Seriously Series Reading Challenge 2014

The Seriously Series Reading Challenge is hosted by Kelly at Reading the Paranormal and you can sign up at this link. I am going to try for Semi-Serious in all categories.

	series started before 2014	series started in 2014	series rereads
Semi-Serious	1-6 series	1-6	1-6
Seriously Serious	7-12	7-12	7-12
Super Seriously Serious	13-18	13-18	13-18
Seriously Spectacular Series Star	18+	18+	18+

FYI, reading novellas and short stories from a series does count here -- if you want it to!
I hope to reread the The Kane Chronicles by Riordan and the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events. I am going to reread the Alchemyst series by Michael Scott, but I already reread the first book this year, so I don't know if I can count that series for this challenge. For the series started before 2014, I would like to finish the Iron Fey series by Kagawa, the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, the Heroes of Olympus series by Riordan, and the Legend trilogy by Lu. I am not for sure what series I  will start in 2014 and I will probably add more choices to the other two categories.
I will keep track of my progress here.

My Best Books of 2013

I had several favorites this year and several more books I wish I could have read this year! I still hope to finish a book or two before Wednesday, but I don't think they will beat my current picks.

My favorite book of 2013 was Prodigy by Marie Lu!

Favorite Stand-alones
1. Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

HarperTeen

I loved her Paranormalcy series and her Mind Games series is great too! In Chaos of Stars I loved her take on Egyptian mythology and what life would be like for a mortal child with immortal parents. I loved the character of Isadora and her angry vulnerability. Obviously with the number of quotes in my review, you can tell I loved this book!

2. Towering by Alex Flinn

HarperTeen

I love Flinn's retellings and this one based on Rapunzel was beautiful! I love how she twisted the use of rampion in the story and how she played with the idea of villains. I used this as part of Classic Double Challenge and my review is here.

3. Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Farrar, Staus, Giroux

A dark twist on mermaid lore, this was a read I really didn't think I would like. It was a Random Read choice and despite its darkness, I loved it. The twists with ghosts, history, and love were breathtaking at times. My review is here.

Favorite Junior Fiction: I limited this to one book and I realize I need to read more junior fiction or middle grades fiction as most people call it.

1. Jinx by Sage Blackwood

HarperCollins

This was my January Random Read choice and one of the first books I read in 2013. I loved the dry humor and the way good and evil was presented. Blackwood's writing style sucks you in and I hope to read the second book in the series early in January! My review is here.

Favorite Adult Fiction read:

1. Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Mulholland Books

I picked this up because it is JK Rowling, but even if it wasn't written by her, it would still be my favorite adult read. Strike and Robin are interesting and likeable characters and they mystery reminded me of Agatha Christie with a bit more language. Reviewed here.

Favorite YA reads:

1. Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

Razorbill

The characters were great and I liked that you don't know who can be trusted, even at the end of the book. I like how she played with mythology and the idea of a fallen goddess. I enjoyed her Wings series, but I think this series will be even better. Reviewed here.

2. Hero by Althea Kontis

Harcourt

This had one of my favorite characters, Sunday! She is brave, not very girly, and extremely stubborn. I love that this was a damsel saves boy story and I can't wait until the next in the series! I reviewed it here.

3. Looking for Alaska by John Green

Speak

Wow, his books are deep and unfortunately leave me with severe book hangover. He is a great author with complex and flawed characters. I love the quirky male characters and wish the girls had a bit more depth to them. However what they lack in depth, they make up for with their flaws. I am definitely going to read Fault in Our Stars next year, because I want to meet Hazel. Reviewed here.

Favorite Series books:

1. Prodigy by Marie Lu

Putnam

I literally gasped at the end of this book. The end quotes are beautiful and June and Day could not be better characters. I will be tackling Champion in January for sure and can't believe I haven't got to it yet! Review here.

2. House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Hyperion Books

I think as long as he writes a book a year, he will always be on my list. This one seemed to have a bit more controversy than the others at least for some of the library patrons. I love the way he uses mythology and the characters he creates. I am glad he showed the flaws his heroes have in this book and I was glad to see Piper and Frank embracing their strengths. Reviewed here.

3. Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross

Harlequin Teen

I look forward to each Steampunk Chronicles book and am really attached to the characters. I love that there are some really strong female characters in this series! Reviewed here.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This book has been on my shelf for at least 5 years, possibly more. I was lucky enough to meet John at the McConnell Conference and have this book signed, but still I let it sit for another 3 years. I finally read it and of course loved it and have waited almost a month to sit down and write the review. I am not for sure what is wrong with me, but finally I am going to review it. I usually have to sit awhile and think after reading one of Green's books, because they are very deep and there is so much to deliberate about.

Miles is tired of his mundane high school experience and is excited to try life at a boarding school, a school his father attended and remembers with fondness. Miles loves last lines, words that people speak with their dying breaths and loves reading biographies. He is particularly attracted to the idea of a "Great Perhaps," that we should find the path that leads to our destiny and not regret a thing. For Miles, one great perhaps is Alaska. Alaska, along with Takumi, the Colonel, and Lara, are friends Miles makes at boarding school, but more importantly they are the ones who help him truly live. When the unthinkable happens, Miles and his friends must learn to live with their mistakes, but also learn that life goes on even in the face of loss.

Wow is about all I can say about this book. It was heartbreaking and wonderful and breaks you and rebuilds you within its 200 or so pages. I read this almost entirely in one sitting and felt a little lost when I finished it. I love that he divided the book into a before and after and that although the characters are shattered, there is still hope. I am trying to write this review without spoilers and it is very difficult, but that is about all I can say without getting into spoilers.

Favorite Character: Probably Takumi, he is a caring character and even though he also messes up in the story, he seems to be the one who genuinely cares about the rest of them. I love all of the flawed characters in the book and you can't help but love them, even when it is hard to like them.

Favorite Quotes: Wow, this is an extremely hard one. I could just put almost the entire book in quotes and be done with it, but I will try to pick.
"If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless."
"But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail."

This book makes you think about so many things, life, death, growth, mistakes, and forgiveness. It speaks to both teens and adults, because it is fairly true to life and loss. 5 cups of cocoa!

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

 

I read this to discuss with my high school book group and only two of us finished it. :( The girls did tell me they prefer fantasy/sci-fi, so I have ordered The Adoration of Jenna Fox for the next meeting. I am just excited that they want to meet at the library and discuss books, since I have a difficult time getting teens to come to programs for them. They are great volunteer helpers though. I really enjoyed my first Sarah Dessen book and I am glad I finally picked one up to read.

Auden has spent her whole life preparing academically for the future. Her parents are divorced and her brother tends to flit through life with no plan in mind, something his parents admire about him. From Auden they expect perfection and for her to be a mature adult who will do whatever they want her to do. When her brother sends her a graduation gift of a picture frame with a picture of himself inside and the words Best of Times across the top, Auden realizes she hasn't had any best of times. She decides to go visit her father, step-mother Heidi, and newborn half-sister Thisbe at their beach house in the hopes of having a fun summer. She comes into the situation feeling like she is superior to everyone, but as days go on, she realizes she has never truly lived. She meets Eli who is trying to cope with the death of his best friend and he teaches her how to be a child and how to create the best of times that she has missed. Along the way, she realizes life is not always serious and you have to risk failing to truly live.

I loved the family dynamics in the book and the various friendships in the book. The girls who work for Heidi are great and are very accepting of Auden. I love how the book revolves around the shops, particularly the Gas/Gro, and how the group makes their snack purchasing decisions. This would be the perfect summer read and it was still good as a winter read.

Favorite Character: I loved Maggie, who becomes Auden's best friend by the end of the book. Maggie is fearless, but loving. She is smart, but also able to talk endlessly about fashion. Like Auden, you judge her one way at the beginning of the story, but like Auden, you realize who she really is by the end of the book.

Favorite Quotes: "You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence."
"Failing sucks. But it's better than the alternative. Which is? Not even trying."

I really enjoyed this story! It was cute, but in certain ways also deep. 4.5 cups of cocoa!

End of the Year Read-a-thon Wrapup

I finished 3 books, Call Me Mrs. Miracle, Along for the Ride, and The Alchemyst and completed 5 mini-challenges. My total pages read was 1132 pages which is great for me! Overall not a bad read-a-thon. I still have several books I need to read before the end of the year, but this was a good start. Thanks to Dana and Jen for hosting!

Mrs. Miracle and Call Me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

I read both of these for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge. I have seen both of the movies and loved them, so I wanted to give the books a try. These are also the first Debbie Macomber books I have read, so I used Mrs. Miracle as a New Author read.

In Mrs. Miracle, we are introduced to Seth, a single dad who is raising twin boys. Seth is a widower who has closed his heart to love and rarely talks to his boys about their mother. The other main character is Reba, who was betrayed by her sister and refuses to forgive her. In order to remind these two about the beauty of Christmas, Mrs. Emily Merkle appears as a nanny for the twins. Mrs. Miracle as the boys call her works to try to bring Seth and Reba together and to remind them of the power of family and love. Mrs. Miracle also works to bring together Seth's in-laws whose marriage has crumbled since the death of their daughter. Can Mrs. Miracle work her magic and bring the couples together?

In Call Me Mrs. Miracle, Jake is the heir of Finley's department store and currently running the toy department. He wants to make his father proud and makes a risky purchase for the store. He is going to need a miracle to sell 500 robots before Christmas and of course his miracle is Mrs. Miracle. Jake and his father also need help remembering the joy of Christmas, since they have avoided it after the death of Jake's mother and sister. Holly is trying to raise her nephew, Gabe, while his father is fighting in Afghanistan and works under a demanding boss who desperately wants to be loved herself. Gabe's one desire for Christmas is one of the expensive robots that Jake has in his department store. Can Mrs. Miracle bring Jake and Holly together and give Gabe the greatest present of all?

Favorite Quote: "To forgive is to set the prisoner free and then to discover the prisoner was you. Mrs. Miracle"

Both stories are heartwarming and simple stories of Christmas joy. Mrs. Miracle shows the value of forgiveness and how hate can ruin our lives. Call Me Mrs. Miracle shows how a little faith and love can make all the difference. They are the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit and great, quick and easy reads. I think Mrs. Miracle was my favorite of the two, because you could not help rooting for Seth and Reba to open their hearts again. Mrs. Emily Merkle (Miracle) is a great character and I hope Debbie Macomber writes more of her stories! 4 cups of cocoa for both!

End of the Year Read-a-thon Update: Day 12-14

Day 12:
Currently reading:  Call Me Mrs. Miracle, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, Scarlet
Pages read: Call Me Mrs. Miracle- 85 pages and finished!, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover- 35 pages, Scarlet- 4 pages
Books finished: 3

Day 13:
Currently reading: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, Queste, Scarlet
Pages read: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover- 18 pages, Queste- 55 pages, Scarlet- 6 pages

Day 14:
Currently reading: Queste, Forest of Hands and Teeth, Splintered
Pages read: Queste- 12 pages, Forest of Hands and Teeth- 36 pages, Splintered- 22 pages