2015: Year in Review

What time is it?

SHOWTIME!

No, really. It's time to take a gander at my favorites from 2015. (Please remember that all the books I read in 2015 aren't necessarily published in 2015. Sometimes I am ahead of the game; sometimes behind.)

Number of posts: 122
Number of books reviewed: 99 (ye gods; really? weaksauce)

Favorite MG
Orbiting Jupiter (this one could go YA or MG)
Roller Girl

Favorite YA
Goodbye Stranger (this too could go YA or MG)
Read Between the Lines

Favorite adult
Furiously Happy
Syllabus

Favorite discoveries of backlist awesomeness
Phoebe and her Unicorn
Missile Mouse

Favorite jackets
Good Mourning
Circus Mirandus
George
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Penguins with People Problems: Review Haiku

You're going to wish
you'd gotten this in your stocking.
(Commence guffaws.)

Penguins with People Problems by Mary Laura Philpott. Penguin, 2015, 112 pages.

Merry Christmas.

Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Review Haiku

Your new favorite
charmingly ridiculous
culinary hero.

Rutabaga the Adventure Chef Book 1 by Eric Colossal. Amulet, 2015, 127 pages.

Harriet the Invincible: Review Haiku

A rodential twist
on fairy tales, with one
kicka$$ heroine. Sweet.

The Hamster Princess #1: Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon. Dial, 2015, 242 pages.

The Hired Girl: Review Haiku

Farm girl flees to big
city; learns more than she
ever knew possible.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick, 2015, 387 pages.

Unfinished Business: Review Haiku

Clear-eyed assessment
of problems and solutions
with work and family.

Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, Family by Anne-Marie Slaughter. Random, 2015, 328 pages.

Exquisite Corpse: Review Haiku

Well, if this is not
delicious, shocking revenge,
I don't know what is.

Exquisite Corpse by Penelope Bagieu. First Second, 2015, 124 pages.

PrinceLESS: Review Haiku

If Merida and
Tiana aren't independent
enough for you . . .

PrinceLESS series by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin. Action Lab Entertainment, 2014, 118 pages.

Lafayette and the American Revolution: Review Haiku

The truth behind the
perfection of Daveed Diggs.
Rebel with a cause.

Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman. Holiday House, 2010, 88 pages.

Orbiting Jupiter: Review Haiku

Tough stuff told beautifully
by a master of
the form. Age issues?


Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt. Clarion, 2015, 192 pages.

TOMORROW: Come to the Advent Fair!

Local peeps, get your holiday shopping done at the annual St. Paul's Advent Fair! 9:00am to 2:00pm, 100 Pine Hill Road in Bedford.

http://www.thebedfordcitizen.org/2015/11/23/st-pauls-advent-fair-saturday-december-5-from-9-am-until-2-pm/

Come Rain or Come Shine: Review Haiku

Just as sweet as
orange marmalade cake -- and just
as believable.

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon. Putnam, 2015, 304 pages.

Missile Mouse: Review Haiku

Intergalatic
spy drama with a rodent
twist. Why aren't there more?

Missile Mouse #1: The Star Crusher 
Missile Mouse #2: Rescue on Tankium 3 by Jake Parker. Scholastic/Graphix, 2010/2011, 172 pages.

Hilo: Review Haiku

Robots, world
domination, and friendship.
Also, silver underpants.

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick. Random, 2015, 192 pages.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Review Haiku

Yes, I am the last
person to read this. Lo,
the sins of the fathers . . .

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbonsky. S&S, 1999, 213 pages.

Infinite In Between: Review Haiku

Five teenagers, four
years of high school,
infinite possibilities.

Infinite In Between by Carolyn Mackler. Harper Teen, 2015, 462 pages.

Good Mourning: Review Haiku

Insanely rich girl
takes job at funeral home;
friends, family gape.

Good Mourning by Elizabeth Meyer. Gallery Books, 2015, 280 pages.

Honor Girl: Review Haiku

Not your typical
summer-camp love story.
Also, she's a crack shot.

Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash. Candlewick, 2015, 267 pages.

The Seventh Most Important Thing: Review Haiku

Troubled kid finds
redemption helping old man
create beauty from trash.

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall. Knopf, 2015, 278 pages.

Furiously Happy: Review Haiku

Come for the promise
of taxidermy; stay for
the affirmations.

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson. Flatiron Books, 2015, 329 pages.

Irrationally Yours: Review Haiku

Perfect stocking stuffer/
Secret Santa gift for
your acquaintances.

Irrationally Yours by Dan Ariely. Harper, 2015, 240 pages.

Dory and the Real True Friend: Review Haiku

It's just like Snuffleupagus
(used to be), but
with real kids instead.

Dory and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon. Dial, 2015, 160 pages.

Best Friend Next Door: Review Haiku

When proximity
indicates amity; also,
when it doesn't.

Best Friend Next Door by Carolyn Mackler. Scholastic, 2015, 214 pages.

Sigh.

My Cubbies lost.

My Mets lost.

I do like the Royals, and they fought fiercely for a well-deserved title. But still. Sigh.

Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging.

P.S. PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT IN 108 DAYS.

Can't post. Baseball.

The Undertaking of Lily Chen: Review Haiku

Freaky-deaky tale
of sibling rivalry, love,
and death -- sometimes twice.

The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff. First Second, 2014, 432 pages.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn: Review Haiku

WHY HAD I NEVER
HEARD OF THIS TILL NOW?
Calvin & Hobbes, but sparkly.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. Andrews McMeel, 2015, 224 pages.

We Should All Be Feminists: Review Haiku

A stocking stuffer
for all the feminists
in your whole family.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Anchor, 2015, 65 pages.

Happy birthday to him.

This guy is in his prime today. (Get it? GET IT?)

Appleblossom the Possum: Review Haiku

Still not cute enough
to counter the mean one I
saw in my backyard.

Appleblossom the Possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Dial, 2015, 288 pages.

Stuck in the Middle: Review Haiku

Both reassuring
and terrifying for this
middle-school mama.

Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age edited by Ariel Schrag. FSG, 2007, 224 pages.

Saint Anything: Review Haiku

How do you atone
for someone else's sins?
And why should you have to?

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. Viking, 2015, 432 pages.

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate: Review Haiku

Boy-gets-dog story:
his brilliant sister is the
brains behind it, natch.

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Holt, 2015, 320 pages.

Drowned City: Review Haiku

Brutal, clear-eyed look
at a national tragedy
of cruel neglect.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown. HMH, 2015, 96 pages.

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer: Review Haiku

If I called Sophie
"plucky," would you ever
forgive me? Whatta chick!

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones. Knopf, 2015, 224 pages.

Stonewall: Review Haiku

How far we've come;
how far we haven't come.
Fascinating history.

Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights by Ann Bausum. Viking, 2015, 80 pages.

The Unmapped Sea: Review Haiku

Old sailors never die;
they just have all their offspring
cursed by she-wolves.

The Unmapped Sea (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place) by Maryrose Wood. Balzer + Bray, 2015, 416 pages.

Mary Poppins: Review Haiku

She's a right nasty
bitch, isn't she? And where did
those babies come from?

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers. Harcourt, originally published 1934, 192 pages.

Anne of Green Gables: Review Haiku

I expected more
Gilbert and less Dickensian
yammering on.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Puffin, originally 1908, 464 pages.

It's Labor Day.

I'm not laboring.

Chasing Secrets: Review Haiku

Race, class, love, death -- if
you thought plague was a thing of
the past, think again.

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko. Wendy Lamb, 2015, 228 pages.

Royal Wedding: Review Haiku

The weirdest part was

reading the middle-school version

before this one.

Royal Wedding (Princess Diaries) by Meg Cabot. Morrow, 2015, 448 pages.

Circus Mirandus: Review Haiku

When the hype machine
gets it right: a stunning and
memorable debut.

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley. Dial, 2015, 292 pages.

Syllabus: Review Haiku

Now and forever,

Lynda Barry is the funk
queen of everywhere.

Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor by Lynda Barry. Drawn and Quarterly, 2014, 200 pages.

YOU GUYS I'M GOING TO SEE HAMILTON TONIGHT

I am just an eensy bit excited.

http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com/

Milo Speck: Accidental Agent: Review Haiku

The missing-sock trope
goes in a whole new direction.
Deceit! Ogres!

Milo Speck: Accidental Agent by Linda Urban. Harcourt, 2015, 272 pages.

The Nest: Review Haiku

Someone said "Oppel

goes Gaiman," and that feels just

right to me. Spooky.

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Jon Klassen. S&S, 2015, 256 pages.

Pop Goes the Circus and Loch Ness Punster: Review Haiku

Epistolary,

 

illustrated middle grade
is your thing? Enjoy.

Pop Goes the Circus (Three-Ring Rascals #4) by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise. Algonquin, 2015, 144 pages.
The Loch Ness Punster (43 Old Cemetery Road #7) by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise. Harcourt, 2015, 144 pages.

Last Panda Standing: Review Haiku

Now I kinda want
to see Sandoval in a
platypus costume.

Last Panda Standing (Platypus Police Squad #3) by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Walden Pond, 2015, 256 pages.

Lost in the Sun: Review Haiku

What do you do when
no one hates you as much as
you insist they should?

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff. Philomel, 2015, 304 pages.