NPR's top 100 YA books

Always a sucker for a book list, here's what I've read off NPR's Best Young Adult Novels list.

Bold means I've read it. Blue means I have it to eventually read.

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins only the first in the series
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
5. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
11. The Giver (series), by Lois Lowry only the first in the series
12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series), by Douglas Adams
13. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
14. Anne of Green Gables (series), by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
17. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
18. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
19. Divergent (series), by Veronica Roth

20. Paper Towns, by John Green

21. The Mortal Instruments (series), by Cassandra Clare
22. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
23. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
24. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
25. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
26. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
27. Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
28. Uglies (series), by Scott Westerfeld
29. The Infernal Devices (series), by Cassandra Clare
30. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
31. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series), by Anne Brashares only the first in the series
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

34. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green, David Levithan

35. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
36. Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
37. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
38. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
39. Vampire Academy (series), by Richelle Mead
40. Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom Trilogy (series), by Garth Nix
41. Dune, by Frank Herbert
42. Discworld / Tiffany Aching (series, by Terry Pratchett
43. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
44. The Dark is Rising (series), by Susan Cooper only the first in the series
45. Graceling (series), Kristin Cashore
46. Forever..., by Judy Blume
47. Earthsea (series), by Ursula K. Le Guin
48. Inheritance Cycle (series), by Christopher Paolini
49. The Princess Diaries (series), by Meg Cabot
50. The Song of the Lioness (series), by Tamora Pierce
51. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
52. Delirium (series), by Lauren Oliver
53. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
54. Hush, Hush Saga (series), by Stephanie Perkins
55. 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
56. It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini
57. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (series), by Libba Bray

58. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

59. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
60. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
61. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
62. Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen
63. A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L'Engle
64. The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen
65. The Bartimaeus Trilogy (series), by Jonathan Stroud
66. Bloodlines (series), by Richelle Mead
67. Fallen (series), by Lauren Kate
68. House of Night (series), by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
69. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
70. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
71. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
72. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman
73. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
74. The Maze Runner Trilogy (series), by James Dashner
75. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
76. The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
77. Crank (series), by Ellen Hopkins
78. Matched (series), by Allie Condie
79. Gallagher Girls (series), by Ally Carter
80. The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
81. Daughter of the Lioness / Tricksters (series), by Tamora Pierce
82. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
83. The Immortals (series), by Tamora Pierce
84. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (series), by Patricia C. Wrede
85. Chaos Walking (series), by Patrick Ness
86. Circle of Magic (series), by Tamora Pierce
87. Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor
88. Feed, by M.T. Anderson
89. Weetzie Bat (series), by Francesca Lia Block
90. Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen
91. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (series), by Louise Rennison only the first in the series
92. Leviathan (series), by Scott Westerfeld
93. The House of the Scorpion, by Scott Westerfeld
94. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (series), by Diana Wynne Jones
95. The Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen
96. Gone (series), by Michael Grant
97. The Shiver Trilogy (series), by Maggie Stiefvater
98. The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
99. Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
100. Betsy-Tacy Books (series), by Maud Hart Lovelace only the first in the series

Seriously...I'm Kidding

I have had an overflow of audible credits so I was looking for some funny quick listens and picked out Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres. At just over three hours, it was very quick.

It's really very fluffy and hilarious. I laughed out loud at several things. There were a couple serious topics that offered some food for thought, especially after not getting a job I really wanted.

Overall, it's a worth the time as long as you understand what it is going in. Ellen narrates the book, which added to my enjoyment of it.

Back When You Were Easier to Love

Back When You Were Easier to Love is an cute Mormon YA romance. I didn't realize it was Mormon until a few pages in. I generally don't read Christian fiction, so I probably wouldn't have picked it off the library shelf had I realized. However, it was fun.

Joy, the main character, dated Zan until he dropped off the face of the earth, without a word of goodbye. She was having agreat difficulty in getting over him, so she decided to drive to his college to get closure. Noah, Zan's friend, tags along. Joy viewed Noah as a "Soccer Lovin' Kid" who was too stereotypical Mormon. On the trip, Joy realized how Zan was something she never had and how Noah has many more dimensions than she gave him credit for. 


Back When You Were Easier to Love is a very very G rated book. Joy even reflects on how kissing among the Mormon kids at her school was a really big deal. The book's cover seems too forward for the romance in the story. In any case, it was an enjoyable read.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking

My name is kenpen and I am an introvert.

My book club read Quiet a few months ago. While I missed the meeting, I'm glad that I read the book. It rook me quite a while to get in to Quiet. I probably would have put it down had I not spent $13 on the kindle edition. I didn't have much else on my kindle I felt like reading, so I kept at it. By the midway point (almost exactly) I really began to enjoy the book.

Introverts are those people who recharge by being alone. They aren't necessarily shy, but it's a common trait. At times in my life, I think I've been more introverted than others. I went to a boarding school in high school so I was never alone then and was fine, but since I've become an adult I've become more introverted. In the past year or two, I feel like I've moved a bit more to the middle of the spectrum. However, I still HAVE to be alone frequently.

The night Evan and I got engaged, he'd been out at a party while I stayed home by myself. I remember thinking that he was going to break up with me since I rarely wanted to go to parties and be around people I didn't know. And then he proposed. Ha. We recently took an online quiz to see how introverted/extroverted we are. He's 89% extroverted. I'm 78% introverted. I think the main thing is knowing how the other functions and what they need.

Quiet helped me understand myself a little bit better and it gave insight on how society views introverts. It gave me some ideas on how to fit into the social world a bit better, even considering how to (this sounds faker and ickier than it is, but I don't know how to word it better) create an extroverted persona when you need one.

Rising from the Plains

I think it's easy to love books set in a place where you live. You can relate to the places in the books and in the case of non-fiction, may have a connection to the people. Rising from the Plains is set in Wyoming and covers the state's geology. It's a book that had been suggested to me as a Wyoming must-read.

At times the science got a little heavy for me, but other than that the book was fabulous. It was a very quick read.

I loved David Love, the geologist who McPhee traveled with. His family story was such a Wyoming story. It sounded a bit familiar to me. I realized I'd read about it in Lady's Choice by Barbara Love about ten years ago. If anything, Rising from the Plains is worth reading because of the Love family history. 

Wyoming's geology is fascinating. We've got really really old stuff. Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) which is just east of Laramie, is approximately 1.4 billion years old. Evan and I rock climb and hike there. Vedauwoo is known for it's rock climbing. Wyoming also has lots of dinosaur bones. Love and McPhee had a wealth of material to share.

Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History

My book club chose this for one of our reads. We have several pregnant women in the group and a number of them were really interested in the info on breastfeeding.


I really enjoyed the book. One of the topics I found most interesting was the section on the chemical levels in our bodies. Williams and her daughter had urine tests done to determine those levels.  After the tests, Williams had a short detox period where she avoided things (plastics) that raise levels. Within a few days, her chemical levels dropped significantly. I wish that she had included a follow up on how to lower these levels in real life. She didn't drive, didn't eat anything that had been in plastic, and other non-realistic methods of avoiding plastic. The more I read about chemicals in our environment, the scarier the situation seems.

The section on breastfeeding wasn't anything earth shattering for me. I already knew that breast milk offers a baby valuable nutrients and is immune boosting. I also knew that the US has a very short maternity leave while other Western countries offer a more generous leave. These other countries have breast feeding rates that far surpass American ones. 

Another interesting section was the one on implants. Williams visited a plastic surgery center in Texas and had a pretend consultation. She spoke with women who were getting implants. One woman talked about how all her friends had them. Very odd to me.

I'm sure this is a book that most women would be interested in reading. 

The Marriage Plot

Hmmm. I really didn't like The Marriage Plot.

My book club read it and even though I wasn't planning on reading it, I bought it. I read it quickly because I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters, but the whole thing was pretty unsatisfying. I don't really seem to like literary fiction and this book was a perfect example of why.

The Marriage Plot is a romantic triangle between three Brown University graduates in the 1980s.

I couldn't connect with the characters in any meaningful way, and Madeleine drove me crazy.

I wasn't an English major and was so lost by all the semiotics stuff which felt like the book was telling me I wasn't quite smart enough to be reading it.

I saw The Virgin Suicides movie ages ago and really enjoyed it, so I am going to try it and give Eugenides a chance at redemption. Hopefully I'll have more favorable things to report on it.