Favorite YA Books of 2011

When all the "Best of" lists come out at the end of the year, I always feel frustrated because there are always books I haven't read. I feel like a slacker no matter how much I read. Here, in alpha author order, are the books I DID read and loved. Some are new this year, some are older titles.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
Warped by Marissa Guibord
The Summer series by Jenny Han
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Legend by Marie Lu
The ENTIRE Bloody Jack series by L. A. Meyer (audiobook preferred)
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Shine by Lauren Myracle
The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Queen of Water by Laura Resau
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Lost and Found by Shaun Tan
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

If I had to name a favorite "new" book of 2011...I'd probably have to say I'll Be There and Anna and the French Kiss would be tied for first.  For my favorite "old book," I'll cheat and say the entire Bloody Jack series.

Many of the books that are showing up on the lists now I've tried to read and just haven't gotten into. I'm going to keep trying on Chime and The Scorpio Races.

2012 is shaping up to be a good year in YA fiction. New John Green, new Markus Zusak, and lots of new additions to series I love.  What's more exciting though, are all the new authors out there whose voices we haven't yet heard.

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber by L.A. Meyer

I've known about this series for a long time, but I'd never read any of the books until now. Except I didn't *read* this one; I listened to the audiobook. I've heard narrator Katherine Kellgren described as the "female Jim Dale." All I can say is that Kellgren brings this book to swashbuckling life. It's SOOO good! I love Mary "Jacky" Faber's character--she's strong and sassy while still being relatable. I think she's on track to becoming one of my favorite female literary characters of all time. I rank this up there with The Help and The True Meaning of Smekday as audiobooks that are even better than their already-awesome paper counterparts. I'm just glad there are at least eight more! (The ninth book, The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea, comes out October 3!