The Story Siren: The Story Siren's Picks of 2009

The Story Siren's Picks of 2009

Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 12:00 AM

2009 was an extraordinary year for reading and I’m expecting an even more impressive reading year for 2010. The following novels are some of my favorite books from 2009. They all posses at least one quality that made a lasting impression. Be it.... unforgettable characters, intriguing plot line, impeccable writing, etc. etc.... They aren't any any particular order, but are defintely books that you should add to your reading pile, have you not had the chance to read them this year.

Here are my top 15 picks for 2009:

1. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
2. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
3. Stargazer by Claudia Gray
4. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
5. Willow by Julia Hoban
6. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
7. Faery Rebels by R.J. Anderson
8. Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
9. Shiver by Maggie Steifvater
10. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
11. Darklight by Lesley Livingston
12. Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
13. The Season by Sarah MacLean
14. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
15. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

What are your top picks for 2009?

27 comments:

Elizabeth said...: Well I read alott of books all of them where great but my top 2 were

Hunting Ground-Patricia briggs
Blood promise-Richelle meaad; December 24, 2009 1:15 AM
Hopeless Romantic said...: Hey have you read any books by Nicholas Sparks? I'd like to hear what you think! Come check out my blog please! ((:; December 24, 2009 1:45 AM
annie/curbsidetreasure said...: my top picks (no particular order)
1. wintergirls by laurie halse anderson
2. catching fire by suzanne collins
3. north of beautiful by justina chen headley
4. if i stay by gayle forman
5. fire by kristin cashore
6. after by amy efaw
7. hold still by nina la cour
8. marcelo in the real world by francisco x. stork; December 24, 2009 2:45 AM
Rebecca Herman said...: I haven't read many of those but I did really enjoy The Season a lot! I didn't include it on my list though because I read it in 2008.; December 24, 2009 2:47 AM
basma aal said...: The Hollow by jessica verday :)
please come see my blog; December 24, 2009 3:03 AM
celi.a said...: Nice list! I shall have to come up with my own... :); December 24, 2009 4:22 AM
proseandkahn said...: I did a top 15 plus 2 the other day. But because I'm a middle school librarian and try and post tween and non-fiction titles, I split the 15 into top 5. Here's a link to the post:
http://proseandkahn.livejournal.com/69868.html.

But my favorite YA's were:
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
We Were Here by Matt de la Peña
Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

These books blew me away. Three of them destroyed me. But it was very, very hard leaving some titles off the list. You're right Kristi -it was a great year!

Happy Holidays!

Brenda; December 24, 2009 8:03 AM
Thao said...: Some of the books I love make your list as well. I couldn't think of 15 books at the moment but I do love Ballads Of Suburbia, Thirteen Reasons Why, Two Way Street and The Jellicoe Road very much ^^; December 24, 2009 9:24 AM
Daisy Whitney said...: Of those, I also read and truly enjoyed 20-Boy Summer, If I Stay, Beautiful Creatures and North of Beautiful. And Catching Fire of course is awesome!; December 24, 2009 9:33 AM
Sarah said...: Great list! Some of those titles have also made my list. 2009 was a pretty fabulous year for reading I think, all in all.; December 24, 2009 11:09 AM
GardenofEdee said...: I've only read City of Glass and Shiver and 20 Boy Summer on that list but I bought Beautiful Creatures for a friend for Christmas so I'm sure I'll be borrowing it soon!

My List would have to be... (in no order)
-Catching Fire
-City of Glass
-Paper Towns (I guess it was actually released in 2008 but I read it in 2009)
-The Forest of Hands and Teeth
-Perfect Fifths; December 24, 2009 12:21 PM
Amy said...: I read a few of those. :) Glad you had such a great reading year!; December 24, 2009 1:28 PM
Cleverly Inked said...: Thanks for the list :) Merry Christmas; December 24, 2009 1:48 PM
Anonymous said...: It's cool that you liked Stargazer as much as I did.; December 24, 2009 2:08 PM
Emma said...: Fantastic list! I've read a few you listed. Happy Holidays!; December 24, 2009 2:55 PM
Bookworm said...: Yikes--I haven't read any! Guess I need to catch up (:; December 24, 2009 3:52 PM
Mrs. V said...: I have had North of Beautiful in my TBR pile for quite a while. I need to finally read it. I just bought Shiver last weekend. There are so many great books waiting to be read....; December 24, 2009 5:24 PM
oO Mariana Oo said...: Very interesting titles, I want to read a lot from that list.

Have a Merry Christmas!!!; December 24, 2009 8:54 PM
annie said...: I wish these could go on my Christmas list! Oh well--next year. ;); December 25, 2009 10:56 AM
Kari (Flamingo1325) said...: Hey great picks =) I posted my own list on my blog (crediting you of course since yep, I totally jacked your idea) if you're interested. Have a great holiday!; December 25, 2009 11:39 AM
Shooting Stars Mag said...: I need to read some of those but I do agree with a lot like Ballads of Suburbia and Willow and If I Stay, etc.

-Lauren; December 25, 2009 1:51 PM
Jess said...: Great list! I love these Best of 2009 lists. Ballad, The Season, and Faery Rebels would make mine too.; December 25, 2009 7:44 PM
austenfan said...: Yay for Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, City of Glass, Shiver, and Beautiful Creatures! Will have to check out the others on the list, especially Going Too Far. :); December 26, 2009 5:58 AM
ck.twilighter said...: Great list!!=); December 26, 2009 2:13 PM
harmonybookreviews said...: Great list. Ballads of Suburbia is my #1 book this year and Willow is my #2!; December 26, 2009 2:42 PM
Sab H. said...: 3 of those made my top 10 too! Some I have yet to read. Great post! ;D; December 26, 2009 7:07 PM
Carrie K. said...: I also loved If I Stay. I just read City of Bones, so the rest of the series will be on my to-read list for early in 2010. Same goes for Beautiful Creatures and Shiver.

Great list!; December 27, 2009 2:44 AM