Boys Can have Pajamas Too, Or My Favorite Reads of 2012

As the year wraps up, the 2012 reading season does as well. I promised Becca (I think) that I would do as she did, and write up my best reads of the year. Though I'm clocking in under fifty at the moment (I have four books to finish before January, people), I was impressed that there wasn't a single one star book on my reading list from this year and only a couple of twos. That's pretty good. Like B said, not all my reads this year were 2012 or even 2011 debuts, but it's never too late to read a book. So, without further ado, my 2012 Best Reads (listed in the order in which they were read):

• Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson. I really don't know what to say other than this book needs to be experienced. Reading it was like trying to drink a cup of water backwards, laying upside down on a couch. It was just...kind of surreal, and a bit beautiful, too. Ultraviolet is a book within a book, and contained some of the most vivid writing of the year for me. I can't say much about it, for fear of spoilers, but rest assured. This is a surprise of a book.
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Cyborg Cinderella. Does it really get any better than that? No, I don't think so, except for a book about Cyborg Cinderella that is well-written. I love Marissa Meyer for this book, I really do, and just can't wait to pick up Scarlet in February (since my multiple efforts at obtaining one of the many ARCs she offered were thwarted. Drats!)  Really, don't wait to read this one.
• Hallowed by Cynthia Hand. It's very rare that I ever like a sequel more than its predecessor, but I found just that in Hallowed. As much as I loved Unearthly, there was just something about this book that touched me; an unexpected emotional depth. There were things I didn't like about Hallowed that, you know, just didn't matter by the end. It was beautiful and surprisingly precious.
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. I waited three years for this book. I think you know I love this book. What I loved best about Cashore's third novel, Bitterblue, was how different it tasted to my senses. A little bulkier, and with a leading lady distinctly different from Katsa and Fire, I appreciate this book for how it handles the healing process. It's not about sinister kings or a three-way war, but about a young queen left to deal with the lies her father left behind. It's a book about people, and I love books about people best.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Shadow and Bone ticks a few things off of my awesome charts. Solid character growth? Check. Cool fantasy elements and stuff? Check. Boys worthy of the paper they are printed upon? CHECK. And can I just say I adore Bardugo's Russia-like Ravka? Because I do, and Shadow and Bone was a solid read that left me in desperate want of its sequel, Siege and Storm (due in stores this June).
• Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. Love. Love. Love. LOVE (edit: likewise for Becca, who forgot to include this in her list). Bitterblue aside, Kami was undoubtedly my favorite narrator this year. Witty, quirky and funny, she was the kind of person I want to spend three hundred and fifty pages with and beyond. But don't let me convince you. Let my favorite quote from Unspoken...speak for itself: 

[stuck at the bottom of a well] "“I don’t own any pajamas.” 

“That is so sad,” Kami said. “Boys can have pajamas too, you know."

And if that's not convincing you, then what will?

• Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. This is the year I discovered Melina Marchetta, thanks to co-author Becca. Marchetta is an amazingly emotional author. I was so unexpectedly blown away by Finnick of the Rock and the following two novels. Like I said earlier about Bitterblue, Finnikin of the Rock is about people. Beyond the magic, the curse, what have you, Marchetta writes about people and that's what she does best. 

That concludes my very brief top reads of the year. Here's a nod to some honorable mentions: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, Soulless by Gail Carriger and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

Read on in the New Year!

- Bitterblue