With so many good novels released every year, it’s no surprise that a few fall between the cracks and go unread. There’s only so many hours in the day, after all. So for your winter and holiday reading pleasure, Hardly has put together a list of intriguing page turners from 2011 (and even one released in early 2012).
SHATTER ME
by Tahereh Mafi
(HarperCollins)
This highly anticipated novel about teens living in a bleak future society (do any novels take place in a bright, happy future?) mixes romance with a cutting-edge concept. That concept? Juliette, a teen living in a world of environmental devastation and a oppressive government, discovers that she has supernatural powers. Unfortunately, those powers can accidentally kill anybody she touches, making intimacy a definite challenge.
by Tahereh Mafi
(HarperCollins)
This highly anticipated novel about teens living in a bleak future society (do any novels take place in a bright, happy future?) mixes romance with a cutting-edge concept. That concept? Juliette, a teen living in a world of environmental devastation and a oppressive government, discovers that she has supernatural powers. Unfortunately, those powers can accidentally kill anybody she touches, making intimacy a definite challenge.
LOST VOICES
by Sarah Porter
(Thomas Allen)
A haunting novel that explores the imaginary world of mermaids. Luce, an unhappy 14-year-old living in an isolated Alaska fishing village, is violently introduced to a tribe of mermaids after she is viciously assaulted and throws herself into the ocean in despair. Life under the sea is actually an improvement, but the transition to full-on mermaid is not as easy as Luce hoped.
by Sarah Porter
(Thomas Allen)
A haunting novel that explores the imaginary world of mermaids. Luce, an unhappy 14-year-old living in an isolated Alaska fishing village, is violently introduced to a tribe of mermaids after she is viciously assaulted and throws herself into the ocean in despair. Life under the sea is actually an improvement, but the transition to full-on mermaid is not as easy as Luce hoped.
RED GLOVE
by Holly Black
(Simon & Schuster)
This exciting sequel to White Cat finds reluctant curse worker Cassel Sharpe helping the Feds track down his murdered brother. Cassel is still having trouble trying to figure out which of his memories are real and which are implanted by his shifty family, and then there’s his ongoing relationship with Lila, recently released from the spell that kept her trapped inside a white cat, to deal with. Not as kooky as it might sound to the uninitiated.
by Holly Black
(Simon & Schuster)
This exciting sequel to White Cat finds reluctant curse worker Cassel Sharpe helping the Feds track down his murdered brother. Cassel is still having trouble trying to figure out which of his memories are real and which are implanted by his shifty family, and then there’s his ongoing relationship with Lila, recently released from the spell that kept her trapped inside a white cat, to deal with. Not as kooky as it might sound to the uninitiated.
THE SCORPIO RACES
by Maggie Stiefvater
(Scholastic)
Set on the modern-day Irish island of Thisby, this fantasy novel is actually about horse races – carnivorous Celtic water horses, that is, with a tendency to drown and/or eat the racers brave enough to try to ride them. Every year the islanders gather to watch the racers, but they are shocked when Puck, a fiercely independent teenage girl, decides to enter the normally men-only race on her mortal stallion, Corr. An exciting read that captures the sights and sounds of the Irish coast.
by Maggie Stiefvater
(Scholastic)
Set on the modern-day Irish island of Thisby, this fantasy novel is actually about horse races – carnivorous Celtic water horses, that is, with a tendency to drown and/or eat the racers brave enough to try to ride them. Every year the islanders gather to watch the racers, but they are shocked when Puck, a fiercely independent teenage girl, decides to enter the normally men-only race on her mortal stallion, Corr. An exciting read that captures the sights and sounds of the Irish coast.
DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE
by Laini Taylor
(Little Brown)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a dark urban fantasy steeped in mythology, history and magical creatures that are part monster, part angel or demon. There is also a very un-Twilight-like romance at the core and more mysterious houses and buildings than could fit on any map.
by Laini Taylor
(Little Brown)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a dark urban fantasy steeped in mythology, history and magical creatures that are part monster, part angel or demon. There is also a very un-Twilight-like romance at the core and more mysterious houses and buildings than could fit on any map.
UNDER THE NEVER SKY
by Veronica Rossi
(HarperCollins)
Aria is another teen who lives in a dystopian society, this one called Reverie, where the citizens spend their days with friends in virtual worlds. Meanwhile, outside the city walls, people fight for their lives in The Death Shop, a harsh wasteland of wild storms and half-savage hunters. When Aria is exiled from the Reverie, she either has to trust a young hunter named Perry or fend for herself. Her choice is helped along when the two develop a mutual attraction…
by Veronica Rossi
(HarperCollins)
Aria is another teen who lives in a dystopian society, this one called Reverie, where the citizens spend their days with friends in virtual worlds. Meanwhile, outside the city walls, people fight for their lives in The Death Shop, a harsh wasteland of wild storms and half-savage hunters. When Aria is exiled from the Reverie, she either has to trust a young hunter named Perry or fend for herself. Her choice is helped along when the two develop a mutual attraction…
