When I think back to how I thought things were when I first started blogging, I must say I was quite naive. I didn't really get how many genres, subgenres and possibilities there were in the world of books. It's safe to say that I read within my comfort zone most of the time, and I didn't often look for new things. Book blogging changed all that though, and some books...well, some books changed my perception of entire genres. We like to call those "gateway books."

Gateway Books to Dystopian:

Gateway Books to Science Fiction:

Gateway Books to Contemporary:

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a great way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten YA Book Series

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - Seriously. I don't need to explain this one, do I? But, just because I love you all oh-so-dearly, I will. It doesn't really get much better than Harry Potter. I grew up with this series. And, though it began as a fun, adventurous tale of friends, we got more depth, more darkness and more drama as the series progressed. Seriously...it's perfection.

2. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - When I started blogging, I swore up and down that I'd never read this series. I said that I hated vampires, I hated insta-love and there was absolutely no way I would ever like this series. Then, Jenny told me I had to read it...as did everyone else...so I tried it, and I've been hooked since. Love me some Dmitri. 

3. Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan - Okay, technically this is probably leaning more towards MG, but I read YA, and I still loved it. A fellow blogger introduced me to it in my first few months of blogging, and I read every book within a month. They're fast-paced, they're witty, they're funny...and, and, and...I love it.

4. Redwall by Brian Jacques - So, sue me. This is the uber-nerd in me coming out. They're books with lil' cute fuzzy animals as the main characters, but they're every bit as human as you and me. Trust me. I grew up with these books, and I proudly display them on my shelves today! 

5. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - This series is surrounded by controversy because if its supposed anti-religious undertones. Guys, I'm pretty dang religious, myself, but if you read a book for the sheer enjoyment of the prose and the story, it's better than analyzing those hidden messages. Plus, the world within these books is pretty freaking phenomenal. 

6. Divergent by Veronica Roth - Usually when a series is this surrounded by hype, I tend to steer clear of it. For some reason though, I really felt the need to read and become invested in this story, and boy did I ever. The author has created one heck of an adventure within these pages, and I'm completely enthralled with every installment.

7. The Last Survivors by Susan Beth Pfeffer - You guys might be surprised to see this one on my list because of how I said the second and third book were definitely not my favourites, while I adored the first book. However, I can't lie...the author has created one seriously bleak world, and it's very real and tangible, despite my feelings. And, let's be honest, I'm invested enough to read the upcoming fourth book despite my feelings toward the third book. That's saying something.

8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I have mixed feelings on this series. On one hand, I just love it. Is it the best written work out there? No. Is it a fantastic, dark, edgy story? Yes. Despite the fact that the series is now this over-hyped craze out there, I really like this series and I'm glad that, despite my initial reservations, I gave it a go. It's worth it. 

9. The Maze Runner by James Dashner - I didn't think I'd like this series when I first started. I didn't think I'd like a book with a male MC because I was pretty positive that I wouldn't be able to access the MCs emotions. I was really, really wrong. I introduced this series to just about anyone who would listen to a single word I had to say, simply because I love it that much.

10. The Jenna Fox Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson - I was late to the game with the first book. In fact, I passed it over many, many times at the bookstore, just because I thought it wouldn't capture me. I was definitely wrong, and I was lucky enough to have read it within about 6 months of the sequel being released, which was equally awesome. Read it and love it. You will.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish. They'd love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Let's be honest...this book started it all. This is why I love reading so very much. Who wouldn't want to begin the magic all over again?

2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Now that I know to expect the Cliffhanger of Doom, I'm prepared for the ending. I wish I could read it over, and over and over for the first time every time to be just as shocked!

3. Redwall - I don't care what anyone says. This is my sort of fantasy. Animals that act like humans and books with overriding themes of love and family...that's the best in the world.

4. Many Waters - This one will always be on my list. I don't like the rest of this series, but I think that this one will remain a favourite of mine forever. It's Noah's Ark with a twist.

5. Vampire Academy - Considering how much I hate vampires, you'd have thought I'd hate this series. Quite the contrary though, my friends. I adore it! I want it to start all over again.

6. City of Bones - I remember putting this one off forever because of the hype and because, frankly, I loathe the covers. I would give anything to be introduced to Jace for the first time again.

7. The Hunger Games - I preach the awesomeness of this book to everyone I know. Again, this was a book I put off because of the hype, but I was so wrong. It's incredible, and I love this series.

8. The Adoration of Jenna Fox - I put this one off forever because I was petty and the cover didn't appeal to me. I was blown away by the dark dystopian vibe of it.

9. Life As We Knew It - I didn't like the second and third books all that much, but I loved the first book. It was tragic, but the characters showed growth and the series showed potential. Plus, I love me some post-apocalyptic drama.

10. Raw Blue - This one changed my take on contemporary fiction forever. There's magic in this book, and I'd give anything to relive it every day.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: The Fox Inheritance
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR
Published: August 30, 2011
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi
Pages: 384

Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.

Everyone except Jenna Fox.

This is the much-anticipated book two in the Jenna Fox Chronicles and the sequel to The Adoration of Jenna Fox, which completely blew my mind with its sheer genius. It was so beautiful, and haunting, and heart-breakingly lyrical that I was sold on Jenna's story, and I was so sad it was over. The Fox Inheritance might just be the cure for my withdrawals. I love the author's writing style, and I can't wait to see where the story takes us next. I want to get lost in the mesmerizing world again...and it totally doesn't hurt that the two covers go well hand in hand (and they're awesome!) What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish. They'd love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Books I'm SO Happy Were Recommended to Me (all those books you probably wouldn't have picked up without a recommendation):

1. Raw Blue - I've never been a fan of contemporary fiction. I don't dance around the issue. So, when a book manages to set me off on a contemporary kick and compare my future reads to it, well, I'd say it's a winner.

2. Vampire Academy - I hate vampires. Truly. I've been told by a gazillion bloggers that I'm missing out though, so I decided to give it a go. I'm highly addicted now, and while I'm only on book five, I legit had to just drive out and buy it because I'm dying to know what happens next!

3. The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Something about the cover always turned me off, but so many good reviews and fabulous recommendations convinced me to give it a go. I'm SO glad I did.

4. The Hunger Games - I don't know why I waited to start the series. I think it was the hype, but I decided that maybe I should see what the hype was really about, and I died with glee. I read each book in less than 15 hours...straight. I'm a geek.

5. Pretty Little Liars - I hate the show, so giving the first book a try was a stretch for me. I was told it was entertaining though, so I decided to see for myself, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's not the best writing, but it's certainly entertaining!

6. The Lightning Thief - My good friend Amelia recommended this one to me, and I kept putting it off because it sounded so MG, which is kind of a hit or miss thing with me. Needless to say, it was a hit, ultimately, and I read the entire series in a matter of days. Love me some Percy Jackson.

7. Many Waters - I read this on a recommendation way before I started blogging because I desperately wanted to like Madeleine L'Engle but hated her other titles. A friend told me that the biblical context and love story might be my thing, and it was. I've read this book so many times that I've had to buy multiple covers because the cover keeps falling off.

8. Time Windows - This is one of the first books my grammar school english teacher recommended to me when she realized that I was reading a ton of books. It was above my reading level (technically), but I love it to this day.

9. Harry Potter - I'm obsessed, and I've made that common knowledge. That said, I didn't start book one until book two was already out because I actually made fun of my sister for reading the book. I thought it sounded stupid. She challenged me to try it, and I didn't want to back down, so I read it...BEST. DECISION. EVER.

10. The Art of Racing in the Rain - It's not the type of book I'd review on my blog, but this is one of those books that just stays with me all the time. It's beautiful and so so so sad.

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Square Fish
Published: April 29, 2008
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: 266
Source: Personal Copy

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma — so she’s been told — and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She’s been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface.

But are the memories really hers? And why won’t anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions. What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really?

Jenna isn’t sure who she is anymore, and it’s not your normal teenage angst, crisis of conscience sort of thing. Jenna Fox truly has no idea who she is. After a terrible accident and a year-long coma, Jenna wakes to a world where she has no memories of anything except those of being a toddler. She does, however know everything about world history, and she can spew the great works as though they’re simple conversation. But Jenna no longer eats. Jenna isn’t sure what’s real and what’s not, and Jenna has to decide if she’s strong enough to find out what really happened to her while she was asleep.

I’ve really never read any reviews for The Adoration of Jenna Fox. No, I’m not kidding. There was something about this book that made me not really understand it just by reading the back cover, so I didn’t pick it up. I’m so glad I read it now though. Mary E. Pearson has created a world within The Adoration of Jenna Fox that’s neither reality nor true fantasy. It’s not a utopia, but it’s not quite a true dystopia either. That’s the beauty of the book. The world in which Jenna lives is sort of a gray area. Neither black nor white, it’s a world where ethics are blurred and morals are changed to fit the person, and it’s world that both terrifies and fascinates me.

You know those books that stay with you long after you finish them? The Adoration of Jenna Fox is one of those. It’s a bit of a slow-burning book. The prose isn’t flowery or fancy, but rather simple and succinct, letting the voice of Jenna, the narrator, lead the story. She’s believable, relatable, and heartbreaking. She has one of the most realistic and endearing voices I’ve read in a dystopian book in a while. Her confusion resonates from every page and adds to the element of mystery coursing through the book. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is the story of one girl living in a society where things changed while she was asleep, and in order for Jenna to catch up, she must discover the truth about what’s happened to her.

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this one. I give The Adoration of Jenna Fox a 5 out of 5, hands down. While this book doesn’t really fit into one set genre, I’d recommend it to both YA and adult audiences, especially those who enjoy dystopian, science-fiction and mystery novels because there’s a bit of something for everyone.