Last week I was emailed by Kelly, from YAnnabe, asking for my help in a Secret Blogger project. I’m always in for anything excititing! Her goal, and now the goal of nearly 40 other bloggers including myself, is to shed some light on the YA books that we love, that aren’t sitting on the Target Bookshelves, or bestsellers. We’re trying to give the little guys (the lesser known books) a chance in this YA reading world.

For my part, I checked books that did not have as many users owning and reviewing them on Librarything.com and looked at books mostly from 2008 and earlier. Things that may have slipped through the cracks, or books you saw, meant to read, but forgot when a Twlight book or something sucked up your time (Vampires suck blood, Twilight sucks time. I like my Vampires snarky, not sparkly but that’s my own vampire opinion lol)

(If you want to read  more listsof great YA books you may have missed, please check out Kelly’s list and the links to other blogger’s lists here.)

HERE We Go…EDITED POST filled with random notes about my reading habits, haha, sorry.

Audrey, Wait! Robin Benway
Fun Fun Fun! Usually I stay away from YA books that aren’t paranormal, fantasy or mysteries….straight on teen life things bore me. This very well could be because I’m 10 years past being 17…but I was the same way in High School, but this one was faboo for sure. It’s a bit over the top, with all the sort of FACE PALM moments, but that’s what makes it GREAT! I actually liked reading about someone who had worse luck than I do haha. The relationship parts were cute, and were paced throughout the book, not just slapped in, and the entire book left me with the “I feel SO BAD for her RIGHT NOW…BUT I ALSO WANT TO LAUGH” feeling. ;)

Chalice by Robin McKinley
I wasn’t a reader in elementary school, not from the start at least. I was the I WILL TAKE EVERY KITTEN BOOK AND READ IT OVER AND OVER kid. I think I finally got hooked on fiction in 4-6th grade thanks to the trade books we did in class. In 6thgrade my teacher gave us a copy of “The Hero and the Crown” as the trade book…which he stopped reading less than halfway through, because, um high fantasy with 6th graders who are used reading books like “Sixth Grade can really kill you” (books about kids our age, in a school setting) doesn’t quite work if you just throw it out there. I was hooked though, I kept my copy, and read it over and over again, and it is officially my favorite book…the book I have parts memorized to. Um Edward Cullen, no Thanks, I’ll take Luthe, because Mages are far more awesome than Vampires :P I love Robin’s Fairy Tale retellings, but not as much as her Damar books….and I have to admit I didn’t read SUNSHINE or those Dragon Training ones. But I kept missing that vintage McKinley style of writing. The sense of wonder you get from reading her world building, and most importantly THE CHARACTERS, their interactions. CHALICE was a return back to that style. It’s not in my heart like her earlier works, but it is a satisfying read, that will suck you in with its magic, and beauty and the beast motif (less direct than her 2 retellings of Beauty and the Beast, but it is still there.)

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
I’m a fairy tale and fantasy girl, my entire high school reading was actually high fantasy and star wars books, back then being a geek wasn’t in style like now haha so if you give me a dragon book, I’m still so there. This great little number I found in my own school library, though it’s readers can range from 11 or so to 27, and beyond. I just say 27 for a fact because I have a 5th grader reading it now after 27 year old me recommended it. It’s clear that Jessica Day George read and loved many of the same books as me, Robin McKinley, Patricia C. Wrede, Gail Carson Levine, as this book matches up with them in both style and substance. While not as light as something by Wrede’s Enchanted forest, it also shows a great relationship between a girl and her unlikely friend, a dragon. I know my higher level readers love this one so please don’t let the fact that I picked this book from an Elementary Library scare you away, this is a great read for YA fantasy readers.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson
I love cupcakes. I love supernatural books. I love something written with a sense of humor, books that don’t take themselves that seriously. Maureen Johnson wrote this book, because it amused her, plain and simple…and it sure as heck amused me too.  The main character jumps off the page for you, I can totally see myself hanging out with her and rolling our eyes at the whole teen scene life of High School. I’ve seen many attempts at the whole HIGH SCHOOL IS HELL or SELLING YOUR SOUL concept, but Maureen does it so well in this book. It also…made me really really really hungry.

Enchanted, Inc. Shanna Swendson
Not labeled as YA as it is about  a 20 something in New York City, but I love this book and I know many teens, and YA readers would too… actually I think this series would have worked really well if it had been targeted for the YA audience. It’s about a normal texas girl who gets a job in NYC because she is just that, normal, regular, boring…. It makes her immune to magic, so she can work with wizards and other spell casting types and folks from fairy tales without having spells work on her. There are so many fractured fairy inspired books in YA right now, which makes me soooooo happy, that this cute series would be interesting to those readers. If you are the type of person who wishes Hogwarts was real, or that you could snag a prince after kissing a frog, grab this series! So cute and funny!!

Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner
I’m confused on why this did not show up on more Librarything lists, as I see this book, and it’s sequels displayed when I go to Borders, and I think I recall seeing it at Target too. Basically if you give me a retelling (fairy tale, historical based, anything) and mix it with a headstrong female main character, I am so there. This one is the story of Helen of Troy as a teenager…a really feisty teenager.

Ophelia by Lisa Klein
English major here…who was one class away from a Theater Minor in Undergrad…I’ll take any and all Shakespearian Revampings you want to send my way. I always felt poor Ophelia got the short end of the character stick…no boy is worth drowning for ;) But this reworking gives us a fleshed out Ophelia…we see what she feeling with the loss of her father, and what she actually liked in Hamlet, and what happened leading up to…and after the whole pond incident. Very interesting read.

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale
I really love Shannon Hale’s books….”The Goose Girl” is my favorite by her, and on my list of favorite books in general. You probably have gotten the idea by now that if something is fairy tale based (or has snarky supernatural fun) that it will be a Melissa kind of book. I met Shannon Hale at ALA right after I first became a Librarian, and she told me such nice things about how I will change people’s lives and affect so many people. So maybe I am bias when I say you should read RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE….but so what, it’s awesome! A graphic novel that takes the familiar  Rapuzel story and sets it in the Wild West, Rapunzel’s Revenge is a wild ride, and great fun!

Story Time by Edward Bloor
As a teacher I have to tell you, I think Standardized Testing is evil, so, while this book is a satirical look at the American Education system and it’s testing pressure, I don’t think it would take much to convince me all those state tests went hand to hand with real Demons. I actually read this on the Beach in NJ a few years back, and while it’s no beach read (Girl and her similarly aged genius uncle get shipped off to a fancy school, where they are trained physically, and mentally for tests tests tests tests. The teachers and staff start to get possessed by a Demon, and all Hell Breaks loose as they say) It reminded me a bit of reading “The Book of Lost things” (WHICH I LOVE) as it reads on the surface as a basic children’s scary story, but is so much more.

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess
As a teenager I wasn’t a YA reader, I mentioned that before, I don’t think it was as big then (late 90’s) or  maybe my library just wasn’t stocked up “(which is VERY possible, as I seemed to be the only one there to TAKE OUT BOOKS. Everyone else was trying to get out of study hall and wanted to play mine sweeper on a computer or the Oregon Trail.) But when I was in college I read “Speak” for the first time, it turned me on to the YA thing. “Such a Pretty Girl” is very speak-like in nature, as it deals with a girl trying to find strength after being abused (in this case by her father (who was just released from prison and is coming home.) I felt it was a very honest, an emotional look inside the mind of a broken girl.

I REALLY should be turning on one of my exercise dvds, or the Wii fit right now, since I am at my parents’ house for the Holiday, and they are at the YMCA. That should be inspiring me, and also…it’s my one chance at using their TV! So I’ll post this quickly.

Other than the 50 books in a year challenge I’ve never done a reading challenge before. When I saw the 2010 New Author Challenge I thought this would be a great one to start with. Since I got on twitter I’ve heard about so many great upcoming books, and got to chat with some new authors, and I really want to support book publishing in general. Best seller’s and famous authors are fun to read I guess, I usually hide from the trendy mass population books (anything with an Oprah sticker for example) haha, but I love to find new exciting things to read.

Here is the scoop on what I am going to be doing, as explained by Kristi, you can find more information at the Story Siren’s Site:

•The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I’m going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.
•Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.
•The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!

Look at all the great books that will be coming out:
Debut Authors
The Tenners
Class of 2k10

Ahhh! So many new books, I guess I’ll never get to my TBR Shelf that I spoke about in my last post.

Right Now, I really want Brightly Woven, as I am a sucker for High Fantasty. I have it pre-ordered. Hex Hall, Firespell, and Before I Fall, and 13 Treasures look like Melissa Books as well.

I did it! I met my 50 books in one year goal. I thought I was under, but I rechecked and found 2 books that I forgot to put in (The Summoning and Found) and decided since I put the work into reading my text books for class that they should count…unless I miscounted, which is very possible actually.

Last year I got to 48, so my goal for 2010 will be to beat my 51 from this year. I have three Library books out right now that I am looking forward to reading this week/weekend. I’m going to finish “The Awakening” tomorrow then move on to “Posion Study” probably…though the book Jeff got me for Christmas “The Seance” is looking very very tempting!

January:

1.) Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George 352 pages (4 stars)

2.) The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition by J. K. Rowling (4 stars)

3.) A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, Book 3) by Gregory Maguire 336 pages (3 stars)

4.) Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore #1) by Ursula LeGuin (3 stars)

5.) Chalice by Robin McKinley 263 Pages (finished last 68 pages on Feb 1, during the Super Bowl) (4 stars)

6.) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (4.5 stars)

February:

7.) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (3 stars)

8.)  The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier (3 stars)

9.) Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

10. Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner

March:

11.  Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (4 stars)

April:

12. Kin (The Good Neighbors, Book 1) by Holly Black (3.5 stars)

13. Neverwhere: A Novel by Neil Gaiman (4 or 4.5 stars)

14. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (5 stars, not quite Speak, but excellent!)

15.  Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale (Graphic Novel of a Cowgirl Rapunzel, um, this can’t be anymore of a Melissa Book)

16 Amulet: Book 1 (Amulet) by Kazu Kibuishi

17. My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

MAY

18.Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars (Smart Pop series)

19. Atlas: Poems by Katrina Vandenberg

20.  Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson (finished in June)

JUNE

21. Thirteenth Child (Frontier Magic Book) by Patricia C. Wrede

JULY

22. City of Glass (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare (4 star series, actually got into this even if the WTH factor of the first two books ha)

23. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black (I expected to love this one, as I am more of a fairy and magic person, than vampires/werewolves, but maybe I would say for me a 3.5, I couldn’t really get into it, it reminded me of so many other books, which is a shame because this is one of the books to start the big YA Urban Fantasy kick, and the books it reminds me of are really inspired by this one, I guess as a teenager I wasn’t at all like this, so I couldn’t relate, I think Holly Black in general is awesome though, she reminds me of me, if I were awesome)

24. Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow A new paranormal YA series that has potential, a bit like watching Supernatural, but with the main character as a teenage girl, nothing ground breaking, but enjoyable

25. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins finally, a book I can get emotionally attached to, I like to feel my books, and like everyone has been saying, this one is a winner. Interesting story idea, well written characters, highly recommended reading!

26. Troy High by Shana Norris (3.5-4 stars)

27. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink (5 stars)

28. The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1) by Kelley Armstrong

August

29. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

(4.5 )-Usually I hide from realistic YA fiction, especially the one with random faceless girls on the cover, I’m not a girlie book lets talk about boys and our period type of reader. If I did not already know Maureen Johnson is freakin’ hilarious I might have passed on this book. Glad I didn’t. Okay, so there is some talking about boys, one in particular, but he’s got an accent, so I’m good! haha I love mysteries, and this one kept me thinking “Okay what random and insanely funny thing will happen next?” Loved it. :D

30.  The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

(2.5 )-Oh how I wanted to love this book, It had all the classic Melissa Elements…magic, pretty dresses, thieves,  pretending to be what you aren’t and having it nip you in the bud, cinderela-like qualities, a donkey that acts like a dog. It wasn’t even the WTH orign of the “witch” (because I already knew that from an amazon review, I don’t mind spoilers really) It just fell flat for me, not enough characterization, or really details. It was a quick little thing, and Okay book but nothing to write home about sadly. Someone compared it to things by Gail Carson Levine, and while it’s probably a good fit from those readers Middle School and my late elementary princess book crowd, Gail Carson Levine’s works seem much stronger. This left me with a okay, that was….cute and all but I need some Robin McKinley to remind myself how real YA fantasy feels.

31.  Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Solid YA fantasy, with all the right elements, to make it a young adult fantasy lover happy (danger! forbidden magic! cute boy with dark side! trees that can kill you! hints of romance and star-crossed love!) Liza, the main character, lives in a town run by her father’s strong fist, a fist that has come down on Liza many times along with his belt. The story is set after the great way between the Faerie people and Americans (? the world?) Liza is taught by her father that all magic is evil, and must be purged from society but when her own sister is born with Fae characteristics and Liza herself begins to experience magical abilities her father’s view of the world begins to make less and less sense. As she travels in search of her missing mother, she must try to unravel terrifying visions, and learn to trust in what she was taught to fear and hate.

32. Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman Graphic Novel Version of Gaiman’s short story of the same name from “Smoke and Mirrors” I do love me some creepy Gaiman with murdered angels, and a pointless starting narrative which becomes way less pointless after reading the murdered angel bit- that man’s mind must be a scary scary place…and yet he is always so cheery, hmmm…

33. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

34. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

35. The Stolen One by Suzanne Carlisle Crowley

36.  Wings by Aprilynne Pike

37.  You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

September

38. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

39.  Catching Fire (Hunger Games, #2) by S. Collins

40.   Snow White And Rose Red by Patrica C. Wrede

October

41.  Dreaming Anastasia: A Novel of Love, Magic, and the Power of Dreams by Joy Preble

42.  Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

43. Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater (5 stars, tied for favorite book this year, along with Hunger Games and The Forest of Hands and Teeth)

44. Found (The Missing, #1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

November:

45. Eyes Like Stars (The Théâtre Illuminata: Act 1) by Lisa Mantchev Really interesting theater based (as in Characters from Shakespeare and other plays made appearances) YA book. It’s the start of a series. I can’t wait to keep reading, since it’s so unique (4 stars)

46. Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe I remember liking this book as I read it, but now (Dec 31) about a month after reading it I can’t remember the details of it very well at all…not a good sign haha, but I remember it was cute, if you want some light YA ghostly fun this quick read would work well.

47. The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going finally getting to some of my books I bought at the book fair, which willbw donated by myself into my library collections at school. This one looked good to me, as it had religious allusions, and ghosts. Slightly eerie middle reader that I know some of my students would enjoy

48. Sent (The Missing, #2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix I never read “Among the hidden” and the books by Haddix in that series, but I am loving her new series (The Missing) they are part science fiction, part historial fiction, and part mystery.

December

49. The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner Loovvved it! Complete, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE, but <3!

50. Suddenly Supernatural: Scaredy Kat by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Another Book Fair pick,  read book 1 and really enjoyed it, as I was one of those kid’s glued to the screen watching “Are You Afraid of the Dark” back in the 90’s, so this really worked for me. Sure it’s for 12 year olds, but it’s spooky I swear lol

51. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink Read for a Class

51.5 . The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2) by Kelley Armstrong Only half done with this one, but really enjoying it. An hour left in the year, but I’m going to spend it playing scrabble with Pam instead of finishing, because I am a bad bad person :D