Welcome to the first day of a FIVE day event! Today kicks off Top 10 of 2011. Last year Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and I posted our Top 10 Posts during this same week. We had such a great time with our lists that we asked a couple of our blogging friends to help us out - Rachel from Fiktshun and Jamie & Patricia from Two Chicks on Books and made an event about it! We're excited to see how many people have signed up and we can't wait to read YOUR lists. Speaking of.... here's my Top 10 Books I've Read in 2011.

Title: Divergent (Divergent, #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books, 487 Pages (May 3rd 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - Tris & Four... and the amazing story and writing and SO much more make this one of the best books I've read since the Hunger Games Trilogy.

Synopsis: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Title: Hourglass (Hourglass, #1)
Author: Myra McEntire
Publisher: Egmont, 400 Pages (June 14th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - Love the cover, loved the story... hands down an incredible book.

Synopsis: One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past. Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Title: Forgotten
Author: Cat Patrick
Publisher: Little Brown, 288 Pages (June 7th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - The magnetic pull and love between London & Luke on top of all that London has to go through with the added bonus of a mystery made this a book I just couldn't get enough of. (I wish there would/could be a sequel)

Synopsis: Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come.

When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

Title: Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1)
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher: HarperTeen, 487 Pages (May 31st, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - Thrilling and beautiful with just enough mythology to make this another favorite for me this year.

Synopsis: How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Title: Ashfall (Ashfall, #1)
Author: Mike Mullin
Publisher: Tanglewood Press, 466 Pages (October 11th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - I didn't know what to expect going into this title, but once you start reading there's just no putting it down - book two... bring it on! (The sooner the better, please & Thank you)

Synopsis: Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Title: The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey, #4)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 361 Pages (October 25th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - An Iron Fey story from Ash's point of view... need I say more?

Synopsis: Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Title: Blood Red Road (Dustlands, #1)
Author: Moira Young
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 495 Pages (June 5th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - An addictive story filled with interesting characters that'll hold on and not let go, but not to worry, you won't want them to.

Synopsis: Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Title: Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill, 398 Pages (January 11th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - Science fiction of a thrilling, mysterious & romantic kind - just a few words that come to mind.

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton, 338 Pages (September 29th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - Stephanie Perkins is one of the rock stars of contemporary YA - she writes it, I'll read it.

Synopsis: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Title: After Obsession
Author: Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel
Publisher: Bloomsbury, 320 Pages (September 13th, 2011)
My Review

Why I loved it, in a sentence - It's creepy, scary and dangerously addictive - I couldn't get enough of Aimee & Alan and wish there was more to look forward too. (Maybe? Maybe not?)

Synopsis: Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.

Honorable Mentions: Blood Magic By: Tessa Gratton, Beauty Queens By: Libba Bray, Shadowspell By: Jenna Black, Wither By: Lauren DeStafano, Darkness Becomes Her By: Kelly Keaton and Betrayal By: Lee Nichols... just to name a few.

Tomorrow's Topic - Top 10 Book Covers of 2011

Don't forget to link each day! Signing up & then linking your Top 10 posts early you EXTRA entries into the $50.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. The last day to share your posts is January 8th, 2012. The winner will be picked using Random.org and announced during the week of the 9th, 2012. Good Luck!

NOTE: This is the SAME Linky on each of the Co-Hosts Blogs, so please only enter your Name, Blog Name and URL or YOUR Top 10 post of the day on one blog. Thanks!

*Titles listed are in no particular order.

"Just Picked" is a feature here at A Life Bound By Books. This is a place where I'll be spotlighting new (and old) childrens book or picture books for parents and new readers. It's a place to talk about books for a younger group and to try to help create a new generation of readers.

Title: Suryia & Roscoe: The True Story of an Unlikely Friendship
Author: Dr. Bhagavan Antle, Barry Bland & Thea Feldman
Illustrator/Photographer: Barry Bland
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 32 Pages (April 26th 2011)
Age Range: 4-8
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Who can imagine an orangutan being friends with a dog? Is it even possible?

With Suryia and Roscoe it is!

Dogs and orangutans rarely meet, and when they do, they are naturally shy around each other. But when Suryia the orangutan first meets Roscoe, a stray dog, they become best friends from the start.

Set on a preserve for rare animals, The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.) in South Carolina, here is a true story of a remarkable friendship between two unforgettable animals.

Review: 3 Stars - Suryia & Roscoe is filled with cute pictures and the story of an orangutan and its dog and the two look like the best of friends. Yes, you read that correctly! It’s the pictures for me that are more what the book is all about. However, the preserve that they live on is the most important part of their story. Thought it’s not mentioned much, it’s there enough to get you thinking and maybe have kids asking more questions about the world and the endangered animals in it.

My niece is a huge fan of primates anytime she visits the zoo, so this book was a big hit with her. I’m always excited to share books with the kids in our family and this cute story about friendship is just another one that we can read together.
FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

Title: Blood Magic (Blood Magic Journals, #1)
Author: Tessa Gratton
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 405 Pages (May 24th 2011)
From: the Publisher and the Amazon Vine Program, Thank You!

Synopsis: This page-turning debut novel will entice fans who like their paranormal romances dark and disturbing. It's a natural next-read for fans of Stephanie Meyer, Carrie Jones, and Becca Fitzpatrick. But instead of mythical creatures, blood magic has everything to do with primal human desires like power, wealth, and immortality.

Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick—the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.

Review: 4.5 Stars - Debut author Tessa Gratton’ first book in the Blood Journals series – Blood Magic, was so much more than I thought it would be and then some! With a thrilling story and extremely likeable characters, it was easy to see just how much they made me love this book! It was apparent from the first few pages. Blood Magic is one of those books I could have easily read in one sitting, so make sure you have time to devour this title whole.

Told from three different perspectives, two main characters and a journal, moving between the three voices gave not only insight, but back story. The back story revealed snippets to the past to further explain things as the story progresses. I loved how the pieces of the story from the journal fit into the present and continued right through to the end, letting us learn what was happening just as the characters did. I’m a huge fan of multiple points of view, so it was an added bonus.

Speaking of characters, let’s talk about them for a few. First off we have Silla, she’s been through a lot and is coping as best as she can. With Gratton’s writing it made it easy to feel what her characters were feeling, and I found I could better relate to what each was going through. Silla’s strong, caring and is trying to understand many different things in her life when she’s been mailed a book from a stranger that just happens to have belonged to her father. Mystery, magic and blood surround her and her family and tie her to past she could have never imagined existed.

Then we have Nick… he’s the new guy who lives next door to Silla. Well, with the woods and a cemetery between them. Nick is a city guy now living out in the sticks and is just trying to make it to graduation day so he can get away and move on. He has some issues as well so when Nick and Silly meet, the attraction is inevitable and maybe even has a bit of fate involved. While their relationship might have come on fast, there were things that happened up until the very end that somewhat explained this instant rapport.

I have to admit that for me, it was easy to speculate who was the evil doer, but there was enough in the rest of the story that I wasn’t too bothered in knowing who was who.

There was also a bit of a creep factor to the book, and one scene was hard to read. I didn’t agree with the scene, but felt more like it was there to prove a point, at least to me the point was made and I think it was made to the character involved as well.

Over all Gratton is a new shining star in the YA genre and an author I am excited to read more of in the future. If you’re looking for a great new author, fresh voice, entertaining story and characters be sure to pick up this one when you’re at your local book store or when you’re placing your next online order. You won’t be disappointed. Now, where’s the next book?

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

Title: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 400 Pages (May 24th 2011)
From: the Publisher/Amazon Vine Program, Thank You!

Synopsis: From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.

Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to email. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count.

Review: 4.5 Stars - Beauty Queens by author Libba Bray was unexpected in its complete wackiness. It’s a punch line in 400 pages, with a huge heart. I laughed out loud with the turn of just about every page. Bray has a knack for writing over the top characters with some real issues, melding the two together to crate a book I’ll never forget.

When a group of teen beauty queen’s plane crash lands on an island on their way to a pageant, they are left to fend for themselves. It’s a group of girls who have pageant life in common and just about little else. They each bring some kind of knowledge to the table and somewhat work together as a group to survive. Each of the girls has their fair share of issues, and working through them while stranded on a desert island without any of the pressures of everyday life, proved to be some major growing moments for each of them.

Enter into a world that’s pretty much run by “The Corporation” and it’s products that’ll make you sometimes laugh and sometimes shake your head to - it’s unbelievable commercials and TV shows… to the Dictator and his obsession with Elvis, to the band of Pirates from a reality TV show that take their job to the extreme… to the female grooming product “Lady ‘Stash Off” and it’s use as a high explosive once one of the chemicals is changed… what can I say, it’s a wild, wild read.

Insane comes to mind when I think of the plot and each of the characters. From the first few pages to the last I often thought that this was a joke on me because of how witty and magical Bray’s writing is. Seriously, Bray’s writing is magic, characters over the top, all rolled into one making this, hands down one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. I don’t even feel I’m able to do this book justice with this review. It’s just something you need to experience for yourself. Being that this is my first book by Bray, I can’t wait to read her other titles and then to see what comes next for this imaginative and vastly creative author. What can I say, I’m a HUGE fan. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.