By Jordyn Turney, 20, reporting from Alpine, CA, on great new reads for a a great new year.
January, to me, is built for reading. It's the month of maximum post-holiday peace and alone time—and weather that makes you love the indoors. Plus, 2010 was a particularly great year for YA literature, with the end of The Hunger Games trilogy and lots of exciting debut voices.
Here are my top five picks to kick off the best book season of the new year:
1. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
Love it or hate it, there's no doubt that Collins' ending to the epic The Hunger Games series, set during the downfall of a dystopian society, was the most noteworthy YA book of 2010. (Call it the Year of the Katniss.) While some readers were terribly disappointed by the trilogy's final novel, there were others—like me—who absolutely loved it. My only disappointment was to see the end of the amazing Katniss Everdeen's journey.
2. The Mockingbirds, by Daisy Whitney
This debut novel pays homage to the great American classic To Kill A Mockingbird, as it explores themes of responsibility and justice while tackling the touchy issue of date rape. Utterly thoughtful and engrossing from the first page, this is a must-read.
3. Fall for Anything, by Courtney Summers
Death and grief are common subjects in contemporary YA. But possibly no book until now has managed to capture the raw and intense emotions that surround loss as well as this story of a girl whose photographer father has committed suicide. A powerful and honest book.
4. Matched, by Ally Condie
The start of what's looking to be another great dystopian trilogy, this book is set within a society where everything—where you live, work, who you marry, when you die, etc.—is decided for you. The journey of 17-year-old Cassia, a girl who discovers poetry and choice, is completely beautiful and absorbing.
5. Tweet Heart, by Elizabeth Rudnick
I'm a total sucker for books that integrate the Internet age, and this is an adorably sweet story told almost exclusively through the tweets of four friends. Friendship and the horrible awkwardness of secret crushes are portrayed so wonderfully here.