The 2019 Bookish Academy Awards!

Hey guys! Since 2017 I’ve taken the Bookish Academy Awards tag at the end of every year to “award” my favorite books that I’ve read. (You can see my 2017 and 2018 editions on my old blog.) This was created by Bookadoodles and is inspired by the Oscars! And since I haven’t gotten around to it until now, the Oscars is actually coming up soon so…that actually worked out pretty well. XD

But to be clear, I usually do this at the end of December, and I’m only going to include books I’ve read during 2019 just because that works best for me and my stat-keeping. 😛 Now let’s get on with the ceremony!

Best female sidekick:

Roslyn, the 6-yr-old member of Alosa’s crew! She was just SO adorable and funny, and she just added so much to the book even though she’s a minor character. She was only mentioned once or twice in the first book, and I’m so glad we finally got to meet her in this one cuz I absolutely loved her! Definitely one of my favorite things about the whole series.

Honorable Mentions:

• Gracie-My Lady Jane
• Moxie-The Boy Who Steals Houses
• Helen-My Plain Jane
• Zu-The Darkest Minds
• Nehemia-Throne of Glass
• Myra-Sky in the Deep
• Savannah-Millie’s Fiery Trial
• Helene-An Ember in the Ashes
• Izzi-An Ember in the Ashes
• Bitterblue-Graceling
• Mary Ann-Heartless
• Babe-Again, but Better

Best male sidekick:

Jest from Heartless! Though I feel kinda weird categorizing him as a “sidekick”, but he isn’t exactly the protagonist, so… XD He was just so mysterious and interesting of a character that it was so hard not to like him! Even though I knew that he was probably going to be the reason the book was going to end badly, one way or another. O.o

Honorable Mentions:

• Halvard-Sky in the Deep! (My precious little barbarian! D: ❤ )
• Iri-Sky in the Deep
• Fiske-Sky in the Deep
• Riden-Daughter of the Siren Queen
• Bran-My Plain Jane
• Erik-The Heir
• Henri-The Heir
• Kile-The Heir
• Ahren-The Heir
• Des-Dark Tide
• Cristobal-I Lived on Butterfly Hill
• Kash-The Girl From Everywhere
• David-Rebel Belle
• Tupac-Millie’s Fiery Trial
• Tomas-Millie’s Fiery Trial
• Otis-Millie’s Fiery Trial
• Charles-Millie’s Fiery Trial
• Long John Silver-Treasure Island
• Avery-The Boy Who Steals Houses
• Dale-Three Times Lucky
• Ren-Love and Gelato
• Thomas-Stalking Jack the Ripper
• Nathaniel-Stalking Jack the Ripper
• Hatta-Hearltess
• Bill-Save the Date
• J.J.-Save the Date
• Raffin-Graceling
• Po-Graceling
• Pilot-Again, but Better
• Chubs-The Darkest Minds
• Liam-The Darkest Minds

Best female protagonist:

Audrey Rose from Stalking Jack the Ripper! She’s such a kick-butt feminist and just so cool! She’s so smart and has such great comebacks. There were literally times where I had to put the book down and scream (okayinmyheadcuzI’mnotascreamer) YAAAAS! YOU GO GIRL! XD

Honorable Mentions:

• Shane-Again, but Better
• Astrid-Dark Tide
• Celaena-Throne of Glass
• Alosa-DOTSQ
• Katsa-Graceling
• Seraphina-Dark Tide
• Becca-Dark Tide
• Ling-Dark Tide
• Eadlyn-The Heir
• Taylor-Prisoner of Cell 25
• Ana-Heart of Iron
• Ruby-The Darkest Minds
• Celeste-I Lived on Butterfly Hill
• Harper-Rebel Belle
• Annemarie-Number the Stars
• Millie-Millie’s Fiery Trial
• Nix-The Girl From Everywhere
• Jane-My Plain Jane
• Charlotte-My Plain Jane
• Laia-An Ember in the Ashes
• Lina-Love and Gelato
• Coriane-Cruel Crown
• Jane-My Lady Jane
• Mo-Three Times Lucky
• Moxie-The Girl Who Steals Christmas
• Eelyn-Sky in the Deep
• Terpsichore-Sweet Home Alaska
• Cath-Heartless

Best male protagonist:

Sam from TBWSH! Wow, I’ve mentioned a lot this year how great this book is, and I was able to relate to Sam so much! It just made me feel all the emotions and anxiety Sam was feeling but in a really great way, and I just feel for him and love him so much. :,)

Honorable Mentions:

• G-My Lady Jane
• Edward-My Lady Jane
• Ezra-Illuminae
• Adam-A List of Cages
• Julian-A List of Cages
• Elias-An Ember in the Ashes
• Oliver-Between the Lines
• Rishi-When Dimple Met Rishi
• Jim-Treasure Island
• Michael-Prisoner of Cell 25
• Di-Heart of Iron
• Alexander-My Plain Jane
• Jamie-Last of August

Best plot twist:

There was a plot twist in here that wasn’t necessarily shocking, but I just thought it was so genius and creative I was kind of annoyed I didn’t think of it first. XD

Honorable Mentions:

• Love and Gelato
• Illuminae
• Heartless
• The Heir
• Again, but Better
• Dark Tide
• Cruel Crown (Queen Song)
• An Ember in the Ashes
• Graceling

Best non-fiction:

Okay this was the only non-fiction I read, but it literally is one of my favorite books, so it’s well deserved! The writing may not be the best, but the story is so touching and amazing that it’s SO worth reading, especially if you’re a fan of the musical Come From Away!

Favorite cover design:

I just love the art style of this cover, and every little detail, down to the colors of the trees, the wind, her hair blowing behind her, her outfit, the cat, the horses, and especially the mountain! This book was so nostalgic to me since it’s set in my home valley, and the mountain on the cover I can literally see from my backyard IRL! ❤

Honorable Mentions:

Best book to movie/TV adaptation:

This is kinda the only one I watched. XD I just haven’t been interested enough to keep up to date with any new ones that came out in the last couple of years. I did want to watch The Darkest Minds, but I didn’t want to buy it and I can’t find it anywhere to rent it.

But I did watch three different versions of Treasure Island: I rewatched the Muppets version that Disney+ had that I remembered loving when I was little, and it was still pretty fun watching it as an adult now that I knew the original story. XD Also I watched Disney’s Treasure Planet, which I loved, and I’m pretty sure I never actually had seen it before? (At least not the entire thing. The ending seemed vaguely familiar so I might have caught it at a friends house when it was on in the background or something?) And finally I watched Disney’s live-action version from 1950 which followed the book a lot more closely and that was pretty interesting too. It was cool to compare them and see how much they took from the book and I enjoyed them all. 🙂

Best author:

I kinda feel like I’m cheating cuz I listened to the audiobook for this, but I really did love the writing! Not only was it funny, but the plot was so engaging, and I wasn’t sure where it would end up, especially in the second half when they completely throw history out the window…not that I knew much about this part of history in the first place. XD I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by any of these authors before, and they did a good job of everything flowing together seamlessly, I couldn’t even tell it was written by three people! Same with My Plain Jane, which I also read this year.

Honorable Mentions:

• Jenna Evans Welch-Love and Gelato
• C.G. Drews-The Boy Who Steals Houses
• Sabaa Tahir-An Ember in the Ashes
• Sarah J. Maas-Throne of Glass
• Victoria Aveyard-Cruel Crown
• Tricia Levenseller-Daughter of the Siren Queen
• Adrienne Young-Sky in the Deep
• Christine Riccio-Again, but Better
• Jennifer Donnelly-Dark Tide
• Ashley Poston-Heart of Iron
• Marissa Meyer-Heartless
• Kristin Cashore-Graceling
• Robin Roe-A List of Cages
• Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff-Illuminae

The original category is a book you would like to see as an animated movie or tv show, but I’m changing it to a book you really want any movie/tv adaptation of:

I think this would be SO fun as a movie, and for some reason also a musical? XD But that’s just me. Actually I think it was announced this year that they are going to turn it into a TV series??? O.o I hope they do it justice!

Honorable Mentions:

• Sky in the Deep (I think this would make a great show.)
• Heartless (This would be a great movie.)
• Again, but Better (This kind of reminded me of a Hallmark movie for some reason? But in a good way! Just…with a lot more swearing. O.o XD )
• Dark Tide (This series would be really cool as a show, there are a lot of characters, subplots and twists, but I have no idea how they’d make it since it’s set mostly underwater. XD Maybe it should be animated?)
• Love and Gelato (I can see this as a Netflix adaption.)
• The Boy Who Steals Houses (And this one!)
• Illuminae (This would be an epic movie or series.)
• Stalking Jack the Ripper (Same with this one.)
• An Ember in the Ashes (This would be an epic fantasy series I think. Kind of like Game of Thrones? But I’ve never seen it so I’m just guessing. 😛 )
• Throne of Glass (Same goes for this! I think it’s been compared to Game of Thrones?)
• Daughter of the Siren Queen (I just love these books so much I just want movies for them. XD )
• Save the Date (I can see this as a Netflix movie kinda like To All the Boys. It would actually make a way better movie than it did a book I think. O.o #sorrynotsorry)
• Graceling (This would also be another great fantasy show or movie!)

A book set in a country other than your own, or an edition from another country:

This one! The Italy setting and the whole “tour” we get of Lina reading her mom’s journal of her time there and following in her footsteps made the book so unique, heartfelt and interesting! I had a hard time putting it down, and it was so cool to “sightsee” through it. It also made me hungry for Italian food. 😛

Best action:

This one got really interesting and hard to put down toward the end! SO much crap goes on! XD It was such a fun sci-fi Anastasia retelling.

Honorable Mentions:

• Illuminae
• Throne of Glass
• Daughter of the Siren Queen
• Graceling
• Rebel Belle
• Heartless
• My Plain Jane
• Not If I Save You First
• Warcross
• The Darkest Minds
• Prisoner of Cell 25
• Dark Tide
• My Lady Jane
• An Ember in the Ashes
• Sky in the Deep

Best short story or anthology:

This was such a great little prequel to The Boy Who Steals Houses that C.G. Drews shared as a Christmas present on her blog! It was so bittersweet and beautiful, and I’m so glad I was able to read it so easily! It was definitely a help at the end of the year when trying to catch up on my reading Goal. XD No question my favorite short story I read this year. 😀

The book with the most unique world or setting:

I LOVED the wonderland worldbuilding in this. I wanted to stay in it for so long, and every time I put the book down I kept thinking a lot about it and itched to pick it up again to see how it ended! ❤

Honorable Mentions:

• Graceling
• Daughter of the Siren Queen
• Dark Tide
• Heart of Iron
• Between the Lines
• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
• My Lady Jane
• Sky in the Deep
• An Ember in the Ashes
• Throne of Glass
• Warcross
• Darkest Minds
• My Plain Jane
• The Girl from Everywhere

Favorite book of 2019!

MY LADY JANE!! I know, I’m surprised too. XD Well, kinda. I thought it would end up being Sky in the Deep, but that came in a REALLY CLOSE second. I realized that this book was just the most fun I had reading anything this year, and there honestly isn’t anything I can think of that I didn’t like about it! With Sky in the Deep, I do recognize that the pacing towards the end and other small things about it weren’t exactly the best, but they didn’t matter enough to me to make me like it any less! But compared to this one, where there isn’t a single negative thing I can think to say about it, I think it deserved to win a little more.

Honorable Mentions:

• Sky in the Deep
• The Boy Who Steals Houses
• Sweet Home Alaska
• Again, but Better
• Heartless
• DOTSQ
• Dark Tide
• Graceling
• A List of Cages
• The Day the World Came to Town
• Love and Gelato
• Illuminae
• Heart of Iron
• Stalking Jack the Ripper
• The Heir
• The Darkest Minds

Here are some bonus categories not part of the tag that I use in my bujo to award my books that I didn’t know where else to include. I think I took some from the Epic Reads Book Shimmy categories a few years ago, but I’m not sure. Most of them are just best of genre. 😉

2019 release you were most looking forward to:

DEFINITELY this one! 😀 Again, but Better was a close second but I wasn’t sure if I was going to actually get to it during 2019 or not, and I ended up deciding last minute to read it for my December book club. 🙂 TBWSH I had been waiting for since probably 2017 when Cait announced that she got a 2-book deal, so I was way more excited for it and it definitely lived up to my expectations! ❤

Book you thought about for the longest after you finished it:

Okay this one HAS to go to Sky in the Deep! I finished it in May, and after I read it I found myself randomly reminiscing about it pretty much all the rest of the year! It’s just one of those books that really snuck its way into my heart. ❤

Favorite series/most looking forward to next book:

I think this is one of those series that keeps getting better with each book! I bought the finale for my birthday this month and I’m equally dreading it cuz I don’t want it to end and I’m afraid it might be a sloppy wrap up, but I’m also so excited for everything to come together and see where the cliffhangers and drama that’s been set up so far end up taking us.

Honorable Mentions:

• My Lady Jane (My Calamity Jane is coming out this year and I’m so excited!)
• An Ember in the Ashes
• Throne of Glass
• The Heir
• Last of August
• Between the Lines
• The Girl From Everywhere
• Stalking Jack the Ripper
• Sky in the Deep
• Heart of Iron
• Graceling
• Cruel Crown
• Illuminae
• The Darkest Minds
• Love and Gelato

I listened to the audiobook while reading along with the hardcover, and with the illustrations and formatting and the full-cast reading it, I can definitely see what people mean by using both to get the “full experience!” It was so well done, and it’s like the closest thing you can get to watching a movie without…actually watching a movie. XD

Honorable Mentions:

• My Lady Jane
• My Plain Jane
• Again, but Better
• Three Times Lucky
• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
• Number the Stars
• Treasure Island (read by Alfred Molina)
• An Ember in the Ashes
• Prisoner of Cell 25
• To Kill a Mockingbird (read by Sissy Spacek)

I think this was my favorite standalone of the year, though I read some really great ones and it was hard to pick! I just really enjoyed listening to the audiobook along with my hardcover copy, and the romance, the plot, the European travel, the little sci-fi/magical sort of twist, it all worked together so well and was so fun to read! I saw myself in Shane more than I expected to, and it definitely ended up as one of my favorites!

Honorable Mentions:

• The Boy Who Steals Houses
• A List of Cages
• The Day the World Came to Town
• Heartless

DEFINITELY this one! Though my honorable mentions came so close! I just really loved the whimsical worldbuilding in this, and I enjoyed reading about Wonderland and trying to figure out how everything was going to tie together and how Cath could possibly become the villain. It was kinda scary cuz I could relate to her, and I felt so bad for her and everything she went through. Her story kind of reminds me of Regina’s from OUAT and that made me love it even more! 😀

Honorable Mentions:

• An Ember in the Ashes
• Daughter of the Siren Queen
• Graceling
• Dark Tide
• Between the Lines
• Cruel Crown
• Rebel Belle
• My Lady Jane
• My Plain Jane
• Throne of Glass

I didn’t read much dystopian this year, but this one was definitely my favorite, though I was a little confused and frustrated with it in the beginning. I enjoyed the rest though, and that horrible ending almost made me cry! XD I really need to get to the sequel at some point, but my library doesn’t have it and neither does Libby, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do atm.

Yeah. This is definitely the best sci-fi. Probably that I’ve ever read? O.o It was just so different and a very interesting experience. XD There was so much action, the audiobook cast was great, (I especially like the guy that did the surveillance updates, he was funny) and all of the little details of the case file sort of formatting was just so cool and really added to the story. I really hope I can get to Gemina sometime this year! 😀

Honorable Mentions:

• Heart of Iron
• The Darkest Minds
• The Girl from Everywhere

This one was my favorite historical fiction cuz it was the most personal for me. Am I biased? Yes, completely. XD But I honestly do think it’s a great book. It’s sort of like Alaskan Little House on the Prairie, so if you are a fan of that series I think you would like it! And if you read it, it would be kinda like me giving you a tour of my home through it! XD ❤

Honorable Mentions:

• Stalking Jack the Ripper
• My Lady Jane
• My Plain Jane
• I Lived on Butterfly Hill

Since I didn’t give best standalone to this, I HAD to give it best contemporary! I feel like I’ve gushed about this too many times already and I’d probably end up saying the same things, so I’ll just leave it at that. XD

Honorable Mentions:

• Love and Gelato
• A List of Cages
• Again, but Better

And last but not least, my favorite retelling was Heartless! Though it’s more of a prequel, I’m still counting it. As I’ve mentioned I really loved the way she wrote about Wonderland, and it was so fun to see through the eyes of a character that was actually from there, and not Alice, you know? I loved the food, the characters, the settings, pretty much everything, and it all just enriched the book and the plot so much. 😀

Honorable Mentions:

• My Lady Jane
• My Plain Jane
• The Boy Who Steals Houses
• Heart of Iron

What were your favorite books you read in 2019? Am I the only one still trying to catch up on 2019 wrap ups? Probably. XD

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