Faves of 2011 Book Awards: The Scenes

The Faves of 2011 Book Awards are hosted by Nomes at Ink Crush.

Day Three: The Scenes

1. Best first chapter

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Beagle's beautiful, whimsical prose is evident from the very first line, instantly pulling me in and effectively setting the tone for the rest of the novel: "The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless colour of sea foam, but rather the colour of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea..."

2. Best climax

Don't ask me how I got to my age without knowing what happened in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but the climax completely blew me away. 

3. Best ending

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson is designed in a scrapbook style, with photos and receipts scattered throughout. The final receipt on the last page made me smile and do a happy sigh - it says so much while saying so little.

4. Best plot twist/revelation (no spoilers!)

The revelations in the final third of I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington are heart-breakingly amazing.

5. Scariest/most disturbing scene

While it didn't turn out to be a very scary book, the first third of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is pretty frightening. The scene where Jacob is in the basement at the old house, and it suddenly gets dark and you can hear the peculiar children coming, and then they peer down into the hole at Jacob - eep! I'm getting goosebumps writing about it now.

6. Steamiest scene (or sweetest/sexiest kiss award)

This is a hard one, but I think the absolute steamiest (AND sweetest) scene would have to be Alex and Brittany in the garage in Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.

   
7. Best swoon-worthy moment

Etienne meeting Anna at the top of Notre Dame in Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Swooooon! 

8. Biggest nail-biting moment

When Katniss pulls back her bow at the end of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. 

9. Most hilarious scene

There are so many funny moments in Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. I especially loved the commercial breaks and footnotes. But the scene that comes to mind most when I think about the funny is when the reality show pirates crash land, and the girls subsequently go nuts over being near boys again.

10. Most heart-breaking/tear-jerker moment

Oh boy, there were quite a few of these. Like, pretty much all of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Perhaps the most heartbreaking of all was Tommy, screaming in agony as his heart breaks. It's overwhelming in the book, and brilliantly portrayed by Andrew Garfield in the movie (check out the two minute mark in the trailer below to catch a glimpse).

 
BONUS: Favourite meet cute

Anna literally running into Etienne in the hallway in Anna and the French Kiss. Cuteness.

What were your fave scenes of 2011?

Faves of 2011 Book Awards: The Characters

The Faves of 2011 Book Awards are hosted by Nomes at Ink Crush.

Day Two: The Characters

1. Favourite female main character

I'm going to cheat and say the collective cast of Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. They share the spotlight as main characters, and are all so awesome in completely different ways. I loved Tiara for her ditzy wisdom, Taylor for her kick-arse cray cray, Adina for her snarky smarts, Petra for her brave confidence, Mary Lou for her wild girl ways, Jennifer for her self-assurance, Shanti for her dedication, Nicole for her fierceness and Sosie for her Helen Kellar-bration. Such an amazing ensemble.

 
2. Favourite male main character

Med Atley from I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington. He was vividly drawn, totally realistic, completely lovable and utterly heartbreaking.

3. Best couple

I read a helluva lot of love stories, so this one is really hard to narrow down. But after some (not so) serious consideration, I'm giving this one to Petra and Sinjin from Beauty Queens. I love the way they're both a little kooky, but totally get one another and accept each other unconditionally. Plus they flirt by quoting Dickens, which is, like, way hot.

 
4. Who I so want to be best friends with

Kiara from Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles. She's smart, kind, funny and doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her. Oh, and she can bake. She'd make an awesome BFF!

 
5. Who I fell completely in love with (new literary crush)

Etienne St Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Love, love, love, love, love him. There are a lot of other book guys I've crushed on this year, but Etienne is a head above the rest. Not literally, of course - he's kinda short, which is SO not my type, but he's so amazing he more than makes up for it.

6. Worst (best & baddest) villian

President Snow from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Creepy, manipulative and just pure evil. 

 

 
7. Best character twist (who you loved then hated or vice versa)

President Coin from Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I wouldn't say I loved her to start with, but there was a big twist that definitely made me really, really hate her.

 
8. Best kick-arse female

If you looked kick-arse up in the dictionary, there'd be a picture of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy.

9. Best kick-arse male

Alex Fuentes from Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. He goes up against a whole gang of thugs for the woman he loves. *sigh*

10. Broke your heart the most

Lochie from Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. Gut. Wrenching. Seriously, I'm getting tears in my eyes just thinking about him.

 

11. Favourite pet/animal character award

Bernie Kosar in I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. I'm not exaggerating when I say he's the best character in the whole book.

12. Best YA parents award

There were a couple I could have given this award to, but ultimately I have to go with Lola's dads in Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. They're just adorable, not to mention really awesome parents.

 

13. Favourite sibling relationship

Maya and Lochie from Forbidden. Jokes! As much as I like the book, incest doesn't really make for an ideal sibling relationship. Ahem. No, I really adored Mia and Teddy in If I Stay by Gayle Forman (sob!).

 

14. Favourite best friends/friendship award

This has to go once again to everyone in Beauty Queens. They might not start out as besties, but by the end they're 100 per cent supportive, caring and encouraging of one another.

15. Best/worst character names

Best: Call me crazy, but for some reason I really love the name Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door.

Worst: Pretty much everyone in Forbidden, but especially Lochan, Tiffin and Willa.

Bonus: Best love triangle

It feels like every YA book has a love triangle these days. I would have to say my favourite of 2011 was the one in The Hunger Games trilogy, purely because for most of the series, I was actually really torn between the two guys in it and didn't feel like it was at all obvious who Katniss would or should end up with.

Who were your fave characters of 2011?

 

*With the exception of Donald Sutherland (Snow), Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) and Alexander F. Rodrigues (Alex), the actors pictured here are my own interpretation of the characters, not official casting.

Faves of 2011 Book Awards: The Books

The Faves of 2011 Book Awards are hosted by Nomes at Ink Crush.

Day One: The Books
 

1. Favourite book read in 2011

It's so hard to pick just one book that is my ultimate favourite from the year, but after giving it some thought I'm going to have to go with Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. More than any other book this year, it's the one I've thought about, raved about, wanted to reread and nagged others to read. It's just a lot of fun and puts a smile on my face. Love.

2. Most powerful book.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This one haunted me for days. Actually, it still kinda haunts me.

3. Brilliantly Funny

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, no contest. It's brilliant, it's funny. 'Nuff said.

 
4. Best ache-y, heartbreaking, tear-jerker read

I read a few heartbreaking books this year, but I think the one that left me ugly crying the most was Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. It was so sad I felt physically ill.

5. Most beautiful story

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Beautiful plot, beautiful imagery, beautiful characters, beautiful prose - just all-round beautiful!

 

 
6. Delicious rainy-day comfort read

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, for all the reasons I already mentioned. 

 
7. Adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Is it cheating if I include the whole trilogy? I can't help it, I read them all so close together it's impossible to separate them. They were definitely hard to put down! 

 
8. The beautiful prose award

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - his prose is just exquisite.

 
9. Most atmospheric and vivid setting

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. The setting of Cambridge Falls is central to the book, and it's mysterious, kinda spooky and definitely atmospheric. Stephens did a wonderful job of building the world, characters and place.

 

 
10. I-so-want-to-go-there award

Austenland by Shannon Hale. An adult playground populated by Darcy-esque characters? Yes, please.

 
11. Most original and imaginative

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Not only is the story really unique, but the way it's told - especially with the integration of authentic, retro photos - is like nothing I've come across before.

 
12. Best under-appreciated, hidden gem book

The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock. Not a lot of people seem to have read this one, but I thought it was great. I loved the way it was told, with interweaving stories unfolding decades apart.

13. I-had-no-idea-I-would-love-this-so award

It keeps popping up, but I'm going to have to go with Anna and the French Kiss once again. As I mentioned in my review, I took one look at the cover and title and dismissed it as kinda lame. So imagine my surprise when it became my favourite book of the year!

 
14. Most haunting story

Considering I've already mentioned how much this book haunts me, I'm definitely going to go with Never Let Me Go.

 
15. Outside my comfort zone, but gosh how I loved it

I avoided If I Stay by Gayle Forman for a long time because I was so afraid it'd make me really, really depressed and uncomfortable. I'm glad I finally picked it up, because it was a beautiful book - heartbreaking, yes, but beautiful.

 
16. Series that I’m loving

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens - I can't wait for the next book!

 
17.  Always recommending this book award

As you can tell by the frequency with which it's appeared on this list - Anna and the French Kiss!

 
18. Completely awesome premise award

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. I was going to pick one of the dystopian or fantasy books I've read this year, but then I remembered how much I loved the idea of two strangers falling in love via a bookstore and a book of dares. So romantic and fun! 

 
19.  Would make the best movie

I sound like a broken record now, but I have to say it again: Anna and the French Kiss. 

 
20.  Want to re-read already

Ummm... yeah. Anna. 

What were your fave reads of the year?

Manip Madness: Breaking Dawn

Your regularly scheduled Mag Monday post is interrupted today because a) Nothing in magazines this week particularly caught my fancy, and b) Breaking Dawn Part 1 is released on Thursday, and I thought I should kick off Monday with something Twilight-related to generate some excitement (coz I gotta be honest, I'm weirdly not feeling any). I was going to feature my favourite Twilight magazine covers, but they're kinda old news, so I thought it would be way more fun to look at fan manips instead. Behold, Breaking Dawn as the fans (with Photoshop) see it...

The wedding

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The sexy times (a.k.a. the honeymoon)

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The pregnancy

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The demon spawn (a.k.a. RENESMEE)

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 The "let's pretend Rob doesn't have a pasty, scrawny, Englishman's body"

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And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Let's just say Twilight fans are very... creative.