The Best Reads of 2010

I hope everyone’s holidays have gone smoothly so far, with no toppling Christmas trees, blizzards causing power outages in the middle of a party, the turkey or ham being eaten by the dog, or other mishaps. My holidays have been nice and quiet, and so has this blog. It’s always a trial to remember that poor little blog huddled in the corner during the holidays, but fear not! An exciting new post is on the way.

Since the year 2010 is soon coming to a close, I’ve been thinking back on the year in books. The bestselling children’s author Rick Riordan came out with not one, but TWO new books, starting two new series, this year: The Red Pyramid of the Kane Chronicles, and The Lost Hero of the Heroes of Olympus series. YA superstar series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins came to an end back in August with Mockingjay‘s release. The film version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  by J.K. Rowling (part one) came out in November and was a box office hit. Newcomer series The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore started out with I Am Number Four and made quite a splash, with a movie by Dreamworks already set to come out. Well-known author Cornelia Funke (the Inkworld Trilogy) published Reckless, the start of a series of the same name. The list of book news goes on. It was a good year for bookworms, to say the least. I know I had a great year in reading.

Keeping up with new YA literature seems harder than it’s ever been. I now sympathize with longtime book bloggers who complain that their To-Be-Read stacks are getting out of hand. The more I pay attention to the world of books, the more I realize I have to read. The handy bookish publication BookPage is great for getting the scoop on  new books– it’s available for free in libraries. I’ve caught wind of countless YA reads I have to get my hands on through them. Book blogs are an ever-helpful source of tips on the good stuff. So many books from my 2010 TBR stack will have to carry over into 2011: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Nevermore by Kelly Creagh, and Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, just to name a few.

However, I did get to read lots of fantastic books this year, both new releases and older ones I somehow missed. I’m grateful that the hand of Fate guided my hand to the Beka Cooper series by Tamora Pierce this year. Those books had been sitting,  quite unassuming, on the library shelf for years, and trip after trip I ignored them. Now, Books One and Two have joined the ranks of my all-time favorite books, and I eagerly await a Book Three.

Among the new releases I wish I’d missed is I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. I honestly can’t say what all of the fuss is about. On the other hand, Reckless by Cornelia Funke was totally worth the hype. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins was suitably dramatic but full of doom and gloom.

What about you, fellow bookworms? What were your top picks of 2010? I wish you a happy New Year in books!

I Am Number Four (The Movie)

Gee, books I don’t like have a habit of being made into movies. I’ve just caught wind of the fact that the book I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (recently reviewed by me) is going to be made into a movie by Dreamworks. Here’s the new trailer, looking as dramatic, teen-angsty, and unoriginal as the book…

Number Four is a pretty standard sci-fi

Title:  I Am Number Four

Author: Pittacus Lore

Pub. Date: August 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Pages: 440

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Range: Young Adult

Synopsis/Teaser: After the vicious Mogadorians, a race of alien beings bent on taking over the universe because they destroyed their own planet, completely obliterate life on the planet Lorien, nine surviving Loric children are sent with guardians to Earth to train. They are placed under a charm that prevents the Mogadorians from killing them out of their assigned order. Numbers One through Three are dead, and Number Four, a fifteen-year-old boy currently living under the alias of John Smith, knows that he is next. He and his Loric guardian, Henri, move to Paradise, Ohio, where John enrolls in the local high school and quickly makes friends- and enemies. When danger nears and Henri says they have to leave Paradise, John refuses: he is too attached to his friend Sam and his new girlfriend Sarah. As the Mogadorians zero in and mystery abounds, John may have to make the choice between friendship and survival.

Review: This one is a real Push-Me-Pull-You.  I Am Number Four is a heart-poundingly addictive read. On the other hand, it’s all been done before: there’s very little new about this science fiction adventure. The premise of extraterrestrial children sent away from their home planet because it’s in danger is quite Superman-esque, and the “realistic” part of the book, the scenes at the Paradise, Ohio, high school, are standard and heavy with teenage hormones and angst. That might sound weird, seeing as I’m a teenager, too, but do you think we really want to read about it? I stand corrected: apparently some do, because otherwise so many YA books like this wouldn’t be published and popular.

There are some good things about Number Four: as previously mentioned, it’s very fast-paced and action-packed. Pittacus Lore’s writing (by the way: that’s a pseudonym. Pittacus Lore is a character mentioned in the book) can be very emotional: I can’t say I read the sorrowful parts with completely dry eyes. Nerdy Sam was, while a pretty clichéd dork, endearing. His obsession with aliens is something geeks everywhere can relate to, even if our speciality isn’t extraterrestrials.

Speaking of unoriginal characters, let me discuss Sarah for a moment. She’s a really sweet girl, and she seems to be well-matched to John. But (of course) she’s an ex-cheerleader. Sure, cheerleaders usually get the most attention in real life, but this is fiction. As long as we’re going to have aliens with superpowers in the picture, give the non-cheerleader types (yours truly, and many others) some hope.

I’m also baffled by this Number Four factoid and what it means: Loric people only fall in love once. So, does that mean that John has found a life partner in Sarah? What will happen when Sarah moves on, as she most likely will? These kids are in their sophomore and junior years. I suppose it’s happened before…Anyway, when John tells Sarah “I’ll love you forever,” (and readers either cringe or wistfully sigh, depending on the type) I immediately thought of this line from Beka Cooper: Terrier by Tamora Pierce: “When you’re fifteen, five months is forever.”

Recommended for: Serious sci-fi fans who don’t mind the unoriginality, and anyone who wants a quick dose of action and teenybopper romance.

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible stars.