Top 10 of 2010

2010 has been an amazing year of YA books, so what better way to celebrate '10 than by compiling a list of 10 top reads? Now, to be fair, I do have to add the disclaimer that the following list is comprised only of books published this past year that I've read. Doubtless there're numerous other great books out there (many of which I've been meaning to read, but haven't gotten around to yet) that aren't included. But anyway, without further ado, let's start the countdown:

Let's go in reverse order: the nineth and tenth spots go to Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken (March 23rd, 2010 EgmontUSA) and Epitaph Road by David Patneaude (March 23rd, 2010 EgmontUSA), respectively. Brightly Woven had some really cool concepts and drew me back into the realm of fantasy. Epitaph Road was a very interesting take on a possible dystopian future of gender power reversal. Both are definitely very well worth reading!

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Seventh and eighth go to Daisy Whitney's The Mockingbirds (November 2nd, 2010 Little Brown) and Elizabeth Scott's The Unwritten Rule (March 16th, 2010 Simon Pulse), respectively. Both of these are contemporary YA novels that were well-written with realistic characters and credible plot lines.

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For fifth and sixth we have Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (March 2nd, 2010 Harper Collins) and All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab (January 12th, 2010 Delacorte). How could I not include these two? Both are contemporaries (although Before I Fall also has paranormal facets) that deal with mortality and the aftermath. Both are beautifully written and quite thought-provoking.

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Next we have The Duff by Kody Keplinger (September 7th, 2010 Poppy/Little Brown) and Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready (May 4th, 2010 Simon Pulse). The Duff by teen author Kody is a funny and endearing contemporary novel with a very real, in-your-face attitude. Basically, it's a pretty badass read. Shade explores some very interesting concepts and creates an intriguing paranormal world very much like our own, yet quite different.

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My top two picks for 2010 probably really won't come as a surprise. We have Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien (March 30th, 2010 Roaring Brook Press) and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (August 24th, 2010 Scholastic). Mockingjay... well, it's Mockingjay. Enough said. Birthmarked - well, we all know I've been gushing about this one a ton lately. It's dystopian (love!) and it's got great characters, a strong female protag, a juicy love interest, and a fast-paced, action-packed, exciting plot line. It's also great that there's more of a science element (hence science fiction, right?) in this one than some of its colleagues. There's something more educated about the writing, which is also great. Plus it was a ton of fun to interview Caragh earlier this year as well.

And there we have it - a spotlight on some of the best YA books of the year. What made the cut for your list this year?

All Unquiet Things Review

All Unquiet Things - Anna Jarzab
*January 12th, 2010 Delacorte

Carly: She was sweet. Smart. Self-destructive. She knew the secrets of Brighton Day School’s most privileged students. Secrets that got her killed.

Neily: Dumped by Carly for a notorious bad boy, Neily didn’t answer the phone call she made before she died. If he had, maybe he could have helped her. Now he can’t get the image of her lifeless body out of his mind.

Audrey: She’s the reason Carly got tangled up with Brighton’s fast crowd in the first place, and now she regrets it—especially since she’s convinced the police have put the wrong person in jail. Audrey thinks the murderer is someone at Brighton, and she wants Neily to help her find out who it is.

As reluctant allies Neily and Audrey dig into their shared past with Carly, her involvement with Brighton’s dark goings-on comes to light. But figuring out how Carly and her killer fit into the twisted drama will force Audrey and Neily to face hard truths about themselves and the girl they couldn’t save.

Anna Jarzab's brilliant debut All Unquiet Things is anything but quiet. With gorgeous writing, an interesting premise and original plot, this is one tome that speaks volumes.

At its core, All Unquiet Things is a contemporary mystery story of sorts. And that's great to see in today's YA market. Even more impressive is the fact that it's a finely woven mystery. It's got just the right amount of twist that actually takes some effort to figure out even for those that are usually able to predict endings fairly well.

The format of the way the story told really augments its effectiveness. The going back and forth (chronologically) and changing perspectives offers different perspectives and insights, which also aids to further draw the reader in. One slight thing would be that the voices of Audrey and Neily could have been a little more distinct, as at times it did seem a little difficult to differentiate. Nevertheless, Jarzab's got an awesome writing style and beautiful phrasing.

Carly, Neily, Audrey, Cass... All Unquiet Things is chockful of interesting and intriguing characters. The content matter is also on a different level - Carly knew "secrets that got her killed" (Jarzab synopsis). The situations encountered by the characters are heart-poundingly dangerous with very severe consequences. That definitely adds a level of action and adventure to the story.

With varied characters, an intriguing mystery plot and beautiful writing, All Unquiet Things is bound to be a hit.

Anna Jarzab | IndieBound | Goodreads

Have you reviewed All Unquiet Things as well? Drop a link below.

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver
*March 2nd, 2010 HarperCollins

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.

This week's pick's premise sounds great, doesn't it? Kind of TOK-esque, which is nice (going through withdrawl slightly, as the course ended last semester). It also kind of reminds me of that one episode of Supernatural... and the cover does seem to slightly resemble that of Anna Jarzab's All Unquiet Things.

The synopsis sounds very open-ended, so there's definitely a fair amount of curiosity to see just how Oliver spins this yarn. Especially since thus far, Before I Fall has received rave reviews.

But now that you've seen my pick, what are you waiting on, this Wednesday?

*WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

100th Post Contest

Alas, I've been a little absent around the YA blogosphere lately - and I guess you could say that Lucid Conspiracy has been on an unofficial hiatus of sorts. But - it's the holidays now (yay!), so hopefully it's time to get caught up on things. (Apologies if you're still waiting on e-mail replies - will get to them asap :)

I know you guys were all very concerned ;) This also happens to be the 100th post, so what better way to doubly celebrate than by giving away some swag?

A bookmark pack consisting of the following are up for grabs:

^All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
^Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog
^Give up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
^Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Shroeder (autographed)
^Supernatural Rubber Chicken

Before we get to the good stuff on how to win, a linkage love is probably in order. Give up the Ghost was reviewed here, and author Megan Crewe was interviewed here. Fairy Tale's author Cyn Balog was interviewed here, and look for a review of All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab early in the new year. You can also pop by Lisa Shroeder's to say hi.

After all that, let's get to the good stuff. Contest open to US of A & Canada. Must be a follower. Please put each entry in a separate comment. If you don't feel comfortable leaving an e-mail, a distinctive name is fine as well. Contest ends December 30th. You get one entry for each of the following:
~Comment (1st one is a freebie entry)
~Twitter followers (@lucidconspiracy)
~Promotion (+1 for each place you link the contest)
~Signing up for SwagBucks through here

Thanks, guys. Unfortunately, it's just a swag prize pack, but it'll help get the holiday spirit going, hopefully. Happy holidays, and enter away :)

In My Mailbox [16]

In My Mailbox, a weekly meme, is inspired by Alea and the brainchild of Kristi...

Candor - Pam Bachorz

In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, Oscar Banks has found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages that turn even the most troubled kids into model citizens. On the outside, he's the perfect Candor teen, and no one knows that he's built an entire business around helping new kids escape before the Messages take hold.

But then Nia Silva moves to town, and Oscar thinks she's perfect exactly the way she is. Soon he must make a choice: let Nia be lost to the brainwashing, or help her stay special and risk himself in the process.

All Unquiet Things - Anna Jarzab

All Unquiet Things centers around the murder of teen heiress Carly Ribelli, who was found shot to death a mile from her house in a wealthy Northern California suburb. Carly’s uncle, a dissolute alcoholic, was convicted of the crime, but a year later his daughter still doesn’t believe her father is guilty. Determined to prove his innocence, Audrey Ribelli contacts Carly’s ex-boyfriend, Neily Monroe, the boy who found Carly’s body. She is convinced that he knows more than he thinks about the events that led up to Carly’s death. Despite Neily’s initial reluctance, he and Audrey begin their investigation at the posh private school they attend, identifying prime suspects from among their spoiled classmates and digging up secrets about Carly’s past to get to the truth behind her murder.

The ARC I received from Anna is also signed, and she included a brief note on a bookmark as well (for a total of six bookmarks!), which was really awesome. The little doll pin is also adorable - check out Anna's site for details as to why the doll. Thanks, Anna!

So, now it's your turn. What was in your mailbox this week?