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January 22, 2009
Best fiction books of 2008
This year’s crop of award winners will be announced on Monday, January 26. In anticipation of the awards, I put together a brief list of my favorite books from this past year. Some of them have been featured on the blog before, and all of them are highly recommended.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox is just a name when she wakes up from a coma after a terrible accident. She remembers nothing at first, and when her memories do slowly trickle back, she finds much has changed. Jenna begins questioning her identity and starts distrusting her family as larger issues of medical ethics and humanity come to light. This book was a mix of science fiction and medical thriller with many surprise twists that kept me hanging onto every word until the end.
Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford
Best classified as a"fictional verse memoir," it tells the story of little Eleanora with a big voice. Taking us through the painful details, it is a lyrical journey of how a rough childhood created one of the greatest jazz vocalists from the era of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
There are a few books on this list that feature strong female characters and a theme of “grrl power.” This is the first of that group. Frankie is a clever, cute, highly intelligent and inquisitive sophomore at Alabaster Preparatory Academy – an “old boys club” if there ever was one. She desperately wants to be involved in her boyfriend's all-male secret society, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. Denied entry into their world, she schemes up ways to prove to herself that she’s capable of more than just being her father’s “bunny rabbit”. Needless to say, hilarity ensues as the hijinks commence.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The second book about a strong female character on this list, Graceling is a fantasy for non-fantasy lovers. That’s me – I’ll admit that it’s not my favorite genre. However, I was completely drawn into the world of the Seven Kingdoms and the warrior-girl Graceling Katsa, whose her particular Grace is her unrivaled ability to fight and kill. The story introduces memorable characters, and exciting plot twists that take you on a wild adventure as you watch Katsa transform from a wild girl into a powerful woman in control of her own destiny.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
This charming book has already been reviewed on this blog, but everyone I know who had read it has been moved in some way by this latest offering from Neil Gaiman.
House of Dance by Beth Kephart
Rosie is slowly losing her grandfather to cancer and learns that you cannot buy a dying man a single meaningful thing. You can only give him back the life he loved and awaken the memories. Over the summer, Rosie finds several ways to help him keep his memories alive. She helps him organize his possessions worth keeping In Trust and discovers the House of Dance, where she takes ballroom dance lessons. As his condition worsens, she works very hard to bring back a part of his life that he loved dearly though her dancing. A moving and sentimental tale.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Now THIS is a riveting read. A future dystopian world has destroyed the United States and left behind the North American state of Panem and its 12 impoverished districts. Katniss from the poorest part of District 12, finds herself in the unfortunate position of being a contestant in the annual horror show/reality TV nightmare known as the Hunger Games. 24 contestants (2 from each district; one boy, one girl) must fight to the death on live television as the nation watches them , places bets on their lives and treat them as gladiators fighting in a Roman arena. The non-stop action and clever social commentary (are we so really consumed by vanity that we’d hire stylists to decorate the fighters prior to a death match?) kept me turning page after page. I predict this one will be winning some awards.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
After a terrorist plot bombs San Francisco, Marcus, a.k.a “w1n5t0n,” is detained and questioned by the Department of Homeland Security. Feeling dejected and abused by the system (and being a whiz kid possessing more computer savvy than just about anyone), Marcus begins to lead the ultimate techno-geek rebellion. It’s a very interesting premise which asks questions of ethics and national rights that have been echoed in our headlines ever since the controversial Patriot Act was passed.
Nation by Terry Prachett
Mau is the only one left on his island after the tsunami wipes the Nation away. He has to cope with his grief and learn how to survive without anyone left to show him how. He finds another survivor in Daphne, a British “royal in waiting” who has survived a shipwreck and finds herself on the island. Together they discover a few more survivors and have to piece together a new world and answer questions of creating a common religion, culture and nationalism where nothing exists. Along all these heavy concepts, Sir Terry Prachett brings the funny in his inimitable way.
Paper Towns by John Green
Nobody writes a better road trip than John Green. His dialogue is spot-on to the degree that if I haven’t said something similar to my friends at some point in time, well, I’ve wanted to, but couldn’t find the right words. In his latest offering, we meet the wild and unpredictable Margo Roth Spiegelman and her childhood friend Quentin. After a bad break-up, Margo enlists Quentin for some late-night pranks. Even though she hasn’t spoken to him in years, Quentin is willing and eager to find a way into her world. After she disappears shortly thereafter, Quentin tries to unravel the mysteries of Margo that culminate in a road trip on graduation day from Orlando to NY.
These were some of my favorites, and I hope that you give them a try as we wait to see if any awards pile up!
Sharon Long
Teen Librarian
Posted by egoldberg at January 22, 2009 3:47 PM