The Girl (age 13) wanted to share her favorites out of the books she read this year. She has been very busy with school this year, and much of the last few months have been spent preparing for the high school placement test she took at the beginning of December and writing various essays for high school and scholarship applications. While she hasn’t had much time to post reviews here, she has been busy reading. When things ease up a bit, she hopes to launch her own blog, so you might see some of these books reviewed there in the (hopefully) near future. She’s been getting the blog ready, and I’ll let you all know when it’s been launched.
The Girl’s Top 10 Books Read in 2013
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Girl says: “I read this in one day and thought it was amazing. The world was believable, and I fell in love with the characters. Most of them, anyway.”
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Girl says: “I loved everything about this book from start to finish.”
Unfed by Kirsty McKay
The Girl says: “It’s a great second book in what I hope is a series. It picks up right where Undead ends. It’s a great zombie book and always kept me on my toes.”
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Girl says: “This is book 2 in The Hunger Games trilogy and my favorite of the three. I loved the scenes in the arena, and I loved Finnick.”
Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
The Girl says: “This is a young adult novel for teens 14 and up because it is gory. Really gory. But I didn’t mind the gory descriptions because they made the book more vivid and exciting.”
Slated by Teri Terry
The Girl says: “I loved Kyla from the first page, and the dystopian world was very unique and believable.”
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Girl says: “A great way to end the trilogy. It almost made me cry. Almost. I haven’t cried reading a book yet, though.”
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Girl says: “I could feel the fear. This book makes you think.”
Black Box by Julie Schumacher
The Girl says: “A sad, compelling story that has stayed with me.”
Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass
The Girl says: “Wonderful writing, a page-turner.”
The Girl’s 2013 Honorable Mentions
The Tomorrow Girls series by Eva Gray
The Girl says: “I couldn’t put these books down.”
Entice and Endure by Carrie Jones
The Girl says: “A series that will always stay with me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget these characters.”
The Girl wants to know: What were your favorite YA books of 2013?
© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Thanks for the good ideas for my 12yo daughter!
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You’re welcome!
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What a great list of books…and some of these were great reads when I read them. Glad she at least found some time to read, and I’m eagerly awaiting her blog debut!
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I’m glad she put some classics on her list!
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Divergent was enjoyable but for some reason, I have no desire to read the other books. I’ll see the movie though!
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I don’t think I’ll read the books, but The Girl insists that we see the movie when it comes out.
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Great list! (I can’t believe she is 13 all ready… Just saying!) I think my favourite YA book was The Diviners by Libba Bray.
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I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. She wrote down that title to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Wow, so your sweet girl might launch her own blog? How great is that! I must say that I’ve fallen with the cover of “Every Soul a Star” – it’s beautiful. Happy New Year to you and yours, Anna!
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She’s already started work on it; just has to find the time to get some content ready and make the final tweaks. No idea when she’ll have the time though since she’s really busy at the moment. Happy New Year to you as well!
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She has read some great books this year 🙂
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It is an impressive list. I’m very proud!
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How great you raised a reader! Happy New Year Anna.
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I can’t tell you how glad I am that she loves to read like I do! Happy New Year to you as well!
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My daughter also loved The Outsiders (I did too as when I first read it as a teen) and she also couldn’t put down The Tomorrow Girls series. Looking forward to The Girl’s blog!
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I’m glad she made me read The Outsiders when she was finished. It was good. I’ll be sure to let everyone know when her blog goes live. 🙂
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Kudos to you for liking Lord of the Flies – I’ve read it several times between my own school days and the my kids’ and I still have no appreciation for it. Love that you liked The Outsiders so much; now that was one of my favs as a teen. Have you seen the Catching Fire movie?
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She made me read Lord of the Flies and I thought it was pretty good, once you get past all the nature description. Yes, we’ve all seen Catching Fire and loved it!
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I love the diversity of this list!! I’ll be adding Lord of the Flies to my 2014 reading pile since I already have it on my shelf.
Happy New Year (and if I find a book I think will make you cry I’ll be sure to pass it along :))
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I’d love to see a book bring her to tears. She’s always laughing at me when I cry while reading, LOL!
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Thanks for sharing The Girl’s favorites. I’m glad to see The Outsiders has stood the test of time.
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I’m glad she made sure I didn’t miss out on a good book. I love that she’s giving me recommendations now. 🙂
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Nice choices! Thanks for sharing them with us.
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Thanks, Alex!
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Oh dear, just felt compelled to download Every Soul a Star. Don’t tell Jim! :–)
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She’s so glad you took one of her recommendations! Your secret is safe with us. 🙂
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Oh how fun that the girl is branching out on her own! These books are certainly a far cry from the little story books she told us about years ago. I’m assuming she’s applying for private schools? Sounds very intense! Best wishes to her!
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Thanks, Trish! Yup, she goes to private school. I can’t believe how much her reading tastes have grown in just a few short years.
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Best of luck to The Girl with her studies! What an awesome list. My daughter read and loved The Outsiders this past year as well.
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Thanks, Naida! Glad to hear your daughter enjoyed it as well.
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[…] as one of the 2013 “Favorites of the Year” by “The Girl” from Anna’s blog at Diary of An Eccentric. I happen to know The Girl, who is not only adorable in every way, but well-read and articulate […]
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