This year I read a total of forty-four books for my own edification and enjoyment. Thirty-two of the forty-four were either juvenile or young adult fiction. Here’s the break-down of categories with my top picks for each one.
Historical Fiction
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean
Thursday’s Child by Noel Streatfeild
I’m giving myself three favorites in this category because the list is long and it’s my blog. ;-). I loved Forge and can’t wait to read the next book in the series. It made a big impression on me–I still remember sitting in a certain restaurant (alone!) and reading it and later sharing the Valley Forge experience with anyone who would half-way listen. It’s my number one pick. My number two pick is Heart of a Samurai. I loved Manjiro’s voice in this book and how Margi Preus captured his enthusiasm for life and how he adapted to the different homes he had. I learned a lot about life aboard a whaling vessel, too. Honorable mention goes to Turtle in Paradise, although to be fair I think I probably fell in love with this book partially because of the audiobook readers’ pitch-perfect voice.
Fantasy
There are actually three subcategories in this category: plain old fantasy, fantasy-with-anthropomorphized-animals, and realistic fiction with fantastical elements. Of the first kind I read three books:
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton
On the Edge of the Darks Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (fairy tale retelling)
Of the anthropomorphized animal type I read two:
The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Deedy and Randall Wright
Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck (review forthcoming)
Of the realistic novel with fantastical elements type I read three:
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
This is a tough, tough category in which to pick favorites for me. I loved every single one of these books with the exception of Fairest, which I thought was just okay, and Keeper, which contains content that I just can’t personally reconcile myself to in children’s literature. (The writing in that one is superb, though.) Picking one book from each subcategory that gives me the most warm fuzzies, here’s what I come up with:
I love Andrew Peterson’s wordplay, creatively drawn characters, and story with lots and lots of heart in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. (Plus, Andrew Peterson includes a very sly nod to one of my favorite authors in this book, so how can I not love it?) Richard Peck’s creation of a complete mouse society and his sophisticated sense of humor (always!) drew me in immediately in Secrets at Sea. When You Reach Me is just once of those books that makes you say breathlessly at the end of the last page, “Wow!”
Realistic fiction:
Betti on the High Wire by Lisa Railsback
Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat (not reviewed)
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
Lucky for Good by Susan Patron
The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes
With the exception of The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, every one of these novels is a problem novel. The only other title that I would consider even partially a light, happy story is Lucky for Good, although I get the sense that the reason for that is Lucky has already faced her problems in the previous books in the series; now she is capable of helping others face theirs. Problem novels are really not my favorite type to read, especially when they seem agenda-driven. I came by most of these through the Armchair Cybils challenge. Bullying is a prevalent theme this year, at least among Cybils nominated titles. I’ll be interested to see how these books fare in the Cybils and the Newberys. Still, I’m mostly glad I spent some of my reading time this year in this genre. Of course I love the Penderwicks, but since I tend to think of the books in this series as a collective whole (read my review for my thoughts on this), here are my three non-Penderwickian realistic novel picks:
For a realistic novel to be realistic, the protagonist’s voice has to ring true, and Emma’s does in Camo Girl. I enjoy reading novels about austistic children, so I was predisposed to like Mockingbird anyway, but it is a heart wrenching story with a tie-in to TKM, points which made me like it all the more. As I already mentioned, Lucky for Good is a problem novel with a light touch, and the characterization is really, really good.
Period Novels
I suppose this title will do for novels written during a different time period that we’re still reading today, right? I suppose I could call them classic novels since most of them have stood the test of time. Anyway, you know what I mean, right? Here’s the trio I read:
Magic for Marigold by L.M. Montgomery
Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery
Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace
Hands down, my favorite of this category is Emily of Deep Valley. This lovely story just blew me away! Of course, I am also a die-hard L.M. Montgomery fan, but I have to hand it to Maud Hart Lovelace and Emily–I think it might even rival Anne and the other Emily for my affection!
I think I can truly say that this was the year for juvenile literature for me! I really didn’t read a book this year I didn’t like at least a little bit, so any of the titles I’ve listed get at least a half-hearted recommendation from me; many of them get a Highly Recommended. I also recognize that my categories are somewhat arbitrary; I’d actually like to share some other lists that highlight ways these books are alike, but that will have to wait for another time.
Of course, I read many, many books to my children this year, too. I plan to share our chapter book read alouds and top picks on Read Aloud Thursday this week, so be sure to check back!
What’s the best kids’ or YA book you read this year?
Is a period novel written during its own time period instead of needing research and such to make it seem like it was?
I loved your list and agree with some of your favorites…and will add others to my TBR/listened to list!
Annette–Yes, that’s what I mean. You got it! 🙂
Ok, I’m going to try to ignore the fact that someone/ANYone is rivaling your affection for Anne and Emily. This just cannot be so in my reality, Maud Hart Lovelace not withstanding.Yowee!
I had When You Reach Me on my pile AGAIN and took it off AGAIN before I reached the cashier. I read reviews and I think I will LOVE it and then I look at the back of the book and I’m persuaded I might not. Will I?! Won’t I?! Can you say!?
Carrie, you HAVE to read MHL’s Emily! It’s nowhere as flowery or swoony, but I think you’d love it! As for When You Reach Me, I can’t say. It’s probably one of the strangest kids’ books I’ve read, plot-wise, but I LOVED it.