Reading Roundup: December 2012

By the Numbers
Teen: 20
Tween: 6
Children: 4

Sources
Review Copies: 6

Purchased: 2
Library: 18

Standouts
Teen: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
So the premise is  what you'd get if a Lifetime movie did unspeakable things with a Lurlene McDaniel book. But the execution is really that good. The story doesn't so much tug your heartstrings as use your own funnybone to rip them out.
Tween: Agent Q, or the Smell of Danger! by M.T. Anderson
I read this book after a bunch of lackluster experiences, and it was just what I needed. Irreverent, hilarious, and fast-paced, it's like Bond met "Airplane!" and they mainlined a bunch of Pixy Stix.

Children: The Dead Boys by Royce Buckingham
Yeeeep! This is a creepy, creepy book. Twelve-year-old Teddy moves to a new town and discovers that every ten years, a twelve-year-old boy goes missing around the giant sycamore tree next door. And the last disappearance? Ten years ago exactly. Brrrr.

Because I Want To Awards
Robots in Love!: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Okay, one robot, and that's really an android. I love a fairytale retelling, but sometimes they can twist themselves into so many knots trying to be faithful to the original that it just becames sort of bland. Not so this book.
I Hate You With Every Fiber of My Being, Author: Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
But not, y'know, in the bad way. Step into a New Orleans that's been knocked back to the Stone Age by hurricane after hurricane, and take the ride with tough Fen and sheltered Daniel. Root for them as they brave the dangers of man and nature to try to get a newborn baby over the Wall and to a better life. Fuller review coming soon, when I've recovered from the end. Sob.
I Wish This was Made Up: Trash by Andy Mulligan
Three trash pickers discover a treasure, and a mystery that could change everything in their corrupt Third-World country. This slim novel hit harder because it's made inescapably clear that, while the country and politicians are made up, the same corruption, poverty, and despair exists all over the world.
Who Says History Can't Be Awesome?: Bomb: the race to build--and steal--the world's most dangerous weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Science! Espionage! Betrayal! It's all here, and all true.