Sexiest Book Alive, 2010

Confession: I am a magazine junkie. I control my habit, and don’t subscribe myself—they’re always gifts and, as such, are justifiable non-expense-related household necessities.

The magazines currently being delivered to various family members at my address include Elle (for the 15-year-old), Sports Illustrated Kids (for the 12-year-old), Parents (for managing the almost-2-year-old), Esquire (for the husband), Golf Digest (also for the husband), National Geographic (for general culture and book ideas…see THIS post), The J. Peterman Catalogue (it totally counts as a magazine, and it’s FREE! Click HERE!), and a weekly People (thank you to my college roommate Sheena!).

When I received a recent People, it happened to be the Sexiest Man Alive issue. I flipped through and noted that the majority were actors, but they try to slip in credentials that aren’t related to acting, classic model faces, or flashy abs. Men who give to charity are sexy. Funny men are sexy. Good fathers are sexy. You get the idea.

Well, it got me wondering what the annual Sexiest Book Alive list would look like for MG/YA books, and who would win the cover shot. Would it be fun & sassy young adult fiction, hilarious middle grade, scary dystopian, or even scarier issue-driven contemporary? Would it include a quiet, well-received book with a big fat chunk of heart? Would it be a Wal-Mart book (i.e., a place you can buy a lobster, tire, and pair of underwear under the same roof), with every element to speak of—adventure, suspense, mystery, romance, sci-fi, humor, horror (FYI, I wondered if I should hyphenate Wal-Mart, and Microsoft Word informed me that I should…because Wal-Mart is in its spell check…wow)? Or would it be a small, boutique book that talked about one thing, doing it incredibly well?

Here are some of the favorite MGs/YAs of the year, based on Amazon sales, American Library Association picks, the Goodreads list, and others sources (these include novels that were published between September and December of 2009 as well). If you’ve got a minute, I’d love to hear your thoughts on which novels would make the list of 2010 Sexiest Book Alive, and, if you’ve got a winner in mind, who would make the cover this year.

City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
Fallen, Lauren Kate
Linger, Maggie Stiefvater
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green, David Levithan
Rules of Attraction, Simone Elkeles
The Search for WondLa, Tony DiTerlizzi
The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan
The Night Fairy, Laura Amy Schlitz
Countdown, Deborah Wiles
Museum of Thieves, Lian Tanner
Mockingbird, Kathryn Erskine **(I loved this one)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, Jeff Kinney
The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan
Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, Kristin O’Donnell Tubb

Again, these are just a very few, so please chime in with your favorites!

Have a wonderful week, and congrats to everyone who participated in NaNoWriMo!