Our Top 10 of 2011

Once again Mrs. Wilson and I have selected the top ten books that we read this year. Some are from the Caudill 2012 list, some are by favorite authors -- some are old, some are new. If you have a top ten list, please share it with us. Have a happy holiday season and see you in the new year.

Mrs. Wilson's Top Ten Reads of 2011

1. Wild Things, by Clay Carmichael

2. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin

3. Three Black Swans, by Caroline B. Cooney

4. Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass

5. Powerless, by Matthew Cody

6. Greetings from Nowhere, by Barbara O'Connor

7. The Limit, by Kristen Landon

8. After, by Francine Prose

9. Project 17, by Laurie Faria Stolarz

10. The Accomplice, by Eureann Corrigan

Miss Hagensee's Top Ten Reads of 2011

1. Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld

2, Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

3. Crunch, by Leslie Connor

4. One-Handed Catch, by M. J. Auch

5. Matched, by Allie Condie

6. The Water Seeker, by Kimberly Willis Holt

7. Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper

8. Mockingbird (Mok'ingburd), by Kathryn Erskine

9. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, by Mick Cochrane

10. Night of the Howling Dogs, by Graham Salisbury

HIGH FLYING ADVENTURE

Starclimber is the third book in Kenneth Oppel's Airborn Adventures series. If you like adventure and suspense, these books are for you. In an alternate reality where airships have taken the place of our world's airplanes and cruise ships, the first book Airborn introduces us to Matt Cruse, a cabin boy on such an airship, and Kate de Vries, a wealthy passenger. These ywo young people survive air pirates and a crash landing to discover a mysterious creatures that live hundreds of feet in the air. The second book Skybreaker shows Matt as a student at the Airship Academy teaming up with Kate again to discover a long-lost airship that may have a treasure abroad. Now in Starclimber, these two young people are aboard a new ship that literally climbs its way into outer space. The ship is soon surrounded by strange life-forms and plagued by mechanical failures possibly caused by a saboteur. Non-stop adventure and suspense as well and some romance make this series fun to read. And don't be turned away by the length of the books, the stories will keep you reading.

TOO GOOD TO OVERLOOK

Now that I have finished reading all 20 Rebecca Caudill nominees for 2012, I can get back to some of the other books on my reading list. Having heard Sharon M. Draper speak at the Anderson's YA Literature Conference in September, I realized I had never read one of her books. Everyone at the Conference raved about Out of My Mind so I started with that one. Wow! The story is told by Melody who has a photographic memory but no one knows about it because she has cerebral palsy, can't speak or move on her own and is confined to a wheelchair. She, and the other handicapped students in her class, are treated like imbeciles until the day she gets a computer that speaks for her. Although her world suddenly opens up, her problems are not over yet. Out of My Mind can be found in the Fiction section with the call number DRA.

BIKES MORE IMPORTANT THAN CARS?

That's what happens when gas runs out across the country in Leslie Connor's book Crunch. This "crunch" time finds Dewey, his older sister Lil, his younger brother Vince, and the twins home alone without their parents who are stranded in Canada. Dewey and Vince, who are running the family's bike repair business while their dad is gone, are overwhelmed as everyone is now using bikes for transportation. To make matters worse bike parts start disappearing from the shop. Dewey takes it upon himself to find the culprit and keep the shop running. This is a great family story and a mystery with a scifi twist due to a future that could be ours. You can find Crunch in the New Book Display at the front of the IMC.