December Check-In

It's time for the final check-in of the year! Here's what I read this month:

Early-chapter: 0

Middle-grade: 1

Teen: 6

Adult: 4

Picture books: 6

Library books: 10

Books owned: 7

This was definitely a slow month for me, reading-wise. What I've discovered over the last year is really interesting: the more days off I have, the less reading I get done. Like this month - I had several days off for the holidays and I don't think I picked up a book on any of those days. It seems like I get more reading done when I'm busier. Is that unusual? It feels it to me. If you read my post yesterday, you've already seen all my final numbers. As I mentioned in that post, I'm going to try to continue clearing out the books I've accumulated during the coming year, but we'll see how I do. I'm looking forward to 2015. What are your reading goals?

Year in Review, Part Three

Librarian of Snark's Favorite YA Books of 2014

(in alphabetical order)

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

There Will Come a Time by Carrie Arcos

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

For more of the YA I read this year, check out my 'teen' and 'young adult' tags. I managed 90.5 YA novels this year, which is about 30 less than last year. As I said, my stats overall seem to be down quite a bit, which I'm not terribly surprised by. For the Printz, my money is on I'll Give You the Sun - I still think about this book every day.

My overall stats:
- 350.5 books total (119 picture books, 3 early chapter books, 83 middle grade, 90.5 young adult, and 55 adult books): about 80 less than last year
- 76,543 pages read: about 14,000 less than last year, so I definitely did not do as much reading
- 5 5-star reads, 106 4-star reads, 124 3-star reads, 44 2-star reads, and 2 1-star reads (I know these numbers don't add up - I have not added all picture books to my Goodreads account)
- in terms of my personal goal to read more books I owned: 204 library books (keep in mind that all the picture books and audiobooks came from the library) and 146.5 books I owned. I could have done better, particularly when I look at the piles of books still living in my house, so I'm keeping this goal (slightly modified) for next year

Taking a look back at my most anticipated reads, I read half of the series books I anticipated, though one did get pushed to 2015, and half of the standalones/new series books, though one of them has also been pushed to at least 2015. So, the no-library-book rule had something of an effect on whether or not I finished my anticipated reads.

I imagine next year my stats will be even worse. I'm serving again as a second-round judge for the Cybils in the Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction category (which I'm very excited about!) and I'm also getting married (even more excited about that!). I imagine the wedding planning will take a bit of a toll on the number of books I read next year. As I mentioned above, I still have piles of books in my house, so I'm going to continue focusing on reading the books I own next year. I'm making some exceptions to try to finish series I've let fall by the wayside, particularly those that are now complete, and I won't be sticking to my rules as strictly this time around. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I'm trying to catch up on reviewing before the end of the year, but I think what I don't finish before then, I won't worry about. I'd like to start fresh next year and try to be better about reviewing in real time. I hope this will give me more time to interact with the blogging community as a whole as well - wish me luck! How did 2014 go for you?

Year in Review, Part Two

Librarian of Snark's Favorite Middle-Grade Books of 2014

(in alphabetical order)

Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson

Courage for Beginners by Karen Harrington

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata

Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown

Lord and Lady Bunny - Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

The Terror of the Southlands by Caroline Carlson

Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana

The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill

Once again, this is just a sample of what I've read this year. I am still slightly behind in my reviews - something I'm desperately trying to rectify before year's end (though I may just give myself permission to start fresh in the new year and leave some things - GASP - unreviewed). According to my stats, I read 83 middle-grade books this year, almost twenty less than last year. I think all my stats are going to be lower this year, just a feeling I have. Several of the books on my favorites list have been mentioned in Newbery conversations, but I'm not sure any of them are a lock. Additionally, I've once again failed to read some of the most buzzed-about contenders, so my chances of predicting the winner are pretty slim. I'd say, of what I've read, Boys of Blur has the best shot, but we'll see. What were your favorite middle-grade titles this year? Any Newbery predictions from you?

Year in Review, Part One

My favorite time of year - looking back at what I've read and reminding myself of the excellent books I discovered!

Librarian of Snark's Favorite Picture Books of 2014

(in alphabetical order)

The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat

Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman

Big Bad Bubble by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salieri

Flora and the Penguin by Molly Idle

Here Comes the Easter Cat by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda

A Library Book for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Naked! by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Sparky! by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Chris Appelhans

The World According to Musk Ox by Erin Cabatingan, illustrated by Matthew Myers

Notable Non-fiction Picture Books

Edward Hopper Paints His World by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash by G. Neri, illustrated by A.G. Ford

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jennifer Fisher Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson


This year, I actually kept my own stats instead of relying solely on Goodreads, particularly since I haven't been inputting picture books as I read them over on that site. So, according to my stats, I read 119 picture books, about 30 less than last year. I'm a bit surprised by this number - I thought for sure I was slacking in my picture book reading. I haven't kept my Picture Book Saturday posts as consistent this year, but check those out for more of what I read.

I don't really have any predictions for Caldecott - in general, I feel that's my weakest award as I don't know much about art and illustration. For the books listed above, I think nearly all the non-fiction titles have a better shot at Caldecott than the fiction picture books that were my favorites. I'd love to see that happen!

What were your favorites this year? Let me know in the comments!

Really Final MG Reviews

Here are the final books I read and will review this year. I also participated in a MOOC about Laura Ingalls Wilder and read the first four Little House books: Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, Little House on the Prairie, and On the Banks of Plum Creek. It was really interesting to revisit the series as an adult - there were a lot of details I didn't remember and some that I did. I'm hoping to find time to take part two of the course in the spring and finish the series.

My Brother's Shadow
By Tom Avery
Published 2014 by Schwartz & Wade
This was another ARC that showed up at my library, so once again, I decided to give it a read to have a better time recommending it. I knew going in that it was going to be a depressing read and I wasn't wrong - this is the story of a girl dealing with the grief over her brother's suicide. I'm of two minds about this book - I think it tells an important story. As someone who's dealt with the loss of a sibling, I appreciate seeing this story in books for all ages. But the storyline with the new boy at school never really gelled for me. I never got a real understanding of whether the boy was real or not. Well-written but I wasn't blown away.

Meet the Bigfeet (Yeti Files, book one)
By Kevin Sherry
Published 2014 by Scholastic Press
Okay, this one is definitely not middle-grade; this is, in fact, the one early chapter book I read this year. I couldn't resist picking this one up. I knew it would only take me a short time to read and Sherry has written some awesomely fun picture books so I wanted to see how he'd do with a longer format. The answer is fair. It's a cute idea and probably kids will like it, but it wasn't as funny as I hoped and got a bit tedious. The illustrations are great but the story just isn't terribly exciting. A disappointment.

The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee
By Barry Jonsberg
Published 2014 by Chronicle Books
This was another ARC that showed up at my library that I decided to give a try. This was another sad story - Candice's family has basically fallen apart since the death of her baby sister. In addition, Candice is "quirky," which means that normal interactions don't ever quite go smoothly. But Candice is determined to fix her family's problems. I liked the style of this book - it's told as a writing assignment that Candice has for class - and I liked some of the secondary plots quite a bit. But, I felt like Candice's "quirks" (the autism spectrum is mentioned but dismissed) were being played for laughs and it just didn't sit well with me. Also, the family situation is extremely dire - how had no professional gotten involved? I wanted to like it more than I ultimately did. 

And that's the end of my books to review this year. If I finish any additional books between now and January 1, I'll try to review them but no promises!

Final MG Reviews

With the end of the year looming ever closer, I've decided to just pop out a bunch of very short reviews for the last books I read that I haven't yet reviewed here. Today I give you the last batch of middle-grade titles for 2014.

The Graham Cracker Plot
By Shelley Tougas
Published 2014 by Roaring Brook Press
This ARC showed up at my library a few months ago so I decided to give it a go. Daisy is convinced that her father has been wrongfully convicted of a crime and she hatches a plan to break him out. It's a story full of hijinks and mishaps but I didn't love it. Often, it felt like it was trying too hard to be cute, funny, or charming and not really succeeding. Additionally, much of the novel is worrisome. I have a hard time accepting that Daisy's mother and grandmother would keep so much vital information from Daisy - I believe it could happen, but it makes my heart sad to think of. I did appreciate that this was a story of poverty and social services and an incarcerated parent - things you don't often see in middle-grade novels. But, overall, I thought it could have been stronger.

One Came Home
By Amy Timberlake, read by Tara Sands
Published 2014 by Listening Library
This book got a lot of positive attention last year and I've wanted to read it ever since. I love historical fiction and I quite enjoy a good mystery, so this was definitely up my alley. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great. Her accents were spot-on and her pacing was great. I thought the mystery was really interesting, though it ended much as I expected. Georgie is a great narrator - smart and spunky. I loved her character and her voice. This was a fun book - I'm looking forward to more from Timberlake.

The Iron Trial (Magisterium, book one)
By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Published 2014 by Scholastic Press
This was one of the fall's most talked-about releases, a collaboration between two best-selling authors. I'm all for fantasy, so that was my main interest in picking this one up. Unfortunately, the packaging of the ARC sort of ruined this one for me. The text itself was introduced by a letter from the authors, explaining their intentions for the series. What that meant was flat-out stating the major twist in book one. Word to the wise: DON'T DO THIS. Of course, not everyone reads introductory material, and this was only on the ARC, but it's still just a bad idea. As for the story itself, it's interesting enough, though the pacing is uneven, dragging at times. It seemed to take a long time to get to the climax of the book, even though the book is about 300 pages long. I'll probably check out book two, but this isn't the best middle-grade fantasy I've read lately.

Wideness and Wonder: The Life and Art of Georgia O'Keeffe
By Susan Goldman Rubin
Published 2011 by Chronicle Books
I read this one in preparation for an art program focusing on O'Keeffe. It's a very quick read, highlighting the important events in O'Keeffe's live and those that led to her development as an artist. There is a nice variety of her artwork included, highlighting much more than just the florals she became famous for. I learned quite a bit that I didn't know and I enjoyed it.



El Deafo
By Cece Bell
Published 2014 by Harry N. Abrams
Another highly anticipated fall release, I breezed through an ARC of this that showed up at my library. I wasn't surprised when, shortly after, it was named a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and I certainly won't be surprised if it receives more award attention in the coming months. This is a brilliant graphic novel about Bell's childhood and living with hearing loss. It's engaging and well-written, and the characters are illustrated as bunnies, which definitely has kid appeal. It's important for kids to read about life experiences that may be different from their own, but Bell's story also has universality to it. Every kid will relate in some way to the struggle to fit in and make friends. It's a funny and touching story, one I really loved.

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus, book five)
By Rick Riordan
Published 2014 by Disney-Hyperion
While there aren't really any surprises in this final volume in the series, I still couldn't wait to read it. Maybe I'm just growing slightly tired of Riordan's style, but I didn't enjoy this one as much as I hoped I would. As a conclusion to the series, I think it works well (though I think it's no secret by now that Riordan's next series will likely include appearances by some of this gang as well). However, more so than in previous volumes, I noticed gaps of time going by with no action and no explanation. Also, I realize Riordan wanted to give other characters fair narrative time, but I really missed having Percy's POV here. After all, he is the character readers have known the longest, and likely the one they will miss the most. It felt strange to end the series without hearing it in Percy's words. Finally, maybe this makes me a weirdo but I was disappointed with the lack of death here. I think this just proves how divergent this series and the Harry Potter series are - the latter grew older and darker alongside its characters and while this series does to a certain extent, the stakes were never really as high.

All right, this is getting a little long, so I think I'll finish up the rest of my reviews in another post tomorrow.

Final YA Reviews

The end is nigh - the end of the year, that is. I find myself with one week left in 2014 and several books read but not yet reviewed. Because I feel like a terrible person if I don't review a book I've read, I'm going to finish up 2014 with a bunch of very, very, VERY short reviews of the last books left to review.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
By Matthew Quick, read by Noah Galvin
Published 2013 by Hachette Audio
I remember really wanting to read this book when it was first released but not finding the time. So I downloaded the audio version this year and listened this fall. Wow - I wish I hadn't waited. This book is an emotional punch in the gut - and it's so good. Leonard's story is heartbreaking and so important. I loved the details Quick gave us throughout the story, and the variety of the relationships that are important to Leonard. I loved the slow reveal of pertinent information over the novel's course. What I didn't love so much: Leonard's practice adult days (I'm sorry, but stalking is stalking) and the letters from the future (very difficult to contextualize at first). Overall, though, this book - along with the surprisingly gutwrenching Boy 21 - has definitely made me a Quick fan.


All Our Yesterdays
By Cristin Terrill, read by Meredith Mitchell
Published 2014 by Tantor Media
It took me quite a while to finish this one - the audiobook was a road trip book, one I only listened to when my fiance and I were taking extended drives. It means we got big chunks done, but it also means if we didn't finish it in one trip, it was probably going to be a while before we did. Despite that, though, I was able to dive back into the story fairly easily. I'm usually time-travel averse; typically, time travel books make my head hurt. This one did to an extent, but not so much I couldn't cope. I liked the alternating narratives - it gave the story more depth. I think my favorite thing about this book was how it focused so heavily on the actual science of time travel. I did not love the romance aspect of this one, but I thought it was a successfully action-packed sci-fi novel.

Afterworlds
By Scott Westerfeld
Published 2014 by Simon Pulse
I was super-pumped when I heard about a new Westerfeld book - the Leviathan trilogy is one of my favorites and the Uglies will always hold a special place for me. And this book sounded so bad-ass: the story of a young adult author who has just sold her manuscript alongside the actual manuscript. And while I still think Westerfeld can write one hell of a story, this one just didn't really do it for me. I didn't really care for either main character and I didn't find the Lizzie story engaging at all - I actually thought it was pretty weak and underdeveloped. My fiance liked it much more than me, so your mileage may vary. I still think Westerfeld is brilliant, but this one just wasn't my speed.

A Matter of Days
By Amber Kizer, read by Alex McKenna
Published 2013 by Listening Library
I'm always up for a pandemic aftermath story or a survival story, so I was definitely ready for this one. Nadia and her younger brother are left orphaned and alone in a strange new world after a virus kills the majority of the population. They set out across the country to their grandfather's compound, believing that he and their uncle will still be alive when they get there. Of course, it's not that simple, as they run into trouble along the way. I liked this one. It's a great survival story and it moves quickly; it kept me engaged the entire time. It was great to listen to while running - I became so absorbed in the story that I didn't notice the miles flying by. I did find the narrator a teensy bit annoying at times, but I enjoyed the story and appreciated that it came to a conclusion in one book.

The Young Elites (The Young Elites, book one)
By Marie Lu
Published 2014 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
I was awaiting this book from the minute I knew of its existence. I really enjoyed Lu's previous trilogy and was excited to see what she would do next. This book is very different from her previous series - it's darker and fantastical. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding here - a strength from her previous books as well. It reminded me a bit of the X-Men, though the gifts here come after a terrible blood fever. I really enjoyed the characters as well - all of the Young Elites were fascinating. I liked the development of the relationships between Adelina and the Elites. My enthusiasm waned a bit with several completely unsurprising plot developments - Teren, Enzo, and Violetta. However, I really loved  the ending, so I'm definitely looking forward to book two.

Undivided (Unwind Dystology, book four)
By Neal Shusterman
Published 2014 by Simon & Schuster
I couldn't wait for this fourth and final book of the series to arrive. The Unwind series is one of the most innovative, dark, and thought-provoking series in YA - it deserves a greater readership than I think it's gotten. But I had my hesitancy regarding this book - what more could Shusterman do? I thought every facet of the issues in these books had already been explored. I was wrong. I spent the majority of this book just impressed and in awe of Shusterman's talents as a writer. This book, like the others, utilizes multiple POVs - and not just of familiar characters. I was amazed by his ability to constantly insert new POVs as the story required them without it ever feeling overwhelming or haphazard. I loved the development of the stories and I thought the ending was wonderful. This series is astounding and everyone should be reading it. I can't wait for his next book.