Top Ten Tuesday -- Top Ten Books I Still Need to Read Before the End of Summer Vacation

(I realize it's Monday, but I'm out of the library tomorrow.)

With not quite a month of summer left to go, here are ten books I've been meaning to read and must do so before school starts up again.

1. Habibi by Craig Thompson. Gorgeous, intricate, exceptionally well-reviewed graphic novel from the author of Blankets.
2. Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt. Recommended as "another Carter Finally Gets It," funny middle-school-boy humor.
3. Trafficked by Kim Purcell. Story of a Moldovan teen brought to the US as a domestic worker. Compared favorably with Patricia McCormick's Sold.
4. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. The second book in this series came out not too long ago, and my husband's been hassling me to read Jellicoe Road for I don't know how long. But a fantasy series written by an acclaimed author of teen realistic fiction? I don't know how I missed this one in the first place.
5. Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony. I've flipped through this one a half-dozen times, and I love the storytelling style.  
6. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. This book is regarded as gospel by our environmental science teacher.
7. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Okay, so this one is for my librarians' book club. Tonight. So I should read it eventually. I will probably be much more motivated after tonight's discussion. Not that I'm not excited about it, or it doesn't sound amazing, it just kind of got relegated to my "need to read" list rather than my "want to read" list.
8. What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee. Another book club selection, this one for the Level Up Book Club. I've been feeling left out of the online discussion but haven't been able to place a library order until very recently. Also, in my typical style, I have been terrified about actually participating in the online discussion with people I avidly follow on Twitter, so not having read the book has been a handy excuse for not sucking it up and just joining in, already.
9. Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel. I LOVED her first graphic novel, Fun Home. I'm not expecting an easy read, but so looking forward to getting my hands on this one!
10. Steal Like an Artist: Ten Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative by Austin Kleon. After an exciting discussion at ISTE this June, I'm trying to look at creativity as a series of habits, not just an innate ability.

What about you, readers? What's in that stack of books on your bedside table you've been meaning to get to?

Top Ten Tuesday -- My Top Ten Books this Year

Top ten books I read during the 2011-2012 school year:

1. The Fault in our Stars by John Green. It's John Green. Do I really need to elaborate? Beautiful story about teen relationships and cancer.
2. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. This book takes a lot of flak for its main character who at the beginning of the book is completely unlikable.  Really, she and the high school social scheme she represents are reprehensible. But the book is lovely and redeeming and makes me trust that teen popularity is a phase my students will eventually grow out of.
3. My Family for the War by Anna Voorhoeve. WWII historical fiction centering on a ethnically-Jewish  German girl placed in foster care with an Orthodox family in London. I love the questions this book raises about what makes a family.
4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. One of only two fantasy pieces on this list, primarily because the story is so great and the fantasy universe is revealed so gradually that it feels like a great novel set in a fantasy universe, not a fantasy novel. In other words, Twilight is a "book about vampires," this is anything but a "book about angels."
5. The Less-Dead by April Lurie. This LBGTQ novel centers not just on acceptance of a gay teen, but religious tolerance of gays, without being saccharine or preachy. This gives me faith in people changing their minds when they're faced with other real, live people.
6. How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely. Funny and irreverent. A failed author working at a company that writes others' academic papers for money decides to write a bestselling novel based entirely on market trends--and succeeds. It makes me smile a little smile whenever someone brings yet another James Patterson or Nicholas Sparks novel up to the checkout desk.
7. How to Save a Life by Sarah Zarr. I really identified with the main character Jill as she tried to sort out her relationships with her boyfriend, family, and friends after her father's death, using her anger and sadness to keep everyone at arm's distance. 
8. REAMDE by Neal Stephenson. Intricate and kind of amazing. Complete with CIA and KGB agents, terrorists, computer hackers, and grizzly bears.
9. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. A really touching book about a teen boy coping with depression--his own, his parents', and his extended family's. 
10. Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton. Fantasy novel with a very accurate basis in Irish mythology and folklore. It's dark, and rich, and awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Top Ten New Releases I Will Knock Students Down to Get to First

(in ascending order relative to the desperation with which I will elbow said children out of the way)

1. Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
2. The Diviners by Libba Bray
3. Son (conclusion to the Giver) by Lois Lowry
4. The Archived by Victoria Schwab
5. Prodigy (sequel to Legend) by Marie Lu
6. Crown of Embers (sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns) by Rae Carson
7. whatever John Green’s next book is going to be
8. Sapphire Blue (sequel to Ruby Red) by Kerstin Gier
9. Requiem (third in Delirium series) by Lauren Oliver
10. Days of Blood and Starlight (sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone) by Laini Taylor

Readers: What book are you seriously considering staking out a publishing house to get an ARC for?