss Hart, George Kaufman

The characters are absolutely ridiculous, the predicaments they get into, hilarious. Loved this play when I saw it onstage, and loved it when I got the script and read it for myself.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

This is probably the best story/play written about the Salem Witchtrials, and depressing, but

umm...bewitching nevertheless (ha ha). The character development was top notch, and it was a riot acting it out. :D

Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan

I had to watch this movie for a project in US History, and was immediately enthralled by it. Sure, maybe the Frost/Nixon interviews were not as important as the play or movie make them out to be, and sure, maybe some of it was inaccurate, but it's a BRILLIANT script, and a BRILLIANT movie (acting-wise, script-wise, technically, etc). I'm interested in journalism, media and films, so being able to study and take apart the script that had it all was amazing. (And um...I love this movie poster to pieces ---->)

Honorable mentions: Paper Towns by John Green, Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve, Behemoth (Leviathan #2) by Scott Westerfeld, and Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Er, I think I just listed every book I read this year. :P

But anyway, Happy Reading!

-Nonie