Read, Write, Repeat

    I know I’ve done a short story reading list before, but I am always finding new ones that I love. So here are a few more great short story collections. A couple are from specific book series, some are truly unique, but all are YA and great reads!

Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins

Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.

As I’ve said, a lot, I love Stephanie Perkins, and this collection is just as good as her previous one, My True Love Gave to Me. The stand out stories for me were Perkins’ story, which was a sequel to her story in My True Love Gave to Me, Libba Bray’s creepy tale, and Lev Grossman’s story.

Violent Ends edited by Shaun David Hutchinson

It took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others. But this isn't a story about the shooting itself. This isn't about recounting that one unforgettable day. This is about Kirby and how one boy—who had friends, enjoyed reading, played saxophone in the band, and had never been in trouble before—became a monster capable of entering his school with a loaded gun and firing on his classmates. Each chapter is told from a different victim's viewpoint, giving insight into who Kirby was and who he'd become. Some are sweet, some are dark; some are seemingly unrelated, about fights or first kisses or late-night parties. This is a book of perspectives—with one character and one event drawing them all together—from the minds of some of YA's most recognizable names.

Books and stories about school shootings are too common in our world, but I always find myself drawn to them. This one was an extremely unique way of writing about a tragedy, showing very different sides to a boy’s story and the variety of people that are caught in the crossfire.

A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood

Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They're making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.

While some of the stories in this collection were a bit slow, I loved the concept. It told stories about times in history and types of characters we usually only associate with men. And I loved that each tale ended with an author’s note about the historical basis for the story.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson

Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices can get to know warlock Magnus Bane like never before in this collection of New York Times bestselling tales, in print for the first time with an exclusive new story and illustrated material. This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

I know, I know - more of the same authors I always talk about. But this collection is definitely worth it. While some of the events and characters will have a deeper meaning if you’ve read The Mortal Instruments books, you don’t need to know the series to appreciate the wonderfulness that is Magnus Bane.

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant

Fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, from Appalachia, ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California, create alternate universes where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.

This is an older collection that one of my teens suggested to me a while back. I always love a good steampunk story, and this collection did not disappoint.

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

So I wrote a review for the local paper, but they were unfortunately unable to use it and had me write about a different book. So I’ll post my review here!

    Sometimes you read a book that stays with you. It may not be the greatest book you have ever read, or have a profound message, but it haunts you. Robin Wasserman’s new book Girls on Fire is one such book.

    High school can be hard enough on its own without having to deal with self doubt and bullying. But one fateful day, Hannah Dexter heads to the nurse’s office after being picked on yet again by the school’s number one mean girl, Nikki Drummond. There she meets Lacey Champlain. Lacey takes to Hannah instantly, changing her name to Dex and remaking her in Lacey’s own image. But when Lacey disappears one night, leaving Hannah on her own and drunk at a huge party, Hannah has to decide if she can be Dex without Lacey.

    It is easy to read this book as the tale of a complicated and ruinous friendship between two girls. Lacey takes Hannah out of her comfort zone and helps her open up to the world, but she also puts her in dangerous and illegal situations fairly regularly. Dex is the best friend Lacey always wanted, but she’s too unsure to stand up to Lacey and lets Lacey continue down her own destructive path. But beyond these two girls, there’s also their separate and equally troubling relationships with Nikki. These three girls are all intertwined, and it becomes clear they can’t all walk away from this disaster.

    The story isn’t as straightforward as it seems. It drops in pieces of each girl’s life as the book goes on, switching between Lacey and Hannah’s points of view to show everything that happened before Lacey met Dex and what really happened to each girl when Lacey left. Occasionally, there is even a chapter narrated by one of the their mothers, which really hits home the point that a fire doesn’t just touch those standing right next to it. Through these alternating chapters, the story also sets up a mystery that won’t be answered until the very end.

    Wasserman has become a talented suspense writer. Her most recent books, The Book of Blood and Shadow and The Waking Dark, might keep you up at night wondering what is lurking out in the dark. But, much like Girls on Fire, those books stay with you because of the behavior of the people in them and their responses to situations. Wasserman is at her best when she is telling you all about a character and what led them to their present circumstances.

    In Dex and Lacey’s cases, it’s easy to see how they formed such a strong bond. Lacey provided the direction Dex craved while Dex gave Lacey someone who would stay true and loyal to her. So when each girl loses those qualities in each other, it’s how they adapt and carry on that make up the real story.

    This book does have an overwhelming amount of things happening in it. Lacey and Dex’s relationship, Nikki’s relationship with each of them, Dex’s relationship with her parents. It can be a lot to keep up with, but this felt true to me. Teenage girls juggle a lot, trying to navigate through classes, friendships, and a newfound sexuality. While many of Lacey’s adventures seem over exaggerated and dramatic, she represents a young woman who is trying to figure herself out without having anyone to set a good example for her.

    But at the heart of it all, Girls on Fire feels like Hannah Dexter’s story. Lacey swoops in to save her from boredom. Nikki comes along to save her from Lacey. But Hannah can’t seem to be saved from herself. She could be any of us - awkward, unpopular, and unsure. So when she is finally pushed to the edge, it’s not hard to see how this confused young girl can make all the wrong choices.

    American Girls by Alison Umminger tells the story of fifteen year old Anna who has run away from home to stay with her actress sister in LA for the summer. It’s marketed as a book about the Manson girls, because Anna gets a job researching them for a director. But there is so much more going on. Anna runs away after finding out she has to transfer schools the following year, and she steals the money from her mom’s wife to do it. When not with her sister, Anna spends her time with her sister’s boyfriend on the set of a tv show he writes for, and she grows close with one of the actors on the show. Through time with her sister and getting to know this boy, Anna learns a lot about herself, contemplates what people go through for fame, and thinks a lot about the choices that have led her to where she is in life.

    I requested the ARC for this book because I was already reading a book about the Manson girls, The Girls by Emma Cline, and I wasn’t loving it. I read the description for American Girls and thought maybe it would be more of what I hoped to find in The Girls. While the two books are drastically different, American Girls did have what I was looking for - likable characters and a hopeful outlook, framed around the Manson girls’ stories. Anna has made a lot of mistakes, a lot of them based on her beliefs or lack of faith in other people, but she isn’t lost or beyond saving. She finds an understanding for the Manson girls and ties their journey to that of so many other girls from terrible living situations, but she never feels a connection to them personally. The end of the book really cements this as a great story, when Anna realizes she’s learned a lot over the summer. While she doesn’t know what she’ll face when she gets home, she takes a positive outlook on everything, knowing she can only control so much.

    Sometimes I read non-YA books. Rarely, but it happens. And my favorite genres of adult books are science fiction and mystery. Since I’ve mentioned quite a few adult sci fi books on lists before, I figured today I would focus on some great mysteries. I won’t list the more popular titles that most of you have probably heard of, like Gone Girl or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I wanted to suggest some titles that may have passed you by.

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (aka give it up, you’re JK Rowling)

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

    I realize I said I wasn’t going to list popular titles then started the list with JK Rowling, but there’s a reason, I swear! A lot of people I talk to, both friends or patrons at the library, say they didn’t much like the first Cormoran Strike book or don’t like how Rowling writes adult novels. So I’m listing this one to say it’s a lot better than her other adult titles, and you can read it without having read the first two in the series. So if you like old school detective novels, give this one a shot.

Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

Misty Wilmot has had it. Once a promising young artist, she’s now stuck on an island ruined by tourism, drinking too much and working as a waitress in a hotel. Her husband, a contractor, is in a coma after a suicide attempt, but that doesn’t stop his clients from threatening Misty with lawsuits over a series of vile messages they’ve found on the walls of houses he remodeled. Suddenly, though, Misty finds her artistic talent returning as she begins a period of compulsive painting. Inspired but confused by this burst of creativity, she soon finds herself a pawn in a larger conspiracy that threatens to cost hundreds of lives.

    I was torn about adding this title to the list, since it’s not a mystery novel in the traditional sense. It’s written, as the title suggests, like a diary. By the end of the novel, the reader is not only trying to figure out what is happening but whether Misty is losing her mind or not. It’s very Rosemary’s Baby meets Conspiracy Theory, with Palahniuk’s usual odd twist of events.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

Hard on the heels of the return of her mother’s body from the frozen reaches of the Himalayas, Flavia, for her indiscretions, is banished from her home at Buckshaw and shipped across the ocean to Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Toronto, her mother’s alma mater, there to be inducted into a mysterious organization known as the Nide. No sooner does she arrive, however, than a body comes crashing down out of the chimney and into her room, setting off a series of investigations into mysterious disappearances of girls from the school.

    I love a good boarding school mystery, so when I randomly picked up this book in the library one day, I was all in. It’s part of the Flavia de Luce series, but luckily you don’t need to have read them in order to enjoy the story. I really do keep meaning to pick up another one...

Shakespeare’s Landlord by Charlaine Harris

To Lily Bard, the sleepy town of Shakespeare, Arkansas, was the perfect place to hide from the violence that nearly destroyed her life years before. Today Lily is strong, confident in the martial arts she studies, her looks disguised by her closely cropped hair and baggy clothes. Working as a housecleaner, Lily comes and goes without anyone noticing -- until she witnesses a murder. What Lily Bard saw on that dark night has stripped away her anonymity and earned her the unwanted attention of a homicide detective and a suspicious community. And with her intense, married, karate instructor showing a passionate interest of his own, Lily's plan of a private, well-ordered life is coming unhinged. The killer of an unlamented landlord is lurking close by. And while Lily knows the dirt on her neighbors' dust, drawers, and private live , must admit to a secret of her own: that in the shadow of a brutal murder, she is coming alive again...

    Just about everyone has heard of Charlaine Harris’s series that spawned the show True Blood. But she has written a few other great series, and like the Sookie Stackhouse books, the Lily Bard series is a quick, entertaining read.

Rooms by Lauren Oliver

Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance. But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb. The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.

    I love Lauren Oliver’s books, and I might have mentioned this one before, but as her first novel for adults, I think she nailed it. It has a lot of things going on between the living members or the family as well as with the ghosts, all of their characters just as real and enthralling. It’s not a mystery novel in the strictest sense of the word, but the story pulls you in to the mysteries and secrets that each character holds close.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Marisha Pessl’s dazzling debut sparked raves from critics and heralded the arrival of a vibrant new voice in American fiction. At the center of Special Topics in Calamity Physics is clever, deadpan Blue van Meer, who has a head full of literary, philosophical, scientific, and cinematic knowledge, but she could use some friends. Upon entering the elite St. Gallway School, she finds some--a clique of eccentrics known as the Bluebloods. One drowning and one hanging later, Blue finds herself puzzling out a byzantine murder mystery.

    This is one of those books that stays with you. I read it years ago, but I still suggest it quite often to friends or patrons looking for something unique or different.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?). Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all. Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

    I like Liane Moriarty’s books. They have that element of mystery to them and focus on complicated relationships. This one, which was a more popular title, was the first of hers I read. It looks like a large novel, but it’s a quick read.

The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius." Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh. Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

    This is one of my favorite books I’ve read in the past couple years. I don’t want to tell you much about it, because the fun is in discovering just what the heck is going on in the story. I will say it has a sci fi element to it, so it may not be for everyone. But everyone should still give it a shot.

Honorable Mention: You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

A while back, I wrote a post about the important skills gained through reading graphic novels. So I wanted to revisit that topic as I get into teen summer reading mode. It’s important for kids and teens to read over the summer, but a lot of my teens aren’t looking to spend a lot of time on a long novel. So today, I’m going to list some of my favorite graphic novels that I’ll have ready to recommend to my teens.

Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen (Illustrator), Maarta Laiho

At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here.

I love this comic series. It’s weird and quirky, but it says a lot about friendship and growing up. And while its main characters are a group of girls, I have found it appeals to all ages and genders. And it’s on the 2016 Amelia Bloomer list and YALSA’s 2016 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels.

I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly (Writer), J.M. Ken Niimura (Artist)

Barbara Thorson, a girl battling monsters both real and imagined, kicks butt, takes names, and faces her greatest fear in this bittersweet, coming-of-age story!

This is an amazing story about how we use fantasy to cope with grief and hardship. It’s also a great choice for all ages and genders.

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Ooima

Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

This is an intriguing manga series. It raises a lot of questions about bullying and how we treat one another and ourselves. It was also on YALSA’s Top Ten Great Graphic Novels.

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang

Anda loves Coarsegold Online, the massively-multiplayer role-playing game where she spends most of her free time. It's a place where she can be a leader, a fighter, a hero. It's a place where she can meet people from all over the world, and make friends. But things become a lot more complicated when Anda befriends a gold farmer--a poor Chinese kid whose avatar in the game illegally collects valuable objects and then sells them to players from developed countries with money to burn. This behavior is strictly against the rules in Coarsegold, but Anda soon comes to realize that questions of right and wrong are a lot less straightforward when a real person's real livelihood is at stake.

I really enjoyed this story, because someone could just read it without too much thought. However, older or more aware readers will pick up on its comments about how women are treated within the gaming world and how gaming could be used to help others or learn about their society.

Chi’s Sweet Home by Kanata Konami

Chi is a michievous newborn kitten who, while on a leisurely stroll with her family, finds herself lost. Seperated from the warmth and protection of her mother, feels distraught. Overcome with loneliness she breaks into tears in a large urban park meadow., when she is suddenly rescued by a young boy named Yohei and his mother. The kitty is then quickly and quietly whisked away into the warm and inviting Yamada family apartment…where pets are strictly not permitted.

While I love stories with a message, sometimes you just want some fluff. And Chi’s Sweet home is that fluff, literally. It’s adorable and will simply bring a smile to your face.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Doom, Thanos: There's one hero that's beaten them all-and now she's got her own ongoing series! (Not that she's bragging.) That's right, you asked for it, you got it, it's SQUIRREL GIRL! (She's also starting college this semester.) It's the start of a brand-new set of adventures starring the nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world!

A couple of teens kept telling me to read this, and when I finally did, I was kicking myself for putting it off for so long! It’s an amazing return to cheesy comics with a flair of its own. Squirrel Girl is quirky and fun, and her run ins with other well known superheroes are hilarious. It, too, is on the list of Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

Assassination Classroom by Yūsei Matsui, Tetsuichiro Miyaki

The students in Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High have a new teacher: an alien octopus with bizarre powers and unlimited strength, who's just destroyed the moon and is threatening to destroy the earth - unless they can kill him first! Meet the would-be assassins of class 3-E: Sugino, who let his grades slip and got kicked off the baseball team. Karma, who's doing well in his classes but keeps getting suspended for fighting. And Okuda, who lacks both academic and social skills, yet excels at one subject: chemistry. Who has the best chance of winning that reward? Will the deed be accomplished through pity, brute force or poison...? And what chance does their teacher have of repairing his students' tattered self-esteem?

This manga series is so weird it’s good. There’s really no other way to describe it!

Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (Artist)

Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. Home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all...

I love this creepy, unsettling series. It focuses on one family and all the weird things happening to them in Keyhouse. It is one I would only recommend to older teens and adults, though, because there are some rather graphic scenes.

Honorable Mention: Previously Mentioned Titles

Ms. Marvel, Awkward, Drama, and Through the Woods have all been mentioned or reviewed in previous posts, so just know they are amazing and worthy of this list!

Super Honorable Mention: A Monster Calls

    I feel like there are two types of people in the world: those who love Jane Austen and those who don’t get why people love Jane Austen. For those of us who love her, Pride & Prejudice will always be a favorite. These days, it seems the story is being overly adapted, but I don’t care. I will devour all things P&P. So when I saw that Curtis Sittenfeld, who I’ve adored since I read Prep in 9th grade, had written an adaptation of it, I was more than a little excited. I luckily got my hands on an advanced copy of Eligible back in December, and I flew through it.

    In this version of the classic tale, Elizabeth Bennet is a journalist who returns home to help her parents after her father has a heart attack. While there, she learns that the family is also near financial ruin and takes it upon herself to attempt to fix up the house and solve their money woes. Charles Bingley is Chip Bingley, and he is famous for his role on a popular dating reality television show. Fitzwilliam Darcy is a successful neurosurgeon, and Mr. Collins is Cousin Willie, a tech wiz. Wickham is Jasper Wick, Liz’s married best friend who she has mooned after for almost two decades. While the first third of the book follows the original story fairly faithfully, it gets a bit different from there. While it still holds to Austin’s general plot and themes, it takes them on a modern and progressive twist.

   While the love story of Elizabeth and Darcy is a classic, I loved this version of the story because of the ways it developed or morphed the other characters. Jane and Bingley were, of course, still major players, but it gave some life and depth to the other sisters as well. Lydia was still an immature egomaniac, but I ended up adoring her through her love story, which was the biggest departure from the original story. Kitty, too, became a 3D character rather than background noise. And Catherine de Bourgh, who originally dispensed criticism in a harsh manner, was now Katherine de Bourgh, a feminist leader and journalist much like Liz.

I have almost always walked to work. I prefer walking to driving anywhere I can, so I go through a lot of audiobooks. For me, it’s crucial to have a great narrator. Someone who can’t do multiple voices or has a voice I find unpleasant could ruin an otherwise great book. So here are some amazing audiobooks, which really just means here are some great books with amazing narrators.

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School series) by Gail Carriger, narrated by Moira Quirk

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. More interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea - and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy - Mrs. Temminnick is desperate her daughter become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish all right - but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in how to finish in other ways: the fine art of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

This is a great book series on its own, but Moira Quirk has such a great voice. And all of her characters voices are spot on. Listen to all four books in the series, then, move on to Prudence, also narrated by Quirk.

Beauty Queens by, and narrated by, Libba Bray

The 50 contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. What’s a beauty queen to do?

I know I have included this book on a list before, as well as other books by Libba Bray. But this audiobook, narrated by Bray herself, is near perfection. The author’s theater background shines through, making each character unique and with the added bonus of being read, clearly, how the author intended.

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, narrated by Wil Wheaton

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it's quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he's going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

I love Scalzi’s books, and most are narrated by Wil Wheaton. As a personal friend of Scalzi’s, Wheaton clearly cares and loves what he is reading, and gives the books the perfect feel through his voices and style. It was heard to pick among Scalzi’s books, but this one was the first I listened to rather than read, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Neverwhere (BBC Adaptation) by Neil Gaiman, performed by Christopher Lee, James McAvoy,Natalie Dormer, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo,Benedict Cumberbatch, and Anthony Head

Beneath the streets of London there is another London. A subterranean labyrinth of sewers and abandoned tube stations. A somewhere that is Neverwhere....

An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into the strange world of London Below. There he meets the Earl of Earl's Court, faces a life-threatening ordeal at the hands of the Black Friars, comes face to face with the Great Beast of London, and encounters an Angel called Islington.

You knew I couldn’t have a list without Neil Gaiman. (And don’t worry, there’s more to come.) This adaptation was done for BBC Radio, but it can now be heard as an audiobook. It’s a great story, and the acting is amazing, a cast full of people you probably know and love. I mean, it has Benedict Cumberbatch. How can it not be great?

Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

It’s Harry Potter. Does it need a summary?

Somehow, I have made it this far without including Harry Potter on any reading lists. A struggle, but I figure it goes without saying it should be read by all. However, I include it here for those who might not love to read but would listen to it or for those looking to experience it in a new way.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, narrated by Susan Lyons

Brother turns on brother. The throne of England is at stake. The deadly Wars of the Roses have begun....

They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally best-selling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.

Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretly marries the newly crowned boy king of England. While she rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London.

I love historical fiction, and no one does it better than Philippa Gregory. This book, along with other from The Cousins’ War series, was adapted by Starz into a tv series. The series was pretty good, but the book is better. And Susan Lyons tells it perfectly.

The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner, narrated by Ellen Kushner, Barbara Rosenblat,Felicia Day, Joe Hurley, Katherine Kellgren, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman

The Privilege of the Sword tells the tale of a young girl who risks everything to go live with her eccentric, litigious - and extremely rich – uncle Alec in the colorful city Kushner has created, a city where elegant nobles can mingle with raffish actors one moment and deadly swordsmen the next. Fans of Kushner's first book, Swordspoint, will already be familiar with Alec as the angry young scholar with mysterious origins, living in the city’s Riverside district with a notorious killer swordsman. Now, in The Privilege of the Sword, some years later, Alec is the Mad Duke Tremontaine, living in a mansion on the Hill, still tortured by his past….

A great adaptation of Ellen Kushner’s book, this audiobook is read by the author with a supporting cast for certain characters. You don’t need to have read the books predecessor to enjoy the story, though it too is a great audiobook.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, narrated by Shannon McManus

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I adore Stephanie Perkins’ books. I have read and listened to all three of them, and the audiobooks are so good. I chose this one because the narrator just seemed to embody Lola more so than the other narrators for her other books.

Honorable Mention: All the Neil Gaiman