Top 5 Uniquely Structured Books

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the standard structure of a novel, narrative split by chapters and occasionally sections, but sometimes an author follows a more creative format, and you're awe-struck. Five examples, in no particular order, of this that I've encountered include:

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan:

Written, as you'd expect from the title, in dictionary entries, The Lover's Dictionary shed light on a relationship not too extraordinary in itself, but amazing through the fresh perspective.

 

Feeling Sorry For Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty:

Feeling Sorry For Celia is told through letters: exchanged notes with parents stuck to the fridge, to and from anonymous pen pals, left by mysterious boys, or to herself. The story was funny and touching, and the characters were so close they appeared real.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky:

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a series of letters from Charlie to anonymous person --  "I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have." This book is one of my all-time favourites, written so candidly to this stranger in such an endearing voice.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin:

Although this is subtle one, All These Things I've Done is written like a confession; very fittingly. The result was a much more personal and honest novel: not a character narrating their story, but a person telling you their story.

Confessions Of The Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford:

Another you can guess from the title, Confessions Of The Sullivan Sisters is written in confessions -- get this -- from each of the Sullivan sisters. This perspective occasionally went unnoticed, but then a character would address you -- or rather, their grandmother -- directly and draw you right back in.




Do you guys have any favourite oddly-structured books? I haven't read many and I'd love recommendations!

Top 5 reminders that good covers don't always equate to good books

I think we're pretty much all guilty of this misconception, and we mostly know it too. All of the gorgeous covers that publishers are creating lately have us putting these upcoming releases on our wishlist first and reading the blurb second. We're set up with high expectations from the cover, and occasionally we're let down and reminded that it's the text that really matters, not the pretty pictures on the outside.

This list also comes with the disclaimer that I don't mean to offend any fans of the following books by implying that they're bad. I think they're bad, but I don't mind if you guys think otherwise.



The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer


Looking back at the cover now, I really should have realised the way the guy's holding the girl would be indicative of the horrid romance. But underwater covers are my weakness.

Tris & Izzie


Possibly one my favourite covers of all time. Possibly one of my favourite movies of all time. Possibly one of my least favourite books of all time.

Halo


I bought this one before I even looked at the back of the book. I probably still would have bought it if I'd read the blurb then. I understand that the people who write blurbs can't put things like "Skye, put this book DOWN right NOW" on them, but I really wish they would.

The Goddess Test


I was so ready to love this book. I mean, a pretty girl in a pretty place with pretty Greek lettering. Pretty story? Wrong, anticlimactic story.

Fallen

This cover's probably the oldest of all of these, and I remember how unique it was considered at the time. Now dark covers featuring pretty dresses and sad girls in contrast are pretty commonplace. But I did really love this cover at the time, and I was disappointed.




Are there any covers that set you guys up for disappointment? Or maybe visa versa, are there any amazing books you know of with horrid covers?

Top 5 Animal Companions

I asked for Top 5 list themes on Twitter, and this month's awesome one, best animal companions, came from Saskia of Tea Mouse's suggestion. You guys should all check out her blog, you'll love it!

Tazza the Tasmanian Devil from the Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

Extinct, Australian animal! I don't think there's much more that needs to be said about how awesome Tazza is.





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Maruman the cat from the Obernewytn Chronicles

Or rather, just all of the animals from the Obernewytn chronicles. They were written like normal characters, with personalities and distinct voices, and with intensely loveable traits. They play huge roles in the plot of the series (the series that I'm admittedly only a couple of books into).



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Griffin the eagle from Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart

This book convinced me that I need an eagle as a pet. That everyone needs an eagle as a pet. No one's life is complete unless they have a super cool eagle following them everywhere, doing their bidding.




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The swan from Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

The story of Isla rescuing the swan was touching, even for non-animal lover like myself. I'm using the descriptor "animal companion" loosely here, but I really loved the relationship between Isla and the swan.



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The dog from Only Ever Always by Penni Russon

Only Ever Always was an amazing and complex story, and the relationship between the dog and Claire and Clara was one of the best parts of it. He was one of the key things connecting them, and I liked especially how they weren't always partial to each other.




So what about you guys? Are there any animal companions from books that you fell in love with? And do you have any suggestions for future top 5 list themes?

Top 5 Aussie Books That Need To See Foreign Shores

If there's a problem with a lot of Aussie YA, it's how limited the readership can be. It's difficult, if not impossible, to get most books by our fabulous Australian authors anywhere but in Australia. Some Aussie greats are available overseas, like Marcus Zusak's and Melina Marchetta's books. But there are so many more amazing books that might never (or not for a while) that we might never see reach the larger audience they deserve. Here are five books (in no particular order) that I feel this way about:

A Straight Line To My Heart by Bill Condon

This one because it is just so Australian. A lot of popular internationally available Australian novels don't capture our atmosphere like A Straight Line To My Heart did so effortlessly. I'd really love for non-Australian readers to feel this ambiance.

Alaska by Sue Saliba

Alaska was just written in such a gorgeous way. Mia's voice is just so innocent and sweet and oddly melancholic and the setting felt like another plaintive character in itself. Reading it, I felt like I was on the verge of tears even while nothing sad was happening. I'm feeling that again either just thinking about the story or how relatively few people could have the chance to read it.

All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

All I Ever Wanted also captures that Australian atmosphere, but a different side of it. The run-down, crime-ridden side. Mim began at a contrast to this setting, but her character arc and change of heart had her a completely different person at the end. A beautiful, true, and inspiring novel.





Good Oil by Laura Buzo

Because it's such a feel-good read. It's not all about mucking around at work and crushes on funny, smart, older boys; it has touching and sad moments too. But I remember finishing this book with a warm, fuzzy feeling and a sudden urge to work at Woolworths.




This Is Shyness by Leanne Hall

Breathtakingly imaginative. The peculiar setting and character in This Is Shyness had the kind of allure of something so strange that you couldn't help but stare. But as the story enfolds and our protagonists explore Shyness further, it stops being compelling based on it being a spectacle an more on the affinity you develop to the characters.



So what Australian books do you wish were available elsewhere? Or are there any books from other countries that you wish were published in more places?

Also, did you guys know that you can win Alaska and A Straight Line To My Heart in my internationally open Aussie August giveaway? Just in case I persuaded you to read them.

Top 5 YA Book Titles

This Top 5 topic is inspired by the recent reveal of the title of John Green's new book, The Fault In Our Stars.

The purpose of a title is to make the book distinguishable, and also to intrigue possible readers. This is why most vague one word titles (Delirium, Valiant, Torment, Splendour, Forgotten, Sea) that seem to dominate don't work for me in particular -- they don't really seem to achieve either of those aims.

But there are some titles out there that I love, and here are five of my favourites in no particular order:

The Dust Of 100 Dogs
A. S. King

This title is instantly intriguing, and succinctly sums up the premise. Plus, it's really unique, and that's always a good thing.

The Piper's Son
Melina Marchetta

A really lovely metaphor from the story, it's both relevant and says something about our main character. It also predisposes you to pay attention to mention to Thomas's father while reading and helps you understand their father-son dynamic.

The Forest Of Hands And Teeth
Carrie Ryan
 
The title sets the creepy, horrific tone. It's also unique and indicative of the author's writing style. But yeah, mainly the creepy. I love the creepy.

Other Words For Love
Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

A really sweet title. It automatically tells you it's a romance, but at the same time, tells you it's a bittersweet one. It's also very clever and relevant to the story.

Want To Go Private?
Sarah Darer Littman

The only book on this list I haven't read, I don't know how appropriate it is to the book, I wanted to read this book before I'd even read the blurb based on the title.



An honourable mention goes to the German edition of Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King - 'Please Don't Hate Me'. Because that title just makes me feel really sad whenever I hear it and because it's so perfect for the book.

Got any titles you really like? How about some you really hate? Tell me about them!

Top 5 YA Family/Parental Figures

This Top 5 topic came to me after reading Split by Swati Avasthi. Besides the character from that, I had to think pretty hard for other candidates for the this list, considering so much of the YA I've read has been paranormal, where our main characters are orphaned with alarming frequency.
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Mirriam from Split

She wasn't actually related to Jace, but she had a maternal role. If it weren't for her support, Jace wouldn't have grown so much and he and Christian would not have become so close again.



Ken Dietz from Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Because of his list and flow chart contributions to the book. Lists! Flow charts! Automatic awesome!
Plus, I really liked his blunt, hard-working personality.

Clara's dad in Stay

Because he was uber-supportive. Clara's abusive ex-boyfriend was threatening her and he let them just up and leave. He dropped everything to help her.


Lily's Great-Aunt Ida from Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares

Perhaps just because of this conversation Dash had with her:


“Is Lily home?” I asked.
The woman settled down across from me and laughed.
“Who’s to say I’m not Lily?” she asked back.
“Well,” I said, “a few of my friends have actually met Lily, and I like to think they would’ve mentioned if she were eighty.”
“Eighty!” The old woman feigned shock. “I’ll have you know I’m not a year over forty-three.”
“With all due respect,” I said, “if you’re forty-three, then I’m a fetus.”

And it just gets funnier, but the conversation is crazy-long and I don't want to quote PAGES.


Hannah from Jellicoe Road

Hannah had an incredibly sad connection to Taylor's family, yet she took care of her in their stead no matter how heart-breaking it would have been to see her parents in her. Plus, Jellicoe Road was such an amazing book I just had to include someone from it here.

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So, who are your favourite family/parent figures in fiction? Do we share any?

My Top 5 Favourite Characters

Okay, so I've been sitting here trying to think up some clever intro to this post for a while now before I realised how I don't need one. The title makes the post's point so obvious. So, straight into my top 5 favourite characters:

Andi Alpers from Revolution
Because she was just so full of emotion and so brilliantly real. And because she evoked this I-really-want-to-just-give-you-a-big-hug reaction from me.

Margo Roth Spieglman from Paper Towns
Because she was so...loud? Not physically, but her personality. The only way I can describe it is as loud. Also because she said great things like:

All those paper people living in their paper houses, burning the future to stay warm. All the paper kids drinking beer some bum bought for them at the paper convenience store. Everyone demented with the mania of owning things. All the things paper-thin and paper-frail.

Danny from Raw Blue
Just because he's adorable.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy
Do I even need to say why? Because she's a total badass.

Frankie Landau-Banks from The Disreputable History Of Frankie Landau-Banks
Because she is a clever, feministic, headstrong, word-nerd. I was a hardly a chapter in when I decided that I wanted Frankie as a best friend.

So, readers, do we share any favourite characters? Who are your favourite characters, and why?