Friday, December 30, 2011

Kellee's 42 (+15) Best Books of 2011

2011 was a fabulous year.  I joined Jen here on Teach Mentor Texts, my Twitter PLN has grown tremendously and I was lucky enough to be able to go to NCTE/ALAN again.   So, to celebrate the year I wanted to do a best of 2011 post.  

Now, this is one of the hardest posts that I have ever done.  I've started 4 times and just could not figure out how I wanted to share my best of as there were so many great books this year.  But, finally, I decided on a Oscar-esque type best of list with many different categories.  

So *drum roll* here is my list:

Young Adult

Best YA Realistic Fiction Novel of 2011
Shine
Shine by Lauren Myracle

Best YA Sci-Fi Novel of 2011
Divergent (Divergent, #1)   Awaken (Awaken, #1)   Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)   Delirium (Delirium, #1)   Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)  Enclave (Razorland, #1)
Divergent by Veronica Roth 
Runner ups: All of the other dystopian novels of 2011 I've enjoyed- Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky, 
Wither by Lauren DeStefano, Delirium by Lauren Oliver, Across the Universe by Beth Revis, 
Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Best YA Novel in Verse of 2011
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic   Under the Mesquite   Perfect (Impulse, #2)
Runner ups: Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Best YA Fantasy Novel of 2011
A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Best YA Horror Novel of 2011
Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)   Ashes (Ashes Trilogy, #1)
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Runner up: Ashes by Ilsa Bick

Best YA Humor Novel of 2011
Beauty Queens
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (though it was scarily serious as well as hilarious.)

Best YA Graphic Novel of 2011
Anya's Ghost   Page by Paige
Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Runner up: Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Best YA Historical Fiction Novel of 2011
Forge (Seeds of America, #2)
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Best YA Sequel of 2011
Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)
Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Best YA Survival Novel of 2011
Lost in the River of Grass

Middle Grade

Best MG Realistic Fiction Novel of 2011
   Okay for Now
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

Best MG Fantasy Novel of 2011
Bigger than a Bread Box   Breadcrumbs
Bigger than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder 
Runner up: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Best MG Historical Fiction Novel of 2011
Wonderstruck   Woods Runner
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick 
Runner up: Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Best Overlooked MG Novel of 2011
Down the Mysterly River
Under the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham

Best MG Picture Book of 2011
I Want My Hat Back
I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Best MG Humor Novel of 2011
Darth Paper Strikes Back (Origami Yoda #2)
Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger

Best MG Graphic Novel of 2011
Squish: Super Amoeba (Squish, #1)   Squish: Brave New Pond (Squish, #2)
Squish #1 & #2 by Matt and Jenni Holm

Children's & Picture Books

Best Children's Chapter Book of 2011
Marty McGuire (Marty McGuire #1)   Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace
Marty McGuire by Kate Messner
Runner up: Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace by Eric Wight

Best Fiction Picture Book of 2011
Should I Share My Ice Cream?  Happy Pig Day!   I Broke My Trunk!    Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator!
Should I Share my Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
Runner ups: Happy Pig Day! I Broke my Trunk! & Horray for Amanda and her Alligator! by Mo Willems

Best Nonfiction Picture Book of 2011
Can We Save the Tiger?   Seabird in the Forest
Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins 
Runner up: Seabird in the Forest by Joan Dunning

Miscellaneous

Best Final Book of a Trilogy of 2011
Everfound (Skinjacker, #3)   The Dark and Hollow Places (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #3)
Everfound by Neal Shusterman
Runner up: The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Best Finale Book of a Series of 2011
Scorpia Rising (Alex Rider #9)
Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz

Best Audio Book of 2011
The Emerald Atlas (The Books of Beginning #1)   Red Glove (Curse Workers, #2)
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens, narrated by Jim Dale
Runner up: Red Glove by Holly Black, narrated by Jesse Eisenberg

Read this year, but not published in 2011

Top 15 Novels/Books I Read in 2011 (that aren't from 2011) in no particular order
Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest (Sticky Burr #1)Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My DaughtersBruiserThe OdysseyAnna and the French KissA Tale Dark and GrimmMockingbirdSugar and Ice
Luka and the Fire of LifeOut of My MindChalkThe Kissing HandThe Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques CousteauThirteen Reasons WhyTiger Eyes (Mass Market Paperback)

Sticky Burr #1 by John Lechner
Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
The Odyssey Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner
Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Chalk by Bill Thomson
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

I hope you enjoyed my best books of 2011 list!
What was your favorite book from this year? 

Happy new year! 

Here's to another year of great books, lots of reading and fabulous friends, 

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