My Best of 2011 List

I realized today that I could probably put together my own Best of 2011 list based on my Goodreads page. I tend not to record any books for small children like picture books or easy readers, and very few chapter books, but most of the middle grade and teen books I've read are on there, along with my reviews and ratings.

However, I do remember a few books for younger kids I particularly liked that came out in 2011. Two picture books in particular stand out in my memory: You Will Be My Friend by Peter Brown and Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas. Both books are delightful to read during storytimes, though they are designed for slightly different audiences. I also really liked all the Elephant and Piggie easy readers that came out this year, especially Happy Pig Day! and I Broke My Trunk.

For middle grade readers, I loved The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall. In fact, I love ALL the Penderwick stories. They're charming, funny, and they give you nice squishy feelings when you're all done with them. I also really liked The Outcasts by John Flanagan, which is a cool fantasy adventure story and a promising new series beginning.


Some books for younger teens I really liked include The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt. The Name of the Star is a cool paranormal mystery set in London. The main character is an American teen studying abroad, and she tries to figure out who is committing a bunch of copycat Jack the Ripper-style murders. Divergent is a compulsively readable, action-packed dystopia that will go over well with fans of The Hunger Games, though Divergent is less violent. Okay for Now was also very absorbing, but in a completely different way: the story was very realistic and the main character was so true-to-life that he seemed like a real person. Plus, there's a very cool librarian in the story which earns it bonus points. :P

For older teens, Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Beauty Queens are my two favorites. (That is, if you don't count The Gray Wolf Throne, which is the third book in the Seven Realms series and can't be read as a stand-alone.) I have trouble talking about Daughter of Smoke and Bone properly because the plot is hard to describe. The scope is huge, and the ideas are complex and profound, yet the story stays really grounded in the main character and that's what keeps it readable. It's just something you have to read and see for yourself... but people who don't like speculative fiction won't like it. I also really liked Beauty Queens, which is not nearly as popular as Daughter. I think Beauty Queens just struck my funny bone in exactly the right way, so I was able to adapt to the growing absurdity of the plot with good humor rather than confusion or impatience.

So there you have it. I realize that The Scorpio Races is absent from this list, and it's not because I haven't read it - it's because I didn't like it much. I couldn't swallow the initial premise of the story, or understand the necessity of the race in the first place. My opinion is definitely the minority one though, so don't keep it from trying the book out yourself. In fact, tell me what you think about the books on this list: did you like them too? Hate them? Did I miss anything really good? Let me know in the comments.