Reading in the New Year

Being a book enthusiast and an ardent reader, I have long wanted to start a "recommended reads" column on the blog and have given much thought to the various ways it could be done; in order to speed things up, I've decided to go with one of my simpler options.
Five books I read in 2011 (though one I actually just finished today) that I recommend for 2012:

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm: a wonderful family read-aloud about a young girl who goes to live with her cousins in Key West during the Depression, and all of the adventures they have together

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: a young adult novel of mythical water horses, the strength of family bonds, the power of competition, and first love; thoroughly absorbing and compelling

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick: by the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret comes another novel in words and pictures for all ages, telling the intersecting stories of Rose, a deaf girl of 1927 who longs be part of world outside her window, and of Ben, a deaf boy of 1977 who runs away to New York City to find the father he never knew

Icefall by Matthew Kirby: war has broken out in the north countries and the kings has sent his household to a secret fortress hidden amidst mountains and fjords, but even the soldier guards can't halt the treachery of a traitor; a middle-grade fantasy novel

My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger: a novel of love, baseball, family, high school, Mary Poppins, and friendship told in IM chats, school writing assignments, memos, emails, newspaper editorials, journal entries, and theatrical posters

These books are all available through the Hadley public library (and therefore through C/WMARS); check the Hadley library catalog here.

Happy reading and happy New Year!