The Official 2013 Clear Eyes, Full Shelves List of Awesome
Each year, we here at Clear Eyes, Full Shelves put together a list of books that stood out to us over the last twelve months as particularly full of awesome. Last year's list had a whopping 24 titles.
Let's see if 2013 can match up, shall we?
The One Sarah Recommends to Anyone & Everyone:
Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer
“The red light blinks. Welcoming me home. What’s the exact opposite of blaze of glory? I look around my dusty Subaru, cut-off jeans, and think: me. This. This is what the exact opposite of a blaze of glory looks like.”
CEFS Review | Amazon | Goodreads
Note from Sarah: If I had to pick a favorite book published in 2013, this would be it.
The One That Dazzled Us with Emotional Authenticity:
Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller
“I can’t do this. I can’t sit here and pretend I’m a normal girl when my whole life has been so fucked up. Greg and Phoebe haven’t slept in the backseat of their car, or eaten all their meals from a vending machine because their mothers forgot to buy groceries. And the only monsters Tucker and Joe will ever have to contend with are the imaginary kind that are banished in the light. These people are so clean and I feel so—tainted.”
CEFS Review | Podcast | Amazon | Goodreads
The One Finally Worthy of the "For Fans of The Hunger Games" Moniker:
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
“But if I’m it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I’m going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity’s last war, then I am the battlefield.”
The One That Made Us All Cry:
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
“For all its ridiculous imperfections, life is pretty damn perfect sometimes.”
The One With the Vivid Setting & Characters:
Heart of Palm by Laura Lee Smith
“He wanted her all the time, every day, every minute. He drank like a fiend. He brawled at the Cue & Brew. Then he spent a night in the drunk tank and drove back to wait outside her bedroom window on New Year’s Day. ”
The One So Damn Near Perfect it Doesn't Need a Sequel:
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
“I may not be a scientific genius, but I feel the truth in my bones. Time is coming for us, and coming fast.”
CEFS Review | Amazon | Goodreads
Note from Sarah: The sequel had better be damn good, is what I'm saying.
The One That's the Best Series Ending of 2013:
In the Age of Love and Chocolate
“Besides, I did not require heroism—I had been the hero of my own life for some time.”
The One We Keep Talking About:
The Program by Suzanne Young
“...some things are better left in the past. And true things are destined to repeat themselves.”
CEFS Review | Amazon | Goodreads
Note from Sarah: The sequel, The Treatment, is just as good!
The One Solidifying Sandra as a Jeanette Walls Fangirl:
The Silver Star
“What I do know is that wondering why you survived don’t help you survive.”
The One That Charmed Us:
Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
“Once again, I’ve been thwarted by the massive difference between my vision of the successful me and the me I’m currently stuck with.”
The One Creepy, Compelling Read Sandra's Still Talking About:
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
“Don’t ever worry what the boys who don’t appreciate originality think of you. They’re fools.”
The One That Was the Hands-Down Best Follow-up:
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
“It was mint and memories and the past and the future and she felt as if she’d done this before and already she longed to do it again.”
CEFS Review | Amazon | Goodreads
The question is, will Maggie have two books on this list next year, since both Sinner and Raven Boys #2 are coming out in 2014?
The One That Brilliantly Subverted the "Magical Healing Penis" Paradigm:
Wild Child by Molly O'Keefe
“Your magic penis didn’t save me, you jackass! I did, by being honest. Something I’m trying to do more of. And yes, the sex has a lot to do with it, but it’s not why I love you. I love you because you’re magic. You try so hard. You think of other people first. You don’t back down from a fight … except for when it’s on your own behalf. You’re the most caring and compassionate and selfless person I know, while at the same time being the most closed-off and selfish person I know. You’re a mess and I love that about you, because I’m a mess too. But I’m figuring things out. But—and you’d better get this through your thick skull—I am not something that needs to be fixed.”
CEFS Review | Amazon | Goodreads
Note from Sarah: My favorite novel from Molly O'Keefe in 2013 was actually Crazy Thing Called Love, but Wild Child edged it out on this list for magical penis reasons.
The One Two That Was Were Our Favorite Debut(s):
The Reece Malcolm List AND Ink is Thicker Than Water by Amy Spalding
“We walk outside to the parking lot. Sunshine and blue skies. Again. I open my mouth to let her know about the name mistake, except that I really like the thought of being Devan Malcolm. And if I tell her, she’ll call up New City, get it fixed, and I’ll have to go back to being Devan Mitchell. And suddenly she’s the last person I want to be.”
The One Sandra Couldn't Put Down:
Ratlines by Stuart Neville
“We are coming for you.
Await our call.”
The Ones We Can't Believe it Took Us Until 2013 to Read:
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
CEFS Review | Amazon | Goodreads
Have a few favorites to share? Drop a note in the comments below! ↓
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