My Favorite Reads from 2013...so far.

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FROM THE DESK OF E. KRISTIN ANDERSON:

So I thought I'd put something here so that you wouldn't have to stare at 18-year-old-me in a cap and gown anymore. I know, I know, it's just...too much.

2013 went by fast.  And everyone says that, and it's annoying and stupid, but it's true.  I measure my years in a lot of things -- trips and events, friends' birthdays, seasons and weather, TV schedules (hey, I love stories in all formats) and, of course, in books.  I feel like it was way too recent that I was picking up books from my January 2013 pile...too recent for me to be looking at books from my January 2014 pile and deciding what's next.

Anyway, I thought I'd give a little run down of my favorite books from 2013.  Not necessarily books that came out in 2013.  But books I read this year.  I don't really want to write a ton about each book either, so I hope you can live with me just making a list and showing some pretty covers and a sentence or two.  Let's face it -- you don't have time to be reading my blog, anyway.  You have wrapping and baking and avoiding Great-Aunt-So-And-So to do.  So here you go.  My faves of 2013, in honest-to-goodness no particular order.

eganavisitfromthegoonsquadPB
Anchor, Paperback Edition, March 2011.

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan
I read this book -- a grown-up book! -- when I joined the Pulitzer Remix project and was assigned this text from which to create 30 found poems.  I loved the many, many narrators in the story, the non-linear format, and, of course, the lyrical prose.

Putnam Juvenile, October 2013.
Putnam Juvenile, October 2013.

PICTURE ME GONE by Meg Rosoff
I love Meg Rosoff to bits and pieces.  I loved THERE IS NO DOG, her previous novel.  PICTURE ME GONE is super different, and it also features a narrator that should be too young for YA.  But somehow, this mystery suits a narrator who is wise beyond her years. I also loved the little illustrations and photos throughout the story, the tidbits about translation, and the family dynamics that the characters explore.

Cooper Dillon Books, August 2012.
Cooper Dillon Books, January 2012.

RUINING THE NEW ROAD by William Matthews
William Matthews is one of my favorite poets.  Ever.  And this was his first ever book.  It was recently re-issued, and the poems are everything I love about William Matthews -- sarcastic, funny, heart-wrenching, honest, accessible, and nuanced.

Touchstone, October 2013.
Touchstone, October 2013.

HYPERBOLE AND A HALF by Allie Brosh
If you don't know the blog, go away.  Seriously, go read that instead of this.  It's brilliant.  And the book is everything that the blog is, and then some.  I laughed so hard I scared my cat.  Given, this particular cat is much like the author's "simple" dog.  But, you know. It really was that funny.  And truthful.  And all the things.

Squarefish, Paperback Edition, September 2013.
Squarefish, Paperback Edition, September 2013.

FREAK by Marcella Pixley
I don't know how it took me this long to find this book.  A good friend of mine leant me her copy and I read it in one sitting.  It is the viscerally real story of a middle schooler being bullied to the point of self-destruction.  And it hit home for me in a way that a book like this should.
 

Algonquin Young Readers, August 2013.
Algonquin Young Readers, August 2013.

IF YOU COULD BE MINE by Sara Farizan
This book has stuck with me since I first picked it up. Taking place in Iran, it's the story of two girls in love.  With each other. And Iran is not a good place to be a girl in love with another girl.  I found it fascinating, the way the protagonist navigates both the landscape of her family and neighborhood culture and the landscape of the "underground" LGBTQ culture. This is a must read for all humans.

Simon Pulse, June 2013. 
Simon Pulse, June 2013.

OVER YOU by Amy Reed
I really like friendship stories.  I love stories of toxic friendship.  A friendship that saps the life out of a girl.  A fair-weather friend.  A friend who is a true-and-not-like-in-hollywood frenemy.  I've had those friends.  It's terrible and frightening when you realize the truth.  And this is a book about that truth.  And also moms and hippies and stepping out of your comfort zone.  So good.

St. Martin's Griffin, February 2013. 
St. Martin's Griffin, February 2013.

ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell
Are you one of the 6 people left in the English-speaking world that hasn't read this book yet?  Seriously, you should get on that.  It's laught-out-loud funny and also completely heartbreaking and also some of the cleverest writing I've seen in years.  YEARS.

Disney-Hyperion, March 2013.
Disney-Hyperion, March 2013.

POISON by Bridget Zinn
I didn't read a ton of high fantasy this year, but I'm glad that POISON is one of the fantasies I picked up.  I loved the plucky heroine, and of course the magical pig with which she has to save the kingdom.  I loved the pie jokes.  And the poison-making.  And the magic and the mystery.  I hate that Bridget isn't with us anymore to write us new stories.  I love that she got to share this one.

 Soho Teen, May 2013.
Soho Teen, May 2013.

THE SWEET DEAD LIFE by Joy Preble
Gross stoner older brother turned guardian angel.  Also, amazing red cowboy boots.  And a murder mystery.  What else do you want?  Seriously.
 
Philomel, July 2013.
Philomel, July 2013.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING by Kari Luna
This book is so cute that if it were a cat it would have its own YouTube channel.  And that YouTube channel would go so viral that somehow the cat would end up getting it's on network television show.  But it's not a kitten.  It's a book.  And it has things like shaman pandas and whale pockets and theoretical physics and mix tapes.  See?  Cute.  Also hilarious and heart-wrenching, but...super super sweet.

Simon Pulse, January 2013. 
Simon Pulse, January 2013.

TEETH by Hannah Moskowitz
There is something about the way this lady writes.  It gets under your skin.  And her stories about families and siblings always tug at your heart strings.  But when you throw in a bromance-maybe-love-story in which one of the characters is a fish boy (and kind of a jerk)...well, that's magic.  Complete, literary magic.

What were your favorite reads of this year?  Let me know in the comments!


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LionesseRampant's avatar
I WANT ALLIE'S BOOK SO BADLY. I saw it in the mall a few weeks ago but I didn't have enough for it. :P Eventually. Eventually.