Favorite Books of 2011

Today's the last day of 2011! I can't believe how fast it has gone by. Tonight my plans to ring in the New Year are simple. I'll be hanging out at home with my favorite people: my husband, two daughters, and my son. We'll stay up late, eat yummy food, be silly, take a little time to be grateful for our wonderful lives, and watch the ball drop together. I hope that whatever plans you have for tonight you have fun and stay safe.

This year I set a goal for myself to read 98 books and on goodreads my challenge says I have read 108. I actually read a few more than that, some of them yet to be published so they weren't on goodreads. I was pretty amazed when I hit my goal back in October. Out of those 108 books some of them made me laugh, cry, tense up with suspense, and some of them outraged me (my family can attest to that last one).

In no particular order here are my favorite young adult books of 2011!

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Divergent by Veronica Roth

 Going Underground by Susan Vaught

Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Red by Kait Nolan


The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

Boyfriend From Hell by E.Van Lowe

Earth Angel by E.Van Lowe

Want to Go Private by Sarah Darer Littman

Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry

Unnatural Law (Darwin's Children bk. 2) by Natasha Larry

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Crossroads and Between by Mary Ting

and of course I am still loving the Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine


WOW! That's a lot of books. Maybe that's why I was able to read over 100 books this year, because I read so many awesome books! I'm dying to know if you liked any of the same books that I liked. Drop me a comment with a few of your favorites this year or leave me a link to your favorites of 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!!!!

NeuroticThoughts on Where She Went

Where She Went
Author: Gayle Forman
Released: April 5, 2011
Published by: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 264
ISBN: 0525422943
Target Age: Young Adult

Source: I borrowed this one from the fabulous Jessica of Shut Up I'm Reading
Summary from Goodreads:

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

AMAZING!!

 First off If you haven't read If I Stay - stop right now! Go to the store, library, amazon, or wherever you get your books from, and RUN don't walk to get your own copy of If I Stay!!!! Yes, it really is that good.

OK, now onto Where She Went.... I've been putting this review off for quite awhile because I'm afraid it's just going to sound all gushy and incoherent because of the amount of love I have for this book and Adam! As wonderful as If I Stay was, Where She Went is even better! This book is told from Adam's point of view and wow, I just love this guy SOOO much.  Adam's heartache is so palpable you feel it right along with him. When he cried, I cried. He's barely hanging on trying to get through his life in the aftermath of what happened to Mia three years ago. While waiting to head off to Europe on tour with his band he takes a few days in New York City and remembers what's happened in the past three years.  Oh my, get ready for the tears during his flashbacks!!! While wandering through the city he stumbles upon Mia, what  happens next you'll have to find out for yourself.
Side note: After reading this book I went to New York City for the first time, and seeing the things that Gayle Forman wrote about just made them so much more for me, it was awesome!!!