Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books when you need something light & fun

Georgia Nicolson (series) - Louise Rennison (my review)

Babe in Boyland - Jody Gehrman (my review)

Scott Pilgrim (series) - Bryan Lee O'Malley (my review)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart (my review)

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (series) - Maryrose Wood (my review)

43 Old Cemetery Road (series) - Kate & Sarah Klise (my review)

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins (my review)

The DUFF - Kody Keplinger (my review)

Sparks - S.J. Adams (my review)

Bloodthirsty - Flynn Meaney (my review)

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books I read in 2012...

Sparks - S.J. Adams

I saw this title on the Rainbow List and loved the title. I didn't love the cover so I thought I'd try it before buying it. It is 100% amazing. 

Adaptation - Malinda Lo

I have read Malinda's other two novels and felt fairly lukewarm about them. This one really was incredible though. Just different and intense.

The False Prince - Jennifer A. Nielsen

A surprising read for me. It was part of Scholastic's Mother-Daughter BookClub. It was just so well-written and I adored the main character.

Battle Royale - Koushun Takami

YES! This book is amazing. 

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

This was such a lovely book. I wish I could cut out the section I didn't like, but even with it I am so in love with this novel.

Transcendence - C.J. Omololu
Very different from Dirty Little Secrets, but amazing. I really enjoyed the time travel in this novel.

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield
From the cover to the last page I adored this book. A perfect mystery-blend.

This is Not a Test - Courtney Summers
The best zombie novel I've read. Not zombie heavy, just lovely.

Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood
A very exciting novel about witches, I hope they come back in style, because this was delightful.

The Diviners - Libba Bray
Libba Bray is just brilliant. The setting and the creepiness make me want to read this one again (with the lights on).

Honorable Mention: Chopsticks: a novel - Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral
This book was beautiful. If there is a YA novel more beautiful and heartfelt than this one I want to know about it. So few words, but so much emotion packed into it.

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Review: Sparks - S.J. Adams

Where I got it: Inter-library loan
Rating: 4.5 stars  

Cover Rating: 3.5 stars (Fun and relevant, but a bit odd.)
Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: November 8, 2011

Publisher: Flux

Page Count: 257 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Debbie is in love with her best friend, Lisa. Lisa is really into church though and her new boyfriend. Lisa is so into her new boyfriend, that Debbie feels lost and alone. Enter Emma, Tim and the Church of Blue. Debbie isn't sure she really wants to try this new religion of Blue, but she does want someone to hang out with. Emma and Time seem to understand her and are ready and willing to help her take the leap and admit what her heart wants. But, with all the chaos of the actual quest to get there, will Debbie work up the courage, or even get an opportunity? Will Blue provide?

This novel was fantastic. I loved Emma and Tim. Even if Emma was completely in denial about what was right in front of her. I loved that they had a list of tasks that they would check off as they went about their quests. Like mooning people and getting an autograph of someone named after a president. They were strange, but a good way to have fun. I really love it when people start their own religion in novels as a way to try to understand the world and themselves. I don't know what it is about it that makes me love it so much, but I do.  Moira was FANTASTIC too. I really loved that she was a bit different than everyone else and on purpose. She was a time traveler, but one who just pretends she's in a different time period. It sounds fun. There were a lot of great characters in this novel, like the bowling alley skanks and their skank network. Debbie was an okay person I guess. I didn't love her Full House obsession. I know some teens who get hooked on old shows like that though, so it's not unrealistic. It was hard to understand fully her crush on Lisa, because she's not really in the novel too much. It seems like the point of the novel was not so much about Lisa at all, but Debbie realizing and excepting who she is by herself. Definitely check this out if you love funny novels that have a lot of driving and a lot of misfit characters.

First Line:
"My dad's a regular guy, and my mom's a total kook, so I guess I had a fifty percent chance of coming out normal. Leave it to me to screw it up."

Favorite Line:
"Broken hearts are fucking gross."