Review: My True Love Gave To Me

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: October 14, 2014

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: young adult romance short stories
(mostly contemp, but some magical realism & fantasy)

Format/Source: eARC, from the publisher
HC & audio, purchased from B&N and Audible respectively

Status: short story anthology, standalone
one story has a sequel in Summer Days & Summer Nights

Summary:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...This beautiful collection features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of the most talented and exciting YA authors writing today. The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays.

Waiting on Wednesday: My True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

My True Love Gave To Me

edited by Stephanie Perkins

Coming October 14, 2014

St. Martin's Press

Summary:

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

Why I want it:

Perkins. Taylor. White. Levithan. Rowell. Forman. Han. I mean, how can I not want this?! They're all my favorite authors IN ONE ANTHOLOGY TOGETHER! Plus, I met Stephanie for the first time at Dark Days in February. My True Love Gave To Me had already been announced so I told her I was looking forward to reading it. She didn't give me any hints or anything, but just her excitement about the book got me even more excited. It's an infectious thing, and I am so grateful for that opportunity to talk to Stephanie about this book, which is a vastly different project than what she's done before. That was a really cool moment, and I'm glad I'll always have it!

Why I think you should want it:

Perkins. Taylor. White. Levithan. Rowell. Forman. Han. They're probably all your favorites too! Plus, there's a rumor that Laini's story is part of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone universe.... And as each couple on the cover represents each story and there's a boy with horns & gazelle legs skating with a blond girl...those rumors may be more true than you might first believe...

Will you be picking up My True Love Gave To Me come October? Or are you desperately hoping and waiting to see if your Netgalley request has been approved like I am? Whose story are you most excited for? Please share your thoughts and your picks for WoW in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday #44: Characters Who Are Musically Inclined

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Musically Inclined Characters

Originally I thought I might go with characters I'd want as my best friend or my favorite book boyfriends, but I had to show SOME self control here. If I did book boyfriends, there's zero way I could limit myself to fifty, let alone try to cut it to ten. So instead, I was inspired to do a list full of characters who display some amount of musical talent, whether they sing or play an instrument. I did limit to those who can play and perform, not just music lovers or I'd want to include way more than the, erm, 23 characters who did make this list. Oops.

1.Drew & Virginia, Major Crush by Jennifer Echols. These two are, by far, my favorites on this list. Virginia is a saucy beauty queen majorette turned little drummer girl turned drum major. Then there's beautiful Drew, who is a goofy trombone boy who grows up and also becomes drum major. These two are enormously talented, and their chemistry is palpable. Sure, they don't pick up instruments for the majority of the book because they're busy directing the band (sometimes successfuly and sometimes not so much), but it's their passion for band and music that keeps them working hard at what they do and also keeps them together.

2. Davy, Uninvited by Sophie Jordan. Davy also doesn't spend much time at the keys of a keyboard in Uninvited so I hope she does get a chance to do so in Unleashed a little bit, but Davy's extraordinary talent helps to round out her character and gives one more piece of evidence that the HTC gene doesn't always prove a reliable judge of a person.

3. Jem, The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Um, duh. Jem's music is an intrinsic part of himself. The scenes when he plays are so absurdly gorgeous; the writing is so descriptive that the words float off the page like sound. Also, Jem's playing led to so many lovely moments between Tessa and himself such as their introduction and, um, some other pretty great scenes. ;)

4. Bailey & Sam, Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols. I'm enormously jealous of Bailey's pitch perfect talent. I have decent pitch, but hers is literally perfect. I like that Bailey doesn't give up on music even though her parents forbid it. Once again, like with Will and Virginia in Major Crush, Jennifer uses her characters' passion for music as the catalyst for their relationship. Bailey and Sam spend much of DLS fighting about this and that, but it's their talent and their spark, their mutual respect and dedication to music that keeps them together.

5. Edward, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Say what you want about Twilight, but when you have lived over 100 years, you probably will find a hobby or two to be brilliant at. Edward is a phenomenal pianist, and I love the scenes when he plays. It shows a more human side to him. He's calmer when he plays. He also uses his talent to prove to his family how much he loves them, which I can respect.

6. Dee and Matt, Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. Man, I loved this book! I'll be posting a review soon, but I think Emery NAILED the songs in book. I often think that authors who write out lyrics use cheesy rhymes and cheap clichés, but Emery's lyrics for Dee and Matt both are meaningful. Dee shines as a rising star who uses her long-term relationship and devastating breakup as inspiration for a raw and relatable album while Matt is a former child star struggling to make sense of a very personal loss. Both of these characters use their music to guide them through their losses and realize the beauty of the lives they have. If you're wondering why I wrote out 'and' instead of using an ampersand, it's because these two are not romantically involved.

7. Tia & Will, Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols. Yep. As a former band girl, Jennifer earns three spots on this list. She just gets it. Tia and Will are a hot mess together, and the only time they're being true to themselves is when they're on the field. Tia is a major slacker who shines on the field while Will is an upstanding All-American Boy who also shines on the field, but after he moves to Florida, he allows himself to loosen up a bit. They're a good match. They make each other more complete.

8. Mik, Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor. Sure, Mik isn't one of the primary players in the DoSaB series, but he and Zuzana provide much-needed comic relief and as well as a "normal" healthy human relationship, arguments and silliness and sweetness and love included. Mik's talent not only brought him to Zuz, but it also helps him interact with the chimaera. In Days of Blood & Starlight, Mik's violin playing helps him to entwine with the monster society in the sand castle (for the life of me, I can't remember the official term!) because his music transcends language. Once the chimaera escape back to Eretz, it's Mik's playing and his and Zuzana's presence overall that helps ease the tension between the monsters and the angels.

9. Lizzie, Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg. Lizzie's piano playing again is the catalyst for much of the book. Without her talent, Lizzie never would have attended

Longbourn; ergo, no piano, no book. And, like many books listed above, the music also helps intensify the connection between love interests. Will helps Lizzie get tickets to see his mother play and arranges a meeting between the two because he knows it will make her happy, even though he hides the fact that he's the one helping her. When Lizzie finds out, she realizes that what he did was for her, and it helps them grow closer. Awwww, squishy feelings!!

10. Destiny, Michael, & Isaac, Destiny by Cindy Ray Hale. I think it's really cool that Cindy includes male characters who aren't ashamed of their vocal talents. Too many people in our society consider arts education "unmanly" and a lot of fictional characters reflect that unfortunate sentiment. I like that the characters in the Destiny trilogy not only share their musical talent frequently, but they work hard to improve as well! Once again, the music is used as a plot device as the characters imitate what they're singing (Les Mis, but there isn't an actual revolution with guns and death and stuff in Destiny).

11.  Emme, Ethan, Sophie, Ben and Jack, Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg. I enjoyed Take a Bow, but I admit it's the Eulberg novel I remember the least. Still, this is the book that most exhibits Elizabeth's love for music, and I wanted to include it. This group attends a private school for the arts in New York, and music drives both the plot and the characters. Music is who they are. Elizabeth recently released an epilogue from ten years after the book, and it's so interesting to see how music continued to shape these characters after The End.

12. Mia & Adam, If I Stay by Gayle Forman. *sobs incontrollably* It's hard to talk about this book without getting really emotional so I'll just say that music is really important to this book and to Mia and Adam. There is one scene in particular between these two that is so beautifully written that I just can't even handle it.

 I personally love how I rarely can narrow my picks down to just ten, and even with cheating a lot and grouping musically minded characters from the same book, I couldn't even limit myself. You know you love it too. Do you have any favorite musical characters that I left off the list? Share your thoughts and your TTT lists in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday #24: Book Recommendations

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Book Recommendations I've Ever Made

In a move very characteristic of me, I'm tweaking the topic this week to talk about the top ten recommendations I've ever made to anyone (that they've actually followed through with). By doing so, you, dear reader, can consider them recommendations for you.

1. The Mortal Instruments/The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Recommended these to my friends Maggie and Robyn, both of whom devoured all available TMI books quickly. Maggie has finished up TID as well, I believe, but I don't think Robyn's there yet. We are all anxiously awaiting CoHF now. 

2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I first recommended these in January of 2000 (I was in sixth grade) to my friend Ashlie. She and I raced to read the first three, but then we were left waiting Goblet of Fire for ages. Then I recommended them to everybody else, with particular success with my sister, who is not a reader but loved the series. Sadly, my sis is being a ROYAL PAIN and won't finish reading Deathly Hallows because she refuses to acknowledge the end of the series. Just read it already, you dork!

3. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. My mother was the first person who followed this recommendation in 2008. Yes, yes, we've all recommended this one too, but for the record, I was an Original Fan for both of these series. I loved Suzanne when I read her other series, The Underland Chronicles, long before THG was a thing. Anyway, my mom loved it, then my sis, then sister-in-law, then my dad, then the rest of the world.

4. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Recommended to my sister. I don't care what people say; I'm so glad that I've had the opportunity to take three big series and bond with my sister over them. I read everything, but she doesn't. It's so special when we have books (and movies, obviously) that we love and can talk about. She and I were able to meet Stephenie Meyer earlier this year, and it was an experience I will always cherish. She has less fond memories because I kinda sorta interrupted her. Sorry, sis. Love you!

5. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. After Maggie finished TMI, I told her to start on these because Rose is the best ever. Mags agreed with me.

6. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. Recommended to Maura of The Whimsical Mama. It's a little ridiculous how many books I've forced upon Maura at this point, but I think this might be the one she's most happy about because now Maura's friends with Jodi and they had lunch together a few weeks ago and everything. Some other recs I've passed on include Wither, My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, The Madman's Daughter, Everneath, Divergent, The Book Thief (to Maura: READ IT DARN YOU), Die for Me, Across the Universe, and many, many more. You're welcome, Maura. Sorry I keep screwing up your TBR/reading schedule. You know you love me. ;)

7. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. This was another series I passed on to my mom. She and I used to communicate by putting books in each other's paths. She's put them outside my door; I'd put them outside hers or on her bed or on her bathroom counter or wherever. When my mom got into GG, she'd just walk into my room and take the next one. I had to start yelling at her because she' read them with the dust jacket on, and that bothered me. Eventually, I just started taking them off in advance so she'd stop.

8. Mediator series by Meg Cabot. Recommended to my friend Katie. I introduced Katie to Jesse, and there was no going back. She and I only disagree on the fact that, even though he's a tool, Paul is super attractive to me. Katie thinks I'm nuts.

9. Evernight by Claudia Gray. Also recommended to Katie. We loved the first book, and then our interest waned as things got weird, but it was fun mooning over Balthazar.

10. Boycotts & Barflies by Victoria Michaels. Recommended to Katie and her sister Shelby. Keep reading for my story on how I got hooked on Twilight, but when I got in, I was in. I'm talking a fangirl worthy of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. I followed the movie casting very closely, I read fanfiction, I did fanart, the whole shebang. My favorite fanfic authors were My-Bella and vjgm. I read and reread their stories over and over. I commented, I speculated, I emailed MB frequently. Eventually, vj or Victoria took one au story down. She reworked it and published it as Boycotts & Barflies. A lot of people dismiss this because, like Fifty Shades, it was a Twilight fanfic first. However, the plot remained the same from the fic to the final product it became and that was 100% Victoria, not Stephenie. I adored the fic and immediately bought the book as well. It took some doing but eventually I convinced Katie to get it too. She'd loved the original fic as well, but she was less convinced about buying the book. It had gone through changes, and sometimes I really miss the original fic, but it's a total guilty pleasure. I read this one at least once a year still. When we went on vacation, I made sure to bring my copy for Shelby. We're all in love.

Best recommendations ever given to me

1. Harry Potter series. My mom told me to read this, and then my aunt gave me a copy for Christmas. The full story can be read in the About Me tab at the top so I won't repeat here, but this one wins Best Rec Ever. Over the years, my mom has given me a number of lovely recommendations like Artemis Fowl, The Underland Chronicles, Ella Enchanted, Charlie Bone, etc. She was a teacher and had access to a lot of books through Scholastic Book Fairs. My aunt also recommended Eragon to me. Thanks to both of them for instilling me a love of literature!

2. Little House on the Prairie series. Recommended by my aunt. This was actually gift to my sister by our other aunt, not the one who gave me HP. Our dad used to read them to us every night, but he didn't get past Farmer Boy. I couldn't stop there, though, so I finished the series on my own, and eventually took possession of the set, which remains on the same exhalted shelf as my copies of HP.

3. Twilight series. Recommended by my bff April and online friend Cammie. I was not an original fan. Cammie is pretty eccentric so when she started going off about book three of this AMAZING series about vampires, I thought she was nuts. It took a rec from April, who is a big reader and, like me, was in college studying for a lit degree, for me to finally pick them up. Maura was also really big into them. That was the year we overlapped at college, and she and I would often get together and talk about them. I was so into Eclipse that I went back up to my dorm room during a tornado warning under the pretense of making sure all my residents were out of our hall (I was an RA) to grab my copy. I was dang glad I did, too. I'm pretty sure the sirens went off for an hour so it's not like there was anything else to do. It was the middle of the night, but there was no sleeping as we were sitting in the cramped basement hallway!

4.  Vampire Academy series. Recommended by Borders (rest in peace, my friend. #neverforget). Thanks to my quick infatuation with Twilight, I was aching for something to read in the months between The Host's release and Breaking Dawn's. I stumbled across Frostbite in Borders, then found Vampire Academy. I bought them both that day and then waited even more impatiently for Shadow Kiss than Breaking Dawn. Thanks, Borders! I miss you!

5. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. Recommended by Borders. I had seen the cover in Borders for months, but I just wasn't sure about it. By the time I finally picked them up, CoB, CoA, and CoG were all out, and I thought that was the end. I remember all the drama of "Will there be a fourth book?" and "Book four is about SIMON" and "Jace and Clary aren't in it at ALL" and Cassie having to placate everyone.

5a. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. Recommended by Target. Although I was a fan of TMI, I had no idea that Cassie had written Clockwork Angel until I discovered an autographed stock copy at Target. Even though it was a splurge for a broke college student, it was one of the best purchases I've ever made at Target, and that's saying something because Target is wonderful.

6. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor. Recommended to me by my friend Alyssa. Alyssa and I were best friends in elementary school, but we haven't seen each other since we graduated fifth grade. Even after discovering the joys of Facebook, we didn't really reacquaint ourselves with one another, until we both wound up on Goodreads and realized we're both avid book lovers, which is not something I'd realized about her in school. Alyssa has really lovely taste in books, and I discovered several other winners because of her high recommendation as well. Glad she rated this one so highly because it's an amazing series.

7. Winger by Andrew Smith. Recommended by Justin Chanda of Simon & Schuster all but shoved this book in my hands at TLA this year, and it was the best ever. I loved this book. Just....so many feels. Seriously, thank you, Justin.

8. The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. Recommended by Barnes & Noble. Even though I was a Borders customer through-and-through, I sometimes went to B&N in high school just to see what was on the shelf. I was combing through titles and covers when I discovered this adorable book. I wrote it down on a torn scrap of paper in my purse, went to Borders (yes, I found a book at B&N & then went to Borders to buy it. Like you haven't done that exact thing!) and looked for it. I found both LHC and Prom & Prejudice. My love of Elizabeth Eulberg hasn't waned since.

9. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Recommended to me by my friend Amanda. Amanda and I both talked Twilight when it was big. One day, while hanging out at her apartment, I saw a book on the coffee table. She saw I was looking and said I'd like it since I enjoyed Twilight. Still unsure why she said that as the two books could not be more different (aside from the ya thing), but she was right. It was wonderful. Amanda also introduced me to Emily Giffin's novels.

10. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons. Recommended by my friend Lacy. Lacy knew I was a fan of young adult books, which is not something I generally talk about a lot with people in here in Dallas as the majority of people I associate with are fellow church members, and it seems weird to talk about other books when we're talking about scriptures and whatnot, but one day, Lacy was like, "Oh, I'm reading this cool book right now. It's called Article 5." I hadn't heard of it so I pulled out my phone and looked it up on Goodreads. I harangued the library until I got a copy, then I continued to harangue them until they ordered Breaking Point because this series is incredible.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Divergent by Veronica Roth. Hereafter by Tara Hudson. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. Wither by Lauren DeStefano. Everneath by Brodi Ashton. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. Recommended by The Internet. Thanks to everyone who ever praised these authors and these books online because I paid attention. I loved all of the first books of these series and am glad to have read them no matter how any of them ended. And there are many, many more that have either been personally recommended to me over Twitter or Goodreads or that have just received so much hype that I couldn't not read (and love) them, but I'd say if Harry Potter got me reading and wanting to be part of the publishing world, the books I read in 2012, many of them debuts, made me want to start blogging. So HUGE thanks to all the Apocalypsies for writing such lovely books.

Please share your links and let me know what you think of my picks this week!

Review: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Rating: 5/5 stars
Pub Date: October 10, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Children's
Genre: young adult/new adult contemporary romance
Format/Source: ARC, giveaway prize from The Young Folks (thanks, Gabrielle!!!)
Status: sequel to Just One Day

Summary:

The heartrending conclusion—from Willem’s POV—to the romantic duet of novels that began with Allyson’s story in Just One Day

After spending an amazing day and night together in Paris, Just One Year is Willem’s story, picking up where Just One Day ended. His story of their year of quiet longing and near misses is a perfect counterpoint to Allyson’s own as Willem undergoes a transformative journey, questioning his path, finding love, and ultimately, redefining himself.

Top Ten Tuesday #15: Fall 2013 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR 

This week's list was pretty easy to write. Why can't they all be this simple and straight-forward?

1. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. After Indigo Spell, if you think I'm leaving the next installment of Richelle's superb Bloodlines series off my fall TBR, you are sadly f-ing mistaken (1:50 for that reference, but watch the whole thing, dang it!). Quite frankly, I needed a whole series of cold showers after reading TIS, and if the buzz I'm hearing about Fiery Heart is indicative of simliar action, I will be spending most of November submerging myself in buckets of ice. Also, it's a great story. Lots of action, mystery, and really, really good relationships. Not just the hot stuff. Richelle writes good friendships and good non-steamy parts of romantic relationships as well.

2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Duh. Like all of you don't have this on your list. 'Nuff said.

3. Just One Year by Gayle Forman. Yes, yes, yes. This is sitting on my shelf right now taunting me. 

4. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. After the hurt of finishing the Chemical Garden series, I am in in serious need of some DeStefano. Also sitting on my shelf taunting me.

5. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. This was the bonus book on my summer TBR list (of which I completed 7 out of 11). Now that it's closer to the pub date, I think it's time to actually read it. My brother in law RAVES about it and constantly peppers me. "Hey, Mary, have you read Steelheart yet?" "Mary, you need to read Steelheart." "Blah blah words blah Brandon Sanderson blah more words blah Steelheart." I read you loud and clear, bro!

6. In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin. Oh, this series. It's phenomenal. It's cool and original. It's about love and family and chocolate for heaven's sake! Also, cute boys. Read my Waiting on Wednesday post on it for more info.

7. Timepiece by Myra McEntire. Hourglass was really cool, and I've heard that although it's way different (hello, different pov!), Timepiece is even better. I mean, Caleb. That is all.

9. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about this from people whose bookish opinions I fully trust. Not just wonderful things. Raving. Consider me sold. Plus, it seems really different. I think a little gothic lit could do me some good. I've been playing between contemporary and contemporary paranormal for a while now, and I want to delve into something deeper. See what I did there? :P

10. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Did you even read Eleanor & Park?! Of course you did. It was spectacular. SOLD. I think Fangirl is one of those novels, like Gayle Forman's Just One Day, that is true new adult lit. Sure, the smutty NA stuff can be entertaining, but smut is not the only reason NA should exist. I have a feeling this is going to hit me hard, and I'll love every moment.

Bonus books aka the I-have-to-read-these-in-the-next-couple-months-or-I'll-hate-myself-for-being-a-total-failure-of-a-fangirl-slash-blogger-slash-reviewer: The Elite by Kiera Cass. School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. White Cat by Holly Black. Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike. nantucket Blue by Leila Howland.

Top Ten Tuesday #13: Required Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books I Wish Were Taught in School

Honestly, I find this subject kind of difficult. You wouldn't think that since I have very definite opinions about literature and whatnot, but as an English major, I'm glad for 90% of the books that I read. Those books are classic for a reason. So this will be...interesting. Some of these books probably already are taught in schools, but...whatever. This is the list I wish I had been able to read in high school and/or books I think would be paired well together.

1. Speechless by Hannah Harrington & Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. On the one hand, you have the physical assault of a gay boy who was publicly outed at a party and the decision of the girl who did said outing to stop talking as she attempts to gain control over her words. On the other, you have the sexual assault of a girl at a party and her decision to stop talking as she tries to deal with it. Similar premises, but very different stories. The compare/contrast essay writes itself!

2. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. This book. Oh, my goodness, I could have had a field day writing papers about this book. From the study of product placement and just ALL the pop culture references in our daily lives to the pressures to be a cookie-cutter stereotype to raw portrayal of sexuality and identity (sometimes one with the other, sometimes without), Beauty Queens is just a really good book. It's fun and funny, but it's also deep. It's a huge satire of our culture, and I love it.

3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Spare me your groaning. I feel like Twilight has several uses in a classroom. 1. How a book can become astronomically popular. Have the students discuss what it is about a book that can draw millions of readers in in such a big way. 2. How a book can be so polarizing. There is no middle ground with Twilight. You are not allowed to be Team Edward and Team Jacob. This question was asked more than "boxers or briefs" in every single interview for about three years. You are not allowed to sorta like the books. You truly either love them or hate them. Have the students discuss the elements of the book that create such momentous division. Etc etc.

4. Matched by Ally Condie & The Giver by Lois Lowry. Dystopian was the big thing after vampires, but it's been done before. Out of all the new wave of those novels this century, the one that best matches with the tried-and-true Giver is Condie's Matched, with its government control of jobs, partners, children, recreation, etc. Again, the compare/contrast would be too easy. There are a lot of elements of this book that would lead to great learning.

5. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. This one is a must-read for girls. It's absurdly empowering, and it's all about educating yourself for the sake of education and improving your life. Yes yes YES! Boys may feel like this is just a "girly" book, but it's important for boys to understand that it's okay for girls to be smart.

6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I don't want this list to be full of books that preach and do the whole afternoon special thing, but kids truly need to be aware of consequences of certain actions. Thirteen Reasons Why gives a good lesson without being preachy and without being actually real. I mean, we've all seen the headlines. Those are horrifically real. Thirteen Reasons Why, while believable and amazing, is only fiction, but it's one of those that can hit too close to home.

7. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. This book is just a lot of fun. I think it would be a good read for a creative writing class because it's just different. Tell the students it's okay to mess with historical events some. Books don't have to be 100% words, either. Drawings can enhance the experience. It's okay to combine different genres to make your own story come to life. But it's also important to know the craft before you do that. You have to know the correct history in order to alter it. Like that line about knowing the rules so you can break them, not breaking before you know.

8. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. This book is one every high school senior and college freshman should read. It's a book that dares to finally show the ugly parts of that weird transitional year in your life.

And...that's kind of all I can think of. I mean, there are others, but they all fall under topics I've already said and would be fairly redundant. What books would you have wanted to read in school? Have a Top Ten? Share in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday #3: Best of 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Best Books of 2013 (so far)

A note: I've read some pretty wonderful novels this year. Like amazing, gorgeous, well-written, thought-provoking, sob-inducing pieces of literary genius. Sadly, I had to cap this list at ten. All are rated 5 stars, but I had to leave some 5 stars out and also some amazing 4 star books. So these are the books that made me think the most. That made me feel the most. That broke my heart the most. That healed me the most. That taught me the most. That made me fall in love the most. These books are...the most. At least of 2013. Well, the beginning of 2013. Consider this my fervent recommendation that you read them immediately. Also, these are in order from earliest read to most recent, not in order of ranking. I'd rather flog myself with a copy of of the OED than rank them any more than I already have. Speaking of, since these all garnered 5 stars from me, I decided to give a silly rating based on what is noticable about each book.

1. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. WHERE was this novel when I was a freshman in college?! Seriously, this is like the most true rendition of college, ever. If you haven't read One Day yet, prepare yourself for ALL TEH FEELS. Love, heartbreak, depression, sorrow, joy, loneliness, self-realization... I mean, this is the woman who brought us If I Stay so that should tell you something right there. I absolutely can't wait for Just One Year.
Rating: 5 out of 5 vacation romances with European actors

2. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. There's a well-known and loathed phenomenon known as the curse of the second book, meaning when the first book is awesome, the second is expected to be awesome and often falls prey to those high expectations. Well, clearly Veronica said, "Screw that," and wrote herself another fantastic story. More Perria! More drama! More romance! More danger! More everything! Mostly more Roar! *fangirls go wild* Even when I was mad at Veronica (unfortunately I read a really ridiculously sad part 5 minutes before meeting her and felt utterly betrayed and could only ask her WHY [she laughed at/with me]), I loved her. PS Cover for Into the Still Blue and 3 chapters were just released!
Rating: 5 out of 5 boys wearing tight leather pants

3. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead. Richelle laughs in the face of the second book curse because clearly, it's never happened to her. As brilliant as her first books are, her second books never disappoint and TIS is no exception. All I can say is, "ADRIAAAAAAN!" :P And Sydney. Seriously, Sydrian makes me so happy, I can't even say. Fiery Heart is going to be friggin awesome. Nover 19, get here fast!
Rating: 5 out of 5 steamy tabletop make-out scenes

4. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter. I won't call it the curse, but I wasn't as into Uncommon Criminals. Scoundrels, though, is a fantastic book 3 for the series with no end in sight. I think it's because Ally really mixed it up this time since Hale was a mark. Ally is a great writer with a wonderful imagination. I have no idea where she gets these crazy schemes, but I love reading about them. Clearly she's at the top of the NSA watch list because her novels are like the how-to on pulling off the perfect crime. Good thing her other series is the how-to on catching criminals! :D
Rating: 5 out of 5 adorable billionaires

5. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. GUH. If your heart wasn't ripped out of your chest several times while reading this, I'm just not sure about you as a person. I mean the feels, there were so many! First the.....and then the......and then the EPILOGUE. *dies* Also, chapter 19: Chicka. Chicka. YEAH!!!! That is all.
Rating: 5 out of 5 hottest love triangle action ever (No, not THAT. Pervs)

6. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg. I was shocked when i read some less-than-thrilled reviews, but I guess some people just have vastly different taste than I do. I thought Revenge made a great point about judging people by their looks, whether they're not so attractive or whether they're good-looking, and by the tag "great personality". Seriously, I had a coversation with Real Guys about that phrase and it wasn't pretty. More in depth review here.
Rating: 5 out of 5 references to pageant reality shows

7. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan. This is not a well-known book, and none of my friends on any platform have read it so I wasn't sure what to expect reading this one; I only did because its setting matched a challenge I'm doing. Certainly the blurb doesn't do it justice. That whole pretending-to-be-someone-else nonsense is NOT the plot. Pronounce is about love and growing up and how sometimes, you do outgrow love if it happens early in your life. Also, a breakup doesn't always happen because the guy is a jerk. Sometimes, he's really nice, but it just doesn't work out. It's sad, but it's a powerful message. You may not like it as much as I did, but I do recommend giving it a try.
Rating: 5 out of 5 wishes for a Happily Ever After after the end

8. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. another writer who laughs in the face of the dreaded second book and instead uses the book to torture the ever-living crap out of her fans, especially those who have already declared allegiance to one love interest. DARN YOU, TAHEREH! IT's a really good thing I didn't read Unravel right before meeting Tahereh because I may have tried to kill her if I had. #TeamAdam, all the way, baby! FYI, Veronica is on our team, while Team Warner has a psychopath. I think we all know how this is going to end: Battle Royale, with the boys shirtless. I'm so okay with this, it isn't funny. Warner is a maniac, but at least he IS gorgeous! I am so going to the bad place for that....
Rating: 5 out of 5 swearwords (in a good way)

9. Burning by Elana K. Arnold. I came across Burning on Netgalley and fell in love with the cover. Then I fell in love with the blurb. I tossed out a request and was shocked when I was granted a digital review copy. I can't say enough good things about Burning. This book is gorgeous all the way through. Like Pronounce, this is a lesser-known book and the ratings are just not a good indication of how lovely it truly is. Just give it a shot. There was something in Burning that really resonated with me so I want to tell everybody abuot it! Full review here.
Rating: 5 out of 5 insane summer hippie festivals

10. Winger by Andrew Smith. Like with Burning, I can't say enough good things! Winger was touted as this hilarious coming-of-age novel about an underage high school junior who is this genius delinquent of a rugby player. However, I really wasn't expecting so much substance. Call me happily surprised! This will not be my last Andrew Smith novel because his writing is superb. Full review here.
Rating: 5 out of 5 empty tissue boxes because this book actually made me cry more than Clockwork Princess did. I know, RIGHT?!

11. The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. Okay, so I'm cheating by adding a bonus book. HOWEVER, I made this list before I read The Eternity Cure, and after I read it, I couldn't not have it on this list. But I couldn't kick off any of the other books either so here we are. I'm really impressed with how well Julie pulls off her dystopian-vampire world in an industry flooded with vampire and dystopian novels. I definitely called a few of the bigger twists, but I don't think utter secrecy is Kagawa's goal.  I think her mastery of writing and characters and especially character relationships has only increased since The Immortal Rules. You'll be begging for #3 by the end.
Rating: 5 out of 5 blow-your-mind fight scenes