TGIF {5} : Best Books I've Read So Far

Hey Remarkable Readers,

It's time for another TGIF! It's almost the Fourth of July for anyone who lives in America.  I'm ready for a weekend of relaxation and hopefully full of reading and other fun!

This Friday's Question:

Best I've Read So Far: We're half way through the year (crazy how time flies!), which top 3 books are the best you've read so far this year?

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.  "New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Insurgent is an obvious pick!  I absolutely adored it.  After all, I waited an entire year to read it.  Veronica Roth's writing always keeps my interest.

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

I had the dream again. The one where I’m running. I don’t know what from or where to, but I’m scared, terrified really. 
Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. But in the short time he has left there’s one thing he can do: He can try to help the people he loves live—even though he never will. 

It’s probably hopeless. 

But he has to try.

Never Eighteen is one of my favorite books of all time.  Megan Bostic delivers an important message in a small amount of pages.  Austin's story is simple yet heartbreaking and I often think about the book.  I want to reread it already!

Slide by Jill Hathaway

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body. 
Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane. 

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

I really enjoyed Slide!  I love a good murder mystery and I hadn't read one for a long time before I picked this one up.  The paranormal twist grabbed my interest immediately and I can't wait to read the next book.

All in all, this week's question wasn't as hard to answer as I imagined.  I only chose Fiction books from my list for this year just to keep with my blog's focus.  I actually haven't read much this year because of school but, I hope to fix that over this summer.  For a complete list of books I've read during the year, click here.  

Thanks for stopping by!  What are your favorite books you've read this year?

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult-Dystopian

Source: Publisher (BEA)

Series: Yes, #2 in a trilogy

Buy It: The Dolphin Bookshop (Shop Indie!)

Challenge: Free Reads

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.  "New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

     Insurgent was probably my most anticipated book of 2012.  I read Divergent last June and I fell in love with the story and Veronica Roth's writing.  Her books are so fast-paced and thrilling that you don't even realize that you're speeding right through them!  Insurgent was a whopping 525 pages but, I enjoyed every single one of them.  Although the first half was a bit slow, I understand that it built a foundation for all of the events that occur in the second portion of the book.
     The Divergent series rests very heavily on character development throughout the story.  So many events influence the actions of the characters.  I was completely shocked by some of the occurrences in the book.  Although I wont spoil anything, I was especially shocked by Caleb and Peter.  Even Marcus, Tobias, and Tris shocked me!  Veronica Roth never bores me.  So much happens towards the end of her books that you just have to pay attention or you'll be completely lost!  Anyway, all of the characters, both main and supporting, go through huge changes and discoveries throughout the book.  My opinions about everyone were constantly changing and I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time.
     When I first started reading Insurgent, I was actually really confused.  Since it had been almost a year since I started the first installment in the series, I didn't remember a lot of the the characters, events, and relationships that had been built in the first book.  I was forced to lookup an online summary of Divergent and ask a few friends who had read the book for reminders.  Upon asking them I discovered that they were also a bit confused, too.  I wish Veronica Roth would've written in a few more context clues to trigger the reader's memory of the first book.  That is pretty much my only complaint for Insurgent.  I just feel that so much happened in Divergent and there needed to be a few reminders at the opening of Insurgent.
     Veronica Roth's writing is completely captivating.  If you haven't read Divergent, what are you waiting for?  It was one of my favorite books of 2011 and Insurgent is already on my list for 2012.  I was completely shocked by the ending of this book and I was so angry about the cliffhanger!  I don't know how I'll wait so long for Detergent!  I'm not sure if Divergent or Insurgent was better but, either way, this series will blow you away!

Final Grade:

Favorite Covers of 2011

Hey Remarkable Readers, 

I figured to close off the new year, I'd show you some of my favorites of 2011!  Don't forget to vote for your favorites here!  Sorry if the images are all out of whack but, Blogger refuses to format the way I want!  Anyway, here are my favorite covers:

Runner Ups:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: ARC from Publisher
Series: Yes, First In Series, Following Titles TBD
Buy It: The Book Depository
Challenge: No

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting asThe Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices,Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

     Shatter Me shattered me.  Corny, I know but, I'm totally serious.  I would say that I'm speechless but, I'd be lying because if I was vlogging , I'd just be screaming "YOU NEED TO READ THIS!"  I will try to contain myself during this review no matter how much I loved it.  Clearly, you already know which direction this review is going but, if you'd like, proceed reading :).    
     Tahereh Mafi is a fantastic writer.  Honestly, there isn't one single word to describe Shatter Me.  Her words just exploded off the page and totally shocked me.  I actually started this book about two months ago.  I kept setting it down even though I was loving it.  I did this for many reasons.  I had other books with reviews that had to be posted soon, or books that I had to finish for school, or sometimes I just needed to process how amazing the book really was.  Anyway, Shatter Me is written from Juliette's point of view, with nothing held back.  The reader knows everything about Juliette and how she was feeling, including that she didn't want to admit some of her feelings.  This was shown through strikethroughs.  At first, there were very many of these stricken thoughts and I had my doubts.  I thought that they'd be very annoying but, surprisingly I really enjoyed them.  They showed exactly how Juliette was feeling at each moment and as the book progressed, the amount of stricken thoughts decreased.  This gives the reader even more insight into Juliette's character and showed how she slowly became more comfortable in her own skin.
     I fell in love with every character (excluding Warner, of course).  I don't even know how to describe it.  (I'm totally "fangirling" over this book right now.)  Juliette was such a complex character and I loved every minute of it.  She was a puzzle meant to be deciphered by the reader.  Everything about her was never set in stone.  She always doubted herself.  She was broken and I just loved how realistic her character was.  Adam was spectacular.  I just absolutely loved him.  He was so perfect but, imperfect at the same time.  Let me explain.  He was perfect in the sense that he was an amazing love interest and super sweet and attractive.  He was imperfect in a good way.  He wasn't a goody two shoes; he made mistakes like a real person would.  I really love when characters are flawed because it makes them jump off the page. Simply put, Adam Captured my heart and didn't let go.  James was totally adorable and I had a love-hate relationship with Kenji.  The romance between Juliette and Adam is indescribable.  It was flawless and flawed, fairytale and realistic, dangerous and cautious, right and wrong.  I absolutely loved it.
     Tahereh Mafi writes with an interesting and unexpected style (you have to read the book to know what I mean.)   There was never a dull moment in Shatter Me. The book was formatted perfectly with excitement then calm and excitement throughout the entire book. I was never bored. I had very mixed feelings about actually finishing the book; I was sad that it was over but, happy that I could finally write my review and share such an astounding book with all of you!  Honestly, the only bad thing about Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, is that I cannot imagine how she will top it when the next book releases but, who knows?  I didn't think a book this great was even possible.
Final Grade: