Persnickety Snark FIVE Challenge- Five Great Debuts

Dear Blog,

I thought I might partake in the FIVE challenge over at Persnickety Snark and thought it might be a fun way to summarise all the awesome literary things I've come across this year.

Today's day one- and so the topic of my bloggery is five great debut novels I've read this year.  In no particular order, then:-

HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins

Because comedy- comedy comedy, with actual amusing statements and scenarios and not just the occasionally  snarky comeback- is so hard to find nowadays. And along with excellent characters and an amusing twist to the whole girl-with-magic-powers thing that seems irritatingly common in contemporary YA fiction, there's a good dose of laugh-out-loud hilarity.

BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver

Imagine the film Groundhog Day and Gabrielle Zevin's Elsewhere had a baby. Replace Bill Murray with an 18-year-old girl and swap dull plotlines for an utterly compelling idea. Throw in an utterly gorgeous writing style and a satisfying ending, and Before I Fall is it.


HOLD STILL by Nina LaCour

...actually came out in the US of A in 2009, but I believe it was released this side of the pond this year.  It's one of the most touching, heartrending books I've read for months, and one of those books that's bursting with poetic writing and beautiful illustrations.

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J Omololu

Compulsive hoarding.  Flashbacks.  Fast-paced plot.  Remarkable narrator.  Do you want to read it yet?

THREE RIVERS RISING by Jame Richards

Three Rivers Rising makes me very happy for a number of reasons.  The main one being, it's a historical fiction YA verse novel.  The combination of these things is basically my ideal reading material, but alas something that seems pretty few and far between. Anyway, it was everything that I could have asked for- great poetry, a relatively untouched topic in historical fiction, and an interesting love story. I'll be interested to see what Jame Richards writes next.

Well, tomorrow's topic for the FIVE challenge is great covers of 2010.  That should be interesting.