Pushing the Limits

by Katie McGarry

I really didn't think I would enjoy this book. I actually didn't even think it was for teens based on the cover. It seemed so heavy and mature. Of course, that's what this excellent young adult novel was. I stayed up last night until I finished it, and I know it will be popular in my library.

Something happened to Echo--something that involved the restraining order against her mom and the scars on her arms. Only, she can't remember what and is still overwhelmed by her brother's death two years before. Noah's parents died in a fire and after he defended his foster siblings from abusive foster parents, he is barely allowed to see his real brothers. Mrs. Collins is a clinical social worker running a pilot program to try and help teenagers under the care of Child Protective Services. She brings Echo and Noah together, hoping that they will be able to help each other attain their goals. She never imagines the intense relationship they will forge or how they will help each other much more than she intends.

I've read some reviews that said this book is light on plot, and perhaps it may appear that way, but what Pushing the Limits does excellently, is show how two people survive. Traumatic experiences for high school students are all-encompassing. It takes tremendous internal struggle to move on. Katie McGarry captures this along with the burgeoning relationship.

Throne of Glass

Celaena is jail. No, more of a labor camp than jail. And though she hasn't managed to escape yet, her  notoriety as the deadliest assassin in the kingdom has proved true.

Celaena is released from jail by the prince so that she can compete in a competition and hopefully become the king's champion. Seeing this as her only way out, Celaena agrees, despite her obvious hatred for the King. But there is evil and a little bit of fantasy afoot in the competition and the King's castle.

This is clearly the only the first book about Celaena, as author Sarah J. Maas, leaves many questions unanswered, but allows her protagonist to forge friendships and more and readers will certainly be interested in the following books.



Read-a-likes: Anything by Kristin Cashore, and Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers.

Birthright Series by Gabrielle Zevin

The first book, All These Things I've Done I picked up at BEA last year (2011) and I absolutely loved the story. Anya Balanchine is her father's daughter. The fact that her father and mother are no longer living, nor the fact that her mobster family is currently run by her uncle changes this. Set years in the future, chocolate has been banned and her family is the black market supplier of Balanchine Chocolate. Caught between being a pawn in her family's drama--needing to take care of her younger sister and older brother, and making her own way in the world, Anya struggles through high school.  This book reminded by of Ally Carter's Heist Society with more intrigue. I'm constantly recommending it.

The second book, Because It Is My Blood, will come out this September. It was the first book I picked up at BEA this year and was the one I carried around and read in all the lines. I had several people ask about it and where they could find it. I was not disappointed at all and can't wait for this book to come out. Neither can the teens at the library who have flipped through my ARC. 

Skinny--Donna Cooner

This was one of the books I heard talked about at the CLA Conference and I was super excited to get a copy at BEA. 

Ever has always used food as a comfort and she has been trying to loose the extra weight for as long as she can remember. Unhappy with herself and her life, she opts for gastric bypass surgery to help her loose weight so that she can re-make herself. Post-surgery Ever has to rediscover herself as she looses weight and learns who her true friends are. She also hopes that surgery will rid her of the voice in her head she calls "Skinny," a sub-conscious part of her that whispers depressing and negative thoughts. 

"You're not good enough."

"You'll never be skinny." 

"Why would he like you."

Yes there is a boy. And two gorgeous stepsisters. And a nerdy best friend. 

Parts of this book are predictable. Parts of it are your typical love story. But the parts that deal with a major live change, surgery and Ever's internal struggle are fascinating. I didn't know much about the gastric bypass procedure until I read this book. I'm glad I did. Teens are going to love this book and I highly recommend it for library shelves. My one complaint is that she never saw a therapist and the mental health implications of her hearing this voice were never dealt with. Otherwise wonderful. I also like the cover!

*ARC provided by publisher at BEA.

April Henry's new book is a necessary book for thriller lovers.

There is suspense, a mystery and like-able characters.

Told in multiple perspectives, The Night She Disappeared chronicles the disappearance of Kayla from the perspectives of the kidnapper, the victim and Kayla's friends.

Full of action, this is one that will appeal to reluctant readers. Perfect for a public library. 






ARC provided by Netgalley. 

Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time

I picked up this book at BEA knowing nothing about it, other than it was written by James Dashner (The Maze Runner Series). I'm glad I did.

Best-friends, Dak and Sera are both brilliant. Dak is a history buff and Sera knows more about science than most college professors. They live in a world similar to ours, but overseen by an organization known as SQ, whom everyone appears to fear. So yes, there are dystopian themes.

Sera helps Dak's parents complete a time machine known as he Infinity Ring, a project that has kept them on the radar of the Hystorians. This group had existed for centuries to fight the SQ and prepare to fix the time rifts that have allowed the SQ so much power. Dak and Sera are instantly initiated and sent back in time to fix the Great Breaks starting in Spain, 1492.

This fast paced middle grade novel is headed along the path of the 39 Clues series--rapidly printed action adventure books written in turn by different authors. The Infinity Ring series has a great line up of authors including, Carrie Ryan, Lisa McMann, Matt de la Pena, Matthew Kirby, and Jennifer Nielsen. All seven books a scheduled to be published by March of 2014.

I'm excited for the rest of the books in this series. It has a lot of Pontiac, and I love anything where the main character is a super history book. The plot is engaging and this will be a perfect fit for rapid and avid readers alike.

Butterscotch Scones

I love scone batter.
I love adding melted butter to flour.

And I love using this thing to need dough. 

However, I wish I had better lighting in my kitchen for these photos. 

Unfortunately, I went a little overboard improvising and I hadn't baked in so long I wanted to cram everything I could into these scones.

They started with a simple scone batter, with a little less liquid because of the melted butterscotch chips and mashed bananas (I love banana butterscotch bread). However, that turned out to be too gooey and the scones wouldn't hold shape. So I added oatmeal for consistency. And then I noticed the blueberries in the fridge.

But they weren't scones any more... muffin tops perhaps? I couldn't cut the dough and transfer to the baking sheet. These were dropped on.

They tried to be too much, and they failed. I lost the sturdy scone I was going for. Still very tasty, but not in the to try again column.

I think a plain old scone with a butterscotch should be tried. 

Happy Birthday Mommy!

My Mom turned 60 this year, and Dad and I threw her a Sock-Hop themed surprise party. The best part, she was completely surprised, until she turned into the driveway and saw all of the cars.

There were chips, and the family's requisite clam dip, veggies, wings, brie, pulled pork, mac & cheese and a deli platter. I made have gone a little overboard. I may have sent enough food home with my cousin after the party for a second party. And Jess and I still ate leftovers all week.

My favorite was the cake:

I wanted it to look sort of like the invitation. Dancers on a checkerboard floor. I was really happy with how it turned out. The floor was piped on with chocolate icing, and the rest is a homemade vanilla marshmallow frosting. The main ingredient: Fluff.

I created a stencil for the dancers using a metal centerpiece and food coloring spray. The whole thing came together with the fabulous Jute Box candle (no it isn't a tombstone all you pessimists!)

The Lover's Dictionary

I love this book.


I love that the story was told successfully out of order.
I love when it repeated and honed in on different parts of the same event, adding just a little bit more information each time.
I love that I actually had to look up some of the words.
I love that I could see myself and my relationship in some of the definitions--it made it do much more real. I believe that this covered so many emotions and scenarios, others will experience this too.
I love the gender ambiguity of the main characters and how they were only known as "I" and "you".
I love the cover.

This was an intriguing, unique concept, masterfully accomplished. A beautiful love story, heartwarming even at its most depressing. This was a joy to read and can not only be read once.

Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin

I forget where I first saw the review for this book, but when I found it on Netgalley, I jumped. And then when I realized it was by the same authors as Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance and was told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of Tessa and Luke, I was sure this would be another entertaining but predictable book. But I severely underestimated the authors. 

Tessa and Luke had been best friends for years. But, it wasn't until Luke asked Tessa to prom that she admitted to being a lesbian. So when Tessa bought a tux to take her girlfriend to prom, and Luke makes a misconstrued comment out of hurt to the school newspaper, Halpin and Franklin recreate the story of Constance McMillan.
The story was in the news a year or two ago--the school canceled prom rather than let two girls attend prom together, or encroach upon their first amendment right to do so.

Tessa Masterson Will Go To Prom is a wonderful, entertaining, and hopeful story about friendship. This book is sure to be a hit.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral

A delightful format for a graphic novel, Chopsticks
is told through photographs, drawings and images of the sort usually found in an art book.

This book begins with the disappeared of piano prodigy Glory and then jumps 18 months into the past to the beginning of her love story. The images are chosen well, thy truly allow the reader to feel the emotions of Glory and her boyfriend Frank as the struggle through the obstacles In their daily life and seek their only refuge-- each other. Theirs is a sweet and beautiful story, interspersed with pain and desperation. The emotions are raw and well-developed and certainly relatable.



The ending was the tiniest bit weak-- but not so far as to lessen my overall opinion of this book. A necessity for public libraries and anyone studying story through art.

It is my new obsession.

Ye Yucky Middle Ages

I ordered these two books from my library (thankfully in paperback) for the Teen Zone. There seem to be few reviews out on the Ye Yucky Middle Ages series, but I found one that said these books were for grades 5-8 and other that said grades 7-9. I figured they would be on the low end and entertain some of the six and seventh graders. But, I am a want-to-be Medievalist (that's what my undergraduate was) and I thought they looked fun and worth a try. 

I read through both of them, they do have some interesting information, but they are very much an introduction to the Middle Ages for someone who has barely heard of them, has never been to a Ren Faire, but does enjoy history. I think some sixth graders would like them, but I would give them out two fourth graders as well. They are entertaining, a bit silly and would be perfect non-fiction for the right kids. I send them down to the Children's room, where I am sure they will be checked out many times.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

This was the audio book I listed to while making Banana Nut Caramel Brownies.

Lennie has just lost her sister, has never met her mother and doesn't even know who her father is. She is being raised by her Grandma and Uncle Big (the town lady's man). This is the story of how she begins to live again, how her family heals and how she finds love. It is a love story after all.

I wouldn't often associate the phrase "wordsmith" with lyrical prose rather than witty turns of phrase, but I was really impressed with the phrasing. You should read it just for that, if for no other reason. Or listen to it, I did.

Banana Nut Caramel Brownies

There was snow on the ground, I was listening to a great audio book (The Sky is Everywhere) and I really needed to bake. We had a brownie mix in the pantry, but I decided that was too simple.

So I looked around the kitchen and the pantry and came up with this combination of ingredients: 

A sliced up banana, Rolos, chopped walnuts. and brown sugar. An odd combination, but I know from previous brownies recipes that brown sugar makes everything better and I really wanted something caramely and the Rolos were all I could find. As for the banana and nuts, if they are good together in other things and banana chocolate crepes are delicious, I figured this would be too.

I added the brown sugar to the pan and the bananas and walnuts to one side (Jess won't eat cooked fruit or nuts and it would have been really mean to make this and then not be able to share--plus chocolate gives me headaches and I NEEDED her to eat some of this).

I saved the Rolos to add once the brownies were almost done. I just wanted them to melt a little bit.

Verdict: For Kitchen Sink Brownies these weren't bad. Next time I would incorporate the banana a bit more, leaving them on the top dried them out, and there were a few too many nuts and not enough caramel, but the combination was good. I would try it again sometime.

Pinterest

So I finally broke down and joined Pinterest this week. It is my new obsession and there are several people out there who I know would love it too.

I've found lots of great program ideas, gift ideas and things I want to make and clutter up the house with (sorry Jess).

You can follow me...just use the button on the right.

Candy Cake

Here is another recipe I borrowed from Recipe Girl. Enough chocolate to leave me in bed with headaches all week. Good think I sent it to work with Jess for her holiday party's baked good competition. It won second place too. Thanks Recipe Girl!

However, I did make a few small variations. First, its obviously Christmas themed. It would appear I used both less cake and fewer M&Ms (I underestimated how many bags I would need--this is two) and it's minty! 

The layer of icing holding the two cakes together is green (and possibly mint flavored, I can't remember at this point--but if I didn't flavor it, that's simply because I ran out of extract. It was holiday baking season after all). Also, the M&Ms are mint flavored and substantially larger than a regular M&M. I think this might have made it harder to eat. I was told the judges found the mint surprising, which must have been a good thing.

I was happy with how it turned out, but I got the impression it was more of a novelty baked good than an I'm craving that so badly baked good. Not yet sure if this is on the "to be repeated" list.

Chomp by Carl Haaisen

I loved this book. Of course, I also love Carl Hiaasen--his adult books and his youth books. This is by far my favorite of his books for Middle Graders. Hiaasen pokes fun at convention, he often uses crude expressions (the language is considerable cleaned up when he is not writing for adults) and no matter the plot, his message is two fold, his love of Florida and his desire to protect that region. Chomp is no exception.

Part mockery of survivalist shows (although, all I could picture was a more egotistical and less knowledgeable Steve Erwin), this is the story of Wahoo who wants to help his family. His Dad's been out of work and his mom's had to take a job out of the country. So when an opportunity presents itself for the Wahoo and his Dad to wrangle the animals of the Everglades on "Expedition Survival" they jump at the opportunity. Wahoo's dad doesn't have any patience for the famous but oblivious Derek Badger who will do anything for ratings. Add his friend Tuna, and you have a rollicking adventure with an assortment of comic and slightly flawed characters.

This one is going to fly off the shelves, I can't wait until it is officially published (expected March 27th) so that I can start pushing it into the hands of the Teens at the library.


ARC provided by Netgalley

Wheels of Change by Sue Macy

Wheels of Change: How Women Road the Bicycle to Freedom (with a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy is a wonderfully informative book about the bicycle, the sport of cycling and the women who paved the way for future generations. Everything from changes in fashion, to women's presence outside of the home and in sporting events in the latter half of the 1800's is covered. 

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and that was a hard decision. In terms of layout, images and overall appeal I would give this book 6 or 10 stars out of 5. Each page is appealing, eye catching and certainly not intimidating, even for reluctant readers. The illustrations were poignant, relevant and well worth discussion, even without the text. 

Content wise, I gave it only 4 stars, not because it wasn't interesting, informative or unique in thesis, but because I wanted more. At 91 pages, this book really could have been more. After reading the Forward, and learning about girls in Africa, who because of a bicycle can now attend school, I dove into this books and was disappointed it ended in around 1900. What happened next?

A necessity for school libraries, deserving of a place in the classroom, beautiful and intriguing enough for public libraries. 

And in case I didn't mention it, this book is nominated for the 2012 YALSA Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults.  

Fluffy Frosting

Over the holidays I discovered delicious fluffy frosting. The secret ingredient is fluff.

Also included is Vegetable Shorting, creamed with a tiny bit of salt, confectioners sugar and a tiny bit of milk--add until right consistency. Add the marshmallow fluff last.












This is that cake I used this frosting on. A snowman for the holidays, but tinted a fun color it was great on  New Year's cupcakes too.

Ahead of Goal?!

Day 6 and I'm two books (1%) ahead! I wonder if I'll ever see this message again? 

2011 Reading In Review

So for a statistical look at my 2011 reading list look at the handy charts Jess helped me make. Out of the 250 books I read last year you can see how many were Young Adult, Juvenile, J/YA Crossover or written for Adults.

And now for that same information portrayed by percentages. 

And for the other information I somehow find relevant: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novels and Audio. 

So what I have learned is that I had a very strong bias in my 2011 reading choices. Next year I want to lessen that. More Non-Fiction! Maybe a couple more books geared towards adults. And, I still want to read graphic novels. I enjoyed a couple of the ones I read during the year any my 37 book December stretch and I think its important to know that collection (the same needs to be said for non-fiction).


For those of you non-Goodreads users, below is the list of books I read in 2011. You get to guess on the age group and format.

1	Wicked Appetite	Janet Evanovich
2	Bait	Alex Sanchez
3	City of Bones	Cassandra Clare
4	The Devil's Paintbox	Victoria McKernan
5	Please Ignore Vera Dietz	A.S. King
6	Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature	Robin Brande
7	Annexed	Sharon Dogar
8	The Killing Sea	Richard Lewis
9	Shooting Star	Fredrick McKissak
10	Marcelo in the Real World	Francisco X. Stork
11	Countdown	Deborah Wiles
12	The Doom Machine	Mark Teague
13	The Maze Runner	James Dashner
14	Jumpstart the World	Catherine Ryan Hyde
15	The Rock and the River	Kekla Magoon
16	Jumped	Rita Williams-Garcia
17	The Grimm Legacy	Polly Shulman
18	The Other Half of my Heart	Sundee T. Frazier
1	Extra Credit	Andrew Clements
20	Across the Universe	Beth Ravis
21	Dying to Meet You	Kate Klise
22	Almost Perfect	Brian Katcher
23	City of Ashes	Cassandra Clare
24	Signal	Cynthia DeFelice
25	War Games	Audry Coulumbis
26	North of Beautiful	Justina Chen Headley
27	Troublemaker	Janet Evanovich
28	Herbert's Wormhole	Peter Nelson
29	Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance	Emily Franklin
30	One Crazy Summer	Rita Williams-Garcia
31	Hex Hall	Rachel Hawkins
32	Franny Parker	Hannah Roberts McKinnon
33	Forgive My Fins	Tera Lynn Childs
34	The Rivalry: Mystery at the Army-Navy Game	John Feinstein
35	The Gollywhopper Games	Jody Feldman
36	Knifepoint	Alex Van Tol
37	Metro Girl	Janet Evanovich
38	A Long Walk to Water	Linda Sue Park
39	City of Glass	Cassandra Clare
40	I am Number Four	Pittacus Lore
41	All the Broken Pieces	Ann E. Burg
42	Savvy	Ingrid Law
43	Where the Streets Had A Name	Randa Abdel-Fattah
44	Shutout	Brendan Halpin
45	Slick	Sarah Cassidy
46	Cloaked in Red	Vivian Vande Velde
47	The Gril Who Could Fly	Victoria Foster
48	Jump	Elisa Carbone
49	Demonglass	Rachel Hawkins
50	The Scorch Trials	James Dashner
51	Delirium	Lauren Oliver
52	Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder	Joanne Fluke
53	Scumble	Ingrid Law
54	The Latte Rebellion	Sarah Jamila Stevenson
55	Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture	Peggy Orenstein
56	Strawberry Shortcake Murder	Joanne Fluke
57	Trash	Andy Mulligan
58	Windows on the World	Andrea White
59	The Book of Trees	Leanne Lieberman
60	Blueberry Muffin Murder	Joanne Fluke
61	Scrawl	Mark Shulman
62	Ostrich Boys	Keith Gray
63	Mr. Monk on the Road	Lee Goldberg
64	I am J	Chris Beam
65	Ship Breaker	Paolo Bacigalupi
66	Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats	Bakerella
67	Lemon Meringue Pie Murder	Joanne Fluke
68	Cate of the Lost Colony	Lisa M. Klein
69	The Running Dream	Wendelin Van Draanen
70	The Cardturner: A Novel about a King, a Queen and a Joker	Louis Sachar
71	Reckless	Cornelia Funke
72	Riot	Walter Dean Myers
73	The Fudge Cupcake Murder	Joanne Fluke
74	How Reading Changed My Life	Anna Quindlen
75	Clockwork Angel	Cassandra Clare
76	Take Me To the River	Will Hobbs
77	The Peach Kepper	Sarah Addison Allen
78	Swin the Fly	Don Calame
79	Sugar Cookie Murder	Joanne Fluke
80	How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy	Crystal Allen
81	Peach Cobbler Murder	Joanne Fluke
82	The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place	Maryrose Wood
83	Secret Saturdays	Torrey Maldonado
84	The Hidden Gallery	Maryrose Wood
85	Infinite Days	Rebecca Maizel
86	The Fourth Stall	Chris Rylander
87	Deep and Dark and Dangerous	Mary Downing Hahn
88	Bounce	Natasha Friend
89	The Sheperd's Tale	Zack Wedon
90	Cleopatra	Stacy Schiff
91	The Search for Wondla	Tony DiTerlizzi
92	Binky to the Rescue	Ashley Spires
93	Binky the Space Cat	Ashley Spires
94	Calli	Jessica Lee Anderson
95	Masked	Norah McClintock
96	Better Days	Joss Wedon
97	Aliens on Vacation	Clete Barrett Smith
98	Clarity	Kim Harrington
99	The Emerald Atlas	John Stephens
100	Dead Reckoning	Charlaine Harris
101	Tuesdays at the Castle	Jessica Day George
102	Rot & Ruin	Jonathan Maberry
103	Cherry Cheescake Murder	Joanne Fluke
104	City of Fallen Angels	Cassandra Clare
105	The Queen of Water	Laura Resau
106	Save Me	Lisa Scottoline
107	Shine	Lauren Myracle
108	The Things a Brother Knows	Dana Reinhardt
109	The Trouble with a Half a Moon	Danette Vigilante
110	How to Survive Middle School	Dana Gephart
111	Cruel Love	Kate Brian
112	Crossing Stones	Helen Frost
113	The Eleventh Plague	Jeff Hirsch
114	The Great Death	John E. Smelcer
115	Forever	Maggie Stiefvater
116	Three Rivers Rising	Jame Richards
117	The Throne of Fire	Rick Riordan
118	Cool Girls Quilt: More Than 15 Fresh, Fun and Funky Projects	Linda Lum Debono
119	How to Ditch Your Fairy	Justine Larbalestier
120	Beautiful Creatures	Kami Garcia
121	Wish	Joseph Monninger
122	Slob	Ellen Porter
123	Hidden	Helen Frost
124	Wonderstruck	Brian Selznick
125	The Everything Baby Shower Book	Jennifer Jenkins
126	Uncommon Criminals	Ally Carter
127	The Dead Boys	Royce Buckingham
128	Alchemy and Meggy Swann	Karen Cushman
129	Boyfriends with Girlfriends	Alex Sanchez
130	A Stolen Life	Jaycee Dugard
131	Over My Dead Body	Kate Klise
132	My Life Undecided	Jessica Brody
133	Bystander	James Preller
134	Ninth Ward	Jewell Parker Rhodes
135	Grace	Elizabeth Scott
136	Between Shades of Gray	Ruta Sepetys
137	The Accidental Genius of Weasel High	Rick Detoire
138	Close to Famous	Joan Bauer
139	Bras & Broomsticks	Sarah Mlynowski
140	Smokin' Seventeen	Janet Evanovich
141	All These Things I've Done	Gabrielle Zevin
142	Dead End in Norvelt	Jack Gantos
143	Daughter of Smoke and Bone	Laini Taylor
144	Virals	Kathy Reichs
145	Is It Night or Day	Fern Schumer Chapman
146	Chomp	Carl Hiaasen
147	Stuck on Earth	Davis Klass
148	Home Invasion	Monique Polak
149	The Power of Six	Pittacus Lore
150	Till Death Do Us Bark	Kate Klise
151	Jane	April Lindner
152	Box Out	John Coy
153	Paranormalcy	Kiesten White
154	Notes from the Blender	Trish Cook
155	Bewitching Season	Marissa Doyle
156	Queen of the Dead	Stacey Kade
157	A Countess Below Stairs	Eva Ibbotson
158	Chosen Ones	Alister E. McGrath
159	Darkness Shall Fall	Alister E. McGrath
160	Famous	Todd Strasser
161	The Water Wars	Cameron Stracher
162	Wrapped	Jennifer Bradbury
163	Pink	Lili Wilkinson
164	Raised by Wolves	Jennifer Lynn Barnes
165	Half Brother	Kenneth Oppel
166	Rival	Sara Bennett Wealer
167	Revolution	Jennifer Donnelly
168	Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone	J.K. Rowling
169	Identical	Ellen Hopkins
170	Rescuing Seneca Crane	Susan Runholt
171	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	J.K. Rowling
172	Radiance	Alyson Noel
173	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	J.K. Rowling
174	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	J.K. Rowling
175	Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix	J.K. Rowling
176	Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince	J.K. Rowling
177	Throne of Fire	Rick Riordan
178	Trapped	Michael Northrop
179	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows	J.K. Rowling
180	Wisdom's Kiss	Catherine Gilbert Murdock
181	Hold Me Closer, Necromancer	Lish McBride
182	The Always War	Margaret Peterson Haddix
183	Enthusiasm	Polly Shulman
184	Trial by Fire	Jennifer Lynn Barnes
185	Binky Under Pressure	Ashley Spires
186	Shot in the Buff, Murder in a Nudist Camp	Joan Dash
187	She Loves You, She Loves You Not	Julie Anne Peters
188	What Happened to Goodbye	Sarah Dessen
189	Prized	Caragh O'Brien
190	My Life as a Book	Janet Tashjian
191	Powerless	Matthew Cody
192	A Tale Dark and Grimm	Adam Gidwitz
193	The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg	Rodman Philbrick
194	Dreams of Significant Girls	Cristina Garcia
195	Baseball Great	Tim Green
196	I am Number Four: The Lost Files: Six's Legacy	Pittacus Lore
197	Where the Mountain Meets the Moon	Grace Lin
198	Born to Fly	Michael Ferrari
199	Because of Mr. Terupt	Rob Buyea
200	Fins are Forever	Tera Lynn Childs
201	Dust and Decay	Jonathan Maberry
202	Wither	Lauren DeStefano
203	The Wonder of Charlie Anne	Kimberly Newton Fusco
204	Girl, Stolen	April Henry
205	The Son of Neptune	Rick Riordan
206	My Life in Pink and Green	Lisa Greenwald
207	Akata Witch	Nnedi Okorafor
208	Explosive Eighteen	Janet Evanovich
209	Stir It Up	Ramin Ganeshram
210	Fracture	Megan Miranda
211	The Lady of the Rivers	Philippa Gregory
212	For Keeps	Natasha Friend
213	Divergent	Veronica Roth
214	Hooked	Catherine Greenman
215	Crossed	Ally Condie
216	Drowning Instinct	Ilsa J. Bick
217	Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty	G. Neri
218	A Monster Calls	Patrick Ness
219	Tortured	Caragh O'Brien
220	Snow in Summer: The Tale of an American Snow White	Jane Yolen
221	Kin	Holly Black
222	Au Revoir, Crazy Eurpean Chick	Joe Schreiber
223	The Girl is Murder	Kathryn Miller Hynes
224	Kith	Holly Black
225	Tatto	Jennifer Lynn Barnes
226	Birdhouse	Vernon White
227	Green Witch	Alice Hoffman
228	Kind	Holly Black
229	Sweet Evil	Wendy Higgins
230	The Death Cure	James Dashner
231	The Book of the Maidservant	Rebecca Barnhouse
232	Where I Belong	Gillian Cross
233	Double Eagle	B. Collard Sneed, III
234	Missouri Boy	Leland Myrick
235	Tales of the Vampires	Joss Wedon
236	A Brief History of Montmaray	Michelle Cooper
237	The FitzOsbornes in Exile	Michelle Cooper
238	Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians	Brandon Sanderson
239	The Plain Janes	Cecil Castellucci
240	Clubbing	Andi Watson
241	Liar	Justine Larbalestier
242	Illegal	Bettina Restrepo
243	Fractured Fables	Jim Valentino
244	Nowhere Girl	A.J. Paquette
245	My Faith in Frankie	Mike Carey
246	Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood	Marjane Satrapi
247	Love in a Nutshell	Janet Evanovich
248	Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return	Marjane Satrapi
249	Skim	Mariko Tamaki
250	The 100 Best Affortable Vacations	Jane Wooldridge

2012 Goodreads Reading Challenge

Just because I said I was going to read fewer books this year, doesn't mean that I'm not going to set my sights high. My reading goal for 2012 is 225 books. However, that is a soft goal. If I can reach it by October-ish, I may try to up it to 250. But, I want to have time to accomplish a few more things this year, and maybe participate in NaNoWriMo. Its January 4th, and I've already read 3 books. I might just make it.

I'm also challenging the teens at my library to set their own reading goals for 2012. And to keep with it, we are going to have a big celebration for those that meet their goals. I'm really excited about it.

2011 Goodreads Reading Challenge Complete!

I did it, I read 250 books in 2011. And yes, it was more difficult than I want to admit.

37 of those books were read in December. That is an awful lot while trying to prepare for Christmas, Christmas Eve and the post Christmas family party. And yes I had to read many graphic novels and listen to audio books while frantically baking and cleaning the house. (Nothing is better than baking while listening to an audiobook!)

I'm proud I managed, but next year I can't fall behind during the summer, and I need to not have that pressure during the holidays and I'm going to set my sights lower, at least for one year.