Top Ten 2012 (It's Nat's Turn!)

Wow.  Is it the end of the year already?  Where did the time go?  2012 was a rough year for all of us in one way or another.  And because of that each of us went through long lasting reading funks.  But even with that funk I managed to read 78 books this year. That is high for me on a normal year so I won't complain...

As usual, I had a hard time deciding which books to include in my Top Ten of 2012.  I, of course, cheated a little by adding a few honorable mentions at the end. How I narrowed those down to only three is byond me...So here it is.  My Top Ten of 2012.  In no particular order.





The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan - A modern love story told in single words and definitions. So many pages resonated with me and how I feel about the Executive Officer. I still go back and re-read passages.  And the best part?  David Levithan continues to define life, love and relationships through words on Twitter @loversdiction








Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson Hands down, my favorite book of the year.  Yeah, you all thought I would choose a romance, didn't you?  Well I didn't.  I chose this amazingly hilarious (and rarely serious) memoir by Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess.  I can't begin to tell you much how I laughed.  And laughed.  And laughed.  And cried a little.  And laughed some more.









Chase In Shadow by Amy Lane - Thanks to Bel, this is where my love of Amy Lane began.  This is a brutally emotional story of a young man struggling to remain in the closet while using the gay-for-pay porn industry as an outlet.  Oh don't worry.  There is definitely some happy in this story.  But first, Ms. Lane will stomp on your heart a good five or six times.  Because she's kind of awesome like that.  And apparently that's my thing since I have read about a dozen more of her books since Chase in Shadow.







Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse - This one snuck up on me.  It was nothing what I expected.  Instead it was so much more.  A brilliant dramatic comedy  that is in turn hilarious and disturbing.  As I stated in my review, C.J. Skuse should be applauded her sheer awesomeness.










Dash and Lily's Book of Dare by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - I am so happy that I read this right before Christmas.  A perfect romantic comedy that not only put me in the holiday spirit but also had me giggling well into the early hours of the morning.  I believe this has been optioned for a movie and I will be absolutely thrilled if it makes it to the big screen. AND if I can put a Dash on hold for youngest daughter, that would be most excellent.








Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - The chemistry between Echo and Noah not only drips off this hot cover, it also drips off every single page within the book.  It was steamy.  It was angsty.  It was romantic.  And it made me cry.  A quadruple threat.  I can not wait until the companion novel, Dare You Too, is released in May 2013.

Making Promises by Amy Lane - I was instantly smitten with forever-boy (or forever-man in this case since this isn't YA and he is 30-something) Shane.  His patient pursuit of the adorably prickly and bitchy Mikhail is so understanding and loving that I just couldn't help but fall in love with him.  Also, how could I not love a book with this beautiful quote, "I cannot face you if you think I look at you and see anything less than the man you are.  I am not settling for you, I am reaching for you, and there is a difference..." 

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - I find it impossible to discuss this book with someone that hasn't read it.  The sheer beauty and sadness of it is overwhelming.  All I will say is that John Green is a genius.  His previous stories are great but this one….well there is a reason that it has been so well received by so many.  Once you read it, check out this to answer to any and all of your questions regarding Hazel and Augustus:  http://onlyifyoufinishedtfios.tumblr.com/







Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker - So often books are about being hurt by someone else.   Melissa Walker is one of the rare authors that chose to focus on the character that did the hurting.  We all make mistakes in our lifetime.  Some of those mistakes are bigger than others.  This story was about learning to live with those mistakes and how to rebuild your life after suffering the damage you caused.  This story was beautiful and I think is a must read for teens just so they know that life does move on and it does get better.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - This was one of the first books I read this year.  So often I will read something early in the year that I really enjoy but then it is overshadowed by something else.  In twelve months, Under The Never Sky has never swayed from my Top Ten.  This is a perfect combination of romance, fantasy and sci-fi and the second in the series will be an auto-buy for me when it is released the first week of 2013.

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

The Curiosites by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff & Boys of Summer Edited by Steve Berman - As I have mentioned numerous times, I do not like short story compilations.  This year, a number of YA authors set out to teach me a lesson.  Both The Curiosities (a collection of supernatural and horror stories) and Boys of Summer (an anthology of Gay YA shorts) proved to me that there are not only some amazing short stories out there but also a number of great authors that I can't wait to read more of.

 

 

 

 

 

Gambling Men by Amy Lane - To be honest, I could have added Amy Lane books to most of my Top Ten.  And it was REALLY difficult for me to choose between Gambling Men and Making Promises.  So this gets honorable mention. The biggest reason (besides the hilarious use of poker metaphors) is that I married a Quentin.  Yeah, that's right.  If you have read this you know to be super jealous ;-)

 

Boys of Summer

* * * * 

Walt Whitman referred to a "Mad, naked, Summer Night!" In the pages of Boys of Summer, acclaimed editor Steve Berman's latest anthology, talented authors and fresh voices reveal the allure and excitement of the season for gay teens. June always promises romance. July entices with its raw heat, and August offers a languid fire that will burn out before autumn's approach. These are stories of young love and adventure, when the sky's ceiling is a bright blue marvel, when another boy's laughter at the beach can distract from dull summer jobs.

I am usually wishy-washy on short stories. Particularly romantic short stories. They tend to lack the character development necessary to make the romance believable.  But I am huge fan of m/m romance and was intrigued by a collection of short m/m romantic stories written for teens.   

You need to know is that I ended up loving this book.  Truly loving it.  But it took me a few stories to get there.  I was very put off by the very first story – Portrait of the Artist as a Young Swamp Thing by Ann Zeddies.  Our two heroes (15 and 16 years old) know each other for less than a weekend.  This was a perfect example of why I don’t like romantic short stories.  But the bigger reason this particular story put me off was the fact that they didn’t really know each other.  They knew of each other but they didn’t know each other.    And at the end of the story, before the weekend was over, they were hitching it to Hero #2’s empty house to have sex.   I was buying the budding romance but I was not buying that it developed enough that they would jump immediately to sex.  I do get it.  All teens are interested in sex.  Teen boys are especially interested in having sex.  And most of the time they are being ruled by their hormones and aren’t thinking logically about it.  But just because they aren’t thinking about the importance of it doesn’t mean it’s NOT important and that it’s NOT a big deal.  It’s both of those things.  And I think as adults we have a responsibility to remind teens of this.  I am not going to tell teens to not have sex.  But I am going to tell them that it is a huge decision and they need to be sure that they are truly ready when they finally make that leap.  Because that’s a pretty big leap that requires a significant amount of trust that you are just handing over to another person.  I always think of the “sex talk” Kurt and his dad had on Glee (I seriously need to save that entire speech and save it for why my kids are older).  The talk where Kurt’s dad tells him that sex is important and that Kurt MATTERS.  Teens to know that they MATTER and because they matter they need to be sure they are ready to trust another person with something that is so very precious. 

“You’ve got to know that it means something. It’s doing something to you, to your heart, to your self-esteem, even though it feels like you’re just having fun…. When you’re ready, I want you to be able to do everything, but when you’re ready, I want you to use it as a way to connect to another person. Don’t throw yourself around like you don’t matter. Because you matter, Kurt.”  - Burt Hummel in Glee

Wow, I just went on a tangent about teen sex.  Sorry about that.  That’s what I get for being overly opinionated, I guess. Please keep reading though.  There is a reason I gave this book a 4 Star review.  I promise.  And to put any possible parent fears to rest, this is not a graphic book by any means.  Like all YA romance, each character has their level of experience but that experience is never the highlight as it would be in an adult romance.   

So now you know I didn’t like the first story and why.  But let me tell you about some of my favorites.   

Breakwater in the Summer Dark by L. Lark is a romance between two boys that have attended summer camp together since they were eight. Their relationship in this story is strained because of an unexpected kiss that happened between them the summer before. The appearance of a mysterious creature in the lake brings them together and forces them to face their feelings for each other.  I loved this story.  This is one that I would love to be either novel or novella size in length.  I think it would be an even more amazing read. 

Brass by Marguerite Croft and Christopher Reynaga is a romance after my own heart.  Two band geeks that are both out and they are friends and they both have a thing for each other.  But, of course, neither of them realizes it.  Finally our narrator decides to make his move and I am not going to lie.  It was probably one of the sweetest kisses I have ever read in the numerous YA books I have read this past year and a half.   

Leap by ‘Nathan Burgoine was an absolutely lovely summer romance.  Ryan has been spending 3 weeks a summer in a cabin with his parents.  Two other cabins are inhabited by family friends.  Ryan, Angie and Barb (daughters of the family friends) get along great and love spending the summer together.  Then Will and his parents show up for their first summer at the lake and the three-some becomes a four-some.  This was a perfectly paced story with a perfectly paced romance.  I had a mile-wide smile reading this story that ended with a wonderful amount of hope. 

Wheat, Barley, Lettuce, Fennel, Salt for Sorrow, Blood for Joy by Alex Jeffers was pure magic.  Who doesn’t love a story set on a boat in the Mediterranean?  Add some magic, sexual tension and a loving family and you have a serious winner of a story. 

Those were my favorites but they aren’t the only good stories in this book.  If you are a fan of romance and/or are interested in reading something that gives gay teens a voice, I highly recommend this collection.  It was truly wonderful.

Nat