1. Asta in the Wings ~ Jan Elizabeth Watson. This is the story of 7-year-old Asta and her 9-year- old brother Orion. They have been isolated (locked in their house) from the outside world by their mother who claims the world has been ravaged by a plague. When their mother fails to come home from work one day, they break out of the house, encounter other people for the first time, and learn to navigate the world.
2. Olive Kittredge ~ Elizabeth Strout. I loved this Pulitzer Prize winner. Read more about what I had to say about it here. 
3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame ~ Victor Hugo. By far the best of the classics that I read this year. Read more here.
4. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling ~ Maryrose Wood. A review I read of this book describes it as Jane Eyre meets Lemony Snicket, and that pretty well sums it up. A young girl named Penelope takes a job as the governess of two orphaned children who just happened to have been raised by wolves. It is funny and a bit mysterious. Unfortunately the ending leaves you hanging, but the second in the series will be out in February.
5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret ~ Brian Selznick. This is also a young adult book. It’s very thick, but most of the story is told in pictures, although it isn‘t really a graphic novel. It is about an orphaned boy who lives in the walls of a train station in Paris where he keeps all the clocks running. Beyond that, the story is hard to explain in a few lines. Check it out yourself.
6. The Lumby Lines ~ Gail Fraser. The first in a series, this novel is about an east coast couple who move to the small town of Lumby somewhere in the northwest and open an inn at a burned out, abandoned monastery. Of course they are not immediately welcomed by the quirky townspeople, but eventually they find their niche in the town. At times this book is laugh out loud funny - some of the running gags, such as the police reports in the newspaper and a pink flamingo who turns up in different yards wearing funny outfits, make this a really enjoyable read. 
7. The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag ~ Alan Bradley. This is a sequel to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, which I also highly recommend, and involves a young girl named Flavia de Luce who lives in rural England during the 1950s. She has an uncanny way of getting caught up in murder and then solving the mystery surrounding it. I’m very happy to have just found out that a third in the series is coming out in February!
8. Elliot Allagash ~ Simon Rich. I really don't know why I liked this book. I kind of feel like I shouldn't have. It's about an eighth grade kid named Seymour who doesn't have too many friends and who's future looks pretty bleak. All of this changes when he meets Elliot Allagash. Elliot is a wealthy new kid at school who knows how to pull strings and get results, even if he has to break a few rules to do so. He takes Seymour on as his project with interesting results. The ending is kind of weak, but it was a fun read getting there. 
9. Entertaining Disasters ~ Nancy Spiller. The narrator of this book is never named, but she is a magazine writer who writes about the wonderful dinner parties she throws. However, it is all made up, because the narrator cannot handle the pressure of having a dinner party. When she meets a famous author who wants to come to one of her parties, she can't think of an excuse to get out of having the party and has to have it for real. As she is preparing for the dinner, she flashes back to her rather remarkable/unstable childhood, which helps the reader understand why she became the adult she is. As an extra bonus, there is a recipe at the end of each chapter. 
10. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ~ Barbara Robinson. As a rule, I don't reread books, but I make an exception every year and pick this one up. If you've never read it, it should be at the top of your list of books to read. It is the story of the Herdmans, a family of hooligans who hijack the yearly Christmas pageant. At times it is laugh out loud funny, but the ending is very sweet. Read it.So, that's my top ten. What's yours?
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