I'm Done with the YALSA Reading Challenge!

I finished YALSA's Best of the Best Reading Challenge! Here are the books I've read since my last check-in:

Bake Sale (graphic novel)
by Sara Varon
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Jaina Rating: B-
A cupcake, who is best friends with an eggplant, runs a bakery, plays in a rock band, and dreams of meeting a celebrity chef. Okay, so this graphic novel is adorable, it is about food, and the drawings are fun. These are all good things. However, the story didn't really work for me and it ended kind of abruptly. I know this wasn't meant to have a complex plot, but I still think it could have been done better.

Bruiser (audiobook)
by Neal Shusterman
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Jaina Rating: A
Tennyson becomes upset when his twin sister Bronte begins dating the school outcast, a boy named Bruiser. But they both soon discover that Bruiser is very different than either of them could have imagined. This book is incredible. I can't say too much about it because I don't want to give anything away- I will just mention that this is one of the most unique stories I've read in a long time. The characters are well developed and each has a strong voice. This is definitely a book that sticks with you for a long time after you've read it.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
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Jaina Rating: A+
Karou, an art student living in Prague, spends her days sketching, going to cafes, hanging out with friends... and running errands for a demon. Wow wow wow. This book is complex, romantic, suspenseful, and full of all kinds of imaginative creatures. One of the best books I've read in this project and definitely not the kind of book I would normally read.

Delirium
by Lauren Oliver
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Jaina Rating: C+
In a future where love is considered an illness, everybody must have a government mandated operation at age 18 that will cure them of romantic emotions. I give this book a "meh." I read it all in one day, so I can say that it was easy to read and it wasn't completely terrible. However, after reading lots of dystopian fiction, I found the plot to be predictable and didn't find myself attaching to any characters. It has an interesting premise, but it just didn't do it for me.

Okay for Now (audiobook)
by Gary Schmidt
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Jaina Rating: A
Set in the 1960's, Doug, a 14-yr-old from an abusive home, moves to a small town and finds solace at the local library and in a series of adult mentors. This is the sequel to The Wednesday Wars, but I didn't read the first book and didn't feel lost. This book is great. As a reader, you feel deeply for the main character. It is also a book that inspires you to want to learn more about other topics, such as Jane Eyre, James Audubon, baseball, and the Vietnam War. Very well written.

And now my grand total... Here is the complete list of all the books I read. I have starred my favorites.

1. The Talk Funny Girl by Roland Merullo
2. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
3. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley*
6. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
7. Ashfall by Mike Mullin
8. Shine by Lauren Myracle
9. White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick*
10. My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson
11. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
12. Mangaman by Barry Lyga*
13. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
14. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
15. Chime by Franny Billingsley*
16. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
17. How They Croaked (audiobook) by Georgia Bragg
18. The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone
19. Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
20. Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
21. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr*
22. Bruiser (audiobook) by Neal Shusterman
23. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor*
24. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
25. Bake Sale by Sara Varon
26. Okay for Now (audiobook) by Gary Schmidt