A Year in Review: 2008-2009

Well, despite a slow last couple of months, my blog has reached it’s one year anniversary.  And I think the year has been rather successful.  I experimented with different styles of reviews, having polls, and the types of YA lit that I’ve read.  I have plenty more to do, and I am hoping to renew my efforts for year number 2.

 

For now, here’s a recap of all the books I’ve reviewed here on YA Lit, the Good, the Bad, the Ugly.

October 2008

Cut- Patricia McCormick

Out of the Dust– Karen Hess

Leaving Fischers- Margaret Haddix

A Hero Ain’t Nothing But A Sandwich– Alice Childress

Whale Talk– Chris Crutcher

Looking For Alaska- John Green

November 2008

Romiette and Julio– Sharon Draper

House of the Scorpion- Nancy Farmer

Seek- Paul Fleischman

Scorpions- Walter Dean Meyers

I am the Cheese- Robert Cormier

Twisted- Laurie Halse Anderson

Monster- Walter Dean Meyers

 

December 2008

Copper Sun– Sharon Draper

 

January 2009

I am the Messenger – Markus Zusak

Slam– Nick Hornby

 

February 2009

Maximum Ride– James Patterson

An Abundance of Katherines– John Green

 

March 2009

Boy Proof- Cecil Castellucci

Room in the Heart- Sonia Levitin

Confessions of an Not it Girl- Melissa Kantor

How Ya Like Me Now?– Brendan Halpin

Cuba 15- Nancy Osa

Bullyville- Francine Prose

Tangerine- Edward Bloor

Wintergirls- Laurie Halse Anderson

Beauty Shop For Rent- Laura Bowers

 

April 2009

The Battle of Jericho- Sharon Draper

Persepolis– Marjane Satrapi

A Step From Heaven– An Na

Kit’s Wilderness- David Almond

The White Darkness- Geraldine McCaughrean

American Born Chinese- Gene Luen Yang

Nation- Terry Pratchett

 

May 2009

The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier

Dead is the New Black- Marlene Perez

Jellicoe Road– Melina Marchetta

Tears of a Tiger– Sharon Draper

Being Nikki- Meg Cabot

 

June 2009

Ghostgirl– Tonya Hurley

Max- James Patterson

 

July 2009

The Hunger Games– Suzanne Collins

So Not The Drama- Paula Chase

Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes- Chris Crutcher

 

August 2009

Ghostgirl:Homecoming- Tonya Hurley

 

September-October 2009

No new book reviews- though I did re-read Tears of A Tiger and Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes during these months.

 

I’ve made it through 45 reviews.  I hope to top that during my second year.  Stay tuned!

 

 

Ultimate YA Bookshelf

YALSA has come out with their “Ultimate YA Bookshelf” which has 50 books, 5 magazines, and 5 audiobooks.  The premise behind it and a link to the pdf can be found here.

Here are the 50 books-  I am interested in how many of them I’ve read- and whether most of them are specifically YA lit or just books that Young Adults might enjoy…

Just so I can keep it straight I will BOLD the ones I’ve read and UNDERLINE the one’s I’ve never heard of- as, I’m afraid to admit there are many!

1. Acceleration by Graham McNamee
2. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
3. All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
5. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
6. Beauty by Robin McKinley
7. Black and White by Paul Volponi
8. Blizzard! The Storm that Changed America by Jim Murphy
9. Bone series by Jeff Smith
10. The Book Thief by Mark Zusak
11. Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
12. The Chosen by Chaim Potok
13. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank
14. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
15. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
16. Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
17. Feed by M.T. Anderson
18. Fruits Basket series by Natsuki Takaya
19. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
20. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
21. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
22. The Guinness Book of World Records
23. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
24. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
25. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
26. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
27. I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
28. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
29. If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
30. The Killer’s Cousin by Nancy Werlin
31. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
32. Looking for Alaska by John Green
33. Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
34. My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
35. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
36. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
37. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
38. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
39. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
40. Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
41. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
42. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
43. Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
44. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
45. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
46. Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
47. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
48. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
49. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
50. Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Wow, I’ve read only 16 out of the 50.  Oh, and I’ve gone through The Guinness Book of World Records, but have not read it cover to cover… has anyone?  That’d put me at 17.  I’m glad that several of the books are already on my to read list!

I’ve never heard of 22 of the books.  I have heard of many of those authors though.

updated: 8/13/09

April’s Recap

April was a good month for reading for me.  Which is surprising because I had a lot going on.  So in case you missed it- here’s what I read:(Numbers correspond to their placement on my list of books read so far for the entire year.)

17. A White Darkness – Geraldine McCaughrean
18. American Born Chinese– Gene Luen Yang
19.  Nation– Terry Pratchett
20. The Battle of Jericho– Sharon M. Draper
21.  Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood– Marjane Satrapi
22.  A Step From Heaven– An Na
23.  Kit’s Wilderness– David Almond

Total YA Books in April: 7 (6- if you don’t count Persepolis)

Total Adult Books in April: 0 (1- if you do count Persepolis)

Total Books in April: 7

Total Books for Year: 23

I guess I should probably throw in some adult literature as well.  This month I’ll at least finish 1984, and hopefully will read some other adult lit as well.

Nation- Terry Pratchett

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This Printz honor book has historical and fantastical elements to it.  With both male and female teens being central to the story it will appeal to both sexes.  As the characters are on an isolated island there is a lot of adventure, science, and discussion of faith.  Some parts of the story seemed to drag to me, and or were hard to follow, but overall I found it engaging and interesting and worth the read.  The story also deals with the issues of racism.  I am not sure that I would use this book in a classroom because I think students could get confused as to whether it were historically accurate or not.  I would however recommend it to students to read independently.  I’d say this book is probably best suited for middle school students, but high schoolers may enjoy it as well.

Awards:

2009 Printz Honor Book

2008 LA Times- Young Adult Finalist