Top 12 of 2012--Overall Favorites

Gotta throw in my hat on all the End-of-the-Year "Best of" lists!

I've completed 72 books in 2012 (still a few days to go!), down from 86 last year. Still aiming for 100 in 2013--maybe I'll make it this time! There are so many 2012 releases I have not had a chance to read yet, but for now, these are my Top 12 overall picks published this year.

I had NO IDEA picking only 12 would be this hard!

The Selection (Kiera Cass)--"The Bachelorette" meets "Cinderella" meets The Hunger Games. The sequel, The Elite is due out in April 2013. Go Aspen!

The Storyteller (Antonia Michaelis)--This book features some of the most beautiful writing I've ever seen, and it's a translation! Quiet, haunting, beautiful, heartbreaking. LOVE.

Under the Never Sky (Veronica Rossi)--A great dystopia with a swoon-worthy romance. My kind of heaven!

Stealing Parker (Miranda Kenneally)--A high school girl entertains a sexual relationship with the school's young baseball coach. The romance with the coach is icky, but you know that's not the only romance anyway.

The Darkest Minds (Alexandra Bracken)--If I had to pick one favorite book of this year, The Darkest Minds would be it, hands down. Though it was only released last week, I predict big things for this book and author Alexandra Bracken.

The Sweetest Spell (Suzanne Selfors)--It's like a Disney princess movie meets The Princess Bride. Sweet and satisfying!

Skinny (Donna Cooner)--It's easy to connect with 15-year old Ever, an overweight 15-year old girl who opts to have gastric bypass surgery. This modern-day Cinderella story is huge with my 8th grade girls.

Crux (Julie Reece)--Crux is the underdog of my list, but it most definitely stands out among the year's brightest. Though I am not a huge fan of urban fantasy, I loved the characters and swoon-worthy romance. I especially love how Ms. Reece wastes no words; the story is excellent from the first word to the last.

Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo)--Romance, extravagance, magic, and incredible world-building. I've seen Shadow and Bone on lots of other best-of lists, and the praise is well-deserved. I can't wait for the sequel, due out in June 2013.

For Darkness Shows the Stars (Diana Peterfreund)--This sci-fi rendition of Jane Austen's Persuasion will appeal to fans of Divergent and Blood Red Road. Partially epistolary, Darkness explores the clash between technology and nature. Awesome.

Trafficked (Kim Purcell)--Her parents dead and her grandmother needing surgery, seventeen-year old Hannah travels from Moldova to the U.S. to work as a nanny for a wealthy Russian family but soon learns her dream has become a nightmare. Hannah's story is a page-turner and both heartbreaking and inspiring.

172 Hours on the Moon (Johan Harstad)--Who knew the moon was so creepy? I didn't sleep well for days after finishing this book. 172 Hours has two different covers, but this black and white eyeball still gives me shivers.

Which books were your favorites of 2012?