My Favorites of 2009

Once again, it's time for my favorite books of the year roundup. As I did last year, this list is comprised of books I have read in 2009, not necessarily book published in 2009. These books made the top of my list this year and I want to give you some times when these books may be just what you're looking for.

5. Shut Up by Marilyn Reynolds

When you're too afraid to tell . . .

4.Wake by Lisa McMann

When your dreams are not really your own. . .

3.Bait by Alex Sanchez

 When you need help finding the courage inside oneself to face the past and strive toward a better future. Even when you have to make hard decisions to get there.

2. Impossible: a Novel by Nancy Werlin

 When you find out that you are faced with the combination of a family curse, a folk song, three very impossible tasks and need help to find the will to beat the odds.

and finally, my #1 Favorite read of 2009 is. ..

1. Th1rteen R3asons Why By Jay Asher

When you're the one left behind and you really want answers. . .

Th1rteen R3asons Why really spoke to me and made me feel a little bit of closure from a very similar incident in my life.

Hope you had a great year of reading and I can't wait until 2010 to start and to see what awesome books I'm going to find. Happy New Year and of course, Happy Reading!

Bait by Alex Sanchez

In this new novel by Alex Sanchez, we are introduced to Diego MacMann, a troubled teenage boy who is meeting his new probation officer for the first time-- right before his court date. Besides having a temper, Diego appears to be a model student, a hard worker and great big brother. But Diego is hiding a few secrets underneath his anger. With the help of Mr. Vidas, his probation officer, Diego begins to deal with the source of his anger and begins to allow himself to trust and rely on other people.

~~~~~

I have read some of Alex Sanchez's other books and must say that with this one, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I felt myself falling into Diego's despair at points and understanding his anger at others. With each page I turned, I felt myself wanting to wrap Diego up in the hug I felt he desperately needed at the time.

I have to admit, I didn't like some of the things the mother in the book put Diego through. I didn't like the way the mother constantly lied to make things seem better instead of actually dealing with the truth. I felt that she needed to grow up and deal with things instead of placing the blame elsewhere.

All in all, I must say I really liked this book. I really liked the growth Diego had to accomplish in the book and I really liked the way Alex Sanchez used the ocean and sharks throughout the novel.

Pretty Little Liars Challenge hosted by Trisha's Book Blog

I have been meaning to read the Pretty Little Liars series for some time now, and just haven't gotten around to it. Well, Trisha at Trisha's Book Blog has come up with a challenge to read all the books by 31 December 2010. I'm going to try to do it! I hope you will join me.

Go to Trisha's blog to find out all about the challenge and sign up. This should be fun.

*** Update: This was an EPIC FAIL for me. I still need to finish the first one. . . and I'm already a full session behind on the show.***

Books that Have Changed Your Life. . . I want to Hear from You.

Okay, my faithful followers and newcomers to my part of the world, I have a question for you and I hope you will answer me back. I want to know some of the books that have changed your life, or have helped shape you into the man or woman you are today (or are hoping to become). These books can be anything from a picture book to a novel like War and Peace (you're amazing if you've read that!).
You don't have to blog about the book(s), just leave a comment on the page and we'll see where this goes.

One book that has changed my life is Jay Asher's Th1rteen R3asons Why. As a person who was very much in Clay's shoes at one time, I found great comfort in the novel and a slight understanding of what "my Hannah" (who was a boy) may have gone through. The book also helped me realize that sometimes, it's not just one thing that causes someone to snap, but a slow progression of events or attitudes that can bury someone.

Well, that's one of mine. Let me hear yours.

Dr. Lindsey Warren

For the first time on this blog, I am posting about a non-book issue. A great man in the field of Communications passed away yesterday and my heart is a little heavier. Dr. Lindsey Warren was my Great Speeches professor in University and he will be missed. Looking back at my time as his pupil, I realize that he helped shape me to become the woman I am today. Everytime I said, "But how can I know who I am?", he would try to help me figure it out. Dr. Warren was a brilliant man, an amazing professor and most of all a devot Christian and I know that he is enjoying Heaven with God and the angels above and I hope that one day, I will meet him again in Heaven.

And know we will get back to posting about books. . .

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In a society where abortion is totally illegal, parents have few options when dealing with an unplanned child. They can choose to "dump" the baby on a strangers doorstep after it's born (and that family would HAVE to raise the child), they can drop the kid off in a state home (StaHo) where the child basically has to compete for the right to live' or raise the child until they are 13 and then have them unwound.

Unwinding is only an option for children between the ages of 13 and 18 and when the Unwind orders are finalized, the child is taken to a special center where they await their bodies being harvested piece by piece while they are still awake.
For 3 kids, the Unwind orders are signed, sealed and they are being delivered to the harvest. Lev is the 10th child of 10 children and he is being offered as a tithe to God. Risa, who grew up in a StaHo is being Unwound to make room for the babies because she's not special enough to live whole. And Connor finds tickets for his parents and brother to go on a vacation and finds his unwind orders for the day before the vacation.
A chance meeting binds these three children together and their survival becomes interdependent on each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This book was what I like to call a mind-trip in a book. I will admit that reading this book angered me a bit and caused me to think about it for days. The thought of dismembering teenagers haunted my dreams for at least a week, but I think that's exactly what Neal Shusterman wanted. This book really did make me think about where I stand on certain issues and made me realize that maybe everything is a simple issue. . .

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Lucy Scarborough has a hideous family secret. The women in her family are all cursed to become pregnant at age 17, give birth at 18 and then slip into madness. And unfortunately, Lucy is not an exception. While visits from her birth mother are sporadic, they are filled with trouble and strife, and a weird old folksong.

Lucy's journey begins with an ill-fated prom date ending in her being raped to conceiving her child (even after taking emergency contraception). Once her mother's journal is found by her friend Zach pieces begin to fall into place and the folksong takes on a new haunting and horrible meaning. . .

Lucy has to figure out the song and how to perform the tasks that are in it, all before her baby is born. If she doesn't, she and her unborn daughter will be forced to follow the footsteps of the other women in their family history.

~~~~~~~~~

Let me just say this: I LOVED this story. I found myself researching Scarborough Fair and The Elfin Knight to try to piece the puzzle together at the same time Lucy, Zach and their family tried to. I know for one, I will never be able to listen to Scarborough Fair the same way again. I never realized how haunting that song could be.