This year we saw dystopian novels reach new heights, stunning debut novels, and the long awaited completion of a series. 2011 was a fantastic year for books and as a reader the choices were endless.
The Rise of the Dsytopian Novel
With the previous success of The Hunger Games, this year saw the rise of the dystopian novel. Delirium by Lauren Oliver took an interesting look at love in the dystopian world. What if love were a disease that everyone needed to be cured of? Delirium makes you look at love and our world in a whole new way.
Divergent by Veronica Roth creates a completely different dystopian world where everyone belongs to a faction and by age sixteen you have to choose to which you belong. But for Beatrice life is not that simple, because what if more than one faction called to you?
Murder Mysteries
Beth Revis describes her debut as a murder mystery set in space, and Across the Universe doesn’t disappoint. With elements of a dystopian world and science fiction the story invites you to take the journey and discover the truth of The Godspeed.
Clarity by Kim Harrington introduces us to the Fern family, a psychic family that runs a fortune telling business to hide their talents. However when a tourist is killed in the small beach town on the Cape where they live, Clare Fern has to use her abilities to solve the murder and protect her family.
New Voices
This year there were so many fantastic debut novels. Each year we see something a little bit different and incredibly well written. This year’s debuts include Anna Dressed in Blood – a fantastic ghost story from Kendare Blake. The story is dark and fast paced, leaving you wanting the sequel immediately after finishing the last page.
Hourglass by Myra McEntire reminds us why we love time travel. The cast of characters feel like friends and the story twists and turns leaving you unsure of the outcome until the very end. Rae Carson is a strong new voice that brings fantasy worlds to a whole new level.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a delicious read with richly drawn characters and storyline that will keep you flipping the pages until the very end.
The Beginning of the End
Many novels released are part of a series and this year saw the long awaited conclusion of at least one series and the killer second book of some others. Inheritance has been the long awaited final book from Christopher Paolini and with its release in November fans finally had the ending they had waited for.
Clockwork Prince was definitely worth the wait. Cassie Clare once again delivered a book that drew you in and had you begging for the next one before the final page had been turned.
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins had the most cliffhanger ending by far and Spellbound can’t get here fast enough. The Hex Hall series is definitely one of the most fun series I’ve read in a while.
And last but certainly not least is Rick Riordan and his multiple series. This was definitely his year with not only individual books making the list but his series making the list as well. The Kane Chronicles and The Heroes of Olympus both had releases that were met with much fan adoration. It will be interesting to see what Riordan brings in 2012.
What were some of your favorite books of 2011? Did you discover a new author or series? Tell us in the comments!