young adult fiction

Jan 3 2012

My Favorite Reads of 2011

I wasn’t able to post thoughts on the books I read in 2011 by the end of the year so I am doing it this week.  I noted the general statistics yesterday and today want to tackle my favorite reads.  Like last year, I am going to break in out into categories.

Young Adult Fiction

A large chunk of my reading this year was YA (30 of 79 books were roughly in this category) so I had a lot of books to chose from in 2011. So here are ten of my favorites in no particular order:

  1. Cover of "The Wednesday Wars"

    Cover of The Wednesday Wars

    I am going to cheat a little and put two books by Gary D. Schmidt on the list, Okay or Now and The Wednesday Wars.  ”Great stories, great characters, imaginative settings and clear writing make these two books great reads. I highly recommend them.”

  2. I am also going to put N.D. Wilson here because I can’t choose just one of his wonderful books I read this year: The Dragon’s Tooth (start of the new Ashtown Burials series) and the entire 100 Cupboards series)  ”… if you like large, complex and imaginative fantasy series this one is a must read.”
  3. Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby “Kirby weaves a great tale. There is historical detail, psychological insight, mystery, intrigue and more.”
  4. Skellig by David Almond “It is a simple and yet powerful story of friendship, family, compassion and faith.”
  5. The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi “The world DiTerlizzi has created is captivating and mysterious enough that you want to keep reading; not just to see the next illustration but to dig a little deeper into the mystery.”

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By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jan 2 2012

2011 Books Read Statistics

I intended to do some wraping up of 2011 before the year actually ended but some technical difficulties prevented that from happening. So I will instead look back this week.

For the first time since I have been tracking them, I read 75 books in a year – 79 actually.  That is six more than I read in both 2008 and 2009 but I actually read 19,672 pages in 2009. Must have been reading longer books (a couple of Kindle Singles I counted as book too).

Goodreads has the details. Here is the raw data I have compiled

Total books read: 79
Total Pages: 19,135
Young Adult Fiction: 30
“Adult” Fiction: 14
Non-Fiction: 25
Faith/Theology: 12

I guess I knew this, but what really jumped out to me is how much YA fiction I read. Combine this with a theological focus and you have a lot less “adult” fiction.

In another post I will try to sort out my favorites from 2011.

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Dec 28 2011

Skellig by David Almond

I picked up Skellig by David Almond at Half Price Books for a dollar.  I believe I was vaguely aware of it being a young adult classic (the edition I picked up is the Printz Honor hardback after all) but it sat on the shelf for quite a while as I stumbled on numerous references to its quality and meaning to read it.  Finally the mood struck and I read it.

Description:

Cover of "Skellig"

Cover of Skellig

Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage . . . What is this thing beneath the spiderwebs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael’s world changes forever. . . .

I really should have read this book a long time ago.

It is a simple and yet powerful story of friendship, family, compassion and faith. It is written with directness and yet somehow also manages to be mysterious and keep the magic just off stage – and thus the reader yearning for more – until the end. Almond doesn’t insist that the story be “explained” or that everything be wrapped up neat and tidy by the end – the mystery is allowed to be just that, a mystery.

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Dec 26 2011

Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto by Gianni Rodari, Antony Shugaar (Translator)

I first heard about Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto from Shelf Awareness and decided to pick it up on Kindle.  I was unaware of the book’s history – this is the first English translation of what has been labeled  ”one of Italy’s most beloved fables” – but something about it intrigued me (lighthearted, fables, young adult, etc.).  It turned out to be an easy read and rather witty in places but somewhat inexplicable as well – but fables often have this quality I suppose.  The line drawings add to the silly and almost absurd feel.

A modern fable for children and adults: a story of one man’s quest for eternal life and how finds it in the most extraordinary of ways—in the grand tradition of Saint-Exúpery’s The Little Prince

When we first meet 93-year-old millionaire Baron Lamberto, he has been diagnosed with 24 life-threatening ailments—one for each of the 24 banks he owns! But when he takes the advice of an Egyptian mystic and hires servants to chant his name over and over again, he seems to not only get better, but younger.

Except then a terrorist group lays siege to his island villa, his team of bank managers has to be bussed in to help with the ransom negotiations, and a media spectacle breaks out . . .

A hilarious and strangely moving tale that seems ripped from the headlines—although actually written during the time the Red Brigades were terrorizing Italy—Gianni Rodari’s Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto has become one of Italy’s most beloved fables. Never before translated into English, it’s a reminder, as Rodari writes, that “there are things that only happen in fairytales.”

What makes the story interesting is adroit blending of the all too believable with the incredible – the fabulism and humor blended with the more serious aspects like media spectacles  and the threat of terrorism. The characters interact in humorous but totally believable and understandable ways. We recognize the stock type characters (dedicated butler, lazy but greedy nephew, board of directors and their secretaries, and the townspeople) and enjoy the humor of Lord Lamberto’s new-found youth.

When the band of Lamberto’s take over the island and issue their demands the story takes a turn toward the even more incredible but at the same time very serious.

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Dec 12 2011

Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge

I loved Fly By Night so when I saw a sequel had been released I knew I needed to read it right away.   And if you enjoyed the first book I think you will enjoy Fly Trap as well. It is full of the same dry humor, word play, imaginative characters, fascinating world building and intricate plots.

Having barely escaped the revolution they had a huge (if accidental) part in causing, sharp-eyed orphan Mosca Mye; her guard goose, Saracen; and their sometimes-loyal companion, the con man Eponymous Clent, must start anew.

All too quickly, they find themselves embroiled in fresh schemes and twisting politics as they are trapped in Toll, an odd town that changes its entire personality as day turns to night. Mosca and her friends attempt to fend off devious new foes, subvert old enemies, prevent the kidnapping of the mayor’s daughter, steal the town’s Luck, and somehow manage to escape with their lives—and hopefully a little money in their pockets.

In the eagerly awaited sequel to Fly by Night, acclaimed storyteller Frances Hardinge returns to a vivid world rich with humor, danger, and discovery.

This one has a serious idea below the surface as well: that treating people differently based on arbitrary standards warps and poisons society. Hardinge powerfully portrays how society becomes stratified with those in power using fear to divide and conquer. Keep Reading

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