100 Best YA Books!

from Lu’s Bloody Big Book Blog by Lu

Shelag from Word Fiend and Chrizette from All they days of posted this list with the 100 top YA books and I thought I would join in. How many have you read?

My total: 22/100 and 35 Books

► Read
► On my TBR pile/list

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3, 4)
18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2, 3)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2, 3)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I Live Now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere Carnal Over 40 Winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2, 3)
86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephenie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephenie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

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Review: The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series #1

YA Fiction/Adventure/Fantasy, Published 2008

Read June 2010, 375 pp.

Challenges: 2010 YA Reading Challenge, Series IV Challenge

Shelf Life: 1 year, which is 1 year too long! – Purchased 6-1-09

Verdict: 5/5

Book Blurb:

He holds the secret that can end the world.

The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330.  Nearly seven hundred years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day.  It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives.  But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries.  The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects – the Book of Abraham the Mage.  It’s the most powerful book that has ever existed.  In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world.

That’s exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it.  Humankind won’t know what’s happening until it’s too late.  And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

My Thoughts:

Touted as the true heir to the Harry Potter series, The Alchemyst does not disappoint.  For some reason I put this book down last summer with about 100 pages to go.  As I recently picked it up again, I decided to reread the first 250 pages to refresh my memory on all of the story’s action.  I’m still wondering WHY did I put this down??  If you love history and a lot of magic, you’re going to love this tale of two fifteen-year-old twins, Josh and Sophie, who get tangled up with the infamous Nicholas Flamel and John Dee as well as numerous known mythological gods and the entire book spans only two days.

John Dee was a true alchemist of his time during the Elizabethan Age.  He worked for Queen Elizabeth I and signed his coded messages with “007.”  Nicholas Flamel lived during the late 14th to early 15th century as a bookseller and scrivener and actually came across the Book of Abraham, referred to as the Codex.  He traveled Europe for many years trying to figure out its true secrets.  He and his wife Perenelle disappeared and returned with a fortune and no one ever found out how they came about all the money. After they died, thieves and grave robbers searched and searched for traces of their fortune, never to find any gold or their remains in their tombs.  The Flamel home is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Paris.

I absolutely love the real history behind Scott’s fantastical adventure tale as well as the sarcastic humor throughout.  I think this is a great summer read for the young adult crowd as well as anyone looking for a book with nonstop action throughout.  Find out more about the real Nick, Perry, and Dee!  I definitely can’t wait to find out what happens next in The Magician.

Book Quotes:

The thick pages were about six inches across by nine inches long and were composed of what looked like pressed bark.  Tendrils of fibers and leaves were clearly visible in the surfaces, and both were covered with jagged, angular writing.  The first letter at the top left-hand corner of each page was beautifully illuminated in gold and red, while the rest of the words were written in reddish black ink.

And the words were moving.

Sophie and Josh watched as the letters shifted on the page like tiny beetles, shaping and reshaping themselves, becoming briefly almost legible in recognizable languages like Latin or Old English, but then immediately dissolving and re-forming into ancient-looking symbols not unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs or Celtic Ogham.

-description of the Codex or the Book of the Mage – p.26-27

“There is something very wrong with this house.”  Sophie strode into her brother’s room, holding her expensive cell phone up to her face.  “I can’t get a signal anywhere.”  She moved around the room, watching the screen, but the signal remained flat.

Josh looked blankly at his sister.  “Wrong with this house?” he repeated incredulously.  Then he spoke very slowly.  “Sophie, we’re inside a tree!  I’d say there’s something wrong with that, wouldn’t you?” -p. 124

Every magician has his or her own distinctive odor; rather like a magical fingerprint.  You must learn to heed your senses.  Humans use buy a tiny percentage of theirs.  They barely look, they rarely listen, they never smell, and they think that they can only experience feelings through their skin.   But they talk, oh, do they talk. -N. Flamel p. 149

“How do you know where we’re going?” [Sophie] whispered, bringing her mouth close to his ear.  All the rooms looked identical to her.

“When we first came into the house, I noticed that the walls and floor were dark, but as we moved down the corridors, they became lighter and paler in color.  Then I realized that we were walking through different shades of wood, like the rings of a tree trunk.  All we have to do is follow the corrior that leads to the dark wood.”

“Smart,” Sophie said, impressed.

Josh glanced over his shoulder and grinned.  “Told you those video games weren’t a waste of time.  The only way not to get lost in the maze games is to watch for clues, like patterns on a wall or ceilings, and to keep a note of your steps so you can retrace them if you need to.” -p. 173

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

YA Book Challenge 2009, Series Challenge III

YA fiction, Published 2007

Read Dec 2009

Rating: 5/5

Movie Rating: PG

Recommended to anyone who is in or ever went to middle school.

It’s a new year at middle school and Greg Heffley’s mom has given him a journal to hopefully reign in some of his obnoxious behavior. Greg points out to not expect “Dear Diary this and Dear Diary that” from him and if anyone finds out he’s keeping a journal, especially his older brother Rodrick, he’s dead.

I loved this book.  The book feels like a journal, with lines and all. Greg writes and draws to explain his misadventures at school and home.  I can see why this book has been claimed to get the many reluctant young readers back to reading again. Greg is the underdog that everyone wants to root for. His parents and teachers don’t understand him and he often gets in trouble. He’s the butt of this older brother’s jokes and has to keep on top of his younger brother, Manny, or he’ll get it too. He’s not the most popular kid in school, in fact he has one best friend, Rowley, and he’s mostly friends with him so he can play his video games down the street at his house.

The story arc revolves around a piece of cheese that must have fallen out of someone’s sandwich the year before and has laid on the blacktop in the school playground ever since.  Anyone who touches the cheese is cursed with the “Cheese Touch”, but luckily everyone is in the clear this year since the guy that was last cursed moved off at the end of last year.  But the piece of cheese has become even nastier this year and Greg is very aware of its whereabouts at all times on the playground. It soon comes back to haunt Greg and Rowley toward the end of the year.

In between the “Cheese Touch,” Greg survives September through June of another year in middle school.  I thought many of the situations Greg finds himself in are very humorous and indicative of middle school and I think everyone will find something to relate to. You’ll have to get your hands on this one to discover all of Greg’s misadventures.

On to Rodrick Rules…

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The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Review

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Children’s Fiction, Published 2007

2008 Caldecott Medal Finalist

J. Kaye’s Book Blog – 2009 Young Adult Book Challenge #1

Read Sept 2009

5/5

From the Cover:

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

Review:

Hugo, a 12 year old boy lives within the walls of a Paris train station in the early 1930s.  Hugo’s father died when he was small and all he has left of his father is a notebook of drawings and a broken automaton.  Hugo has been left in the care of his Uncle, who is the train station’s clock keeper, but Hugo’s uncle is a drunk and comes up missing, leaving Hugo to care for all the clocks in the station alone.  Meanwhile, Hugo works on his father’s automaton which he has to steals parts from a toy booth in the train station to repair it.  He soon becomes entangled with the toy booth keeper and his goddaughter. Hugo is determined to get his father’s automaton working and find out what the toy maker is so interested in his father’s notebook and what he has to do with it all.

While this book at first glance looks a little menacing, I was quickly swept away with the beautiful illustrations.  It is part children’s adventure novel and part graphic novel.  But the pictures don’t just illustrate the words, they help tell the story.  Hugo races around the train station trying to keep all the clocks in working order so his Uncle’s disappearance will go unnoticed as long as possible as well as repair his father’s automaton.  In the midst of high adventure, the story leaves off and picks up with 20 pages or more of illustrations telling Hugo’s story and then picks right back up with the words.  It’s a great bedtime story for children of all ages.

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