#1 Half Bad by Sally Green
Bought purely on impulse and an ardent desire to devour good literature, I snapped up this book the moment I saw it. I fell in love with its beautiful cover and a quick look at the summary on Goodreads only reaffirmed my desire to read this beautiful novel. I can't wait to read it! Review to be posted soon.
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?
In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page
# 2 Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Another impulse buy, bought together with Half Bad. (Darn those deals!), the bright cover and good reviews spurred me to buy this highly original and strange plot. Working along the lines of Michael Grant, this novel is bound to be as addictive as it is weird.
Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the storyof how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.
To make matters worse, Austin's hormones are totally oblivious; they don't care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He's stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it's up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.
#3 The Mortal Instruments
Everyone in the entire Western world knows about these books. they are insanely popular, and from the quick glances I have peeked, and the sample I have downloaded onto my Kindle, I can understand why. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this novel.
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...
Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
#4 Divergent by Veronica Roth
Another hugely popular book by an insanely talented author. This book, which I think centers around a dystopian future, has actually just been made into a major motion picture. Something I am highly excited to read; along with its two sequels and the shorts that accompany it.
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating 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 unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
# 5 My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
As I was leisurely strolling through Waterstones, idly noting down books that I wanted to read, I came across a book with a beautiful cover and a stellar plot. In a world dominated by angels, vampires, werewolves and demons, when I saw a book that centered around banshees, I was hooked and thirsty to read it. Here's to reading it in 2014.
Something is wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh...
She can sense when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest boy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the dark forces behind Kaylee's power than she does.
And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason and only Kaylee knows who'll be next, she realises that finding a boyfriend is the least of her worries!
#6 Hush Hush Becca Fitzpatrick
So I feel like I am posting a lot of fantasy/dystopian books in this list, but I couldn't NOT include it in this list. This book has been hyped up massively since its release in 2009. Besides, the plot intrigued me from the summary and I am keen to read more to see if it lives up to the hype that surrounds it.
Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.
# 7 The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
In a fiction world so dominated by the fantasy genre, it's always refreshing when something outside of it comes along. So this is why I want to read this book. That and the beautiful, original and slightly bittersweet sounding plot.
SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.
Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.
# 8 How to Fall by Jane Casey
Being quite interested in the whole mystery genre of young adult, this book appealed greatly to me. Can't wait to read it!
The first unputdownable YA crime thriller from bestselling author Jane Casey
Freya is found drowned - but was it suicide or murder? Her cousin, Jess Tennant, is determined to uncover the truth. But asking questions may prove deadly - anyone could be a suspect and everyone is hiding something...
Can Jess unravel a mystery involving secret love, seething jealousy and a cliff-top in the pitch black of night?
#9 Just Listen Sarah Dessen
I know a lot of people who loved this novel, or just Sarah's work in general. So I decided to have a quick gander at it in Waterstones. The plot seemed quite interesting and appealed to my preferences, so that is why it sits on this list now.
Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything" — at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.
This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.
Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.
#10 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Another massive book franchise, with legions of faithful fans all over the world, who will gladly recommend this book. From the sneaky glances at the first chapters that I have taken in Waterstones, this book will be quite enjoyable.
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn't just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
So that's it. My (not so) extensive list of my must reads of 2014. This is not a complete list, moreso a shortened version of the hundreds books that I am desperate to get my hands on. Links for the books will be found below.
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