Sharing the Awesome Awards: Day One
I love making lists and awarding books for highly specific categories, so when I saw janicu was participating in the Sharing the Awesome Awards, hosted by inkcrush, I decided to throw in my own winners, too. I've read over 80 books so far in 2011, and here's my best of the best (so far). They've broken the awards into three days, so look for posts about favorite characters and favorite scenes to follow in the next two days. (Also, I apologize in advance that some of the same books are going to "win" in multiple categories, but favorites are favorites, ya know?)
Day One: The Books
1. favorite book read so far in 2011 - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.
This full-length novel by Laini Taylor retains all of her signatures from her short stories in Lips Touch: Three Times: exotic, vivid settings; sumptuous and sophisticated prose; complex characters driven by longing and passion; an intricate plot; playful bits of humor; and a tale brimming with wisdom, intensity, hopefulness, sacrifice, darkness, and a certain ineffable grown-up fairy tale quality. Loved it.
2. most powerful book - Leverage, by Josh Cohen
I read this in one (painful) sitting, sobbing the whole time. It's a dark book about bullying (not just what kids do to each other, but also how adults contribute and do their own form of bullying) told with two alternating narrators, who become unlikely allies after a (graphic) escalating series of attacks on a school mate: Kurt, the beefed-up football player who is secretly smart but also a stutterer with abuse in his past; and Danny, a small but talented gymnast who spends his school life looking over his shoulder for danger. This one is hard to read in the best way possible.
3. brilliantly funny - tie between Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride and Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
I've said enough in this blog about the genius that is Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and one of its strong points is its weird humor. Same with Beauty Queens, which is also subversive and silly (often a little too over-the-top, but nothing's perfect) and meaningful. Both kept me laughing and thinking.
4. best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read - Plain Kate, by Erin Bow
Oh Kate and Taggle, life is so unfair.
5. most beautiful story -- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Cat Valente
The plot, the prose (the wordplay alone!), the characters, the world, the illustrations -- everything meshes perfectly in this idiosyncratic, inventive, profound book.
6. delicious rainy day comfort read -- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Cat Valente
Like having someone curl up with you in bed at night and tell you the most amazing adventure.
7. adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award - Divergent, by Veronica Roth
The action really never stops in this teen dystopia, and that's a good thing, because it stops you from thinking about how the world (divided into five factions that represent "perfect" qualities: courage, honesty, selflessness, peacefulness, and intelligence) isn't really that well developed. But who cares when every page there's fighting and chasing and dangerous trials and heroic sacrifices and the like?
8. the beautiful prose award - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Cat Valente
To wit: "September let go a long-held breath. She stared into the roiling black-violet soup, thinking furiously. The trouble was, September didn’t know what sort of story she was in. Was it a merry one or a serious one? How ought she to act? If it were merry, she might dash after a Spoon, and it would all be a marvelous adventure, with funny rhymes and somersaults and a grand party with red lanterns at the end. But if it were a serious tale, she might have to do something important, something involving, with snow and arrows and enemies. Of course, we would like to tell her which. But no one may know the shape of the tale in which they move. And, perhaps, we do not truly know which sort of beast it is, either. Stories have a way of changing faces. They are unruly things, undisciplined, given to delinquency and the throwing of erasers. This is why we must close them up into thick, solid books, so they cannot get out and cause trouble."
9. most atmospheric and vivid setting, and 10. i-so-want-to-go-there-award - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
The way Taylor describes Prague is delicious and complex, everything from the tastes and sounds and smells and sights and emotions of the place. It has texture and richness and made me feel (a little bit) like I'd already been there.
11. most original and imaginative - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, by Cat Valente
12. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book - Mind Games, by Carolyn Crane.
I read so many advance reader copies, this was a hard one for me. Obviously it can’t be an underappreciated, hidden gem until after it’s published. But I had to buy this book on my Kindle in order to read it, because I couldn't get it from a library anywhere in Colorado, so that seems like a hidden gem to me.
13. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award - Sister Mischief, by Laura Goode
I really thought I would hate this book about suburban teenage girls who love hip hop and form their own queer hip hop collective to fight the administration at their high school when rap music and certain kinds of dress and style associated with rap music is outlawed. Just typing that out makes me want to hate it. It sounds like a book trying to cram in a ton of issues. But all of the characters, including narrator Esme, who is Jewish and a lesbian, are complex and realistic and honest, and the writing is just top notch (even with the hip hop slang). The rhymes Esme writes are worked into the story convincingly, and it became a really smart, meaningful book, especially as it focuses on Esme's first romantic relationship with her friend Rowie. Seriously, this book surprised me with how good it is.
14. most haunting story - Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys
I didn't love this book, finding the narrative a little too journalistic for me to have a personal connection with Lina, the narrator (even though it's written in first person), but that’s not to say this book isn’t upsetting. What’s upsetting about it is that we know Lina’s story, though fictional, is a true account of what happened to Lithuanians during Stalin’s regime, and it is tragic and haunting, even more so because of the suppression of these stories.
15. outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it - Sister Mischief, by Laura Goode
16. series that i’m loving - The Curse Workers, by Holly Black
This series -- White Cat, and most recently Red Glove -- is one of the most original paranormal teen fiction I've read. It's a dark, twisty heist story with a likable, sympathetic, but unreliable narrator, Cassel, the youngest son in a family of curse workers with mob ties, and it's genius.
17. most memorable voice award - tie between Ultraviolet, by RJ Anderson and Chime, by Franny Billingsley
Both of these have unreliable narrators (this is one of my favorite things ever), and both girls who narrate are potentially crazy, or at least led to believe that they are crazy. (Are they? I'll let you read these two books to find out.) Both of them also start out the story by telling you what awful, terrible, murdering people they are, and you're not sure what's going on. They both have distinctive, odd voices that totally fit their character's experiences and personalities and both books stand out because of it.
18. completely awesome premise award - Angel Burn, by LA Weatherly; Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray; Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride
Clearly, I had a tough time choosing this one. Angels turning out not to be benevolent guardians but inter-dimensional energy vampires feeding off people's lifeforce; Miss Teen Dream beauty pageant contestants crash-landing on a deserted island that turns out to be the hub of a government conspiracy; unwary burger joint slacker accosted by a crazy necromancer who claims he, too, can raise the dead . . . which would you pick?
19. would make the best movie - tie between Department 19, by Will Hill and Divergent, by Veronica Roth
A lot of the books on this list would make great movies, but both of these would be filled with blockbuster movie stuff: nonstop action and violence, some gore, and a little romance, along with underdog characters who aren't actually underdogs, because they turn out to be so awesome at kicking ass. Department 19 has vampires and Divergent has mind control. I'd go see both.
20. want to re-read already - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
To be honest, I had to struggle not to award this book for every category, so go me!
Day One: The Books
1. favorite book read so far in 2011 - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.
This full-length novel by Laini Taylor retains all of her signatures from her short stories in Lips Touch: Three Times: exotic, vivid settings; sumptuous and sophisticated prose; complex characters driven by longing and passion; an intricate plot; playful bits of humor; and a tale brimming with wisdom, intensity, hopefulness, sacrifice, darkness, and a certain ineffable grown-up fairy tale quality. Loved it.
2. most powerful book - Leverage, by Josh Cohen
I read this in one (painful) sitting, sobbing the whole time. It's a dark book about bullying (not just what kids do to each other, but also how adults contribute and do their own form of bullying) told with two alternating narrators, who become unlikely allies after a (graphic) escalating series of attacks on a school mate: Kurt, the beefed-up football player who is secretly smart but also a stutterer with abuse in his past; and Danny, a small but talented gymnast who spends his school life looking over his shoulder for danger. This one is hard to read in the best way possible.
3. brilliantly funny - tie between Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride and Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
I've said enough in this blog about the genius that is Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, and one of its strong points is its weird humor. Same with Beauty Queens, which is also subversive and silly (often a little too over-the-top, but nothing's perfect) and meaningful. Both kept me laughing and thinking.
4. best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read - Plain Kate, by Erin Bow
Oh Kate and Taggle, life is so unfair.
5. most beautiful story -- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Cat Valente
The plot, the prose (the wordplay alone!), the characters, the world, the illustrations -- everything meshes perfectly in this idiosyncratic, inventive, profound book.
6. delicious rainy day comfort read -- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Cat Valente
Like having someone curl up with you in bed at night and tell you the most amazing adventure.
7. adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award - Divergent, by Veronica Roth
The action really never stops in this teen dystopia, and that's a good thing, because it stops you from thinking about how the world (divided into five factions that represent "perfect" qualities: courage, honesty, selflessness, peacefulness, and intelligence) isn't really that well developed. But who cares when every page there's fighting and chasing and dangerous trials and heroic sacrifices and the like?
8. the beautiful prose award - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Cat Valente
To wit: "September let go a long-held breath. She stared into the roiling black-violet soup, thinking furiously. The trouble was, September didn’t know what sort of story she was in. Was it a merry one or a serious one? How ought she to act? If it were merry, she might dash after a Spoon, and it would all be a marvelous adventure, with funny rhymes and somersaults and a grand party with red lanterns at the end. But if it were a serious tale, she might have to do something important, something involving, with snow and arrows and enemies. Of course, we would like to tell her which. But no one may know the shape of the tale in which they move. And, perhaps, we do not truly know which sort of beast it is, either. Stories have a way of changing faces. They are unruly things, undisciplined, given to delinquency and the throwing of erasers. This is why we must close them up into thick, solid books, so they cannot get out and cause trouble."
9. most atmospheric and vivid setting, and 10. i-so-want-to-go-there-award - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
The way Taylor describes Prague is delicious and complex, everything from the tastes and sounds and smells and sights and emotions of the place. It has texture and richness and made me feel (a little bit) like I'd already been there.
11. most original and imaginative - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, by Cat Valente
12. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book - Mind Games, by Carolyn Crane.
I read so many advance reader copies, this was a hard one for me. Obviously it can’t be an underappreciated, hidden gem until after it’s published. But I had to buy this book on my Kindle in order to read it, because I couldn't get it from a library anywhere in Colorado, so that seems like a hidden gem to me.
13. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award - Sister Mischief, by Laura Goode
I really thought I would hate this book about suburban teenage girls who love hip hop and form their own queer hip hop collective to fight the administration at their high school when rap music and certain kinds of dress and style associated with rap music is outlawed. Just typing that out makes me want to hate it. It sounds like a book trying to cram in a ton of issues. But all of the characters, including narrator Esme, who is Jewish and a lesbian, are complex and realistic and honest, and the writing is just top notch (even with the hip hop slang). The rhymes Esme writes are worked into the story convincingly, and it became a really smart, meaningful book, especially as it focuses on Esme's first romantic relationship with her friend Rowie. Seriously, this book surprised me with how good it is.
14. most haunting story - Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys
I didn't love this book, finding the narrative a little too journalistic for me to have a personal connection with Lina, the narrator (even though it's written in first person), but that’s not to say this book isn’t upsetting. What’s upsetting about it is that we know Lina’s story, though fictional, is a true account of what happened to Lithuanians during Stalin’s regime, and it is tragic and haunting, even more so because of the suppression of these stories.
15. outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it - Sister Mischief, by Laura Goode
16. series that i’m loving - The Curse Workers, by Holly Black
This series -- White Cat, and most recently Red Glove -- is one of the most original paranormal teen fiction I've read. It's a dark, twisty heist story with a likable, sympathetic, but unreliable narrator, Cassel, the youngest son in a family of curse workers with mob ties, and it's genius.
17. most memorable voice award - tie between Ultraviolet, by RJ Anderson and Chime, by Franny Billingsley
Both of these have unreliable narrators (this is one of my favorite things ever), and both girls who narrate are potentially crazy, or at least led to believe that they are crazy. (Are they? I'll let you read these two books to find out.) Both of them also start out the story by telling you what awful, terrible, murdering people they are, and you're not sure what's going on. They both have distinctive, odd voices that totally fit their character's experiences and personalities and both books stand out because of it.
18. completely awesome premise award - Angel Burn, by LA Weatherly; Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray; Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride
Clearly, I had a tough time choosing this one. Angels turning out not to be benevolent guardians but inter-dimensional energy vampires feeding off people's lifeforce; Miss Teen Dream beauty pageant contestants crash-landing on a deserted island that turns out to be the hub of a government conspiracy; unwary burger joint slacker accosted by a crazy necromancer who claims he, too, can raise the dead . . . which would you pick?
19. would make the best movie - tie between Department 19, by Will Hill and Divergent, by Veronica Roth
A lot of the books on this list would make great movies, but both of these would be filled with blockbuster movie stuff: nonstop action and violence, some gore, and a little romance, along with underdog characters who aren't actually underdogs, because they turn out to be so awesome at kicking ass. Department 19 has vampires and Divergent has mind control. I'd go see both.
20. want to re-read already - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
To be honest, I had to struggle not to award this book for every category, so go me!