2015: Books Read & Loved

Hello! Hope you're all doing well as the year comes to a close.

Okay, here (in no particular order) are some of the books that I've read and enjoyed throughout 2015. Most of these were first-time reads, others were nostalgic re-reads (e.g., Karen Cushman, Rita Williams-Garcia, Sharon Creech). Feel free to chime in with your favorite books of the year!

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MIDDLE GRADE:

A Nearer Moon, Melanie Crowder

The Stars of Summer, Tara Dairman (2nd in a series~ Gladys Gatsby is SUCH a lovable protagonist)

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, Kelly Jones

Wish Girl, Nikki Loftin

Switch, Ingrid Law (LOVED this whole series- Savvy and Scumble are the first 2)
Bridget Wilder, Spy in Training, Jonathan Bernstein

The Astounding Broccoli Boy, Frank Cottrell Boyce (one of my fav authors!)

Fuzzy Mud, Louis Sachar

Stella by Starlight, Sharon Draper

The Hollow Boy: Lockwood & Co., Jonathan Stroud (LOVE this series)

The Blackthorn Key, Kevin Sands (great start to a new series)

Goodbye Stranger, Rebecca Stead

The Truth about Twinkie Pie, Kat Yeh

Secrets of Selkie Bay, Shelley Moore Thomas

Gracefully Grayson, Ami Polonsky

MORE MIDDLE GRADE:



Circus Mirandus, Cassie Beasley

The War that Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Wolf Wilder, Katherine Rundell

Curiosity House, the Shrunken Head, Lauren Oliver and H.C. Chester

Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech

Love that Dog, Sharon Creech

The Unmapped Sea, Maryrose Wood

The Thing About Jellyfish, Ali Benjamin

The Friendship Riddle, Megan Frazer Blakemore

Crenshaw, Katherine Applegate

Roller Girl, Victoria Jamieson

Rules for Stealing Stars, Corey Ann Haydu

Lost in the Sun, Lisa Graff

The Detective’s Assistant, Kate Hannigan

The Thickety: The Whispering Trees, J.A. White

MORE MIDDLE GRADE:

Gone Crazy in Alabama, Rita Williams-Garcia (another series I've LOVED)

PS Be Eleven, Rita Williams-Garcia
One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia

Arcady’s Goal, Eugene Yelchin

Finding Ruby Starling, Karen Rivers

George, Alex Gino

Sunny Side Up, Jenni Holm

Milo Speck, Accidental Agent, Linda Urban

Moonpenny Island, Tricia Springstubb

Echo, Pam Munoz Ryan

Dragon’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, Laurence Yep and Joanne Ryder

A Plague of Boggles, Catherine Jinks
Jinx's Fire, Sage Blackwood (EXCELLENT series!)

MORE MIDDLE GRADE:



Stella By Starlight, Sharon Draper

Blue Birds, Caroline Starr Rose
The Key that Swallowed Joey Pigza, Jack Gantos

Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times, Emma Trevayne
Catherine, Called Birdy, Karen Cushman

Alchemy and Meggy Swann, Karen Cushman

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, Bette Bao Lord *Childhood Favorite

Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, Elizabeth Varadan *Wonderful voice!

YOUNG ADULT:

The Storyspinner, Becky Wallace (LOVED this, sequel is out in March)
Bone Gap, Laura Ruby
See No Color, Shannon Gibney
Shadowshaper, Daniel José Older

More Happy Than Not, Adam Silvera

Mark of the Thief, Jennifer Nielsen

Boxers/Saints, Gene Luen Yang (got these books signed at an event!)

Instructions for the End of the World, Jamie Kain

American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang

The Hired Girl, Laura Amy Schlitz (MG/YA cusp)

Audacity, Melanie Crowder

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton

I’ll Give you the Sun, Jandy Nelson

Lies We Tell Ourselves, Robin Talley

Jumped, Rita Williams-Garcia

Mortal Heart, Robin LaFevers

NONFICTION:

Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, Mahzarin A. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald

Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay

Bossypants, Tina Fey

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns), Mindy Khaling
Two Roads to Augusta, Ben Crenshaw, Carl Jackson, Melanie Hauser


ADULT FICTION:

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
Pretty Baby, Mary Kubica
Dodger, Terry Pratchett (YA, but I think it's great with any audience)
Chocolat, Joanne Harris
Shopaholic to the Stars, Sophie Kinsella
Queen of Babble series, Meg Cabot
The Martian, Andy Weir
The Fair Fight, Anna Freeman (still reading, but LOVING)

MISC. (not sure where these fit~ loved them!):



Shaun Tan books- The Arrival, Lost and Found, The Lost Thing
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Happy New Year! My next post will be about some 2016 books that I'm looking forward to.

To You and Yours...

Happy Holidays!

I'm planning a post about the middle grade and YA books I've read in 2015 (and the ones I'm looking forward to in 2016~spoiler, HUGE anticipation for the newest Karen Cushman book, as she's one of my major literary crushes), but for now, I'll leave you with a few photos from my holiday season.

Stockings 'round the fake fireplace

Snowmen & elves strewn everywhere

Wassail simmering on stove

Walnuts for roasting! (much tastier than chestnuts, in my opinion)

Cookie stealing: A holiday tradition at our house

Lots of snow! I'm asking Santa for a garage this Christmas...

Getting together with family (I'm 3rd from the right)

All the beasties!

The wee beasties love playing in the snow

Hope your holidays are filled with love, happiness, and maybe a little magic!