Jenn's Top Books of 2011

My goal for 2011 was to get back to reading about 60 books a year, the way I had before my daughter was born.  I accomplished 60 plus (still reading or I'd give you an exact count), partly thanks to owning an e-reader, I think.  I'm amazed by the number of really fantastic reads I've had this year.

I was going to do a top 10 list, but quite a few of these are series that deserve to be mentioned in their entirety.  So here goes, in no particular order:

• The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen - she writes amazing books full of food and magical realism; if any of the above sounds good, and you haven't read any of her novels, put one on your 'To be read' list for this year.  You won't be disappointed.
• The Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking - if you're a fan of YA paranormal and you have yet to read anything by this self-publishing queen, check out this series.  Ms. Hocking recently signed with our friends at St. Martin's Press and these are all being re-released with new, gorgeous covers.   I might just have to re-purchase the set just for the fabulous cover art!
• The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson - if you can get past the first 80 pages of plot exposition in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you won't be able to put this Swedish Noir series down for long.
• The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa - Now that I have the perspective of having finished the series, I will be re-reading these in their entirety the very first chance I get. Ms. Kagawa's fantasy world is fantastic and I will revisit it many times for years to come.
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I don't usually like historical fiction but this book grabbed me and wouldn't let go.  It's a heart-breaking read that brings life in Nazi Germany to life for YA or adults.
• Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs - This is the 14th book in the Temperance Brennan series and I really felt that it was a return to everything I love about Ms. Reichs' work -even though there was barely a mention about Tempe's love life, which I am seriously invested in...
• Lucy Valentine series by Heather Webber - so far there are three books in this series and I can't bring myself to read the last one because I don't want to come to the end of it. A little paranormal realism, a little romance, and a little mystery make these perfect warm, fuzzy reads.
• Shadow Falls series by C.C. Hunter - I think this YA paranormal series doesn't get the recognition it deserves.  I rarely find a book where I want to know more about every single character, but such is the case with this series.  
• The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate - one of those rare books where you can relate to every character.  I wanted to move into this marvelous food-lit book with it's touch of magical realism.
• Kill Chain by Meg Gardiner - Seriously, you have to read her books!  There are two series, and they really do need to be read in order so either start with China Lake (Evan Delaney) or The Dirty Secrets Club (Jo Beckett) -but start somewhere!

I'm looking at my towering To Be Read pile and I see a few more books from the authors above along with many new ones.  I'm excited for a new year of reading - aren't you?

Jenn's Review: The Book Thief

Summary:  It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.


Review: This is my second pass at this book; my first attempt was aborted because I wasn't ready for a good cry. This time I knew what I was getting into when I picked it up. And cry I did. Actually, blubbering, broken down wailing is more accurate.

It doesn't take long to become spellbound by the masterful weaving of the tale. Though the story jumps a little chronologically, from present day Death to the retelling of Liesel's life, it isn't difficult to follow.  On the contrary, the glimpses into the present help to prepare us for what is to happen in the past.

The prose in this book are as beautiful and haunting as the story:

"Steadily, the room shrank, till the book thief could touch the shelves within a few small steps. She ran the back of her hand along the first shelf, listening to the shuffle of her fingernails gliding across the spinal cord of each book. It sounded like an instrument, or the notes of running feet." ~pg 125

Honestly, I could just sit and re-read passages to drink it all in. Markus Zusak's grasp of WWII is bountiful and it is beautifully brought to life by this incredible story. Narrated by Death, the story follows the life of Liesel and her several encounters with the cloaked collector of souls. Death becomes fascinated by the book thief, and when he finds her self-written life story, he can't seem to put it down.  Liesel Meminger is Anne Frank's counterpart, the undereducated, impoverished German girl hiding a Jew in her basement.  It's an unusual point of view to take and a fascinating concept.

At first, reading is a struggle for Liesel, but her stepfather painstakingly teaches her by night.  Her relationship with him is beyond sweet and some of the most wonderful moments in the story happen between them.  I love how Liesel discovers herself and her world through 'her' books and the poignancy of her discovery that the immense power of the words and their very existence is sometimes a betrayal.  Though Death clues the reader in early on as to the fate of the characters, it is the journey that makes it worthwhile. The triumphs and tragedies are tangible.

Whether you read YA or not, if you like historical fiction, or are just a WWII buff like me, this book is a must read. I borrowed this as an e-book from the library and, upon finishing it, immediately bought a hard copy.  It's that kind of crazy good.  It's a beautiful novel of family, survival, and devastation in wartime Germany -moving, heartfelt, and absolutely wonderful.

Final Take: 5/5

Alice's Review: I Am The Messenger

Summary:   Nineteen-year-old cabbie Ed Kennedy has little in life to be proud of: his dad died of alcoholism, and he and his mom have few prospects for success. He has little to do except share a run-down apartment with his faithful yet smelly dog, drive his taxi, and play cards and drink with his amiable yet similarly washed-up friends. Then, after he stops a bank robbery, Ed begins receiving anonymous messages marked in code on playing cards in the mail, and almost immediately his life begins to swerve off its beaten-down path. Usually the messages instruct him to be at a certain address at a certain time. So with nothing to lose, Ed embarks on a series of missions as random as a toss of dice: sometimes daredevil, sometimes heartwarmingly safe. He rescues a woman from nightly rape by her husband. He brings a congregation to an abandoned parish. The ease with which he achieves results vacillates between facile and dangerous, and Ed's search for meaning drives him to complete every task. But the true driving force behind the novel itself is readers' knowledge that behind every turn looms the unknown presence - either good or evil - of the person or persons sending the messages. Zusak's characters, styling, and conversations are believably unpretentious, well conceived, and appropriately raw. Together, these key elements fuse into an enigmatically dark, almost film-noir atmosphere where unknowingly lost Ed Kennedy stumbles onto a mystery - or series of mysteries - that could very well make or break his life. - School Library Journal

Review:   Let me start by giving you a little background before I jump into my review. Last month, I went a little online book shopping crazy.  One of the books I picked up was critically acclaimed  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I thought since The Book Thief received such great reviews, I wanted to try something else by the author.  I picked this one up too, and man, am I glad I did.

I Am The Messenger stars Ed Kennedy as a young man with no future, he barely even has a present.  He's a nineteen year old card-playing cab driver who is a bit of a smartalec with no real career, no respect in the community, no great love, well, nothing much at all.  He constantly asks himself "Well Ed - what have you really achieved in your nineteen years?"  He can't come up with anything either.  That's all about to change for him when for some reason he'll "never understand," he thwarts a bank robbery.  And that's when the cards start coming.   First the message is obvious, an address and time written on the card.  Then they start to get a little tricky, riddles he has to solve in order to deliver his messages.  Sometimes his messages are as easy as an delivery ice cream to as difficult as taking a human life.  But he does them, he doesn't know why but he keeps at it until the end.

This has to be one of the best Young Adult novels I've read in a long time.  The best way to describe this novel is that it's a coming of age story.  It's dark, suspenseful and laugh-out-loud funny.  Mr. Zusak does an incredible job of delivering realistic characters.  I know Ed, I've met him before.  He is in my Godson David, he's in every kid who had no idea what to do with their life, who starts a journey and finds their way.  I love how Ed refers to himself as "less than ordinary," when we know he is anything but.  I couldn't put this book down because I wanted to know what he would do next. I loved how the answers just came to him, how they were there all along but it was his growing confidence in himself that revealed them. I loved the relationship he had with his friends, and then with the people he helps.  My favorites are Sophie the barefoot runner and proud family man Lua Tatupu. 

I think even though this novel is written for our younger readers, it's a story that can be enjoyed by all.  I liked it, I really did and I look forward to seeing what else Mr. Zusak has up his literary sleeve.  He does a great job of delivering fantastic kernels of goodness.  I will leave you with this one:  "It's impeccable how brutal the truth can be at times.  You can only admire it."

Final Take: 4/5