Skip to main content

Most Anticipated 2012 Reads AND a Challenge

It looks like another great year of reading is starting. There are several books coming out this year by authors I fell in love with in 2011 and I am excited for new installments in several series I enjoy. Here are some of the books I'm most looking forward to.

Winterling by Sarah Prinneas (January)
I love the cover. I love the premise. I read Prinneas's Magic Thief books this year and adored them so I am very  much excited to get my hands on this one. Here is a very enticing book trailer you can watch to raise the excitement level even more.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (January)
If you read the synopsis of this book you kind of have to wonder how anyone could say they were excited about reading it. (Although masses of people are.) It is most likely going to be gut wrenching and heart breaking. But it is John Green so it will also be humorous and probably awesome. (I confess the only other John Green I've read is Looking for Alaska so I can not be counted as one of his super loyal fans, but I so admire the way the man writes. I should really get on reading his other books this year too.)

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (February)
I have been wanting to read this book since it was released in Australia and the blogoshpere lit up with reviews on its awesomeness. It is finally releasing in the US this year and I am looking forward to experiencing it for myself. And while I loved the simplicity of the Australian cover, I very much like the new US cover as well.

Swift by R.J. Anderson (March-UK)
I adore Anderson's Faerie books and Swift is the most recent installment. This takes the story to a new location and follows a new character, Ivy, a faery born without wings who longs to fly like her fellows.


Peaceweaver by Rebecca Barnhouse (March)
This book is the one I am anticipating the most. I can not tell you how eager I am to get my hands on it. The Coming of the Dragon was one of my favorite reads of 2011. (I actually read it twice.) I have been waiting for this book since I reached the end of that one and realized that there was so much more to the silent Hild than there appeared to be. I dare you to read that book and not desperately long for her story just as much. Also, I love the beauty in the ideal of a Peaceweaver, and all the harsh complexities that are the reality of it. Plus that cover-oh oh oh.

Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis (April)
Already released in the UK under the title A Tangle of Magicks, this is the second installment of the Kat Stephenson books. I read the first one Kat Incorrigible when it came out. Twice actually, because I read it aloud to my daughter. I have a feeling I will be doing that with this one as well. Bit really likes Kat.

The Drowned Vault by N.D. Wilson (September)
This is the next installment of N.D. Wilson's Ashtown Burials. The first book, The Dragon's Tooth, was a 2011 favorite too. I am also excited to see what the cover for this is going to look like.

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (October)
I really enjoyed Girl of Fire and Thorns and am interested to see where Carson is taking the story in this second volume. Again, another cover reveal I'm looking forward to.

We are also supposed to get the sequel to Shannon Hale's Princess Academy this year. There isn't an official date on that one yet though. (Or title.) I am thrilled she wrote a sequel as it wasn't something I was expecting, and it will be great to revisit those characters and see how they are getting on.


2012 will be the year I'm going to participate in my first challenge. Granted, I am starting out way easy. This is one that won't be so difficult for me. The Book Cellar is hosting a 2012 YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge. You can find out the information about it here. Even if you don't want to participate in the challenge Erica has compiled a great spreadsheet of all the YA/MG Fantasy book coming out in 2012. It is a wonderful resource if you like the genre.
Labels:

Comments

Charlotte said…
I signed up for that challenge too, which was kind of like signing up for a challenge to brush my teeth every night....I've already read one--Winterling, which I bet you will enjoy a lot!
January 1, 2012 at 8:14 PM
Brandy said…
I saw that you had signed up too Charlotte. I can't wait for Winterling to get here. Bit came in while I was watching the trailer and she is very intrigued as well so it might be one I'm doing this year as a read aloud too.
January 1, 2012 at 9:30 PM
Chachic said…
So excited for you to read Graffiti Moon! I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I did. I really should bump up Rebel and Arrow on my TBR pile so I have an excuse to buy Swift. Also looking forward to John Green's latest even though I've only read one of his books (An Abundance of Katherines).
January 1, 2012 at 10:04 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein
42 comments
Read more

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t
4 comments
Read more

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the
11 comments
Read more

Shadowshaper

Shadowshaper  by Daniel José Older is everywhere. Best of lists. Award buzz. Blogs everywhere. It's one of those books everyone is reading and talking about. I had it on my TBR but decided I definitely needed to read it before the year was out just so I could weigh in on one of the most talked about books of 2015 if asked. It is deserving of every good thing said about it. Every. One. Sierra was looking forward to a relaxing summer break. Her plans involved hanging out with her friends and painting. They did not involve being chased by zombie like creatures and threatened by a magical power connected to her family's heritage she has never heard of. When murals begin fading all over her Brooklyn neighborhood, Sierra is perplexed. When her grandfather, who had a stroke, begins to apologize and starts repeating strange phases and insisting Sierra get the help of a boy she barely knows to help her finish her mural, Sierra is concerned but mostly about her grandfather. Then at a
4 comments
Read more

The Field Guide to the North American Teeanager

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe is a book I picked up on a whim at the bookstore when it first came out. I liked the cover. I thought it had an engaging premise. I went into it with a healthy does of trepidation because the execution could have gone so terribly wrong. Fortunately, Philippe is an excellent character writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading about Norris's adventures in Texas and high school. High school junior Norris Kaplan's life is ruined by his mother when she takes a job that requires them to leave the only home he has ever known in Montreal, Quebec. Moving is always hard, but Norris knows for him it will be harder than it's ever been for anyone else. Norris is moving to Texas. He will be a Canadian living in Texas. Not just a Canadian. A French Canadian who speaks fluent French. And not just your average run-of-the-mill French Canadian. A black son of Haitian immigrant parents French Canadian. If Norris has
1 comment
Read more