Top Ten 2014 Books I Read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday, participating book bloggers blog about their top ten lists.

 

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This is probably going to be a rehashing of all the authors and books I’ve spazzed about on the last post XD

2014 was a great reading year for me. I got back into reading, discovered YA and the book blogosphere, and started this blog! After creating this blog, I read way more than I did before, and broke my Goodreads reading goal a lot faster than I thought I would (which wasn’t too big by the way).

For books with reviews, I’ll link them. I’ll describe my initial thoughts on a book if I did not write one.

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1. Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta

Amazing. Go read.

Jellicoe Road Review

2. Complicit – Stephanie Kuehn

Mindfuck of the year award.

Complicit Review

3. This Side of Salvation – Jeri Smith-Ready

Fed my enjoyment of books that talk about religion in a non-preachy manner.

My review

4. Torn Away – Jennifer Brown

Made me cry.

My review

5. The Glass Castle -Jeannette Walls

Heartbreaking and poignant. This book was all about a girl’s struggle to escape her parent’s bad parenting and her terrible economic background. It made me eternally grateful for everything my parents have done for me.

6. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

I have not reviewed this yet, but it will be in a large compilation of mini-reviews. I recently finished this for a school project and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved every detail of Scout’s childhood life and the theme that Lee tried to convey.

7. Game – Barry Lyga

This was the sequel to I Hunt Killers. Need I say more?

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Since I’m struggling with naming 10 books I actually liked enough to win a spot on this list, I’ll list three books that I hated with a fiery passion.

1. The View From the Top – Hillary Frank

This is what I get for picking up a book and reading it purely based on the cover.

My angry, rant-y review on Goodreads.

2. We Were Liars – E. Lockhart

I’m the black sheep in the crowd.

We Were Liars Review

3. The Here and Now – Ann Brashares

Logic errors and an unnecessary beach trip.

The Here and Now Review

[Review] Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek – Maya van Wagenen

Author: Maya Van Wagenen

Series: None

Publication Date: April 15th, 2014

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Number of Pages: 272

Genre: Memoirs, YA, Contemporary, Non-Fiction

Source: School library

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Summary

A touchingly honest, candidly hysterical memoir from breakout teen author Maya Van Wagenen

Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular?

The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise—meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence.