Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books I've Read So Far in 2013

This was kind of a tough week for me as I’ve read a string of YA books recently that were just not as good as I wanted them to be. But still! I’ve managed to put together a (rather dark and murdery) list of the top 10 books I’ve read so far this year:

(Original feature courtesy of The Broke and the Bookish)

1.       The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

If you’re a Greek mythology nerd like me, you’ll love this beautiful take on Homer’s Iliad told from the perspective of Achilles’ lifelong companion Patroclus. It’s an intimate look at the boys’ relationship both before and during the Trojan War. Miller’s prose is lush and gorgeous, too. Definitely the best book I have read this year!

Top Ten Tuesday - Books that Feature Travel

I LOVE this week’s category. Travel can be such a rich metaphor, especially in the YA world where protagonists struggle to figure out who they are. Travel is often able to serve as the vehicle for that – pun definitely intended! So without further ado, here are the top ten (mostly YA) books that feature travel in some way:

(Original feature courtesy of The Broke and the Bookish)

    1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone  by Laini Taylor

While I wasn’t 100% thrilled with this book (largely because it seems to become a different novel halfway through), I did adore the notion of portals that Brimstone, the mysterious chimaera who serves as father-figure to main character Karou, is able to conjure. These portals are secret doors that can only be opened from the inside, and from within, they lead to places all over the world: Prague, Paris, and Hong Kong. Brimstone sends Karou on errands through the portals, and between these and the big wish she makes later in the novel to be gifted with a certain mode of transport (think: the feathers on the cover), overall I was left with a taste of the joyful freedom of travel, although for Karou this is tempered by her loneliness.