My #MustReadin2014 list has 30 titles on it. As of today, I have read 13 of these books. Since I have read 26 novels so far in 2014, half of my reading has been from my #MustRead list. Sometimes these titles lead me off to read the rest of the series (after Legend I read Prodigy and Champion within weeks) or a sequel (after Better Nate than Ever, I read Five, Six, Seven, Nate!)
Here are the books I’ve read and the rating I gave them on Goodreads.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Read January 3rd, 2014) Rating: 5/5
Legend by Marie Lu (Read January 7th, 2014) Rating: 4/5
Boy 21 by Matthew Quick (Read January 11th, 2014) Rating: 5/5
Forgive me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick (Read January 25th, 2014) Rating: 4/5
The Living by Matt de la Pena (Read January 31st, 2014) Rating: 4/5
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (Read February 15th, 2014) Rating: 5/5
Listening for Lucca by Suzanne Lafleur (Read February 23rd, 2014) Rating: 4/5
Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy (Read March 6th, 2014) Rating: 4/5
Every Day After by Laura Golden (Read March 6th, 2014) Rating: 5/5
Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle (Read March 19th, 2014) Rating: 5/5
The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech (Read March 20th, 2014) Rating: 5/5
Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Read March 23rd, 2014) Rating: 2/5
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Read March 31st, 2014) Rating: 5/5
More details of my favourite 4 from this list:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
If you are no longer 18 years old, you might forget that fact while reading this book. All the vulnerability, fear, brutal soul searching and life lessons will come hurtling back at you as you experience the characters of Fangirl. Rainbow Rowell writes characters that are all about raw and true. Brilliant.
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
I read this aloud to my children and we adored it. It is such a fantastic book to read aloud. We savoured the quirky, the hilarious and the eccentric. We smiled at the characters. We were lulled by the whimsy. And we were charmed by the brilliance of DiCamillo. 5 stars: all glowing and magical!
Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle
Add me to the long list of readers who has been utterly charmed by the character Nate Foster. I loved his small town inexperience. His candor. His charm. The fact that he talks about his parent’s marriage problems, personal problems and parenting problems. I love that he talks about not knowing who he might like in the future and that he hasn’t got a gender all picked out yet. I love his friendship with his best friend. And then there is his audition. Okay, I basically just loved all of it. And I continued to love him in the sequel Five, Six, Seven, Nate!
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
I have had the pleasure of reading this entire trilogy to my children and this final book certainly did not disappoint. Adventure. Intrigue. Battles and Heroes. Everything a MG title needs to be fully engaging and engrossing! Highly recommend the entire trilogy if you haven’t read it yet.
Some things I’ve learned along the way:
- Matthew Quick is a must read author!
- Dystopian series go downhill fast or remain exciting throughout. If on book 2 you have figured out which of these categories you are reading, remember this and either jump ship or keep reading.
- There are so many Middle Grade titles to be excited about!
- I am so glad I made this list because it has ensured that I have discovered some favourites!
How is your To Be Read list treating you?
If you have been participating in #MustReadin2014 and written an update post, please share using the #MustReadin2014 hashtag!
Want to know more about #MustReadin2014? Read here This post also includes links to all of the bloggers who wrote Must Read lists.
There's a Book for That 
I’ve read two of your favorites & have the others-yikes, I’ll never get to them all Carrie. Congrats on completing so many. I’ve finished nine! Here’s my link: http://www.teacherdance.org/2014/03/its-april-poetry-month-and-reading-goals.html Is that what you want to do, link here? Hope so!
A book at a time right!? What else can we do?! So happy that there are so many great book communities (like IMWAYR) to keep us in the know but of course, that’s why we have such long lists!
You are doing great getting through your list! I can’t wait to look through everybody’s today! When I put my list together I had just started blogging and tweeting! It’s been a few crazy months! A bunch of your books are either on my official or unofficial list! I can’t wait to get to them regardless 🙂 I love having too many books! Thanks for putting this together!
Michele – you are doing an amazing job of blogging in just a few short months and WOW, look at your list! Isn’t it great to have such a fantastic community of readers!
Great books on your list! I loved the 4 on your favorites list, too. 🙂 I just finished Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, and I thought it was amazing. I haven’t read Boy 21 yet, but now I want to. Thanks for creating this fun challenge!
So glad you could participate! I really am a fan of Matthew Quick – hoping to read other things he has written (Must Read in 2015?!)
Thanks for the idea. I have enjoyed working on my own must read list. http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2014/04/mustread2014.html
Isn’t it great to know that some of the books we want to read don’t get passed by. I like the reminders and motivation!
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Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a favorite for me this year. I’m really excited to read more by Matthew Quick! I enjoyed reading Flora & Ulysses aloud too–it’s currently making the rounds in Children’s Lit. I think for my next #MustRead list, I’m going to make sure I put only one title per author. I am excited to read the second Matthew Quick novel on my list, but not feeling inclined to read the Jo Knowles title, since it’s a sequel of sorts to a book I didn’t enjoy reading. Here’s a link to my check-in: http://wp.me/p2Pe2s-BC
I started with Boy 21. Also intense and amazing. Quick was not on my radar and now he is in a big way! I put in a little plug for Living with Jackie Chan on your blog. I loved the uncle/nephew relationship. Really nicely done.
I love that we’ve got so many titles in common. It’s fun to celebrate all this progress together! Matthew Quick is on the list!
It is fun – both to see what is on many lists (Matthew Quick :-)) and also what books are just on a few and what people are saying!
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Will add titles from your list to my own, Carrie! Already have my eyes on Fangirl, Flora & Ulysses, and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock! My reading progress is kinda slow lately, especially with an upcoming out-of-state move! I’m still hoping to reach my Goodreads goal this year! =)
I find reading can go in spurts and blitzes so it is still a long year ahead! Fangirl is amazing and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a title that stayed with me for some time. Matthew Quick is amazing. Thanks for sharing such a detailed update on your blog!
Love your list and your review. I must read FanGirl, but over the summer. That’s when I want to be 18 again! Boy on the Porch I loved the ride but was confused by the ending. Kind of a short story feel to it. Was wondering about reading Flora & Ulysses to my kids. Not much time left but it may be my next Read Aloud just because.
Nice to make a plan for being 18 again 🙂 It will take you back! I loved it. Flora & Ulysses is great as a read aloud I found. Read it to my children and they had lots of fun with it.
Carrie- I just found you through your amazing post on Nerdy Book Club and I’m so glad I did! We share many reading interests. I can’t wait to follow along!
Thanks for coming to my blog and checking things out!
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