Class of 2012 YA Superlatives Blogfest: Elements of Fiction

Today's topic on the Class of 2012 YA Superlatives Blogfest is Elements of Fiction.  Continued thanks to Katy, Jess, Alison, and Tracey for hosting!

Most Envy-Inducing Plot (Or, the plot you wish you’d thought of yourself.):

 Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  Not only is this an amazing book full of twists and turns, it's the first in a four-book series that she's had plotted out since before this one was published!  I want her to teach a master class on plotting.   









Most Formidable World (Or, the setting you definitely would NOT want to visit.):

 Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  Being held by the Nazis?  Working on makeshift airstrips in wartime?  Hiding out?  No thanks.  Although I'm sure the girls' homes are absolutely lovely during peacetime.   











Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting you’d happily travel to.):

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard.  Now, ok, really and truly?  I would almost certainly not be happy backpacking around Guatemala.  I want to be someone who would love that kind of thing...but in fact, I freak out easily, travel gives me headaches and upset stomachs, I am REALLY NOT OK with bugs, I love schedules and spreadsheets and being places on time, and I don't like to be grubby.  So it's really a testament to this book that ANY part of me said, "Hey, that sounds awesome!" I guess maybe I just want to read more Kirsten Hubbard? 





Loveliest Prose:

 The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  I'm thinking this will be a popular answer in this category as it's hard to beat Maggie for prose.  Or guitar-sharpieing.  Or rally driving.  Or baked-good inventing.  (She is a superhero, you guys, have I mentioned this before?  I'm pretty sure I have.)








Best First Line:

 "The Garretts were forbidden from the start."  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.  I think I like this one so much because it reminds me of A Christmas Carol's "Marley was dead: to begin with."  It throws you right in and makes you wonder where you're going next. 








Most Dynamic Main Character:
  

 Ismae from Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers.  I mean, the ill-treated daughter of a turnip farmer who becomes an assassin nun?  The blindly loyal assassin nun who learns to question her orders?  The woman who hates men (with good reason) but falls in love with Dreamboat Duval (yeah, that's what I call him.  You got a problem with that)?  If that's not dynamic, I don't know what is.






Most Jaw-Dropping Ending:
    

Insurgent by Veronica Roth/The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  This category could also be called, "Books that made me FREAK OUT when I realized how long I'd have to wait for the next installment."   





 


Best Performance in a Supporting Role:  

The Garrett Family from My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.   It's too hard to pick just one--the whole Garrett clan was well-drawn and totally lovable.  Actually, I really liked Tim and Nan from this book too--as frustrating as Nan could be, I felt like she was pretty realistic.  Sometimes friends get angry at each other for reasons they can't or won't share right away.  Sometimes things just get messy.  This is a big messy book and I love it.





Best Use of Theme:     

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  John Green is a master at getting his ideas across without feeling in-your-face about it.  TFIOS, which deals with death and love and belief and sadness and so many things that could get so heavy or gloopy or lugubrious, manages to convey big ideas about all of those topics while still staying compulsively readable and often funny.  I guess that's why we all love John Green so much.