Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Some Books I Read in 2012

I used to list my recent kidlit reads in a monthly post. My reading time took a dip last year while I managed my pregnancy and the arrival of my newborn. So I didn't have too many books to list for my regular monthly "books I read" post.  I ended up compiling the names of some of the books I'd read on a draft with the intention of publishing the list in early 2013.  So here it is:


1. SIDEKICKS by Dan Santat (Arthur A. Levine- Middle Grade Graphic novel) House pets compete to be the new sidekick of their superhero master.

2. PILOT PUPS written by Michelle Meadows, Illust. by  Dan Andreasen (Simon & Schuster- Picture Book)  Toy puppies fly through the house in this rhyming book. Check out my author interview.


3. NOWHERE GIRL by A.J. Paquette (Walker & Company- Middle Grade) A girl born and raised by an American mother in a Thai prison must venture out into the world after her mother's death. Check out my author interview.

4. A TALE DARK AND GRIMM by Adam Gidwitz (Puffin-Middle Grade) Two children leave their home and navigate through many dangers of the outside world. Check out my author interview.

5. MONEY BOY by Paul Yee (Groundwood- Young Adult)  A gay student who is kicked out of his home struggles with an opportunity to make money out on the streets. Check out my author interview.


6. DEAR BULLY edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones (Harper Teen-Young Adult) Authors share their personal experiences with bullying.

7. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick (Scholastic-Middle Grade Graphic Novel) An orphan boy tries to finish the work his father had been doing before his death.

8. TRY NOT TO BREATHE by Jennifer R. Hubbard (Viking- Young Adult) A boy tries to recover from his suicide attempt. Check out my author interview. 

9.  THE RED THREAD: AN ADOPTION FAIRY TALE by Grace Lin (Albert Whitman- Picture Book)  A Chinese-born girl hears the story behind her adoption. Check out my author interview.

10. LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green (Speak-Young Adult) A boy attends a boarding school where he meets an intriguing girl named Alaska.

11. SCONES AND SENSIBILITY by Lindsay Eland (Egmont USA-Middle Grade) A girl tries to play matchmaker with the people in her life. Check out my author interview.


12.  THE THREE NINJA PIGS by Corey Rosen Schwartz, Illust. by Dan Santat (Putnam Juvenile- Picture Book) Three ninja pigs stand up to the bullying wolf.

13. THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS by Claire Legrand, Illust. by Sarah Watts (Simon & Schuster - Middle Grade) A girl unravels the secrets behind a mysterious school that holds children against their will.

14. TIME BETWEEN US by Tamara Ireland Stone (Hyperion-Young Adult) A girl meets a boy who is visiting from the future.

What were your favorite reads from last year? 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

A good selection of books there, I don't read as often as I should. Will try this year.

Yvonne.

S.P. Bowers said...

the only one of those I've read is Looking for Alaska. I do have several of them on my TBR list though.

Julie Dao said...

I am drooling over all of these covers! The only one I've read is CAVENDISH, so it looks like I need to catch up! Which was your favorite?

Lydia Kang said...

There are a bunch on here I'm dying to read, like Cavendish, Looking for Alaska, and Nowhere Girl. Thanks for the reminder!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Welcome to this year's A to Z Challenge!!
And haven't read any of those books...

Anonymous said...

The only one we share here is LOOKING FOR ALASKA. I thought it was interesting, although I didn't like the character of Alaska at all which ruined it slightly for me.

Anstice Brown said...

Hi Cynthia, I'm a new follower from the Re-introduce yourself blogfest. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog earlier in the week. I've not read any of those books yet, although I'd really like to read Time Between Us and I've seen the film Hugo.

Nick Wilford said...

I'm not up on what's happening in this field, so thanks for this. These look like fun!

Anonymous said...

I read 10 and 14. Many of the others are in my TBR pile or wish list.

Ella said...

I want to read most of these! These do look intriguing! I'm adding some to my list~
Thank you :D

Unknown said...

I'd like to check out Dear Bully. Bullying interests me since I deal with it in my book. Last year I was really impressed with The Mazer Runner trilogy and the first two Divergent books. I'm looking forward to the release of the third book!

Tara Tyler said...

love those titles and covers. would like to hear your thoughts on them.
i heard a tale dark & grimm & the cavendish home were excellent!

Sherry Ellis said...

Those look like great books. I haven't read any of them. I read The Carousel last year, and enjoyed it.

Cynthia said...

Yvonne: I intend to read more this year too.

Sara: I'd be curious to know what books are on your TBR list.

Julie: I liked so many of them that it's hard to choose just one.

Lydia: They were great reads.

Alex: Thanks, I look forward to doing A to Z again.

Donna: Seems like many people here have read Looking for Alaska.

Anstice: I haven't seen the film Hugo yet, but would like to someday.

Nick: You're welcome.

Medeia: I'm curious to know what else is on your TBR list.

Ella: You're welcome.

Michael: I finished the first Divergent book recently. Thanks for recommending the Mazer Runner trilogy.

Tara: They were excellent...I enjoyed all the books listed here.

Sherry: Thanks for the recommendation.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Oh! I'm in the middle of shopping for my nephew's 11th birthday, so this is perfect. I got him Zac and the Dream Stealers, and he was begging for the sequel. Easy enough, I thought, until I found it wasn't out yet. Some of these will be great alternatives. I'm considering the first, the graphic novel, and there are a couple others I have my eye on. Thank you!

Shannon at The Warrior Muse

Unknown said...

Great List Cynthia. Thanks for sharing it. I just ordered "Nowhere Girl" (per your recommendation) from the library and am looking forward to reading it. Kids sure do interfere with the reading thing huh? Or maybe it's just the need to sleep. I just recently started "reading" again--meaning something aside from the mags in my bathroom. Just wrote my first recommendation too. It's over at the nut-tree if you are so inclined.

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