Best I've Read 2010

Best I've Read 2010 (BIR2010) December 6-14
A group of nine bloggers got together for the first annual Best I've Read 2010 event. I've been entering book giveaways all week, and got inspired to do my own Best I've Read 2010 list. This is a bit of a departure for me, because I usually do Heise's Hot List based on the school year calendar and the dozen favorite books I read that year. I've decided to try it this way to share my list of favorite YA books I read in the calendar year of 2010 (in no particular order - I have a hard enough time narrowing the list down, no way am I going to rank order it!). These are the books that have stuck with me the most for varying reasons related to the writing, the story, or the message.


Best Books I've Read 2010
NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer*
THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney
THE LOST HERO by Rick Riordan*
MATCHED by Ally Condie*
MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins*
THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher
HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter*
LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater*
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
DASH & LILY'S BOOK OF DARES by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR by Steve Kluger
IF I STAY by Gayle Forman


Honorable Mentions
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL by Siobhan Vivian
THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg
THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series by Cassandra Clare*
LEAVING PARADISE and RETURN TO PARADISE by Simone Elkeles
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
*series books

NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL by Siobhan Vivian

Title: NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL

Author: Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Push
Release Date: September 1, 2010
Number of Pages: 336
How I Got It: In my box of free books at ALAN


When I met Siobhan Vivian at the ALAN Workshop, she signed my book and said "I hope you enjoy it." and I told her that I had already pulled it out of my box of books I was going to ship back and hers was in the pile of books to take on the plane with me to read on the flight home. That is how intrigued I was by the premise of this book based on the summary alone. I had not read any of Siobhan Vivian's other books before NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL, but I already bought her others to read based on how much I enjoyed this one!
Summary (from Goodreads) 
     Natalie Sterling wants to be in control. She wants her friends to be loyal. She wants her classmates to elect her student council president. She wants to find the right guy, not the usual jerk her school has to offer. She wants a good reputation, because she believes that will lead to good things.

     But life is messy, and it's very hard to be in control of it. Not when there are freshman girls running around in a pack, trying to get senior guys to sleep with them. Not when your friends have secrets they're no longer comfortable sharing. Not when the boy you once dismissed ends up being the boy you want to be with yourself - but only in secret, with nobody ever finding out.

     Slut or saint? Winner or loser? Natalie is getting tired of these forced choices - and is now going to find a way to live life in the sometimes messy, sometimes wonderful in-between.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the high school drama, relationships, friendships, goals, and reputations. It is a combination book: it's light-hearted, but also deals with heavy, important topics for high school age girls. It is about discovery and finding yourself and figuring out what you really want in life. It's about learning to live your life for yourself and not for what others think of you, but figuring out what it is that others actually do think of you because of how you portray yourself. It's about being OK with the kind of girl you are, and making sure it's the kind of girl you want to be and want others to view you as. It's about reputations (good and bad), how to get them, how to change them, and how important they should really be in making your own decisions. It's a book about girls standing up for each other and supporting each other in being successful. It's about girls having to own up to their bad decisions with boys, but also finding when they're honest about who they are, they are stronger with each other, themselves, and the boys they're focused on. It's about not judging people based on rumors or who you think they are, but giving them a chance to get to know them for who they really are. It's a book that shows girls and boys in all lights - the good and the bad. It's a book showing serious social consequences for actions. 

This book doesn't pull punches. It's honest. It's scary. It's full of heart. It's full of empowerment messages. There are several subplots to keep track of, and the plot kept me interested with all of the things going on. I appreciate the fact that the boy character was a genuinely good guy, although it didn't seem that way in the beginning - again going back to the idea of judging without knowing, just as the main character does. It has characters I'd want to be friends with, characters I'd want to mentor, and characters I'd be interested in. It's enjoyable - an easy, straight-forward read, and highly recommended. It's for a more mature reader, but nothing too graphic, and it's an important before high school read. Vivian writes with a friendly, realistic voice. She writes real characters who have lots of layers. High school is a breeding ground for rumors and ridicule. It's a dangerous balancing act and this book sends the message that you really need to have a strong sense of who you are, your values, and your goals in order to survive it.

Other Books that I was reminded of: The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulburg, She's So Money by Cherry Cheva, and Good Girls by Laura Ruby

4 STARS for NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL