Hahahaha, my answer is so obvious and I don’t care – Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I have a feeling I shall be answering a lot of these questions with this answer t b h.
I’m gonna cheat a little bit too and add to my answer because I loved both these books so much – The Diviners by Libba Bray (no-one is surprised lbr) and Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge.
Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn’t?
Soooo many. Angelfall by Susan Fe, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky, Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, all the sequels in The Maze Runner series by James Dashner as well as all the sequels in The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy by Carrie Ryan.
Me after reading these books:
Not. Impressed.
Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2013?
Gullstruck Island, easily. I was just so blown away by the level of complexity in the story; I want to take this book and shove it in the faces of anyone who doesn’t think Children’s literature has any literary value tbh.
Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Code Name Verity and The Diviners, probably. Although everyone just went and read The Song of Achilles instead, which is an excellent compromise since y’know, Achilles and Patroclus.
Best series you discovered in 2013?
Lauren will like this answer XD Umm, ‘discovered’ may not be the right word here, more like ‘threatened into reading’, but I am really loving both the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong and The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I am going to find a way to marry Gansey, you watch.
Favourite new author you discovered in 2013?
Kelley Armstrong, Frances Hardinge, Donna Tartt, Libba Bray, Madeline Miller and Elizabeth Wein.
Neil Gaiman would be on this list too but he is on notice after Neverwhere, a book in which rats are important characters. Like, n o p e.
Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Err, none of them? I don’t know, I read widely so it’d be pretty hard for me to come across something out of my comfort zone since I don’t really have one.
Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2013?
Code Name Verity, Gullstruck Island and The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness, bane of my existence.
Book you read in 2013 that you’re most likely to reread next year?
I want to reread so many but the only one I know I’ll be rereading soon is Code Name Verity. Because I hate myself.
Favourite cover of a book you read in 2013?
Most memorable character in 2013?
All the main characters of The Raven Cycle, Evie from The Diviners, Julia and Maddie from Code Name Verity, Patroclus from The Song of Achille, Hathin from Gullstruck Island and Viola from The Ask and The Answer & Monsters of Men.
Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
The Raven Boys & The Dream Thieves, Gullstruck Island, The Secret History, The Song of Achilles, Code Name Verity and The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente.
Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Code Name Verity, The Song of Achilles and Monsters of Men absolutely devastated me, I will never be whole again tbh.
Book you can’t believe you waited until 2013 to read?
The Secret History and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. They’re both old as balls and yet somehow passed under my radar? HOW?!
Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2013?
“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”
– The Song of Achilles
“It’s like being in love, discovering your best friend.”
– Code Name Verity
“You know the reason The Beatles made it so big?…’I Wanna Hold Your Hand.’ First single. Fucking brilliant. Perhaps the most fucking brilliant song ever written. Because they nailed it. That’s what everyone wants. Not 24/7 hot wet sex. Not a marriage that lasts a hundred years. Not a Porsche…or a million-dollar crib. No. They wanna hold your hand. They have such a feeling that they can’t hide. Every single successful song of the past fifty years can be traced back to ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand.’ And every single successful love story has those unbearable and unbearably exciting moments of hand-holding.”
“But I think of her and I feel like she’s as big as the world.”
“Although everyone just went and read The Song of Achilles instead” OBVIOUSLY, because that’s the first one you said would kill me.
The Ask and the Answer! *weeps* And Viola getting a mention.
“Tiger Lily is a really good adaptation.” Really good. ITS FLAWLESS HDU.
Still not over your love for the Darkling. It’s fabulous.
“*casually skips blogging questions because I am not a real blogger person*” Oh for the gods’ sake.
“Whatever debut Amber makes me read.” ^______^
yeah, but if i’d done the answers they’d have been ‘i liek judith’s blog’ ‘idk, that one time everyone got mad about goodreads and i didn’t care’ ‘how do u network’
maybe i should make it a mission for 2014 to become a real blogger person, hmmm, hmmm
love your answers! and ugh you are making me feel bad.. i have code name verity as well as the companion rose under fire (i think?) on my bookshelf and I haven’t picked them up yet.. and YES TO GANSEY <3 that boy *sigh*
– Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf
you should read it because it is flawless. i didn’t like rose under fire nearly as much tbh, it’s not as good. have you read the dream thieves? 😀 i am in a love affair with gansey and adam, it’s a problem
What was your favorite stand-alone book of 2013 (or ever)? There are not enough YA stand-alones. Sometimes its nice to have a resolution!
code name verity is a standalone, rose under fire takes place in the same time period with characters that appear in cnv but it’s not in any way a direct sequel.
ummmm, ever? i have no idea tbh, i read too much to ever just pick one book but all the ones i mentioned in the survey are legitimate faves XD
IKR, series are so upsetting because you get invested but then have to wait years for the next book. WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT
I REALLY want to read ‘Code Name Verity’ by Elizabeth Wein! I’ve heard so many good things about it! I LOVED the whole ‘Chaos Walking’ Trilogy by Patrick Ness, and Todd and Viola make up my favourite book-pairing! Their friendship was beautiful! Have you read any of Ness’ other books? ‘A Monster Calls’ in just incredible!
-Sophie 🙂
http://a-day-dreamers-world.blogspot.co.uk/
i haven’t read any of his other stuff although more than this will probably be read soonish XD patrick ness is out to ruin my life.
readddd it, you will not regret!
I’m sad Perks of Being a Wallflower was “eh” for you. It’s one of my favorites. But you’ve gotten me even more excited to read Code Name Verity. It’s literally sitting next to my bed giving me puppy eyes.
have you started it????
tbh i don’t have a lot of patience with books like that, especially if they’re from a dude’s pov. real life is already full of people falling over themselves to be sympathetic to the male gender and i’d rather not experience it in the novels i read too.