2009 Favorites
I’m sure that I’ve read more books in 2009 than I have in previous years. A lot of them, probably even most, were good, and a few really stood out. Here’s some of my favorites.
Most Inspiring: 
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley made me contemplate once again about what the word “beautiful” really means. It’s a gorgeous story with great characters.
Best Writing:
I came across a bunch of quotes from Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Same Difference
Most Fun:
Fairies! And theatre! I loved Eyes Like Stars
Most Surprising:
What do I mean by surprising? I mean that I was surprised by how much I liked Going Too Far
Best Jane Austen Spin-Off:
The Family Fortune
I love historicals. The Luxe
by Anna Godbersen was very intriguing, and I kept reading to see if my suspicions were correct. Definitely got my interest within the first chapters.
Days of Little Texas
by R.A. Nelson was absolutely bizarre. The mix between religion and the supernatural was fabulous. It wasn’t perfect, but it definitely left an imprint on my brain.
My Soul to Take
by Rachel Vincent was completely enrapturing. Turned out to be a very quick read because I couldn’t put it down! I had several moments when my heart literally started speeding up because I was so invested on what was going to happen to the characters. The second book in the Soul Screamers series, My Soul to Save
, has just recently been released, and I have a copy on its way to me now.
I don’t remember crying during a single book I read this year, I’m not a very outwardly emotional person, but Under This Unbroken Sky
by Shandi Mitchell had me the closest to doing so. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but I soon settled into the rhythm of the story and fell in love. The ending nearly ripped my heart out.
Be Safe Have Fun
WoW: Epitaph Road by David Patneaude
2097 is a transformed world. Thirty years earlier, a mysterious plague wiped out 97 percent of the male population, devastating every world system from governments to sports teams, and causing both universal and unimaginable grief. In the face of such massive despair, women were forced to take over control of the planet–and in doing so they eliminated all of Earth’s most pressing issues. Poverty, crime, warfare, hunger . . . all gone.
But there’s a price to pay for this new “utopia,” which fourteen-year-old Kellen is all too familiar with. Every day, he deals with life as part of a tiny minority that is purposefully kept subservient and small in numbers. His career choices and relationship options are severely limited and controlled. He also lives under the threat of scattered recurrences of the plague, which seem to pop up wherever small pockets of men begin to regroup and grow in numbers.
And then one day, his mother’s boss, an iconic political figure, shows up at his home. Kellen overhears something he shouldn’t–another outbreak seems to be headed for Afterlight, the rural community where his father and a small group of men live separately from the female-dominated society. Along with a few other suspicious events, like the mysterious disappearances of Kellen’s progressive teacher and his Aunt Paige, Kellen is starting to wonder whether the plague recurrences are even accidental. No matter what the truth is, Kellen cares only about one thing–he has to save his father.
The concept of this book is completely intriguing! I wonder how they control how many men are around? I love how this book is set in a time that isn’t that far away. Just think, one plague and BOOM. you’re gone. Kind of creepy.
For more WoWs check out Breaking the Spine
Ephitaph Road’s Amazon Page
*Amazon Affiliate link