*NOTE* this is not a blog to promote books that were published in 2015. Rather it is a list of books that are timeless, of which I was lucky enough to stumble across this past year.
Also - they are in chronological order of when they were read.
And this list does not include any e-arcs for 2016 releases (I'm saving those for next year)!
Number 1
Arthur Slade's DUST
He soon notices there is something sinister happening. The hens are laying eggs with blood in them; a broken jar found out on the prairie has a plaintive echo of a young girl’s voice; and most disturbingly, his parents are lost in a weird sort of daydream and have forgotten about their missing son.
It is up to Robert to discover where his brother has disappeared – along with the other boys and girls of Horshoe. He is led to an ivory-skinned stranger who suddenly appears and bewitches both parents and children with magical mirrors and a fantastic rainmaking machine.
In a style that has stomach muscles tightening right from the first sentence,Arthur Slade brings a new and sophisticated brand of psychological fear to the young-adult market. Dust is a story that will leave audiences breathless.
Number 2
Vanessa Barger's A WHISPERED DARKNESS
Number 3
Dorothy Dreyer's MY SISTER'S REAPER
Number 4
Andrew Pyper's THE KILLING CIRCLE
Patrick Rush, a former bright light at the National Star now demoted to the reality TV beat, is still recovering from his wife’s death when he joins a writers’ group in Toronto. His goal: to write the book he’s always felt lived within him. Trouble is, Patrick has no story to tell. And while the circle’s members show similarly little literary promise, there is one exception: Angela. Her unsettling readings tell of a shadowy childhood tragedy and an unremitting fear of the Sandman, a “terrible man who does terrible things.” It’s the stuff of nightmares or horror films. Or is it?
Over the weeks that follow, a string of unsolved murders seem increasingly connected to Patrick. And then the circle’s members start to go missing, one by one. Still haunted by loss–and by a crime only those in the circle could know of–Patrick finds himself in a fictional world made horrifically real. But nothing will put him in greater danger than that ancient curse of natural born readers: the need to know how the story ends.
At once a complex and compulsive read, The Killing Circle explores the side effects of an increasingly fame-mad culture, where even the staid realm of literature can fall prey to ravenous ambition and competition.
Number 5
Susin Neilsen's WE ARE ALL MADE OF MOLECULES
Written in alternating voices, Susin Nielsen deftly explores family tragedy and family ties; sibling rivalry and union; and adolescent confusion and revelation.
Number 6
Brenda Baker's CAMP OUTLOOK
Number 7
Alice Kuipers THE WORST THING SHE EVER DID
My New Year's resolution: I'm moving on from everything that's happened. I'm not going to talk about it, think about it, let the memory pounce upon me like a waiting tiger, nothing. All Sophie wants to do is forget. But it's not easy now that everything's changed. The house feels too big, school drags on for too long, lights are too bright, the room spins, and her hands get sweaty for no reason. And she can't remember why she was ever best friends with Abigail, who is obsessed with parties and boys. Only the new girl, Rosa-Leigh, with her prose poems and utter confidence, might understand. But talking to her seems impossible.
Lost in memories of the life she once had, Sophie retreats into herself. But there's only so long she can keep everything bottled up inside before she explodes. Maybe by confronting the tragedy of her past she'll figure out how to fix her future.
Number 8
Julie Reece's THE ARTISANS
To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day.
Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad's drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox.
But Raven's stepdad's drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she's ever known out of jail, or worse.
Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries' clothing line, signing over her creative rights.
Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can't imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes.
But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is?
Number 9
Amy McNulty's NOBODY'S GODDESS
Seventeen-year-old Noll isn't in the mood to celebrate. Her childhood friends have paired off and her closest companion, Jurij, found his goddess in Noll’s own sister. Desperate to find a way to break this ancient spell, Noll instead discovers why no man has ever chosen her.
Thus begins a dangerous game between the choice of woman versus the magic of man. And the stakes are no less than freedom and happiness, life and death—and neither is willing to lose.
Number 10
Beck Nicholas's LIFER
Asher is a Lifer, a slave aboard the spaceship Pelican. A member of the lowest rung of society, she must serve the ship’s Officials and Astronauts as punishment for her grandparents' crimes back on Earth. The one thing that made life bearable was her illicit relationship with Samuai, a Fishie boy, but he died alongside her brother in a freak training accident.
Still grieving for the loss of her loved ones, Asher is summoned to the upper levels to wait on Lady, the head Official’s wife and Samuai’s mother. It is the perfect opportunity to gather intel for the Lifer’s brewing rebellion. There’s just one problem—the last girl who went to the upper levels never came back.
On the other side of the universe, an alien attack has left Earth in shambles and a group called The Company has taken control. Blank wakes up in a pond completely naked and with no memory, not even his real name. So when a hot girl named Megs invites him to a black-market gaming warehouse where winning means information, he doesn’t think twice about playing.
But sometimes the past is better left buried. As Asher and Blank’s worlds collide, the truth comes out—everyone has been lied to...
Here are my top 2 favorite surprises from a new publisher in Canada:
Number 11
Suzanne Costigan's EMPTY CUP
Mom’s new boyfriend is creepy.
On the night of her seventeenth birthday, Raven finds out he isn’t just creepy, he’s dangerous. He leaves Raven broken and bleeding, but Mom blames her for what happened. She kicks Raven out of the house with nothing but a blanket to protect her from a frigid winter night.
Alone.
Devastated.
Abandoned.
As Raven struggles with the aftermath of the ultimate betrayal, she seeks solace in her imagination and a teacher who seems to understand her situation. She ultimately discovers that her world won’t change if she relies upon someone else to do it. Real change begins within.
On the night of her seventeenth birthday, Raven finds out he isn’t just creepy, he’s dangerous. He leaves Raven broken and bleeding, but Mom blames her for what happened. She kicks Raven out of the house with nothing but a blanket to protect her from a frigid winter night.
Alone.
Devastated.
Abandoned.
As Raven struggles with the aftermath of the ultimate betrayal, she seeks solace in her imagination and a teacher who seems to understand her situation. She ultimately discovers that her world won’t change if she relies upon someone else to do it. Real change begins within.
Number 12
Melinda Friesen's ENSLAVEMENT
"One world. One currency. One bright future."
That's the promise made by OneEarth Bank after a global economic collapse--but only for those who accept the insertion of a commerce chip.
When Rielle's parents refuse to comply, government officials tear her family apart. As punishment for her parent's crimes, Rielle is forced into a Community Service Contract--a legalized form of slavery--and sold to a wealthy, abusive banker.
The Banker's secrets hold the key to Rielle's freedom, but will she risk prison or even death to escape and search for her family?
That's the promise made by OneEarth Bank after a global economic collapse--but only for those who accept the insertion of a commerce chip.
When Rielle's parents refuse to comply, government officials tear her family apart. As punishment for her parent's crimes, Rielle is forced into a Community Service Contract--a legalized form of slavery--and sold to a wealthy, abusive banker.
The Banker's secrets hold the key to Rielle's freedom, but will she risk prison or even death to escape and search for her family?
