Emily’s Best Books of 2011

My top five (where I cheat and make it a top seven by including the first in certain series) Click on the title to see my review:

1.      Divergent: Dystopia set in futuristic Chicago that involves bravery, love, and self-discovery.

2.      Clockwork Prince (Clockwork Angel): Tessa, paired with two handsome and confusing demon-slayers, finds herself in a battle against evil in Victorian England.

3.      Crossed (Matched): Dystopia in which Cassia must decide between safety and freedom.

4.      Unearthly: Clara is part-angel with a mission to save a boy. But what if she likes a different boy?

5.      Epic Fail: Modern-day Pride and Prejudice mixed with your favorite CW show.   

Not actually published in 2011 but some top picks from books I read this year:

6.      Going TooFar: Jennifer Echols at her finest with this love story between a good boy and a rebellious girl.

7.      The HungerGames (Catching Fire and Mockingjay): Dystopia where kids are set against each other on live television.

There are so many great books I haven’t yet gotten a chance to read, so look for more great reviews of 2011 books in the new year. Special thanks to all my blog readers thus far- Happy New Year!

Going Too Far (Jennifer Echols)

Title: Going Too Far

Author: Jennifer Echols

Publisher: MTV Books

Length: 245 pages

Rating: 5/5

I feel obliged to admit I’ve got a total girl-crush on Jennifer Echols. I tend to love everything she writes, and Going Too Far was no exception. It seems like a simple enough premise: bad girl, good boy. Meg is a reckless teen dying to get out of town. One night she goes too far and her punishment is riding the night shift with a play-by-the-rules rookie cop, John. How could they not start to fall for each other? But both have a lot of baggage holding them back, especially the fact that John has chosen to stay behind in the tiny town Meg can’t wait to escape.

Things I loved:

1.     Characters: I dare you to read this book and not love John. I also dare you to not like Meg. She’s spunky and witty and flawed. Yeah she’s got issues, but don’t we all?

2.      Witty dialogue: the story happens in a pretty short time frame, so there’s a lot of dialogue between Meg and John as they ride around. It’s great because it’s not beautifully styled. Sometimes the dialogue jumps around just like it would in a real conversation. Maybe it was because I had just watched Rookie Blue, but the dialogue made the book kind of like a TV show or movie running through my head. It was great and I had a lot of trouble putting the book down.

Things you should know before reading

1.    If this was a movie, it would probably get a PG-13 rating. Sex is alluded to on page one, but I wouldn’t call it a bodice ripper. YA romance has its dignity…or maybe that’s John…

2.    Let me repeat again that this isn’t just a light fluffy read. The characters have baggage, they’re flawed. All this just made the story better. This is one of the things I really like about Echols- she writes great romance, but it’s not all about the romance- the characters have personality and depth and well, character.

3.    Echols has written similar books (same genre, same size, same publisher) and I plan on reading them as well. I’ll let you know what I think!

     

     PS A frequently asked question on Echol's website is this: Is John from Going too Far based on a real person, and can I borrow him?

     Her answer? No

     Well darn...