Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Favourite Books in the Past Three Years

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Favourite Books in the Past Three Years.  It's supposed to be "all-time favourites", but I haven't read that many super-awesome books recently; most of my all-time favourites were read a long time ago.

Top Ten Favourite Books in the Past Three Years:

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
read in 2015

This is the only book on the list that I read this year, but hey... I haven't read that many books in 2015 yet!  I really, really enjoyed this story.  When time travel is done well, it can be awesome.

Synopsis:

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She's tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present-- imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend, James, since they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America's most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James's life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina's hopes for their future. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it... at least, not as the girl she once was. Em and Marina are in a race against time only one of them can win.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

read in 2014

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, but it ended up being one of my favourite reads last year.  It's got well-developed characters and a historical-type setting, and the story itself was very intriguing.

Synopsis:

Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family. Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever. This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith’s passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last.

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
read in 2014

I finally got around to reading the final two books in this amazing trilogy last year (I read the first book in 2013).  While all three books ended up getting four-and-a-half ladybugs, this second book was my favourite out of the three.

Synopsis: 

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Free as a Bird by Gina McMurchy-Barber

read in 2014

I ended up reading quite a few historical fiction novels last year, and this was one of the best ones.  I can't say that I've read that many books where the main character has a disability, so this one was refreshing and offered me something that I hadn't experienced much before as a reader.

Synopsis:

Born with Down syndrome, Ruby Jean Sharp comes from a time when being a developmentally disabled person could mean growing up behind locked doors and barred windows and being called names like "retard" and "moron." When Ruby Jean's caregiver and loving grandmother dies, her mother takes her to Woodlands School in New Westminster, British Columbia, and rarely visits.

As Ruby Jean herself says: "Can't say why they called it a school -- a school's a place you go for learnin an then after you get to go home. I never learnt much bout ledders and numbers, an I sure never got to go home."

It's here in an institution that opened in 1878 and was originally called the Provincial Lunatic Asylum that Ruby Jean learns to survive isolation, boredom, and every kind of abuse. Just when she can hardly remember if she's ever been happy, she learns a lesson about patience and perseverance from an old crow.

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

read in 2014

I read Before I Fall years ago (and that one is one of my all-time favourite books), and I wanted to read something else by this author.  This middle-grade fantasy is an absolutely adorable, well-written story about a little girl, a little boy, and a ghost.

Synopsis:

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
read in 2012

2012 was obviously a lean year for good books; this was the only one with a high enough rating to make the cut.  I really enjoyed this story, though much of that enjoyment may have come from the uniqueness of the book itself.  The weird old photos that were incorporated into the story added a touch of magic (and creepiness) that I haven't seen duplicated.

Synopsis:

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt

read in 2013

One of two verse novels to make the list, this one was a bit of a surprise for me.  I enjoy reading about places that I'm familiar with, so this Vancouver-set story was something I thought I might like.  The subject matter itself is gritty and scary and real (the story is based on actual events that were going on at the time), but the characters are done well and I really cared about what was happening to them.

Synopsis:

When sixteen-year-old Angel meets Call at the mall, he buys her meals and says he loves her, and he gives her some candy that makes her feel like she can fly. Pretty soon she's addicted to his candy, and she moves in with him. As a favor, he asks her to hook up with a couple of friends of his, and then a couple more. Now Angel is stuck working the streets at Hastings and Main, a notorious spot in Vancouver, Canada, where the girls turn tricks until they disappear without a trace, and the authorities don't care. But after her friend Serena disappears, and when Call brings home a girl who is even younger and more vulnerable than her to learn the trade, Angel knows that she and the new girl have got to find a way out.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

read in 2014

This verse novel has been around for a while, but I only read it last year.  For a middle-grade novel, some of the story is kind of harrowing, but it's a really good example of historical fiction that's engaging and interesting.

Synopsis:

When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring.

Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the environmental--and emotional--turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength.

Skellig by David Almond

read in 2013

This is another older book that I only read recently.  It's a wonderful middle-grade story about a boy who finds a mysterious being in a run-down garage.  While it's technically a paranormal sort of story, it's quite different from most of the young-adult offerings in the same vein.

Synopsis:

Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage and encounters a strange being who changes his world forever.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

read in 2013

Warm Bodies is one of the only books on this list that I'd probably consider an all-time favourite.  And, before I read it, I wasn't quite sure that I wanted to!  Even if you think zombies aren't your thing, I'd recommend this book anyway; you might be surprised.

Synopsis: 

'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...

What are your favourite reads of the past three years?