Books I Read in 2011

Another New Year's Day and time to reflect on the books I read over the course of the past year. This is by far the most books I've read in one twelve month period. Maybe I'll read even more in 2012. Here are the 72 titles in reverse order of when I read them, starting with the most recent:

1. One of the Survivors by Susan Shaw
2. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle
3. This Dark Endeavor : The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel
4. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
5. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg & 13 other contemporary writers
6. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
7. Open Season (Joe Gunther mystery #1) by Archer Mayor
8. Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera & Bill Cleaver
9. The Litigators by John Grisham
10. The Affair : a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child
11. The Dog Who Came In From the Cold by Alexander McCall Smith
12. Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
13. The Race by Clive Cussler & Justin Scott
14. Mill Rivcer Recluse by Darcie Chan
15. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
16. Ranger's Apprentice : The Lost Stories by John Flanagan
17. Dirt Road Home by Watt Key
18. Shelter by Harlan Coben
19. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
20. Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard
21. True Grit by Charles Portis
22. Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
23. The Second Son by Lee Child
24. Addie on the Inside by James Howe
25. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
26. Hummingbirds: Facts & Folklore from the Americas by Jeanette Larson & Adrienne Yorinks
27. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
28. Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch
29. Payback Time by Carl Deuker
30. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, & Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
31. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
32. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
33. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
34. The Warlock by Michael Scott
35. The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine
36. Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
37. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
38. A Small White Scar by K.A. Nuzum
39. The Year We Disappeared : a Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby & John Busby
40. Take Me to the River by Will Hobbs
41. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
42. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
43. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
44. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
45. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
46. Live Wire by Harlan Coben
47. Ranger's Apprentice 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan
48. Alabama Moon by Key Watt
49. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
50. Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
51. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
52. A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
53. Hour Game by David Baldacci
54. Slog's Dad by David Almond
55. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
56. This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
57. The Dead & the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
58. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
59. Play Dead by Harlan Coben
60. After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
61. The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber
62. The Confession by John Grisham
63. Rules by Cynthia Lord
64. Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
65. The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
66. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
67. The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children by Keith McGowan
68. John Cena by Tim O'Shei
69. Worth Dying For by Lee Child
70. Crossfire by Dick & Felix Francis
71. Silks by Dick & Felix Francis
72. Dead Heat by Dick & Felix Francis

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Canadian author Kenneth Oppel is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers of middle grade and young adult fiction. His Airborn trilogy with its elements of steampunk adventure is recommended for both boys and girls in middle school. (His female leads tend to be spunky and independent.) His language is perfectly suited to his topics, and his characters are always balanced and believable.
Like several recent notable YA series (Hunger Games and Twilight for example), I was hesitant at first to read a book about a young "monster." But as with these two hit series as well as all of Oppel's other work, I was hooked almost from page one.
This Dark Endeavor tells the story of twin Frankenstein brothers Victor and Konrad, who is older by a mere two minutes. They live a life of intellect, education, and privilege near Lake Geneva in a peaceful part of Europe. Home tutored and pampered by servants, the Frankenstein family is also liberal in their politics and skeptical in their religious beliefs. There are two younger siblings who also appear in the story, but the teenage twins spend most of their time with a distant cousin, Elizabeth, of similar age who was rescued from a convent as a child and grew up with them almost like a sister. Henry Cherval, a close friend and bit of a coward but with the heart of a poet, rounds out their mischievous quartet.
The group frequently goes exploring together and one day finds a secret passage in their vast castle-like home that leads to a hidden basement laboratory and "dark library" full of strange books with mysterious writing in them. Their father learns of their little adventure and immediately puts a stop to their clandestine snooping. Soon, though, Konrad becomes gravely ill and even the best doctors in the region cannot cure his sickness. The remaining trio of Victor, Henry, and Elizabeth decide that the dark library may hold answers to reverse Konrad's mystery sickness, so together they scheme to find a cure for him. Guided by Maria, a trusted servant, the three seek out an old alchemist in town to help them decipher the coded recipes for healing elixirs that may return Konrad to good health. The only question...will they survive the dangerous process of finding bizarre ingredients for this strange potion?
This Dark Endeavor is well-written and the pacing is quick enough to keep readers engaged in the action all the way through. I already look forward to the next title in the series! This book is highly recommended for seventh grade to adult. There are a couple of brief mentions of "enflamed passions" over which brother is more in love with Elizabeth, and a couple of mild oaths uttered in their various trials and tribulations, but overall the book is PG. A scene of violence near the end might leave a couple of weak-stomached readers queasy, but it only lasts a few pages. A copy of this book has been ordered for Stone MS library and it will have a YA label on the spine due to content mentioned above.

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I'd been wanting to read this book since the TV ads for the movie started airing several months back. I still haven't seen the movie yet, but I'd definitely like to now that I've finished the novel, just so I can see what they did with the story.

Basically, this book is straightforward science fiction. Lorien is a planet similar to--but smaller than--Earth, in a distant galaxy. The citizens of Lorien look like us, act like us, and talk like us...but they can do so much more. Lorien has been taken over by the evil Mogadorians who only want to use up its natural resources for themselves, because they've already destroyed their own planet. Just before Lorien society is wiped out, the ruling leaders send 9 children of their elite Garde caste, along with 9 Cepan guardians to raise them, by rocket ship to Earth in hopes they will survive in order to rebuild their home planet in the future. Before they are launched into space, these select nine are blessed with a charm that they cannot be destroyed except in numerical order. Hence the tagline: "Three are dead....I am number four."

Ten years later, posing as a 15-year-old and his father, 'John' and 'Henri Smith' are constantly on the move, trying to stay one step ahead of rogue Mogadorians who have followed them to Earth and have now killed numbers 1, 2, and 3. The pair's latest place of residence is in the village of Paradise, Ohio. John enrolls in school and in stereotypical teenage fashion, befriends the nerdy conspiracy theorist, Sam, is enraptured with the local beauty, Sarah, and is picked on by the school jock bully, Mark. John has never had such close personal ties in previous towns they lived in, but in Paradise, things are different. He falls in love for the first time in his life with Sarah. He finds a true human friend in Sam, and eventually even works things out with Mark. This is where the plot thickens. Do they move on as in the past, or stay and fight for the survival of themselves and their home planet? Will they eventually be found and have to battle with their Mogadorian enemy?

This book would never be considered great literature (it was penned by James Frey and Jobie Hughes under the pseudonum Pittacus Lore), but it IS action-packed and fast-paced, with the reader forcefully grabbed from the first page until the end. There's enough going on in the plot to interest the majority of teen readers, some teen angst and romance for others, a loveable dog named Bernie Kosar for the PETA crowd, and plenty of standard sci-fi fare for the rest.

While this book would be acceptable at many urban middle schools, I think due to the language it will not find a place on our conservative, rural school library shelves. I will most likely pass it on to our high school library instead. It's a good read if you want to kick back for a few hours. Those who truly enjoy it will be happy to know it is the first book in a planned series. The first sequel is called "The Power of Six."

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

I really wanted to like this book--and parts of it are likeable--but overall I felt cheated at the end. Which is kind of ironic considering that the two main characters think they are on the trail of a suspected cheater through the majority of the story.
Daniel "Mitch" True is talented writer and a fat kid who expects to be named editor of his high school newspaper. Surprise! The supposedly airhead blonde gets the job instead. She immediately names Mitch as the paper's sports writer. This turns out to be a smart move on her part, and Mitch realizes he'll be partnered with a smart, cute girl photographer for much of the sports season, which is an unexpected bonus.
Head football coach McNulty is on a mission to have a championship season so he can catch the attention of college athletics programs and climb his way out of coaching high school football. He wants all articles and stories about the team to focus on the star quarterback, Horst, who is his ticket out of Lincoln High. But there's a new player named Angel on the team that seems to have much more talent than the wunderkind Horst. So why doesn't the coach use this new guy more? He's bigger, stronger, and has the skills, so why is he warming the bench? He looks oddly older than the other Lincoln players, too. Could there by a story behind Angel? Mitch starts his investigation into Angel's mysterious past. What dark secret will he discover?
If you're into play-by-play action on the football field, then this book is for you. I on the other hand got bogged down in all the minute details and just skimmed over most of the game descriptions. I was distracted by the constant feuding by the volleyball team, which was never really resolved, and I thought the ending was too contrived to be satisfying. Since it was written for a middle/high school audience, I'll just say that I hope it finds its intended readers. I wasn't overly impressed. A copy is available at SMS Library. It has a YA sticker for mild language use and a couple of references to drugs and gang violence. This book is on the 2011 Texas Lone Star Reading List.

"The Last Survivors" trilogy by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Book 1 - Life As We Knew It : Sixteen-year-old Miranda, her divorced mom, and two brothers, live in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. Like the rest of the world, they are awaiting a rare opportunity to view an asteroid that scientists predict will crash into the surface of the moon, an impact expected to be easily visible on this clear spring evening. Neighbors are planning block parties to go outside and watch it. Unfortunately, the scientists did not predict what would happen afterwards. The moon is knocked slightly off its orbit and moves closer to Earth, instantly triggering coastal flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, power outages, and clouds of smoke and ash that blot out the sun, thus killing plant life. Attempting to cope with it all, Miranda's BFF suddenly finds religion and forgets about her. Miranda's mom realizes what is happening and logically starts planning ahead for the bad days she knows will be there all too soon, stockpiling food and water, wood for the stove, and other anticipated supplies. She scoffs when President Bush urges Americans to remain calm and just pray before tv reception goes out completely. Miranda's mom knows the only way they are going to survive is from their own ingenuity and preparation. They try to warn Miranda's dad and his pregnant new wife to stay put, but they insist on taking a chance on traveling west to see if things are better there. Just in case some one does survive this world-wide tragedy, Miranda keeps everything documented in a journal so others will know what happened the final days of her life.

Book 2 - The Dead and the Gone : The same event as told from the point of view of 17-year-old Alex Morales. Alex is aware there's some big astrological event going on, but he figures it is something only science nerds would be interested in following. Besides, he's more concerned about whether he'll make class president next year at his all boys private Catholic prep school. Alex and his two younger sisters are in their NY city apartment when the chaos starts. His dad, the building superintendent, is in Puerto Rico for a family funeral, and his mom is across town working night shift as a nurse at the hospital. When neither parent returns home, Alex alone must take on the responsibility of caring for his sisters. Communications are soon cut off, subways are flooded, tidal waves have wiped out coastal areas, and now volcanic ash is blocking out the sun, plunging the world into constant shadows and numbing cold. What will Alex do to insure his family's survival? Anything and everything.

Book 3 - This World We Live In : It's been a year since the incident of the asteroid hitting the moon. Despite devastating climate changes and bizarre weather patterns, Miranda and her family have managed to survive. One day, her father and stepmom, their new baby, along with a trio of strangers, arrive in Howell, PA, seeking refuge at their home. One of the strangers is Alex Morales from New York City, and if you think this is going to be one of those romantic "thrown together by circumstances" relationships with violin music and doves cooing, you are mistaken. Miranda and Alex both have issues, and both are too independent and stubborn to compromise. What readers are left with is a sort of microcosm of our western world today: blended families, racial diversity, and a need to understand each other's point of view in order to get along. The tension builds until yet another atmospheric phenomenon forces them all to confront their situation and decide to band together to survive. This 3rd book is supposed to be the final book that neatly wraps up the storyline of the first two, but the ending is still vague enough there could potentially be another title published in this series.

In a nutshell, this trilogy is one of the most wonderfully disturbing and haunting series I have read in a while. While I was reading the first book, the major earthquake hit New Zealand, so it was on the news a lot. While I was reading the second book, the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. During the third book, we were in the middle of massive winter storms across North America, with blizzards knocking out power and cities at a standstill. To say I was freaked out a bit by all this coincidence is an understatement. I could NOT get these books off my mind! It was as if I was suddenly swept up into the story myself and could not extract myself from the plot. It was THAT real/surreal.

I told many of my reading buds about them. One friend I recommended them to said he wouldn't finish the first book because of the "obvious leftist slant" and "anti-Bush" attitude of one of the central characters. (Hello? It's a work of fiction. It's called character development.) And for the record, the second book is exactly the opposite with a conservative, pro-church protagonist. Another friend--who'd just had a baby--couldn't finish the second book because of the blunt descriptions of dead bodies found on the streets of the city; one gruesome scene in particular happens to involve a small child. A third friend couldn't get into them at all because she found them "depressing overall and just sad." Granted, these books may not be for everybody, but I think they are the perfect prescription for a hot summer day. The action is literally nonstop, and by the middle of the first book, you'll be laying on blankets and trying to stay as warm as the characters themselves long to be. Like watching a train wreck, the stories unfold as a series of small events that you can't take your eyes off of. Just when you think, "What else could possibly go wrong"...something does. Written for a young adult audience, this series is finding fans among adults, too. A copy of each title is available at SMS Library and each is recommended for 8th grade and above due to graphic description. Fans of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy might enjoy reading this series as well.

The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber

One of the most memorable, magical children's novels I have read in ages! This is the way great books used to be written. Gruber is a master who can take a reader by the hand and enchant with all the things that make up good literature: crisp, lyrical language, realistic character development, unusual and enchanting vocabulary, imaginative settings, and a series of universal themes known to every culture. Readers will meet characters who are familiar, yet refreshingly new, plots that read as if they were hatched in the mind of Scherezade, and settings so vividly described that they transport you to mysterious lands at once recognizable and rare. An allegory for our times, this book is quite simply, amazing! If you enjoy a good old-fashioned 'once-upon-a-time' story, rush to your local library, book store, or eReader device and start devouring this one now! Suitable for 6th grade and older, a copy of this book is available at Stone MS Library.

The Confession by John Grisham

Lately it seems Mr Grisham's novels have been more off than on, but I'll have to give him credit on this one...it made me think about my own feelings towards capital punishment. Not saying I've changed my opinion necessarily, just that I am more open to possibilities.
Grisham pretty much captures (though at times heavy-handedly) the good ol' boy network that is Texas politics and law. Rather than painting a picture with a fine detail brush, he rolls it on thick. One can easily tell the author's slanted point of view on Texas and Texans by his condescending tone on topics such as "everyone" carrying concealed weapons, the ubiquitous pickup truck, Friday night football above all else, and the lack of a requirement of a dead body to prove guilt in a murder trial. (Yeah, I didn't know about that one either.)
The action centers around the trial of Donté Drumm, an innocent black football player wrongly accused of raping and murdering a beautiful, blonde cheerleader classmate. (Stereotypes, anyone?) Though friends in and out of school, the two had never had any other kind of relationship. Lies by the girl's ex-boyfriend lead police to arrest and beat a confession out of Donté, one that he later recants. But the cycle of lies has already started. The fictitious East Texas town of Slone quickly assumes Donté's guilt, and a carefully orchestrated all-white jury convicts and sentences him to death. Years go by and it is only days until his execution when out of nowhere, a recently released convict, Travis Boyette, shows up in Kansas confessing responsibility for the crime to a local Lutheran minister. Lots of personal moral issues arise. Should the minister betray confidentiality and inform the authorities about this confession? Should he follow his gut, leave his family, and take Boyette to Texas in hopes of exonerating Donté Drumm? Will aiding a criminal in breaking parole and committing a felony in the process lead to damaging public outcries, loss of his job, or even imprisonment? How can he sit back and do nothing while a supposedly innocent man is put to death? These questions and more are going through his mind, and therein lies the story.
Will Reverend Keith deliver Boyette to Donté's law team in Texas? Will the governor or Appeals Courts step in with a stay of execution while the matter is investigated? Will the body of the murdered cheerleader ever be found? How will all these issues affect race relations in the small town of Slone? You'll just have to read The Confession and find out.
A couple of issues with the author.... Even though he plainly states in a note at the end of the book that he detests research for his novels, a couple of minutes on the Internet would have saved him a lot of embarrassment with anyone who knows the least little bit about Texas. Namely, our state rock is pink granite, not red, and that is what the capitol is made out of. Also, when you are driving south on I-35 out of Oklahoma, and you hit Sherman, you don't turn west on Highway 82 in order to get to east Texas. The rest of the descriptions are fairly accurate. Actual place names--Paris, Mount Pleasant, Longview, and Tyler, for example--add to the realism, as does the description of our own Governor Goodhair, although in the book he has a different name than we're used to seeing. Unfortunately, his actions and attitude in the story speak volumes as to who is being described.
I won't say this is the best thing Grisham has ever written, and it isn't my favorite by a longshot, but it certainly seems to be touching a nerve with some people. One friend got so upset by the actions of a character that she refused to read further until she had calmed down over a period of several days. The book is written for an adult audience and would be suitable for high school age or older. There's no sex, but some expected foul language. Mostly it's about doing what is right even when it feels uncomfortable....and that's a lesson we all could use.

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

The Recruit is the first title in the multi-volume CHERUB series. CHERUB is an acronym that no one seems to remember the exact wording for, but it is the name of a secret British government organization that uses orphaned or abandoned children as spies and secret agents to infiltrate criminal organiza-tions. James is an adolescent who steals electronics and fashionable shoes for his lazy mom so she can fence goods out of their home to make money for booze, being that she's a morbidly obese alcoholic who can't seem to leave her couch. He is bullied at school and falls in with a bad crowd in order to get some street cred and hopefully improve his reputation. Eventually he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, alone, and in a youth half-way house where he learns that things--and people--aren't always what they seem. The title alone should clue you in as to what happens to James, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out exactly how the story unfolds...
I picked this book up on the recommendation of a fellow librarian who claimed that the boys in her school couldn't get enough of the series. Having read this first book, I can see why they are popular. The plot moves along at a pretty good clip so there's always something new: thrills--action--adventure--mystery--to focus on and carry a reader's attention. I know as a librarian and a Language Arts teacher that I should be happy if students are reading anything, but I do have a few minor complaints about this book.
First of all, the quality of the publishing is laughable. I never saw so many glaring typos in my life. I don't think it ever went through a proper edit for spelling or meaning. Sadly, most young readers won't notice the bulk of the usage flaws, but it was a real stumbling block for me as an adult.
Secondly, is it really necessary to put curse words in books with kids as the lead characters? It was difficult enough to decipher the British slang used. Why was the random cussing needed? It wasn't really central to the story, and there isn't a lot of it, but I just thought it could have been cleaned up a bit and been a much better book overall. Even one of the teachers in the story tells a youth to clean up his mouth or get punished if he uses cuss words in his presence again. Hel-lo!
Finally, there are plot elements that aren't for the weak-stomache crowd. The young man I gave this copy out to on the day it arrived, brought it back to me the next day almost in shock. The animal abuse, drunkeness, domestic violence, casual shoplifting attitude, drugs, smoking, and so on were way too much for him to handle. I put a bright YA (young adult) label on it for content, but even with that warning, I think I may have to limit readership to 8th grade and older. I'm debating sending the series on up to our high school where it might be more suitable.

Horsing around with Dick & Felix Francis

I have long been a fan of traditional British murder mysteries. I can remember collecting all the Agatha Christie detective novels I could find at used books stores and garage sales back while I was still in high school. When she died in 1976 (also the year I graduated), I thought that would be the end of those kinds of stories. Years later I was encouraged by a local library volunteer to try the writings of Dick Francis. I was once again transported to the English countryside and the cloak and dagger world of gripping British murder yarns. Needless to say, I quickly read through all his horse racing related mysteries on the shelves of my local public library. Francis' wife Mary was long thought to be the brains behind his books, and when she too died in 2000, many in the know said that her death would be the end of his long string of successful detective novels. I assumed (wrongly) that I had read the last of his entralling tales. Not so. With the assistance of his son and long-time manager, Felix, Dick Francis continued to turn out decent horse-themed murder books every few years until his own death on my birthday (February 14) in 2010. I have been using the days I was off from school this past holiday season to catch up on the titles I have missed. They are all stand-alone titles, but a few share common characters and locations.

Dead Heat is about a chef who caters a fancy dinner at a prestigious racing venue only to have most of his guests come down with food poisoning. Was it his fault so many got ill? Was it somebody trying to ruin his reputation? How far would they go to damage him and his career? When several guests at the next banquet end up dead, a page-turning, twisting trail of drug smuggling, money laundering and murder leads readers on a thrilling ride.

I finished Silks at about 2:30 in the morning. Not a good idea for the night before the first day of a new semester, but what can I say? I was hooked in the story. A part-time amateur jockey and full-time lawyer uncovers a plot to frame a fellow winning jockey for murder. When he starts digging for the truth, thugs with baseball bats come threatening and calling in the middle of the night with messages for him to back off...or else. Of course, that just makes him want to dig deeper to find out what really happened to set this chain of events in motion.

Even if you've never been on the back of a horse, or have any interest in racing, I think you'll like the environment of any of the Francis family's horse-themed novels. Some are more in-depth in the racetrack settings, but just as many are on the fringes with a particular race, or horse, or track as the background for the real story. If you like a good detective story/murder mystery. Give anything by Dick Francis a try.

Books I Read in 2010

The last couple of years I've been setting myself a challenge to read at least one book per week. I'm happy to report that once again I have exceeded my goal. I try to vary my reading from middle grade novels to adult fiction, some young adult material, a few classics, a couple of nonfiction, and even some children's picture books, too. Here's the list of titles I was able to finish during 2010:

59. Even Money by Dick & Felix Francis (AD)
58. Caught by Harlan Coben (AD)
57. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (AD)
56. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (AD)
55. It's a Book by Lane Smith (CP)
54. Ranger's Apprentice 9 : Halt's Peril by John Flanagan (MG)
53. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar (MG)
52. Pop by Gordon Korman (MG)
51. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (AD)
50. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney (MG)
49. The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen (MG)
48. Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson (MG)
47. Stitches: a Memoir by David Small (YA)
46. Aunt Isabell Tells a Good One by Kate Duke (CP)
45. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (MG)
44. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (YA)
43. The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd (AD)
42. Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving (AD)
41. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (YA)
40. Poop Happened! A History of the World from the Bottom Up by Sarah Albee (MG)
39. The Nerd (play script) by Larry Shue (AD)
38. Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith (AD)
37. Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate (MG)
36. The Marrowbone Marble Company by Glenn Taylor (AD)
35. The Passage by Justin Cronin (AD)
34. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich (AD)
33. 61 Hours by Lee Child (AD)
32. The Necromancer by Michael Scott (MG)
31. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (MG)
30. One Shot by Lee Child (AD)
29. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith (AD)
28. Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: the story of Cynthia Ann Parker by Carolyn Meyer (YA)
27. Ranger's Apprentice 8: The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan (MG)
26. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (CL)
25. Crum by Lee Maynard (AD)
24. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (CL)
23. Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd (AD)
22. The Legend of Bass Reeves by Gary Paulsen (MG)
21. Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams (YA)
20. Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen (MG)
19. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith (AD)
18. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (MG)
17. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (MG)
16. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell (AD)
15. Going Bovine by Libba Bray (YA)
14. The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: How Greg Heffley Went Hollywood by Jeff Kinney (MG)
13. Die Trying by Lee Child (AD)
12. Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor (MG)
11. Tripwire by Lee Child (AD)
10. Running Blind by Lee Child
09. Ford County : Stories by John Grisham (AD)
08. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (AD)
07. Ranger's Apprentice 7: Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan (MG)
06. The Wrecker by Clive Cussler & Justin Scott (AD)
05. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (MG)
04. Guardian by Julius Lester (YA)
02. Killing Floor by Lee Child (AD)
02. Persuader by Lee Child (AD)
01. U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton (AD)