How to use this Page

Everyone you meet
is fighting a battle you
know nothing about.

Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles. Candlewick, 2015, 336 pages.

More than your garden-variety
quirky middle-grade.
Trilobites!

Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb. Balzer + Bray. 2015, 304 pages.

Grief in tangible and
intangible forms: a
deft meditation.

The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold. Harcourt, 2015, 240 pages.

It's Spring! With Batty!
And you will cry and cry and cry.
And then rejoice,

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall. Knopf, 2015, 352 pages.

A satisfying
goodbye to one of my
favorite knuckleheads.

Completely Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee. Hyperion, 2015, 192 pages.

Beautiful meditation
on life, death, and friendship.
Worth all the buzz.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart. Scholastic, 2015, 240 pages.

CREEPY AS ALL HELL,
and wonderfully rich and
compelling to boot.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. McElderry/S&S, 2014, 208 pages.

Gamer girl figures
out the rules aren't always
black-and-white. Hardcore smarts.

In Real Life/IRL by Cory Doctorow, illustrated by Jen Wang. First Second, 2014, 192 pages.

To adore this book
as much as I did, turn to
page one. Keep going.

Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris. Crown, 2014, 304 pages.

I swear I'll get back
to running again this year.
BELIEVE IN THE BLERCH.

The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by The Oatmeal. Andrews McMeel, 2014, 148 pages.

Reviews posted: 128 (Clearly I'm falling down on the job.)

I feel like I read way more MG than YA this year, but apparently all the love went to YA.

Favorite MG reads of 2014
The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jenni Holm
The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson
El Deafo by Cece Bell

Favorite YA reads of 2014
Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang
When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Greatest Nostalgia for One's Junior High Reading Years
The Alfred G. Graebner Memorial High School Handbook of Rules and Regulations

Favorite Jackets of 2014
100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Some parts haven't aged
well, but overall, as awesome
as I recall.

The Alfred G. Graebner Memorial High School Handbook of Rules and Regulations by Ellen Conford. Little Brown, 1976, 220 pages.

(Ignore the "TWO PAWS UP BOOKS" in that image. Jackets of OP books are hard to find . . . )

Add to your list of
Debuts That Knock It Out of
the Park. Powerful.

Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang. Greenwillow, 2014, 304 pages.

Way more fun than a
Victorian setting has
any right to be.

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry. Roaring Brook, 2014, 351 pages.

I love these boys, all
of them. Powerful, hard-hitting,
smart. And funny!

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum, 2014, 240 pages.

Moves beyond its
tabloid premise (DEAD FROZEN HEAD!)
to find real meaning.

Noggin by John Corey Whaley. Atheneum, 2014, 352 pages.

Deeper than it looks
and expertly wrought.
Give that fish a sticker, eh?

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm. Random House, 2014, 208 pages.

Is it creepy that
I want Jackson to be my
boyfriend? Probably.

The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson. Scholastic/Levine, 2014, 240 pages.

Stick this on your
Diverse Books About Kicka$$ Girls
shelf. (Don't have? MAKE ONE.)

El Deafo by Cece Bell. Amulet/Abrams, 2014, 248 pages.

Proof that books make
anyone a better person . . .
eventually.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Workman, 2014, 272 pages.

I know, I'm the last
one to read it -- and yes,
it's really that awesome.

Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos. FSG, 2004, 208 pages.

Profane, terrifying,
hilarious, and wise.
PLUS GIANT MANTIDS.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith. Dutton, 2014, 432 pages.

I know, I'm the last
one to read it -- and yes,
it's really that awesome.

Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos. FSG, 2004, 208 pages.

ZOMGWTFBBQ--
yes, it's just as
good as you hoped.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Delacorte, 2014, 240 pages.

Halse Anderson
does it again: takes my heart and
rips it wide open.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. Viking, 2014, 304 pages.