Miss Barnes's favorite ten reads from 2008

Okay, this year I'm doing 2 end of the year lists. One will be my picks for the best books published in 2008 for teens (i.e. books that could potentially win the Printz award). The other is just my list of my favorite reads this year, regardless of the intended audience and publication date. There might be some overlap. So, here we go.

MISS BARNES' FAVORITE BOOKS of the 100+ she read in 2008:

1. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes JH HEN "How did I not know this book existed? Coming of age, first crush, set in Cape Cod, banned book... it was made for me to fall in love with it."
2. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart YA FIC LOC "A smart, spunky girl subverts an all-boy's club at a boarding school. So brilliant and fascinating, I read it in one sitting."
3. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp YA FIC THA "It was like spending 5 hours in the head of Tim Riggins from my favorite show Friday Night Lights. A great guy read that will also totally appeal to the girls trying to understand them."
4. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson JH LAR "Allows you to vicariously fulfill your dreams of living in a log cabin... while sitting in your living room."
5. One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke YA FIC CLA "An achingly beautiful book where everything works out just perfectly in the end, but not in a saccharine way."
6. The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby 973.91 JAC "Not usually one for non-fic, this one won me over with its fluid writing and genius take on how America has taken a turn towards the stupid, and away from our roots, in the past few decades."
7. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow YA FIC DOC "When, after reading the last page, I put the book down, I told my friend: 'This is the kind of book that will change your life.' It's clever, scarily real sci-fi from everyone's favorite nerd, Cory Doctorow."
8. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld FIC SITTENFELD, C. "An engaging, thoughtful look at, well, basically a fictionalized Laura Bush."
9. The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy JH MUR "The kind of book filled with characters you can't help but cheer for at life. Loved the creative writing angle."
10. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr YA FIC ZAR "Two year-end lists, two books by Sara Zarr. She is my author to watch, with her searing, realistic portrayals of the lower-middle class, largely absent from a lot of YA lit."

And there you have it. All of these books are available at the Homewood Public Library. In fact, for almost all of them, I read the Homewood Library copy. Stay tuned for my next list, to appear sometime between now and December 19.