Favourite Bookish Things 2011

So! Another year's ending. 2011 has been a wonderful year full of great memories: graduating from poly, starting uni, going to work for the first time. I reached the second decade of having two digits in my age, and I might be biased, but every year I'm alive is a great year. An achievement. A blessing.

What? I like to stay positive and recount good memories.

In that spirit, here are some of my favourite bookish things of 2011.

Favourite Romance

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

(review)

For all the awesomeness that Lola possessed, it was Cricket that sold this book for me. Cricket, your pining squeezed every last bit of empathy and feeling from this cold, cold heart.

Favourite Fantasy

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor

(review)

A book where every word has a purpose. Every action and event was not just filler, but fodder for readers to gnaw on during the reread after the epic conclusion.

Favourite Author Event/Signing

Margaret Stohl for the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES series

(parts one and two)

I went to only one author event this year, and it was awesome. Read the posts for my gushing.

Favourite New Author

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(reviews of all her books)

Dude. DUDE. This lady is crazysauce talented. The plots are always out there, but she makes it work with all the banter and witty sayings and putting the characters into precarious positions thing. I don't know, it's just addictive. I've read every book of hers that's been published so far, and I'm kind of going "Hmmm" at how the books get high ratings on this blog. Also, her books are on a publishing schedule where a new book comes out every few months and I don't know how she does it, but I like it. /greedyreadersyndrome

Favourite Greek Mythology Adaptation

Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

(review of TLH and SON)

I cannot choose between Jason or Percy. I'd like to say that I'll be loyal to Percy because he's the first, and Jason would seem like a rebound with the fact that he's similar to Percy, but I don't know. Greek mythology and Rick Riordan is a winning combo. I haven't found any series that's topped it so far.

Favourite Spin Off

BLOODLINES by Richelle Mead

(review)

One of the things I appreciate when authors create a spin off book or series is the handling of the universe. Too many references to the previous series, and it gets irritating. Too little, and it feels weird, like a cameo of your favourite author in a movie which gets you confused because 1) what's he doing there, and 2) what does this universe have to do with him? Mead balances this extremely well, by firstly, not having everyone fawn over Rose, highlighting her perfect~ qualities and secondly, by focusing on Sydney. It seems silly that I'm pointing it out, but there are books that are marketed as the book about 'side character from first series', only to have that character remain in the sideline for the spin off series. Sydney is quite clearly the main protagonist for this series.

Favourite Promotion

with regards to a book/ movie adaptation of a book

The Hunger Games movie by Cathay Organization

(link to awesome promo)

Have you read my post? They went to a lot of effort for it, and I enjoyed every single thing they set up, even if some of it feels excessive (Promo in the bathrooms. *cough*). Hey Cathay, if you have more Hunger Games promo, call me. Really.

Favourite Non-Fiction

(aka I had a craving for history)

MULTIPLIERS by Liz Wiseman

This book helped me to be a better leader and learn how to better manage people. I love it.

Favourite Singaporean book

S. RAJARATNAM: THE PROPHETIC AND THE POLITICAL by Chan Heng Chee, Obaid Ul Haq

I had my eye on this book for a while, and borrowed it twice because once is simply not enough. It's a collection of selected speeches by the late S. Rajaratnam, one of Singapore's founding fathers. I'm ashamed to say that my knowledge of Singapore's political history is lacking, and I'm currently trying to rectify that by reading books from Singapore's leaders to learn their perspectives about building Singapore from the ground up. Always inspiring, always a reminder that great things have to be built, that Singapore didn't become this first world country without some serious effort and sacrifices. I'm going to get a copy of this for myself.

I'm looking forward to another busy year with school, CCA, work, book blogging, family, friends, outings and just everything that's made 2011 and the years before awesome. What are you looking forward to?

Here's to another great year ahead! 

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Title: Clarity	Loved it	Graded
Author: Kim Harrington
Genre: Fantasy, thriller
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Elements: Visions, psychics
Series: Book 1 of the Clarity series

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth? This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats. Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case - but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother - who has supernatural gifts of his own - becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away.

Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

CLARITY is a thriller similar in concept to Kimberly Derting's THE BODY FINDER series, whereby a girl with an ability to see things assist in murder investigations. Unlike TBD, Clare has no connections to the police force, and she is pulled in through the son of the new detective, who is one of the main love interests in this story.

One of the things I asked myself is: how often do the police force bring in psychics or people with similar abilities into an investigation, particularly a teenager? And how reliable is this information going to be in the course of the investigation? Can it hold up in court?

It's just something to ponder about, and it didn't affect my liking of CLARITY. The thriller was well-paced, with some twists I didn't see coming. I appreciate those things happening in thrillers because it's those last-minute scares that get you the most.

Clare and Perry have one of the best portrayed siblings relationship in books, one that's both full of respect and jokes. It's refreshing to read of a main character who doesn't feel the need to take care of everyone in her life, and Harrington shows this by having Clare be pampered and act like the baby in the family.

Gabriel and Clare have a good chemistry, one that I would love to see explored in further books. I liked that  Gabriel felt like Clare's partner, and helped each other out accordingly. Clare has a temper that she's not afraid to show, and it makes the dynamic in the relationship feel real.

This is one of the best books regarding psychics in YA that I've read. I found that some YA books from the psychics POV tend to be preachy and self-righteous, and I'm glad to find one that neither rubs the powers in my face nor make it the central point of the story.

Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Half-Blood	Loved it	Graded
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press; 2011
Elements: Boarding school, Kick-ass fighting, Greek mythology
Series: Book 0.5 of the Covenant series

"Love in my world usually ended up with someone hearing 'I smite thee!' as she was cursed to be some lame flower for the rest of her life."

For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals--pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty. According to her mother, that's a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return-the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death... because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill.The daimons have found her.

It was interesting, getting to know more about Alex and her mother. How their relationship was, how the woman who brought Alex up was, and how different Alex was before HALF-BLOOD.

Alex was more uncertain of her standing, and she cared more about what people thought of her, which is unlike the Alex we know now. The quips were also lesser, with more heartfelt moments between her mother and her, and while they were fun to read, it shows how they served less as witty banter and more a way for Alex to guard herself from everyone.

I understand more about Alex through this prequel, and I think it's great that Armentrout chose not to elaborate more on the events that Alex went through in D, instead leaving it as a mention in HB and putting it in a novella close to HB's publication date.

For those who've read HB, you know we came across Alex in a wild state, and when Armentrout goes into the details what happened in the days prior to that, it was so heartbreaking it made my eyes tear up. Poor girl.

DAIMON is the prequel to HALF-BLOOD, and it ends right where HALF-BLOOD starts. Like if you tape them both together, there's no seam.

Talk about goodness packed in bite sized pieces.

Nightspell by Leah Cypess

Title: Nightspell	Loved it	Graded
Author: Leah Cypess
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 2011
Elements: Ghosts, political intrigue
Series: Part of the Mistwood universe, companion to Mistwood

Here be ghosts, the maps said, and that was all.

In this haunted kingdom, ghosts linger—not just in the deepest forests or the darkest caverns, but alongside the living, as part of a twisted palace court that revels all night and sleeps through the daylight hours.

Darri's sister was trapped in this place of fear and shadows as a child. And now Darri has a chance to save her sister... if she agrees to a betrothal with the prince of the dead. But nothing is simple in this eerie kingdom—not her sister, who has changed beyond recognition; not her plan, which will be thrown off track almost at once; and not the undead prince, who seems more alive than anyone else.

In a court seething with the desire for vengeance, Darri holds the key to the balance between life and death. Can her warrior heart withstand the most wrenching choice of all?

I don't know how Leah Cypess does it. You know, churn out one book after another that doesn't really have any romance, but have character interactions that make me swoon with the banter and the possibility of romance.

This is the companion novel to Mistwood, set in the Mistwood universe, but probably nowhere near where Mistwood the book was set as it consists of absolutely different mythology and history of the land. The most interesting aspect of Nightspell, were the two new cultures introduced. Both these cultures are unique, but they have aspects that are similar to us.

1) Ghostland, where most of the book takes place. Here, the living and the dead cohabitate, the dead as spirits rather than zombies ala Torchwood: Miracle Day. They live in a normal society, similar to kingdoms we see here, the difference being that death being a necessary hurdle into immortality. Then it's a never-ending party for those who once lived, with the court and palace being one big playground.

2) Darri's land. They are self-proclaimed barbarians, both in lifestyle and way of managing their empire. They live in tents on the plains, hunting is a hobby, etc. Where the ladies at court in Ghostland play the dangerous game of seduction and secrets, Darri is a warrior princess, a Xena in her own right. On the topic of ghosts, however, her people are similar to us: ghosts are unnatural. People that are dead should stay dead, and not have their spirits linger. The fact that they can solidify at a thought and trick foreigners is horrible to Darri, and to me as well.

When these two cultures clash, it's because Darri, daughter of the ruler of  has been sent to wed the prince of Ghostland. And in the process, save her little sister Cassie, who was sent there years before for the first failed political union.

I loved that I learnt so much about the two different cultures, and come out understanding both lifestyles and not siding with either one.

I'm intrigued by Darri. She's strong, and at times brash compared to the cultured elegance of Ghostland, but what struck me the most was that she stayed true to herself, which is the refreshing and at times, I felt relief at not being part of the court intrigue and politics.

This is not a pretty book, with loose ends that are tied. This is a book that shows us almost gently, what we don't want to acknowledge: that uncertainty of what happens after death will stay, and most importantly, we can't cheat death. It's bittersweet.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer	Loved it	Graded
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Elements: Ghosts, mystery, thriller
Series: Book 1 of the Mara Dyer series

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

I didn't know what to expect when I read MARA. Was it a thriller with supernatural aspects? Psychological with an unreliable narrator, ala Justine Larbalestier's LIAR? Horror?

I remember anticipating its release like crazy, refusing to read anything other that the first paragraph. No reviews, no sneak peeks, no Teaser Tuesday excerpts. Nope, I kept myself in the dark, which with the internet available 24/7 was pretty hard to do.

Did all that pay off. I devoured the entire book. I ate up every word, every scene, every description. How much do I love that Mara's partly of Indian ancestry? These people who are of mixed ancestry are gorgeous, at least those I've met in real life. And how much do I love that she doesn't bother about her looks?

It's of two reasons. One, I believe Mara just doesn't care about her looks so much other than the usual, and two, it's to keep her identity secret. That's my favourite part, that I can't trust that what Mara describes is the whole and actual truth. For all I know, she's not actually part Indian, her father isn't a lawyer etc etc. It's insanely fun.

I can't lie, I'm a huge fan now. The characters are all fun to read, even Mara's best friend, who does seem like the all around gossip whose sole purpose is to report of Noah's past and current activities. Noah and Mara do have some chemistry, though those relationships that start off with bickering and end up with make out sessions seem subpar compared to the Katy and Daemon scale of hotness.

The supernatural aspect was made all the more twisted when you add Mara's increasing loss of control, and there were some scenes where I genuinely feared for Mara's sanity, and everyone else's life. The events were tied together well, with threads that led naturally from one plot point to another. Hodkin knows how to leave her readers in suspense, dangling some information here and there, then upping the stakes to some pretty scary places that I didn't think she would go, but was made all the better for having occurred.

READ IT.