Favorite Books of 2011

I am awful at creating lists of favorite things, but I decided to give it a try with books. The book title link will take you to my review. Here goes!

Favorite YA Dystopian/Science Fiction/Paranormal

Delirium by Lauren Oliver: My favorite book of the year. Lauren Oliver is SUCH an amazing writer. I am counting down the days until Pandemonium comes out!

Divergent by Veronica Roth: A great dystopian that takes place in Chicago. Fast-paced and excellent.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin: I'm not sure how to classify this one, but I loved it! Definitely a page turner.

Favorite YA Contemporary
Shine by Lauren Myracle: A fantastic, heartbreaking, and extremely realistic story of homophobia in small town America. I loved the voice of the narrator.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: I'm usually not one to go for YA romances, but this one was really cute and fun. Stephanie Perkins is great.

Paper Towns by John Green: My first John Green novel and I loved it. What a fantastic author and a male protagonist to boot!

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: A terrifying and honest foray into the life of someone with anorexia. I'd never read a book like this before and can't believe how intense it was.

Favorite series that I discovered
The Shade series by Jeri Smith-Ready: I tried this at the recommendation of other bloggers and loved it! The first two are out now (Shade and Shift) and Shine comes out next year. It's paranormal, but was so much better than I ever thought paranormal could be!

Favorite nonfiction
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure: It was awesome to read about someone who has a similar obsession as me. This book was hilarious and anyone who loved Laura Ingalls Wilder should read it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: This was the first nonfiction book I've read that felt like fiction. It was so interesting and I stayed up late for a few nights in a rush to finish it.

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publish date: Sept. 29, 2011
Source: ARC from store closing sale
"Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. 
When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door." (from Goodreads)

I decided a few weeks ago that I was going through a contemporary slump: I was immediately bored when I tried to start reading contemporary romances, they all seemed the same, etc. I kept reading reviews for Lola, though, which everyone thought was the bee's knees. When I was at the Borders HQ sale last week, they were basically giving ARCs away, so I thought, hey, I'll give Lola a shot and if I don't like it, to the classroom library it goes. 

Well...this book was delightful and adorable and wonderful. Stephanie Perkins is a fantastic writer. I have not read Anna and the French Kiss so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved her writing style and her characters. Sometimes Lola would think in all caps, which I truly believe my mind does as well (not to mention I include all caps in my writing frequently). I really think Ms. Perkins captured the drama and "this is so importantness" of teenage life because that is exactly how I felt at that age. And the conversations near the end that Lola and Max had? I have had similar accusations thrown at me near the end of relationships, of doing things I did not do, so it really felt like the author was in my head and it was CREEPY (but in a good way?).

Essentially, this book was awesome. All the details made it great: Lola's dads, Lindsey, Lola's costumes, and CRICKET. Oh Cricket, I adore you. Read this book!