YA Superlative Blogfest 2014: Best in Show

About the blogfest: The Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest will run Monday, December 15th – Thursday, December 18th and will highlight our favorite YA books published in 2014**. The week will conclude with the lovely hosts Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and Katy Upperman giving away 2014 books to a few blogfest participants. Click the banner for more info!

If you join in, don't forget to link up at one of the host blogs!

**Disclaimer: I tried to choose books published in 2014 (Alz isn't participating this year because she's been in a year-long reading slump), but I will also have older books since I read A LOT LESS this year & many were not books published in 2014. I'll make a note if the book is NOT 2014 pubbed. In some cases, it was the last book in a series that came out in 2014, but I may talk about the series as a whole.


The topic of Day 4, the final day, is BEST IN SHOW!

Favorite Cover: THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski / OF METAL AND WISHES by Sarah Fine


I think we're all a bit over the Girl-in-Dress covers, but The Winner's Curse works for me and is absolutely eye-catching. I love the sumptuous image (fancy dresses are part of the story) and the vertical, overlaid type. And did you notice, the girl's hand clutching the P?

I love the Of Metal and Wishes cover for its simplicity and neutral color scheme. I love the type and the kind of romantic atmosphere, and of course, how awesome is it to have such a beautiful cover featuring a non-white heroine? Oh and that plastic-looking tarp? I love that it hints at the meat factory setting.


Most Likely to Succeed (Pick a Printz Winner): A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman

This book is moving, uplifting, and just beautiful. It's one of the first verse novels I've read, and what a great introduction to the medium. The poetry is simple but vivid, painting evocative scenes and drawing out emotions. A Time to Dance is about rising up, growing up, love, and the power of dance/art. Here's my goodreads review for my immediate impressions.

(We Were Liars is a close second, but that book has been everywhere, and I think I've gushed about it enough.)


Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime: MORTAL GODS by Kendare Blake

It was the same with Book 1: ANTIGODDESS. I blasted through Mortal Gods over a weekend because I just needed to know what was going to happen! And then that cliffhanger ending?! Killer! When is the next one out?!


Best Repeat Performance: HEIR OF FIRE / BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE / WHERE SHE WENT

I couldn't choose between HoF and BL,LB because HoF is my favorite of the Throne of Glass books so far, but I LOVE every subsequent book of the The Raven Cycle, probably because I'm just so grateful to be in Henrietta and Cabeswater again.

So to make it really fair, I'm going to choose a follow-up that wasn't published in 2014- Gayle Forman's WHERE SHE WENT, the sequel to IF I STAY. I liked If I Stay a lot, so I don't know why it took me so long to pick up Where She Went. I think I was too afraid it would somehow fall short of the magic that was the first book. After seeing If I Stay the movie, I finally went out and read the follow-up... AND I LOVED IT. I maybe loved it more than the first book, and I just want to hug everyone, but especially Adam and Mia.


Favorite Finale or End of Series Novel: RUIN & RISING by Leigh Bardugo

You must be sick by now of hearing me talk about how satisfying I found this conclusion. Endings are hard, and Leigh Bardugo killed it.


Best Old-Timer (Favorite Book Published BEFORE 2014): WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman


See "Repeat Performance" category for Where She Went reasons. I also really enjoyed Gayle Forman's 2013 pubbed JUST ONE YEAR, follow-up to JUST ONE DAY. It was nice see the other side of the story.


Most Likely to Make a Grown Man Cry: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

I'm cheating with this one because this book has been out, and I'm just slow getting to read this. Did the book make me cry? Almost but no. Books don't really make me cry, but I watched the movie in theaters like 2 hours after I finished the book, and that was a cryfest. So, yeah. (To be fair, movies are more emotionally manipulative than books for me, AND I was already in a compromised emotional state. You don't do TFiOS back-to-back like that on little sleep. At least, I don't recommend it.)


Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle: OF METAL & WISHES by Sarah Fine

All I can say is that it's kind of unusual, and I believed both relationships.


Sleeper Hit (Novel So Awesome I Wish It’d Been Hyped More): A TIME TO DANCE / OF METAL AND WISHES

I talked about why A Time to Dance is great in the "Most Likely to Succeed" category, so I'm going to tell you about Of Metal and Wishes a bit. Other than the fact that it has a love triangle that works and is an intriguing spin on The Phantom of the Opera (who would think to mash it up with Upton Sinclair's The Jungle?), OMaW has a fascinating political set-up. It has explores class and race divisions and manages to be dark and gory while still maintaining (at appropriate times) a sort of dreamy atmosphere as suggested by the book cover. I'm very curious where the story will lead next, and like The Winner's Curse, OMaW is a vivid fantasy...without actual magic (or is there?).


Favorite Outlier (Best Picture Book): SAM & DAVE DIG A HOLE by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen

I loved the last book Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen collaborated on, the adorable EXTRA YARN, so I was so excited to find another collab between them. While this book isn't quite as cute or sweet, it's amusing, delightful, and has a twist ending. As usual, Klassen's animals have the best expressions and add a little extra something to the tale.

Honorable Mention: Sparky! by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Chris Appelhans. This book is about a girl who gets a sloth as a pet. It is THE CUTEST.


Favorite Graphic Novel: THROUGH THE WOODS by Emily Carroll

Emily Carroll draws some of the most delightfully creepy and disturbing web comics around like her (in)famous HIS FACE ALL RED. I love her web comics and her art, so I was super excited to hear she had a book coming out this year. The anthology does not disappoint with its new stories and first-time-in-print His Face All Red. Give it a read if you like the kind of fairy tales that are meant to scare you and stay with you.

And that's it for this year's YA Superlatives blogfest! I can't believe it's over and that 2014 is coming to a close. I hope to read more next year, and I hope this blogfest has added to your TBR piles!

I will mostly be taking a break for the holidays, but I will sometimes pipe in on Fridays for 5 Fandom Friday. Other than that, see you next year! xoxo


2014 YA Superlatives Blogfest recap:
Day 1: Head of Class
Day 2: Popularity Contest
Day 3: Elements of Fiction

YA Superlative Blogfest 2014: Elements of Fiction

About the blogfest: The Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest will run Monday, December 15th – Thursday, December 18th and will highlight our favorite YA books published in 2014**. The week will conclude with the lovely hosts Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and Katy Upperman giving away 2014 books to a few blogfest participants. Click the banner for more info!

If you join in, don't forget to link up at one of the host blogs!

**Disclaimer: I tried to choose books published in 2014 (Alz isn't participating this year because she's been in a year-long reading slump), but I will also have older books since I read A LOT LESS this year & many were not books published in 2014. I'll make a note if the book is NOT 2014 pubbed. In some cases, it was the last book in a series that came out in 2014, but I may talk about the series as a whole.


The topic of Day 3 is ELEMENTS OF FICTION, and these were my favorite books of 2014 for these categories.


Most Formidable World: INTO THE STILL BLUE

I'm pretty sure I've picked the Never Sky world for this category before and for good reason. Basically, I wouldn't survive because it's a post-apocalyptic landscape, and that's not even taking into account the aether storms and cannibals.

Honorable Mention: This book is not YA, and it's more an anthology of horror comics, but Emily Carroll's collective "woods" in her book Through the Woods are eerily beautiful but NOT a place I would like to find myself wandering through at night...or ever, really.


Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting you’d happily travel to.): BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE

Even with all the murder, magic, and general mayhem happening around Henrietta, I'd still risk it to get a glimpse of the talking trees of Cabeswater. Maggie Stiefvater makes this place seem so real.


Loveliest Prose: BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE

If it's not a Laini Taylor book (which isn't here because I didn't get around to reading Dreams of Gods and Monsters), then it'll be a Maggie Stiefvater one. Maggie's prose is transporting. There's something about the precise description and cadence of it that even if the words aren't flowery or lyrical, they take you magical places.


Best First Line: WE WERE LIARS / HEIR OF FIRE

We Were Liars: "Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family."

Heir of Fire - "Gods, it was boiling in this useless excuse for a kingdom."

Two choices for different tones: We Were Liars for its simplicity. It immediately sets the stage for the rest of the story. Heir of Fire because it's funny and so quintessentially in Celaena's voice.


Most Dynamic Main Character: Alina in RUIN & RISING

Exclusive Ruin & Rising poster for the Grisha Trilogy, illustrated by Irene Koh.

There were a number of choices even with my limited reading this year, but I have to give this category to Alina because this girl has been through a lot over the course of these 3 books. And I have to give her props for being someone I didn't really like in the first book to someone who I respected. Like I said, I loved the conclusion to this trilogy, and a big part of that was because of Alina's transformation.

Honorable Mention: Celaena in Heir of Fire and Kestrel in The Winner's Curse because they both had their worlds turned upside down in their respective books. Celaena was forced to confront her personal demons and own her heritage, and Kestrel was made to question her beliefs, her society, and her heart.


Most Jaw-Dropping Ending: WE WERE LIARS / MORTAL GODS

This is a tie because We Were Liars was, well, it was something else. The whole book is a mystery, so when the big reveal comes at the end, it's shocking to say the least. Mortal Gods, on the other hand, isn't shy about where it's heading, but the cliffhanger this book ends on? I was not expecting it to actually be like a cliffhanger like that!


Best Performance in a Supporting Role: Nikolai Lantsov in RUIN & RISING

Because I adore him, and he brought a much needed lightness to the dire situations of this final installment in the Grisha Trilogy.

Honorable Mention(s): It's hard to pick because I tend to love a lot of side-characters, and some of these books have ensemble casts, who kind of are different kinds of supportive. So to list a bunch of supporting characters I love - Odysseus in Mortal Gods (because I have mentioned how much I love the Odyssey, right?); any of the Raven Boys & the women of 300 Fox Way in Blue Lily, Lily Blue; the enigmatic Factory Ghost of Of Metal and Wishes


Best Use of Theme: WE WERE LIARS

I love a well-crafted literary, and We Were Liars is one of those. I talked about themes at length in my review of the ARC. But I loved how the structure of the book mirrored the themes - about memory and personal narratives and how we deal with tragedy and grief.


Come back tomorrow for the Best in Show category.

Previous 2014 YA Superlatives posts:
Day 1: Head of Class
Day 2: Popularity Contest

YA Superlative Blogfest 2014: Popularity Contest

About the blogfest: The Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest will run Monday, December 15th – Thursday, December 18th and will highlight our favorite YA books published in 2014**. The week will conclude with the lovely hosts Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and Katy Upperman giving away 2014 books to a few blogfest participants. Click the banner for more info!

If you join in, don't forget to link up at one of the host blogs!

**Disclaimer: I tried to choose books published in 2014 (Alz isn't participating this year because she's been in a year-long reading slump), but I will also have older books since I read A LOT LESS this year & many were not books published in 2014. I'll make a note if the book is NOT 2014 pubbed. In some cases, it was the last book in a series that came out in 2014, but I may talk about the series as a whole.


The topic of Day 2 is POPULARITY CONTEST, and these were my favorite books of 2014 for these categories.

Villain I Love to Hate: The Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy (RUIN & RISING) by Leigh Bardugo

Graphics source: Compelled by Books tumblr

The Darkling wins this category every year because I love him. (It also doesn't hurt that Sean O'Pry is the fancast for him because Sean O'Pry is smoldering eye-candy.) Not love to hate, just love. Like tell me where to sign up for his dark army because I am a-OK with a world enveloped in darkness as long as there's just enough light for me to see his gorgeous face. (Let me have this fangirl moment because the trilogy is finished and this will be the last year I get to do this.) (Also, I would be the worst minion because I'd be way too distracted all. the. time.)


Favorite Parental Figure: Veda's family from A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman

While this beautiful verse book is very much focused on Veda and her recovery and relationship with dance, I loved the presence of her family in this book. My favorite was her grandmother - supportive and spiritual and very much the heart of family - but I also loved how Veda's relationship with her mother evolved over the course of the book. So glad I could include this book in the Superlatives today because it's such a moving, lovely read.


Most Likely to Start a Riot: Aedion Ashryver from HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas

I don't want to spoil anything, but Aedion is a presence when he enters a room, and he's cocky as hell. He's charismatic, handsome, and absolutely lethal - and I'm sure before the series is finished, he'll incite a riot or three.


Biggest Flirt: Nikolai Lantsov from The Grisha Trilogy (RUIN & RISING) by Leigh Bardugo

I had to crop this fan-edit graphic to avoid (sorta) spoilers.
(Source: something new for every night tumblr)

Things are pretty dire for everyone who is not the Darkling in Ruin & Rising, but darling Nikolai still manages to retain his poise, his sense of humor, and his undeniable charm. This clever prince stole my heart and nearly had me jumping the Darkling ship. Nearly.


Fashion King and/or Queen: Kestrel from THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski

Normally, Celaena from the Throne of Glass series would take this title, but she doesn't have her usual glorious wardrobe in this year's Heir of Fire. Kestrel, on the other hand, is a high-society lady in the militaristic and Roman-esque world of The Winner's Curse, and oh does she have some beautiful gowns. Just look at the sumptuous book cover!


Character I’d Most Want For a BFF: Blue and the Raven Boys from BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Stiefvater

Because who wouldn't want these people for friends? They're complex, adventurous, fun, and loving of one another. Basically, if you're part of this group, you're golden. I too want to go traipsing around Virginia in search of an enchanted, slumbering king.

Raven Cycle Character Sketches print from Maggie Stiefvater's Society6 page.

Coolest Nerd: Gansey from BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Stiefvater

I remember people picking Gansey for this category last year, and I agreed (though I didn't pick him then). He takes the spot this year because I feel like he was the nerdiest we've seen him in this installment of the Raven Cycle series. This was helped by the presence of Mallory, who brought out the folklore and ley line nerd in Gansey in full force.

Come back tomorrow for the Elements of Fiction category.

Previous 2014 YA Superlatives posts:
Day 1: Head of Class

YA Superlative Blogfest 2014: Head of Class

It's Day 1 of the 2014 YA Superlatives Blogfest! This is like my favorite blogfest of the year.

About the blogfest: The Class of 2014: YA Superlative Blogfest will run Monday, December 15th – Thursday, December 18th and will highlight our favorite YA books published in 2014**. The week will conclude with the lovely hosts Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and Katy Upperman giving away 2014 books to a few blogfest participants. Click the banner for more info!

If you join in, don't forget to link up at one of the host blogs!

**Disclaimer: I tried to choose books published in 2014 (Alz isn't participating this year because she's been in a year-long reading slump), but I will also have older books since I read A LOT LESS this year & many were not books published in 2014. I'll make a note if the book is NOT 2014 pubbed. In some cases, it was the last book in a series that came out in 2014, but I may talk about the series as a whole.

The topic of the day is HEAD OF CLASS, and these were my favorite books of 2014 for these categories.


Favorite Dystopian: INTO THE STILL BLUE by Veronica Rossi

Granted the only other dystopian I read this year was Veronica Roth's Divergent Trilogy conclusion ALLEGIANT and granted that The Never Sky trilogy is more Post-Apocalyptic than Dystopian, Into The Still Blue still earned its place. I was shaky about the first book but was curious enough to continue the series. Into the Still Blue was a satisfying conclusion to the journey our protagonists set off on, and I very much enjoyed seeing them get there.


Favorite Science Fiction: ODY-C by Matt Fraction / Illustrated by Christian Ward

Okay, this isn't YA and it isn't a book, but it's the only sci-fi anything I've read this year, and I already kind of love it. It's a futuristic, galactic spin on the Odyssey (one of my favorite stories ever) with almost all genderbent characters. The art is bold and colorful, the mythological twists are clever, and I can't wait to see where this series goes. It's probably going to be the first current comic book series I follow! Issue 2 is out around Christmas!


Favorite Fantasy: RUIN & RISING by Leigh Bardugo

This was a REALLY TOUGH category because I read so many wonderful YA fantasies this year, which I'll hopefully get to highlight later during this blogfest. But I had to choose Ruin & Rising because it brought the trilogy to an exciting, satisfying conclusion. The ending felt earned, and we all know, endings are hard to do well too. Though this was another trilogy that I felt shaky with at the start (I was a little underwhelmed by Book 1), it is one that won me over more and more with each book. I'm sad to leave these characters behind, but I'm also so, so excited to return to their world in Bardugo's next series.


Favorite Contemporary: WE WERE LIARS by e. lockhart

Source: We Were Liars tumblr / Text (c) E. Lockhart #wewereliars

I also read quite a few good Contemps this year, but most of them were pre-2014. Even so, I think We Were Liars comes out on top because it's a good mix of family drama, mystery, and heart-wrenching revelations. The prose is spare but vivid, and the exploration of family narratives, grief, growth, and memory are thoughtful and nuanced. The beautiful Sinclairs give us a lot to think about. You can find my more detailed reflection on this book in my review from earlier this year.


Favorite Action/Adventure: HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas

Like I said, I read a lot of fun fantasy this year. While Heir of Fire was beat out in the fantasy category, I think it qualifies for Action/Adventure. This installment is my favorite by far and the one that had me truly anxious for the next because now, I feel like a lot of the cards are finally on the table from our characters and that the true story is about to begin. We find Celaena facing up to her past in a far-off land, this one still rich with magic, while at home in Ardarlan, though they aren't adventuring in a foreign land, Dorian and Chaol are facing dangers of their own. There's a lot of growth in character and plot. My thoughts elaborated in my Heir of Fire review from earlier this year.


Favorite Romance: OF METAL AND WISHES by Sarah Fine

I liked Sarah Fine's paranormal Shadowlands books, but I loved Of Metal and Wishes, which was a little more fantasy and a little more gothic. The story is a beautiful and sometimes brutal retelling of The Phantom of the Opera - if it were set in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle's meat factory. I loved the world-building and the very real class and race issues it explored, but I also quite enjoyed the romance - which was bittersweet, yearning, and perilous. There's a bit of a love triangle in this one, but you'll be surprised by how well it works.


Favorite Paranormal: MORTAL GODS by Kendare Blake

I'm actually not sure if this counts as paranormal, but this series does feature a bunch of teenaged / early 20-ish year old versions of Greek gods and heroes in modern times doing their best to kill each other before they die. It's fun if you're a Classical Mythology nerd like me, but even if you're not, Kendare Blake always writes fast-paced, bloody adventures that are funny to boot. I've loved her interpretations of what the modern-day gods and heroes are like, and I was particularly taken with some of the new characters she introduced in this installment. The cliffhanger at the end though? UNFORGIVABLE. I need the next book asap!


Favorite Genre Bender: BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Stiefvater

I think until this series is over, the Raven Cycle books are always going to rule this category. They are a fantasy/paranormal unlike anything I've ever read - unpredictable and entirely engrossing. Henrietta feels both contemporary and otherworldly, and the characters are so nuanced and endearing. I am always happy to see them again and am always reluctant to let them go when I get to the last page. I can't recommend these books enough.

Come back tomorrow for the Popularity Contest category. These will be fun (expect the Darkling).

YA Superlative Blogfest 2013: Best in Show

We're on to the final day of the YA Superlatives Blogfest! I'm kind of sad, but my TBR list is brimming!

About the blogfest: The Class of 2013: YA Superlative Blogfest will run Monday, December 16th – Thursday, December 19th and will highlight our favorite books of 2013. This year, the lovely hosts Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and Katy Upperman will also be giving away books to bloggers who participate in all 4 days of the fest. Click the banner for more info!

If you join in, don't forget to link up at one of the host blogs! There's a prize for participating every day!

*Disclaimer: We tried to choose books published in 2013, but as we didn't read that many 2013 releases some of these might not be from 2013. Also, some books had their last book in the series pubbed in 2013.

The topic is Best in Show!


Favorite Cover

Krispy's Pick: Because I love the type-dominated design and the perfectly moody imagery.

Type by Simon Alander / Designed by Nancy R. Leo-Kelly

Alz's Pick: Because I do love me some winged things, and the colors and arrangement combined with the title make for a gorgeously ethereal and evocative whole.

Jacket art by Chiara Fersini / Jacket design by Kristin Smith

Honorable Mention (Krispy's): I didn't get around to reading TAKEN, but I freaking love the cover design. Like the combination of bright colors and sleek sci-fi-y imagery somehow works, and goodness that raised K in the title!

Photography by Alisdair Miller & Howard Huang /
Designed by Alison Donalty and Erin Fitzsimmons

Cutest Couple

Alz's Pick:  Frenenqer and Sangris from The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti because the book is all about her, and them, and how they are.  She's been bound up in so many psychological and social restrictions her entire life and he teaches her to shake free her shackles and grow.  Also, they're just super cute together.

Krispy's multi-picks: I actually couldn't really pick so here we are.

Honorable Mention: From The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater, Blue and Noah not as like an actual couple but because of their cute friendship, but specifically A SCENE from this book. Also,  The Gray Man and Blue's mom Maura had an unexpectedly sweet relationship.


Most Likely to Succeed (Or, pick a Printz Winner.)


Krispy's Pick: The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta because they are amazing (and Marchetta has already won a Printz, though not for these books)

OR

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn, which has already been nominated for a number of awards including being chosen as a finalist for YALSA's 2014 William C. Morris award.

Alz's Pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti because it's just poetically striking and moves worlds with the rhythm of its words.  Really, I love it a lot.  Which is why it's showing up all over Superlatives.


Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime (Book you just couldn’t put down!)

Krispy's Pick: I read a lot of page-turners this year, but for some reason I just could not put down Kendare Blake's Antigoddess.

Maybe it's because Blake writes a good plot (remember Anna Dressed in Blood?)  or maybe I just really love Greek Mythology (I do), but I blasted through this book in 2 days and then wished I had the next.


Alz's Pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti - I tore through this sucker in one sitting, which is pretty amazing since usually "plotless" books tend to be not that gripping for me.  But this, this was gripping.  I wanted it to never end.



Best Repeat Performance (Your favorite sequel or follow-up.) 

Krispy & Alz's pick:

Krispy's Pick 2: As a runner-up, I actually really enjoyed Siege & Storm, which was pleasant because I hadn't been that enamored of Shadow & Bone.


Alz's Pick 2: Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson - So technically this book is MG, not YA, nor was it published this year, but it really was a great book that didn't suffer at all from midquel-itis.  Although it is a fairly chunky book at nearly 500 pages and some parts were a bit slow, everything built up and the momentum in the end meant the story was a fireball hurtling forward.  I found the first book to be a lot slower, though it was worth it in the end; this sequel was much better overall.


Favorite Finale or End of Series Novel

Krispy's pick: ALL THE FEELS. Perfect ending to an extraordinary fantasy trilogy.

[Fan art by Cassandra Jean]

Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath
(Krispy only)

1) I wouldn't characterize the whole romance of the main couple this way, but in soon-to-be-released Control, there's this scene at a nightclub that is just... it is something else and all kinds of, uh, delirium-making.

2) Tana and Gavriel in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - again, not exactly on fire the whole time, but there is definitely a delectable kind of tension between these two and when that finally bubbles over? Well, it's "as dangerous as daybreak."



Breakout Novel (Your favorite book by a debut author.)

Krispy's Pick(s): Tie - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (for its voice and beautiful writing) and Charm & Strange (for its taut craft and unflinching depth).

Alz's Pick: You'll never guess that I'm picking The Girl with Borrowed Wings for this category because reasons.  I just hope Rinsai Rossetti is working on another breathtakingly beautiful book as I type this.

Honorable Mention: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill because I (Krispy) did really enjoy it and I think I haven't given it enough props. Time travel that is not crazy-making is hard to do, and the premise of this book is amazing.


Best Old-Timer (Your favorite read of the year, published BEFORE 2013.)

Krispy's Pick: The Lumatere Chronicles - Quintana was the only book published this year and that was only in the U.S.!

Alz's Pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings was technically published July 2012.  I wish I had read it then so I could've known how awesome it was all the sooner.


Book Most Likely to Make a Grown Man Cry
(Krispy only)

The Lumatere Chronicles gave me all the feels. I probably got a little sniffly at points.


Most Pleasant Surprise (Best book you didn’t think you’d like, but totally did.)

Krispy's Pick: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. It's a pre-2013 book, I know, but I finally read it this year despite years of wariness and disinterest. I'd been burned by far too many angel books and this one had a love triangle (always tricky)! Surprisingly, I liked it and I want to continue the series!

Alz's Pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings has a book blurb that was only kind of interesting to me, mostly because of the mention of winged shapeshifters and not so much the blurb-bits about a girl searching for her identity and struggling to free herself from etc.  It basically sounded like the type of book that I don't really go out of my way to read.  But it had an intriguing title and a beautiful cover and, as is my wont, I skimmed the first few pages to see how the writing was.  The writing was fascinating and beautiful, so I took the book home from the library and never regretted it.


Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle

The Dream Thieves because there are a lot of compelling boys and one complex girl with a heavy prophecy hanging over her when it comes to her love life. What will happen with this ever changing polygon of love?

Honorable Mention (Krispy's): The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson. There's a love triangle, sort of, and it's also not what you think. A fascinating look at different kinds of love - between friends, lovers, artists, and between people and places.


Sleeper Hit (Book you found so awesome you wish it had been hyped more.)

Krispy's Pick: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake! With all the love for her horror books featuring the ghostly Anna Dressed in Blood, I was surprised there didn't seem to be as much buzz/excitement for her newest series The Goddess Wars. Maybe the Greek myth retelling thing was not so popular?

Athena by Cassandra Jean (though not specifically
as fan art for Antigoddess).

In any case, Blake brings her horror chops to this mythological adventure, and she reinvents the gods in interesting ways. I loved it! And I loved Hermes and Athena, and that Kendare Blake wrote some of my other Classical favorites in too (but I won't ruin which of them for you)!

Alz's Pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings. I'm not going to cheapen this any by admitting that I read far fewer books this year than last--oh wait, I just did.  But even if I had read more, this book still would have taken the cake, hell, the entire dessert buffet, because it was just that awesome.  I'm running out of gushy things to say.


Favorite Outlier (Your favorite middle grade or adult 2013 book)

Krispy's Pick: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Adult book) because it was a page-turner. I could not stop reading about these dysfunctional people and their psychological games, even though they were such terrible people.

Alz's Pick: Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson (MG book) was, as I mentioned previously, pretty dang riveting with many more good and interesting and terrible things happening than in the first book.


Pick Your Own Superlative: (Real) Oldie but Goodie

Krispy's Pick: Dragon's Bait by Vivian Vande Velde. Loved this as a tween because it had dragons and revenge and a sort-of romance? Also, Selendrile was a total babe. Upon my re-read this year, I found I still loved all these things...and that Selendrile is still a total babe.

Alz's Pick: The Boxcar Children #1 by Gertrude Chandler.  Loved this as a child.  Read it again as an adult and still loved it.  I've read quite a few in this quintessential children's series, but the first book has always been my favorite.


Q4U: What are your picks for these categories?


And that's it for this year's YA Superlative blogfest! Thanks for joining us, and we hope you found some new books to put on your TBR piles!

We probably won't be blogging again until after Christmas. So until then, have happy and safe holidays! EAT ALL THE FOOD! Here's a bonus majestic!Loki.



YA Superlative Blogfest recap:
Head Of Class
Popularity Contest
Elements of Fiction

YA Superlative Blogfest 2013: Elements of Fiction

There's no What's Up Wednesday today because we're on to Day 3 of the YA Superlatives Blogfest!

About the blogfest: The Class of 2013: YA Superlative Blogfest will run Monday, December 16th – Thursday, December 19th and will highlight our favorite books of 2013. This year, the lovely hosts Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, Alison Miller, and Katy Upperman will also be giving away books to bloggers who participate in all 4 days of the fest. Click the banner for more info!

If you join in, don't forget to link up at one of the host blogs! There's a prize for participating every day!

*Disclaimer: We tried to choose books published in 2013, but as we didn't read that many 2013 releases some of these might not be from 2013. Also, some books had their last book in the series pubbed in 2013.

The topic is Elements of Fiction!


Most Envy-Inducing Plot (Or, the plot you wish you’d thought of yourself.)

Krispy's pick: The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta basically makes me never want to write fantasy again because they're just so darn good. The plots are riveting, the characters compelling, and the world of Skuldenore is just so well-realized. Don't even get me started on the complex themes!

Alz's pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti doesn't have a plot as such--it's more of a character-development-and-exploration piece.  In fact, it almost goes out of its way to not have a plot, which is why it works--the narrator's psychological issues, relationships, and personal growth shine all the more for not being mired in plot.


Most Formidable World (Or, the setting you definitely would NOT want to visit.)

Krispy's pick: In the world of Dualed, if you live in the city of Kersh (like the MC does), you have to kill your Alt before your Alt kills you. So while daily life seems like it's okay overall, you'd have to kill or be killed, and you might get accidentally killed by Alt-vs-Alt crossfire. The motto of the city is "Be the one. Be worthy." Nope, count me out.

Cover art from DIVIDED, upcoming sequel to DUALED. [Source: MTV Geek First Look]

Alz's pick: Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve takes place in a far, far future version of our world where cities are mobile and scuttle across the land, devouring weaker cities to fuel themselves.  It takes survival of the fittest to a whole new level, and really, you're screwed either way--seems like the cities (and towns and villages) are getting scarcer after centuries of predation so even if you're in a pretty big city like London, you still have to live with the worry that someday soon a bigger, hungrier city is going to eat you whole.  Also, if you live on the ground, you're pretty much screwed too because all the mobile cityfolk hate you.  Thank you, I'll take living in the comparatively far, far past over that eat-or-run lifestyle.


Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting you’d happily travel to.)

[Source: April Tucholke's pinterest]

Krispy's pick: The small seaside town and crumbling mansion in April Tucholke's Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is straight out of a gothic novel and thus equal parts creepy and dreamy. But even with the creep factor, there's something so beautiful and romantic about the windswept cliffs and Violet's nook-filled home, the Citizen. I would love to spend an afternoon with Violet playing dress-up and listening to old records while sipping espresso in the Citizen's attic.

Alz's pick: The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti is just all over my Superlatives this year, ain't it?  And it's because everything about this book was so gorgeous.  The desert is beautiful and the worlds that Frenenqer (yes, that's her name) travels to are strange and beautiful too.  I'd love to borrow her borrowed wings sometime.

Honorable Mentions: Henrietta from The Dream Thieves is, as ever and always, an atmospheric place, with lush magical forests and not-quite-as-picturesque-as-it-seems small-town life.   Just One Day was actual wanderlust-inducing because of all the traveling and romance in the real world. Paris! Amsterdam!


Loveliest Prose

The Dream Thieves because it's Maggie Stiefvater and she strings words together in wondrous and beautiful ways. Every book seems to bring new descriptions and turns of phrase for us to ponder and admire.

Krispy's pick 2: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea gets a shout-out here because the writing really is lovely. The settings are characters themselves, and Violet's voice is what carries the whole tale.

Alz's pick 2: The Girl with Borrowed Wings because I JUST REALLY LOVED IT OKAY SO UNEXPECTEDLY BEAUTIFUL IN SO MANY WAYS.

Best First Line

Krispy's Pick: From Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea:

You stop fearing the Devil when you're holding his hand.

Alz's Pick: From The Girl with Borrowed Wings:

I am unlike most other people because I began, not in the body of my mother, but in the brain of my father.

Most Dynamic Main Character

Krispy's pick: Quintana from Quintana of Charyn - There are a number of characters I could put here just from The Lumatere Chronicles, but I picked Quintana because she is one of the most unusual characters I've come across. I didn't always like her and like the other characters in the book, I didn't always know what to make of her. But in Marchetta's skilled hands, Quintana comes across as a multifaceted character. She is damaged, wild, selfless, violent, strong, vulnerable, and maybe half-mad, but she also turns out to be one of the most dynamic and heroic characters of the trilogy.


Alz's pick: Cassie from The 5th Wave - I'll be honest, I couldn't even remember Cassie's name when Krispy and I were discussing our picks for this category.  But what stuck with me was the fact that Cassie was a typical teen girl with her whims and high school woes, who was then forced to become a lone survivor in an apocalyptic alien-invaded world.  It's been hard on her and hardened her, and yet she still retains her teenagery-ness and some truly admirable spirit despite the pretty damn awful turns her life has taken.

Most Jaw-Dropping Ending (Krispy's only, because Alz hasn't read anything this year where the ending totally blew her away)

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson- I pretty much can't say anything except that while this ending wasn't wholly unexpected, it was so beautifully and movingly done. It was triumph and tragedy and magnificently symbolic. It gave me chills.

Honorable Mention: The Lumatere Chronicles because it gave me ALL THE FEELS, and though Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn isn't YA, I needed to mention this here because that book was all kinds of W-T-F. But in a good way!


Best Performance in a Supporting Role

Krispy's pick: The Lumatere Chronicles - I just love everyone, okay? Can we give an award for best ensemble cast? Because they're great. Main characters become supporting characters and vice versa, but they all work together to create this amazing patchwork whole.

Alz's pick (Krispy agrees too): Sturmhond from Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo - He's handsome and blond and piratey and charming and all those good things that make him instantly likable, but beneath that roguish exterior there are some hidden depths.


Best Use of Theme

Krispy's pick: Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn is a finely focused novel. Everything is about character and theme, so it was a no-brainer pick for this category. From the imagery to the metaphors and motifs used, everything serves Win's story and explores the idea of survival and grief.

Seriously, just read my full review of Charm & Strange to see all the THEME flailing I did over this (because I love themes).


Alz's pick: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater is all about family.  And love.  And secrets.  Like, what happens when you keep them even when you shouldn't, or don't understand them.  And what happens when you don't keep them.  And especially what happens when said secrets involve family and love.  They all weave together into one complex and intriguing thematic tapestry.

Honorable mentions: 1) The Lumatere Chronicles because one of the reasons these books stand out is the incredibly mature themes -about diaspora, national & cultural identity, faith, feminism, and sacrifice just to name a few. 2) The Coldest Girl in Coldtown because there are vampires and the vampirism is used to explore themes of love, mortality, identity, humanity, and monstrosity.


Who would you put in these categories?  Join us again tomorrow!

YA Superlative Blogfest recap:
Head Of Class
Popularity Contest