Best 12 of '12

As the year comes to a close, it is a time for reflection on the past twelve months. 2012 was a great year, filled with many wonderful reads. Here are my 12 favorites, in the order that I read them. Not all of these books were published in 2012, but I read them first this year.

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My favorite fairy tale retelling of the year. The original setting, the well-developed characters, and an incredibly engaging writing style made Cinder an overall great read and left me wanting more! I can't wait for Scarlet to come out in just a few short weeks. 

2. Well Witched by Frances Hardinge
I adore Frances Hardinge's writing. Well Witched was deliciously creepy and still scares me a bit. Although it is a relatively older book, I only discovered it this year, and am so glad I did. 

3. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
An amazingly crafted fantasy - and in my opinion, the best book of Cashore's trilogy. This carefully woven tale absolutely won its place on this list with characters I fell in love with, a complex and fascinating story, and amazing writing. Absolutely superb.

4. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
This weighty historical fantasy absolutely captured me with its amazing characters and  multiple (captivating) storylines. The complex politics of the court and the amazing development of the already awesome character of Ismae kept me glued to the pages. 

5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Ah, The Night Circus. This beautiful book was absolutely breathtaking. It's beautiful writing and story was perfectly crafted and masterfully woven together. I've read it twice so far, and it only gets better upon rereading. 

6. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was probably the most fun book I've read this year, although technically I listened to it rather than reading it. I laughed more times than I can count when I was listening to this book, and I've listened to it three times this summer alone. An excellent, excellent middle grade.

7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Princess Bride is such a classic, I can't believe I hadn't read it until this year. I grew up with the movie, which my family quotes extensively, and my dad had read the "good parts version" to my brother and me (which, looking back, is somewhat ironic as the whole book is supposed to be the good parts version) so I never felt I needed to read it until this year. Well, I was missing out. I loved it!

8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Although I preferred Divergent, Insurgent definitely earned its place among my favorites of 2012. I read it when it came out in the spring and also listened to it as an audiobook this summer. I can't wait to see what happens in the series' conclusion.

9. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The twists and turns of this excellent MG enthralled me, and the fantastic main character became a favorite of mine. I love Sage, and I cannot wait to read The Runaway King, the next volume in this wonderful trilogy.

10. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone was absolutely one of my favorite fantasies of the year. I couldn't get through it fast enough. It had such great characters and compelling plot that I did not want to put it down.

11. Reached by Ally Condie
I loved Matched, and although I was not quite as enamored of Crossed, finishing the series with Reached made me love the entire trilogy more than ever. Ally Condie brilliantly wrapped up the Matched trilogy in the perfect way, keeping true to the characters and the story. The writing was so beautiful and the way that the poetry, art, and songs were woven in enriched the story and made it stand out from all the other dystopians I've read.

12. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I almost never read contemporary fiction, but I had heard so much about The Fault in Our Stars that I knew I had to pick it up. And even though I don't generally like contemporary books much, I loved TFioS. It took a lot to keep me from shoving it into the hands of everyone I knew, although I suspect I will end up giving it to many of my friends as birthday presents this year. Very highly recommended.

So there you have it: my 12 favorite books of 2012.  What were your favorite reads?

Happy Holidays!

Review: Bitterblue

by Kristin Cashore

Series: The Graceling Realm #3
Hardcover, 563 pages
Published May 1st 2012 by Dial
Age Recommendation: Young Adult

Summary (from Goodreads): Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

My Review
Bitterblue was very different from Graceling and Fire, and although both Graceling and Fire are favorites of mine, I fell in love with Bitterblue. There were so many layers of the story that Cashore seamlessly weaves together.

It took Kristin Cashore three years to write Bitterblue, and it shows in the careful craft and weave of the story. This is not a book that could have been written quickly. It is complex and layered, and has clearly created by a master's hand.

The cast of characters is quite extensive, and at first it's easy to mix up some of them (the advisors especially take a while to gain their own personalities) but after the story is completed, it's hard to imagine each one without such distinctive traits. There's also a list of characters in the back, but it gives away some spoilers, so it's better to let the story define each character slowly.

I love Bitterblue the character. She's so different from Katsa and Fire, and most relatable of the three for  me. There are no great journeys, and she doesn't have any special powers to deal with, but at the same time she has so much power that she can't necessarily control. No one in the story is completely truthful, and every step is a journey. Bitterblue has to find herself in order to find how to save Monsea.

Other than Bitterblue herself, my favorite character was the unsociable and sullen librarian, Death (pronounced to rhyme with "teeth"), graced with reading inhumanly fast and remembering every word he's ever read (I want!). At first even the reader is not supposed to like him, but he goes though such a transformation that I couldn't help but cheer up every time he was mentioned. Not to mention he is the one of the products of Kristin Cashore's subtle humor, which is of just the right type for me.

The first question most people ask when hearing about Bitterblue is, "Are Katsa and Po in it?" Happily, yes, Katsa and Po are in it, and they have some wonderful scenes together along with plenty of their usual banter, but the book really isn't about them.

Although the story does not follow a formal mystery plot, there is an element of mystery to the story. Or rather, several elements of mystery. No matter the situation, every character is keeping secrets, and its up to Bitterblue to discover the answers.

The pace is a bit slower than Cashore's usual fare, but it was just perfect for Bitterblue. Rather than dragging, it was immersive, and I loved every moment.

Overall Thoughts:
Bitterblue is a book I can't stop thinking about. When I finished, I immediately wanted to begin reading it again. I didn't want to leave the wonderfully real and beautiful story Cashore has created. I will certainly be reading it again, and it has earned itself a place with my favorites of 2012.

Cover Crazy: Bitterblue

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted by The Book Worms on Mondays. The idea is to showcase a beautiful book cover each week.

This week, I'm crazy about...
Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore

I'm a little late with Cover Crazy this week, but I wanted to talk a bit about the cover for the upcoming release Bitterblue, and I had a lot to say. As the release date has crept ever closer, I've realized how much more wonderful this cover is than it first seems - even as great as the first glance may be.

It matches the first two covers in the trilogy really well both in style and content. Each cover shows part of the face of the protagonist together with their weapon of choice. The cover of Bitterblue shows Bitterblue herself, almost hidden in the background. The most visible part of her face is her eye, looking through the key ring almost as if spying through a hole in the wall.

It's clear that keys are important symbolically and perhaps literally as well in Bitterblue. In addition, the keys double as weapons, which again has multiple meanings. The keys themselves may be used as weapons; or perhaps the information that the keys reveal are powerful and dangerous. Another meaning one may derive from the weaponlike keys is that one must use force or arms to unlock the secrets the keys protect. And finally, the keys (and the access, and the information) are Bitterblue's weapon of choice.

I also love the way the cover shows a mix of delicacy and strength. The flowers, Bitterblue's face, and the author's name are all delicate, unobtrusive, and slightly feminine; the keyring and the tops of the keys seem to be a nod to Bitterblue's royal status; and the weaponlike ends of the keys and the boldly placed title are references to the character's strength.


Want to know more about Bitterblue?

Summary (from Goodreads):
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

What do you think of the cover for Bitterblue?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!

What are you crazy about this week?