Top Ten Books I Read In 2012

 

1. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. An instant favourite – I’m talking top ten books of all time. I loved Silvey’s style, the authentic characters and the intriguing story.

2. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. It’s Melina Freaking Marchetta. Nobody does beautiful, heartfelt and realistic character-driven stories like she does. This is probably my favourite of her contemporary books.

3. Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver. This was a magical little book about grief and friendship and love. And magic, of course.

4. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. A unique contemporary novel featuring a bunch of broken and messed-up characters who burrow under your skin and take up residence in your heart.

5. Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters. The compelling biography of an “ex-homeless,  ex-junkie psychopath", it's the type of book that stays with you long after you've finished it,

6. Fury by Shirley Marr. A darkly funny mystery featuring a smart and spunky heroine, I was hooked from the first line.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Yes, I only read this for the first time this year. And of course it was brilliant.

8. The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta. Another Marchetta, I know. I went on a bit of a MM-binge earlier in the year, and it was probably my best reading period of the last 12 months. So much gorgeous writing.

9. Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. This rich retelling of Rapunzel weaves together the stories of three powerful women: the "real" Rapunzel, the witch who entrapped her, and the woman who wrote down her story.

10. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist. This was the scariest book I've ever read. While I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed it, it had some powerful (and creepy) imagery, a haunting story and beautiful writing.

What were your fave books of the year?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Review: Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

This was the creepiest book I've ever read in my life.

I was expecting it to be moderately creepy. I've seen the American movie adaptation, Let Me In, and it had a couple of spooky moments but overall it didn't really make me jump. I liked the friendship that blossomed between a lonely, isolated boy and the vampire girl that had moved in next door. Aside from, you know, the bleeding from every orifice and the killing and all that, it was actually kind of a sweet story. I thought the book would be pretty much the same. It wasn't. It really, really wasn't. Forget making me jump - it practically made my hair turn white.

The story about the loner boy and vamp girl is still there, of course, but each character is definitely more creepy than their movie counterparts. Oscar, who is severely bullied, wears a sponge in his pants to soak up urine as he's constantly wetting his pants, and you feel sorry for him until he reveals his scrapbook of serial killers and starts fantasising about hacking up other kids. OK, they're his bullies but... he's one creepy little boy. No wonder he and Eli, the little vampire, get along so well. Eli, of course, is even creepier, with the ability to sprout not only fangs but wings and claws. Not to mention she's a perpetually prepubescent bloodsucker with a paedophile in tow.

Oh yes, the creepiest of the creepy - Eli's "father figure" isn't a little boy who followed her and got old, as in the movie - he's a paedophile who bribes her for sex with blood. It made me feel physically sick. But that's before things got really messed up... Cue a string of murders, people being accidentally turned into vampires, and an "accident" involving acid and attempted suicide, followed by one of the most violent attacks I've ever had the discomfort of reading, and this book makes for a painful, sickening and incredibly terrifying read.

As a horror, it works wonderfully. It's compelling and masterfully told. It contains probably the most bloodcurdling baddie I've ever come across (and I'm not talking Eli), and vividly gruesome imagery that stays in your mind for a long time. But it is not enjoyable at all. I like horror, I really do, but so much of this book made me cringe (read: hide under the covers). I still don't really know what to think of it or how I feel about it. It was a good book, but left me so deeply disturbed. Frankly, I'd rather not really think about it at all, ever again...

Rating: 4/5