Top Eleven Reads of 2012! Number Eleven...
It's hard to believe it's the end of 2012 -- which means it's time for another list of books from yours truly. ;) I would've only done the top ten, except that I only have eleven five-star reads this year -- so I will highlight them all. It's always challenging to put this in any kind of order, and I want to point out that it's rather subjective (on top of already being a subjective list), as the way I feel about these books right now is different than I might have felt three months ago. Plus, the top six are clumped so closely together in my mind (in terms of enjoyment) that they're almost random in their order -- you could simply say that I loved all eleven, and I adored the top six pretty much equally! (All the covers link to their Tattered Cover book page, fyi.)
That said, let's begin with number Eleven (out of 111 books read this year):
The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen
Why did I enjoy this so much? First, it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books -- The Lost Prince, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I adored TLP as a kid, and I reread it numerous times -- but I couldn't get my son to read it. Like many books written decades ago, its style just isn't contemporary enough for most kids to enjoy. He didn't like all the words, all the descriptions, etc. But Jennifer Nielsen takes a similar concept, a similar feel to the story, and creates a beautiful (and much more contemporary-feeling) tale that also has emotional impact and a sympathetic main character. My son loved it too. Second, I like fantasy/fairy-tale type stories. I like the political intrigue of that type of era, and I really liked Sage. He was spunky, self-serving, and compassionate all in one. Having read TLP, I knew from the get-go what would happen...mostly. I did keep wondering as various events unfolded, because numerous outcomes could stem from the circumstances, all of them satisfying. I'm pretty sure I've read that there will be more of Sage's story, and I will be the first in line to pick it up and sink into Sage's world again. :)
That said, let's begin with number Eleven (out of 111 books read this year):
The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen
Why did I enjoy this so much? First, it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books -- The Lost Prince, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I adored TLP as a kid, and I reread it numerous times -- but I couldn't get my son to read it. Like many books written decades ago, its style just isn't contemporary enough for most kids to enjoy. He didn't like all the words, all the descriptions, etc. But Jennifer Nielsen takes a similar concept, a similar feel to the story, and creates a beautiful (and much more contemporary-feeling) tale that also has emotional impact and a sympathetic main character. My son loved it too. Second, I like fantasy/fairy-tale type stories. I like the political intrigue of that type of era, and I really liked Sage. He was spunky, self-serving, and compassionate all in one. Having read TLP, I knew from the get-go what would happen...mostly. I did keep wondering as various events unfolded, because numerous outcomes could stem from the circumstances, all of them satisfying. I'm pretty sure I've read that there will be more of Sage's story, and I will be the first in line to pick it up and sink into Sage's world again. :)