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lue notebook : a novel / James A. Levine. I heard about this one from Vince Ford (NZ young adult author) who mentioned it at a conference I was at. It is probably the book that made the most impact on me this year. I called it "beautiful but brutal" in my blog review earlier this year and parts of it were very hard to read. The story of a child prostitute in India doesn't pull any punches, but the escape she finds in her imagination is inspiring.
lue notebook : a novel / James A. Levine. I heard about this one from Vince Ford (NZ young adult author) who mentioned it at a conference I was at. It is probably the book that made the most impact on me this year. I called it "beautiful but brutal" in my blog review earlier this year and parts of it were very hard to read. The story of a child prostitute in India doesn't pull any punches, but the escape she finds in her imagination is inspiring.The 
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I wasn't that taken with Coraline earlier this year, although I loved Stardust which I read last year. However this one is right up there and is probably what inspired me to suggest Kris and I do these lists when I said it was one of my books of the year.
Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I wasn't that taken with Coraline earlier this year, although I loved Stardust which I read last year. However this one is right up there and is probably what inspired me to suggest Kris and I do these lists when I said it was one of my books of the year. Two Cats and a Dog come in next, although that is probably cheating a little because they are actually three books. The cats are Dewey : the small-town library-cat who touched the world / Vicki Myron, with Bret Witter. and A cat called Norton : the true story of an extraordinary cat and his imperfect human / Peter Gethers. If a book can make you cry on a train travelling through the National Park, then it has to be good (that was Dewey) and if one kitten can turn a cat hater into a feline fan, then all the better for Norton. Enzo is the mutt of this trio and the story of his family is told from his point of view in an intriguing but ultimately satisfying way in The art of racing in the rain : a novel / Garth Stein.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society / Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. Sometimes I read the latest craze and sometimes I hold out just... because. However I am glad I eventually joined the queue and read this delightful book. It was wonderfully charming, offsetting the angst and blood of the vampire craze that was happening at the same time. And if you liked that then you will probably also like The school of essential ingredients / Erica Bauermeister. which I read later in the year and was on my Top 5 short list.
No time for goodbye / Linwood Barclay. For the first time this year, I delved more into the crime and thriller genre. This was one of the best. A 14 year old girl wakes one morning to find that her entire family has disappeared. 25 years later she is no closer to the truth - but it is just around the corner if she wants to find it.Honourable Mentions should go to The host : a novel / Stephenie Meyer. (which in some ways I rate above Twilight as being a more adult book), The magician's elephant / Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. (magical children's fiction), An echo in the bone : a novel / Diana Gabaldon. (got me back into the Outlander series and wanting to know what happens next) and The tomorrow code / Brian Falkner. (quite a novelty reading a young adult fiction book and being able to recognise the places as the action travels through Rodney)
In my defence of having actually mentioned 12 books in this list - rather than my top 5 - I must let you know that being a Libran, any decision is difficult. And I am just doing you the service of giving you plenty of ideas for holiday reading.
Ka kite
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