Persnickety Snark's FIVE challenge 2010 - Great Debuts

Adele over at Persnickety Snark is hosting a great challenge over at her blog where participants post their top 5 selections in different aspects of YA (series, cover, debuts, etc.) for 2010 releases. You can find out the details in her post here. I just found out about this today so while I probably won't be able to participate in every single challenge due to the fuss of the holidays, I'm going to give it my best shot to complete as many of them as I can!! :)

Today's top 5 is about GREAT DEBUTS of 2010! And, man, were there a lot of great debuts this year. Paring this list down was hard, but here are my top five:


Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

This one is in my top five books of the year, debut or not. I loved this book with it's hint of mystery, it's unique take on the paranormal and Anastasia's amazing writing style. See my full review here.









Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Even before this one came out, I couldn't wait to read it because a)the cover is to-die-for gorgeous, and b) I'd already gotten hooked on Kiersten White's hilarious blog posts. In my mind, someone who writes such an entertaining blog couldn't possible put out a book that was less than amazing! Which it was! See my review here.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

This book was such a fun one...it had a little of everything: an intriguing storyline, fun well-written characters, lots of good spooky moments, and the perfect amount of romance. I have the second book sitting here on my shelf and I can't wait to get to it!!
See my full review here.









Jane by April Lindner

Jane was amazing. I went in blind---having never read Jane Eyre before, but this one completely enthralled me. The characters were complex and fascinating. The way Lindner brought the age-old story so seamlessly into the modern age was perfect. If you haven't read this already, do so asap, I tell you! See my full review here.




Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

I just read this one recently so it's still fresh in my mind, but honestly---I think it will stay that way for awhile! Amazing storytelling, a sweet romantic undercurrent, danger, Irish mythology,...but my favorite part of the story was the relationship between the main character, Teagan, and her little brother, Aiden. Brilliant stuff! See my full review here.