Monday, December 31, 2012

My Top 10 YA Reads Published in 2012

What a year for Young-Adult Books! Reflecting back over the past year I've read some stellar books from all of the young-adult genres and decided to share my favorites with you. Now keep in mind this list is based solely on the 250 books that I have read...I have a few books such as Pushing the Limit and Slammed in my TBR pile that might have made the list:


#10. The Darkest Minds
by Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication date: December 18, 2012
Genre: YA Dystopian
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


When Ruby wakes up on her tenth birthday, something about her has changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. 
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her--East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
 #9. Velveteen
by Daniel Marks
Series: Velveteen #1
Publisher: Random House/Delacorte
Publication date: October 9, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that's not the problem. The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it's not a fiery inferno, it's certainly no heaven. It's gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn't leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what's really on her mind. Bonesaw. Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days. It'll be brutal . . . and awesome. But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen's obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she's willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker. Velveteen can't help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.
#8. Mystic City
by Theo Lawrence
Series: Mystic City #1
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: October 9, 2012
Genre: YA Dystopian
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


For fans of Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. 
Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.
#7. Cinder
by Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Macmillan
Publication date: January 3, 2012
Genre: YA Steampunk Dystopian
Purchase:Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
 #6. Skylark
by Meagan Spooner
Series: Skylark #1
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Publication date: August 1, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review



Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the skyHer world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.
Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?
#5. Partials
by Dan Wells
Series: Partials Sequence #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: February 28, 2012
Genre: YA Dystopian
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review





The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out. Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.  Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival. 
#4.This is Not A Test
by Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin
Publication date: June 19, 2012
Genre: YA Horror
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review



 It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self.
To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.
But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside.
When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?
#3. Every Day
by David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf
Publication date: August 28, 2012
Genre: YA Fiction
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. 

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.
#2. The City's Son
by Tom Pollock
Series: The Skyscraper Throne #1
Publisher: Flux 
Publication date: September 8, 2012
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


Running from her traitorous best friend and her estranged father, graffiti artist Beth Bradley is looking for sanctuary. What she finds is Urchin, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London’s mystical underworld. Urchin opens Beth’s eyes to the city she’s never truly seen-where vast spiders crawl telephone wires seeking voices to steal, railwraiths escape their tethers, and statues conceal an ancient priesthood robed in bronze.
But it all teeters on the brink of destruction. Amid rumors that Urchin’s goddess mother will soon return from her 15-year exile, Reach, a malign god of urban decay, wants the young prince dead. Helping Urchin raise an alleyway army to reclaim his skyscraper throne, Beth soon forgets her old life. But when her best friend is captured, Beth must choose between this wondrous existence and the life she left behind.
#1. Grave Mercy
by Robin LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassin #1
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: April 3, 2012
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository
Read my review


Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Honorable Mentions 


What were some of your favorite YA reads for 2012?

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34 Comments:

At July 17, 2013 at 10:13 PM , Anonymous Cyn said...

Great list! I loved Every Day! also Pushing the Limit is still on my TBR list too haha.

 
At July 17, 2013 at 10:34 PM , Anonymous Jenea Whittington said...

That is a fantastic list. I looooved Grave Mercy too. And The Darkest Minds was an awesome read too. I think I need to The City Son's soon. :) It sounds great.

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:06 AM , Anonymous readingdiva said...

Great list Kim, Mystic City made the cut. I have Partials and a few others in my reading list. I am really looking forward to reading Cinder, for some reason of all the YA of 2012, that's the one that got me most intrigued.

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:48 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

I actually scheduled it as an ARC for February so i was guaranteed time to read it!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:48 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

do not feel bad..i read 250 books and went to websites with top 10 lists where I had only read one of their books.

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:50 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

thanks and i so loved City's Son

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

that happened to me too, as I looked at lists I saw all the books I still need to read..even though i read 250 books!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous Candacesbookblog said...

Oh great list! I read Cinder last year, otherwise it would on mine as well. Also loved Grave Mercy and Mystic City. Still a few on this list I need to read still though!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

so many books so little time!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Agreed and yeah..you need to read the Graveyard Queen ASAP

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous Christy (Love of Books) said...

Ha. The only ones you have one your list that I don't have on mine, are books that I haven't read yet. I wonder if they would've made mine if I had.

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

thanks Sharon :)

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous Sharon - Obsession with Books said...

Another fantastic list! I really need to pick Velveteen & The City's Son back up. I'll be starting on Every Day very soon.

Thankyou for sharing :)

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Ooo you must read Cinder :) thanks Maggie!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

ooh request it again!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Oh you must..it was kick ass!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous Kat (AussieZombie) said...

Eeeeee what a fab list! I loved Partials, This is Not a Test and Every Day (sigh!). I really must read Grave Mercy, I mean, historical fiction?!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

City's Son blew my mind..i loved it!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kindlemom1 said...

The City's Son looks really good, how have I missed hearing about this one? I think I will be adding it to my never ending TBR pile.
I have some of these as favs too. I can't wait for the sequels!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Oh I loved Skylark and so glad I read Darkest Mind!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous brandileigh2003 said...

Darkest Minds def is on my list too. There are several others, esp. Skylark that I have been wanting to read.

Happy reading,

Brandi from Blkosiner’s
Book Blog

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Karen don't ya just wish sleeping were optional, for all of my favs there are 10 books I wish I had time to read or are sitting in my TBR pile taunting me!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous Karen said...

Great list. A few of those are on mine as well & the others are on my TBR pile.

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

ooo they were all so good!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf said...

Great lists...we do have many of the same...I'm still debating Grave Mercy...I don't know why though...Mystic City and This is not a Test are also on my wishlist:) Can't wait to pick them up!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:51 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Ha..i have had those feelings!!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:52 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Thanks Ashley, I could have added more, 10 was so hard!!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:52 AM , Anonymous Ashley Evans said...

Fabulous list!! I loved Mystic City, Cinder, and Partials, and many of the others are still on my wishlist!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:52 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

Thank you so much Lola..i have no idea what the heck happen there or how, but I so appreciate that you told me!!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:52 AM , Anonymous Cricket@LittleLibaryMuse said...

Great List, I would have to agree with Grave Mercy being my favorite as well

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:52 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

I cannot wait for book two :)

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:53 AM , Anonymous Cayce said...

Partials! Every Day! ❤&♡

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:55 AM , Anonymous kimbacaffeinate said...

don't cringe, the same thing happen to me on other people's blogs and i read 250 books!?!

 
At July 18, 2013 at 12:55 AM , Anonymous Danica Page said...

Wow! I need to read literally almost all of these books. Cringe. I really need to get on that. I've heard Cinder and Partials are incredible. Thanks for sharing!

 

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