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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


30 / 30 books. 100% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (11)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (3)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (4)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (2)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (3)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (25)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (2)
- Russia (2)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 50 books. 104% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


37 / 40 books. 93% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 cozies. 100% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


2 / 26.2 miles (4th lap). 8% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


43 / 100 books. 43% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


98 / 109 books. 90% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


137 / 165 books. 83% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


85 / 100 names. 85% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


30 / 80 skills. 38% done!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Problem? Who Has A Problem?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I said I wasn't joining any more challenges, but this is another one that's not really a challenge since I was already planning to read a bunch of books from the approved list. I'm joining at Level IV, which involves reading 20 books off a list of bloggers' favorite reads from 2010. Here's my game plan:

1. The Stand by Stephen King (also reading for the Stephen King Challenge)
2. The Thirteenth Crime by Emma Michaels
3. Room by Emma Donaghue
4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (also reading for Dystopia Challenge)
5. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
6. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (also reading for the 2011 Page to Screen Challenge)
7. Atonement by Ian McEwan (also reading for the 2011 Page to Screen Challenge)
8. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
9. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
10. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
11. Fallen by Lauren Kate
12. Halo by Alexandra Ardenetto
13. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
14. Vampire Academy by Rachelle Mead
15. Peeps by Scott Westerfield
16. Mockingbirds by Katherine Erskine
17. Torment by Lauren Kate
18. Austenland by Shannon Hale
19. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
20. Spells by Aprilynne Pike

We'll see how I do ...

And My Hands-Down Favorite Book of This Year Is ...

(Image from Indiebound)

The new year is barely a week old, so there's a good chance that, in the coming months, Bruiser by Neal Shusterman might be unseated as my favorite read of 2011. Still, there's something to be said for a novel that hooks you from its very first sentence ("If he touches her, I swear I'm going to rip out his guts with my bare hands and send them to his next of kin for lunch" [3]) and keeps you riveted for every single one of its 328 pages. And that something is, "You had me at hello." Not very original, but you get my point: I love this book.

When 15-year-old Brontë Sternberg starts seeing Brewster Rawlins, a kid once voted "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty," her twin brother's ready to tear the guy apart limb by limb. Tennyson knows he's being overprotective, but really, what does Brontë see in a loser like the Bruiser? Brontë herself can hardly explain the attraction, except that Brewster's different than the other boys at her school. For one thing, he's a stray, and there's nothing she likes more than a good rescue mission. Plus, Brewster seems to have some kind of knack for making her feel better, emotionally and physically. When Tennyson decides to stalk the Bruiser into leaving his sister alone, he comes to a startling realization: Not only does Brewster take Brontë's pain away, but somehow, he suffers for every person he cares about. The ugly scars criss-crossing his body are vivid proof of that.
Even though Tennyson doesn't understand Brewster's "gift," he knows it needs to be protected. But standing up for the Bruiser's not the easiest thing to do. Even for a scrappy lacrosse player like Tennyson. He'll do it, though, because as long as Brewster's around to take the hurt away, the Sternberg home is calm and peaceful. Without Bruiser, Tennyson's happy family would fall apart in an instant. It's only when Brontë and Tennyson realize how addicted they've become to Bruiser's unique kind of drug that they realize they've turned into the worst kind of abusers. Can they face their own emotions in order to spare their new friend? Or will they finish him off with the weight of their pain?
It's hard to summarize this book or to explain why it touched me so completely. Bruiser simply captivated me with its humor and heart. It made me think, it made me sniffle, it made me smile. I loved the characters, the writing, the story, just everything. What else can I say? How about two words: Read it!
(Readalikes: Reminded me of Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis and a little of Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult)
Grade: A-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence and mild sexual innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Bruiser from the generous folks at HarperTeen. Thank you!
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Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

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2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
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2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

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2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

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2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction