10 for 2010: Most Anticipated for 2011

The best thing about being a book blogger this year is I get to find out about all the new titles coming out in the next few months and years. Before, I’d just rely on bookstore releases and sometimes I find out about them late! Thanks to the great blogging community and social networks, I find out about future releases so early! So early that sometimes the waiting time is unbearable. :P

So presenting today’s 10 for 2010: Most Anticipated Books for 2011.

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

1. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (May 2011) – If you’ve known me for a while now, you’ll know that Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite contemporary YA authors ever. Just Listen got me started on the contemporary YA genre, and I’ve devoured all her books ever since I read that. When I found out that she’s releasing a new book in 2011, I squeed. I absolutely cannot wait for this next novel — in fact, I am already planning a Dessen marathon to prepare myself for this new release. :)

2. Deadline by Mira Grant (May 2011) – Feed was one of my favorite books for this year, and the one year wait for its sequel is already long enough, don’t you think? More zombies, more politics and more blogging must be in Deadline…and maybe even a radio thing? I don’t know. But I am definitely looking forward to this one.

3. Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal (March 2011) – Two words: Sweet. Valley. Need I say more?

4. Bumped by Megan McCafferty (April 2011) – I loved the Jessica Darling series, and I like Megan McCafferty. This dystopian sounds really awesome, and I’ve seen very good reviews about this, too. :)

5. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (March 2011) – While there are other zombie books that I liked more than Carrie Ryan’s series, I am still in love with her writing. After I’ve read The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves, I cannot miss the third one. I hope more questions will be answered by then. :)

One of Our Thursdays is Missing6. One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde (March 2011) – Just like Sarah Dessen, Jasper Fforde is on my auto-buy list. Thursday Next is one of my favorite heroines, so it’s imperative I get a copy of the sixth book. And maybe refresh myself with the series, too.

7. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews (May 2011) – I think I’ve professed my love for the Kate Daniels series enough this year? :) If not, I must say it again: I love this series. And like all the other fans I know, I cannot wait o get my hands on the next installment in the series. :)

A Monster Calls8. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (May 2011) – Okay, so I’ve only really read one book and a novella from him, but I like him already. While I wait for his new book, I will finish the two other books in the Chaos Walking series. Yes, I will.

9. Winter Town by Stephen Emond (Fall 2011) – Happyface is undoubtedly one of my most favorite books in 2010, so knowing that Stephen Emond will release a new book is just exciting. I love the premise too: “…told from two perspectives and accompanied by scrapbook entries and comics, childhood friends grow up, grow apart, and eventually fall in love.” Being the president of his fans club, it is my responsibility to get a copy of this as soon as its released. :P

10. Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee (Summer 2011) – This is my most anticipated collaboration for 2011. Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee, two of the big names in Christian fiction — this is going to be good, I can tell. :)

Runners Up:

  • Allison Hewitt is TrappedAllison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux (January 2011) – I saw this book on The Book Smugglers and I loved how it started out as a blog, too. Blogging and zombies again – one of my favorite combination. Must get this one.
  • Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (August 2011) – I love the cover, and I love the Hansel and Gretel retelling idea. I enjoyed Jackson Pearce’s Sisters Red, so I am excited to get my hands on this one, too.
  • Where She Went by Gayle Forman (April 2011) – I loved If I Stay, and the idea of the sequel is just…well, awesome. I can’t wait to know what happened after Mia’s ordeal.

Check out my other 10 for 2010 posts!
10 Favorite Male Characters
10 Favorite Female Characters
10 Favorite Couples
10 Favorite Authors

I’m giving away some of my favorite books in 2010 in my Anniversary Giveaway! Know why Patrick Ness is one of my auto-buy authors now through The Knife of Never Letting Go! Every comment you leave is one entry — the more comments you leave, the more entries you get! :) Click the image for the mechanics and the list of prizes!

10 for 2010: Favorite Authors

One of the many things I like about reading is discovering new favorite authors. They’re the ones you know that whatever book they will release, you’ll automatically get it, and you would still like them even if that new book wasn’t as good as the others (at least until their books just become really bad). 2010 gave me a chance to discover new authors that I haven’t read before, and they’re now added to my list of auto-buys. Not all of these authors have a lot of books out, nor have I read all of their works, but the ones I read for this year impressed me so much that I am looking forward to their next releases. :)

Today’s 10 for 2010 is 10 Favorite Authors (again, in no particular order):

1. Patrick Ness – I’ve heard of his Chaos Walking series  a lot, and I wasn’t really planning on reading it. But boy oh boy, I’m glad I started. Patrick Ness is one of those authors from where awesomeness comes. And this is only me raving about the first book (and the novella). And I absolutely love it that he’s a runner, too.

2. Stephen EmondHappyface is one of my favorite books this year, and I found Stephen Emond very much like him. You guys should totally follow him on Twitter — he’s hilarious. And his Tumblr, too. :) And I’m not just saying this because I’m supposedly the president of his fans club. :P

3. Ilona Andrews – This husband-wife team is probably the best world-building authors I’ve read this year. They made Kate Daniels‘ world so real that I feel like I also lived there at some point while reading. I can’t wait to read the On the Edge series, and of course, the rest of Kate Daniels. :)

4. Mina V. Esguerra – I got to talk to Mina online last year because I asked her for a pep talk for the Pinoywrimos, and this year, she sent me an email about her ebook. I loved Fairy Tale Fail so much that I re-read My Imaginary Ex, and when she announced that she has a new book coming, I stalked the bookstores more often just so I could find it. Mina is now one of my favorite local authors, and she inspires me to finish my other NaNo chick-lits. :D I look forward to reading her future books!

5. John Green – I’ve heard of John Green for the longest time now, but it took me this year to read his books. I now understand why he’s such a staple in the contemporary community. John Green is the male version of Sarah Dessen, only quirkier, funnier and he has he most awesome sidekicks. When oh when are you coming out with a new book?

6. Rachel Hauck – I haven’t been reading too many Christian novels this year, but after I splurged on her books when I saw them on sale on Amazon, I started liking Rachel Hauck more. I was pretty lukewarm on her first novel, but her Lowcountry Romances are fun and sweet. She will definitely be one of my go-to authors if I want something light and sweet and Southern. :)

7. Kristin Cashore – I wasn’t really a fantasy fan at the start of this year, but Kristin Cashore was one of those authors who helped me convert. Much thanks to Adele’s rave reviews over Graceling and Fire, I gobbled up those two books too, and I love her since then. I love the way she writes and what she writes, and when that is probably the perfect combination. :)

8. Carrie Ryan – Her books made me love zombies again. Not everyone liked her books, but she has this way of writing that pulls me inside her world and make me feel what the characters feel and see. I love how thematic her zombie novels are, and how she never used the word “zombie” in her series. :D Someday, I want to write like she does.

9 . Mira Grant – I have professed my love for her zombie book, Feed, so many times in this blog, and I really, really cannot wait for the next book, Deadline. Should I even explain more why she’s here? I am very curious about her other books she wrote with her real name, Seannan McGuire — if only I can find copies of them here.

10. Stephanie Perkins – This author just totally rocked my contemporary world this year. It’s obvious that I love Anna and the French Kiss, and Stephanie is such a cool person online that it’s plus points for her. I cannot wait to read what she comes up with next.

Runner-up:

  • Jackson Pearce – Jackson Pearce is one of those super funny authors on Twitter that I started following before I even read her books. I loved As You Wish, and I liked Sisters Red, and I cannot wait for Sweetly. While I can’t say she’s one of my absolute auto-buy authors, I can definitely say that her books are those that will always have a place in my wish list. :)
  • Tamora Pierce – I’m a late fan, but better late than never, right? Tamora Pierce is like Kristin Cashore’s mom, and I know I should have liked her first, but forgive me for being such a fantasy noob. I now understood why Alanna is a hero for many girls, and why Trebond is such a magical, magical place. :) I look forward to reading her other books. :D

Check out my other 10 for 2010 posts!
10 Favorite Male Characters
10 Favorite Female Characters
10 Favorite Couples

Again, I’m giving away some of my favorite books in 2010 in my Anniversary Giveaway! If you haven’t read a John Green book ever, then here’s your chance to get his third book, Paper Towns for free! Every comment you leave is one entry — the more comments you leave, the more entries you get! :) Click the image for the mechanics and the list of prizes!

10 for 2010: Favorite Couples

I am a sucker for a good romance. Not a love triangle, mind you, but an honest to goodness believable romance. I was never a fan of the love at first sight thing, nor those romances where the two characters barely know each other and fall in love. I like my romances developed over time, and I like good friendships that serve as a foundation for those romances. Did that make sense?

So today’s 10 for 2010 are the couples that made my toes curl, made my heart beat faster and made me sigh with happiness as I closed the last page of their book (or the latest book, in case it was a series). Here are my Top 10 Couples for 2010.

1. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth (Persuasion by Jane Austen) – Do I really even have to explain this? :P Austen really knows her couples and even if the language is old or there aren’t many breathtaking moments in her stories. There always seems to be an ultimate breathtaking moment in the story. I mean, how can Anne Elliot say no to a letter that tells her, “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago.” It’s no wonder so many people love Austen.

2. Anna and Etienne (Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins) – Probably my favorite couple of the year. :) These two deserve all the recognition they get because their relationship is one of the most realistic relationships I have ever read about. I like their friendship, I like their witty banter and I like how imperfectly perfect their relationship was. I know the road to getting to the end for the two of them is difficult and often painful, but I wouldn’t mind going through that if it meant having my own Etienne. :)

3. Fire and Brigan (Fire by Kristin Cashore) – Fire and Brigan are like Anna and Etienne in a fantasy world, and then some. Fire was apprehensive of Brigan, and we had no idea what was going on in Brigan’s mind. And then the two started talking. And talking. There’s a certain sweetness in how their relationship developed that makes me smile.

4. Lissa and Kaz (It’s All About Us # 6: The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth by Shelley Adina) – This was one of the couples I squee’d over at the start of the year. I love Shelley’s series, and I love that she ended the series with a full circle, going back to Lissa and how different she is from the first book. And I love how she wrapped up Lissa’s love life here — Kaz is simply perfect for her. Remembering them still gives me the tingles. :) It’s you. It’s me. It’s us. *sigh*

5. Kate and Curran (Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews) – This couple is just…well, hot. The sexual tension between them was sizzling from the moment they met! I love how Curran cared for Kate even while they beat each other up. I love how Kate denied that she liked Curran for a long time until finally giving in and admitting to herself that she’s interested (hmm, reminds me of someone!). I love how the authors take their time in building their relationship. I cannot wait to see what happens next. :)

6. Ellie and Lucas (Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra) – What’s not to love about this relationship? I like how they started out as friends, and how Lucas wasn’t a rebound guy for Ellie. I like how uncomplicated things are for them. I love that they’re both okay with themselves before they got together, and this goes to show that you need to be your own person before being with someone else.

7. Elle and Heath (Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck) – These are two truly broken people: one grieving for the loss of his wife, the other hurt from a broken engagement. I love how these two became a part of each other’s healing and eventually fall in love. These two people are the most prayerful couple I’ve read this year, and even if it’s fiction, their love story has a lot of lessons. :)

8. Ally and Jake (She’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott) – This couple is fun. Snarky, and fun and cute. I want them to be together, and it was really good that the author gave us a chance to see both sides of the story. Their love story is cute and fun, and I look forward to the next installment of this series.

9. Eddie and Jane (Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde) – They are the probably the oddest couple in my list, true to Jasper Fforde’s quirky style. They’re not particularly sweet, but I love their team-up and I love how their relationship developed. :) That final twist at the end of Shades of Grey was awesome, even if it seemed like the two are going to go against all odds. Too bad the next book won’t be out anytime soon.

10. Dash and Lily (Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan) – These two almost didn’t make the list only because it took me a while to finish it. But I’m glad I did. They’re not as hot as Anna and Etienne, and their relationship seems highly unbelievable, but they’re such a cute couple that I cannot not include them. There is something so sweet, so fresh, so…innocent about these two that made me love them. And their book has so many quotable quotes that I think I dog-eared so many of it (and incidentally, that’s how Dash’s mom does it too). Super cute. :)

Check out my other 10 for 2010 posts!
10 Favorite Male Characters
10 Favorite Female Characters

Oh, and you do know I’m giving away some of my favorite books in 2010 in my Anniversary Giveaway, right? See why Anna and Etienne are such a lovable couple in Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Every comment you leave is one entry — the more comments you leave, the more entries you get! :) Click the image for the mechanics and the list of prizes!

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares

Dash and Lily's Book of DaresDash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Number of pages:  240
My copy: hardbound, Christmas gift from Ace

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

* * *

One day early this year (way before I met the Goodreads people) I was going around Fully Booked in Eastwood when I suddenly had this little fantasy. I wondered: what if, as I was looking for books to get, I meet a guy who has the same taste in books as I do? A straight, single guy, near my age, who reads for fun? And let’s make him cute, too.

It was a little fantasy that my friends and I entertained often, and it almost became a topic of a story for my fiction blog (one day I will write that). It was definitely something my single bookish friends and I thought would be very nice but may be rare, as we know few guys who are willing to read the same books we do, and most of the people we see in the bookstore near our office is filled with girls (that is, until I met the Goodreads people, again).

So it’s no wonder why Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan would call to me. Okay, I didn’t really pay attention to it first because I wasn’t really a fan of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by the same authors, until I read a review. I checked the sample and fell in love with it on the first few pages, particularly on the opening scene. Dash finds a red notebook amidst the books in the Strand, and inside were a bunch of clues left by a girl named Lily. He figures out the clues and thus starts the passing of the red Moleskine notebook back and forth between the two. Dash and Lily accomplish dares all around New York City from each other and bare their innermost thoughts to the other through the red notebook, all the while wondering if the words represent the persons behind them.

The story happens during the holidays, so I figured Christmas should be the right time to read it (thanks again to Ace for giving me a copy during the Goodreads Christmas party). And I was right. I am so glad I read it at this time of the year. :) Like I said, I wasn’t very enamored by Nick and Norah, but Dash and Lily really made me fall in love. There’s so many things to love. Maybe it was the bookstore? Maybe it’s the Moleskine notebook (which I love, by the way)? Maybe it’s how the story unfolded despite it being slightly hard to believe?

Dash and Lily are two very interesting characters. They’re not the angsty teenagers that we read in contemporary YA but they’re very smart and witty teens who are very different yet they speak to each other in ways only they can understand. While I didn’t find Dash particularly dashing, I thought he was very well-adjusted for his age. Perhaps it was all the reading that he does that makes him a gentler version of the male gender? I don’t know, but I’d like to think so. Lily, on the other hand, is probably the most optimistic female character I’ve ever read so far. She isn’t one of those angsty teenage characters who cannot find happiness or love in other people, or those kids who worry about their image so much that they’d get diet pills with amphetamine even if they don’t know its side effects. She reminds me of myself in so many ways: she bakes, she likes animals, her positive outlook, and in how she’s never had a boyfriend. Lily is such a delight to read because I feel like I’m reading some things I write, almost like I was reading my journal.

And just as the characters, the story was very charming. It tried to tackle more than the usual boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love story and that’s good, but sometimes the connections and issues feel a bit too messy and hard to follow. The entire interaction may seem a bit far-fetched too, and I don’t think this will be very effective here in Manila, but I can forgive that for the sake of fiction (and that’s why it happened in New York and not here, LOL). Despite that, though, I thought the plot was well-executed, and I found myself hanging on to every word all the way up to the end.

My copy of Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares has so many dog-ears too because of the quotable quotes! For example:

Pretty Aussie cover for Dash and Lily :)

Prayer or not, I want to believe that, despite all evidence to the contrary, it is possible for anyone to find that special person. That person to spend Christmas with or grow old with or just take a nice silly walk in Central Park with. (Lily, p. 75)

I wish I could remember the moment when I was a kid and I discovered that the letters linked into words, and that the words linked to real things. What a revelation that must have been. We don’t have the words for it, since we hadn’t yet learned the words. It must have been astonishing, to be given the key to the kingdom and see it turn in our hands so easily. (Dash, p. 87)

You think fairy tales are only for girls? Here’s a hint — ask yourself who wrote them. I assure you, it wasn’t just the women. It’s the great male fantasy — all it takes is one dance to know that she’s the one. All it takes is the sound of her song from the tower, or a look at her sleeping face. And right away you know — this is the girl in your head, sleeping or dancing or singing in front of you. Yes, girls want their princes, but boys want their princesses just as much. And they don’t want a very long courtship. They want to know immediately. (p. 131)

And my favorite (and is very applicable for the coming year):

There are just lots of possibilities in the world…I need to keep my mind open for what could happen and not decide that the world is hopeless if what I want to happen doesn’t happen. Because something else great might happen in between. (p. 227)

The blurb was right. Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is a feel good book that would make you want to start “…perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.” It doesn’t have to be Christmas when you read it, but the holidays add to the ambiance. It’s the kind of book that will surely leave you smiling long after you have read the last word. :)

I’m not about to start looking for a red notebook in Fully Booked…but as for leaving one? I’ll never tell. ;)

Rating: [rating=4]

Other Reviews:
Steph Su Reads
Bart’s Bookshelf
The Huffington Post

Did you know that leaving a comment on this entry would give you a chance to win some of the books up for grabs at my  Anniversary Giveaway? If you don’t…well now you do. :) Click the image for the mechanics and the list of prizes (and I think these prizes are awesome, but that may be just me. :P)!

Leave a comment on any entry from December 24 to January 9 and get a chance to win some of my favorite books in 2010! Open international! :)

10 for 2010: Favorite Female Characters

For all the male characters yesterday, I must not forget about the females. :) I love reading about kick-ass heroines, especially after reading about so many weak, Mary Sue-ish heroines in other books who cannot live without their guy. That doesn’t mean they can’t be weak or cry or what — they do. They are weak at times, but in this weakness they find their strengths, too.

I had a hard time writing this list because I met so many awesome female characters this year. But that just goes to show how girls rock, doesn’t it? :) Today’s 10 for 2010 is my Favorite Female Characters.

1. Kate Daniels (Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews) – If there’s ever a most kick-ass heroine I’ve “met” this year, it has got to be Kate. Kate is strong, stubborn and powerful, and yet she’s also very compassionate. Kate is like Thursday Next in an urban fantasy setting, and maybe even more. I might still need to re-read Thursday Next, but if it comes to combat, I think Kate will win. Sorry Thursday, but don’t worry, I still love you! :)

2. Alanna of Trebond (Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce) – I must pay homage to the mother of all kick-ass female characters in the YA fantasy genre (correct me if I am wrong though): Alanna of Trebond. Alanna is the heroine that went against all odds just so she can be what she wants but normally cannot be: a knight. I loved Alanna from the moment she decided to become a knight up to when she finally settled down. But is there really any settling down for her? :) After reading the Song of the Lioness quartet, I now understand why girls consider Alanna as their hero. :)

3. Katsa (Graceling by Kristin Cashore) – Katsa is awesome not only because she’s Graced, but because she stood up to free herself from the people who want to take her in. And just like the first two girls, she also kicked serious ass in her book. :D What’s not to love about her?

4. Fire (Fire by Kristin Cashore) – Fire is a monster with a heart. I loved that description, and I loved her development from being a woman afraid of her beauty to someone who learned to use her beauty to help others.

5. Terra Cooper (North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley) – Terra is hard to understand at first. I envied her for her sheer willpower to exercise and be “perfect” physically, but I also felt sorry for her because she was trapped in a cage that her father built for her and her mom. But as the story went on, I saw Terra’s growth, and I wanted her to win. Like Terra, I want to remember and hold on to what true beauty is all about: Let the glossy spreads have their heart-stopping, head-turning kind of beauty. Give me the heart-filling beauty instead. Jolie laide, that’s what I would choose. Flawed, we’re truly interesting, truly memorable, and yes, truly beautiful.

6. Georgia Mason (Feed by Mira Grant) – I love that Georgia is a blogger, but I think what most readers would really love about her is her integrity. She really embodies what a journalist is supposed to be. You would have to kill her to stop her from telling the truth, and yet, even so, I bet she will still be able to get the truth out. I bet Georgia would have made a great politician, too. ;)

7. Anne Elliot (Persuasion by Jane Austen) – Ah Anne. Okay, so I’ve only “met” Elizabeth Bennett among all Austen heroines. I know I have no point of comparison over the other heroines because I have yet to read them, but Anne Elliot is someone that I really want to be. She’s smart, she’s mature, she’s gracious, and she always has her heart in the right place. Definitely the epitome of great female characters. :)

8. Samantha Kingston (Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver) – Samantha is not someone I’d be friends with if we were in the same school. I wouldn’t really like her much, either, given the way she treats other people. But Samantha’s story taught me that there is always more underneath a person other than our first impressions on them. Sam started out as a bitch, but I ended up loving her as a friend as she repeated the last day of her life, and wanting her to succeed in whatever life is teaching her on her last day. Definitely memorable.

9. Margo Roth Spiegelman (Paper Towns by John Green) – I know a lot of people who’s read Paper Towns dislike her, but I didn’t. I liked her for the strength that she had in choosing what she felt she needed to do. She doesn’t know if it’s the right choice, and sure, she made other people suffer, but she was brave enough to do what she wanted to do. If I may quote Aaron (who’s a very big fan of the book): Hating Margo is like hating everyone in the world that chose, once and for all, to be themselves.

10. Caroline Sweeney (Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck) – Of all these characters, Caroline might be the most silent one. If she were placed in a room with all the other girls in this story, I bet she would have remained unnoticed, until someone suddenly needs help, and she would be there in a flash. I admired Caroline for her gentle and helpful heart, one that found that being faithful in the small things means you will also be faithful with the bigger ones. :)

Runner-Up:

  • Andi (Tall Story by Candy Gourlay) – I honestly almost forgot about Andi when I was writing my list. I could relate to Andi because she’s also a younger sister. I felt for her when her life was literally shaken when her brother Bernardo came into the picture, and I liked that instead of pushing him away, she embraced him and looked out for him even if he was practically a stranger to her. That’s what being a sister is all about, I guess?
  • Ellie Manuel (Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra) – I liked Ellie because I can relate to her, not in the relationship sense, but in the way she thinks. Ellie’s voice is so fresh and friendly that I cannot help but like her from the moment I started reading Fairy Tale Fail. I also liked how she grew into an independent character at the end of the story. :)

Check out my other 10 for 2010 posts!
10 Favorite Male Characters

Oh, and you do know I’m giving away some of my favorite books in 2010 in my Anniversary Giveaway, right? Get a chance to win Fire by Kristin Cashore and find out why Fire is such an awesome heroine. Every comment you leave is one entry — the more comments you leave, the more entries you get! :) Click the image for the mechanics and the list of prizes!