Fire by Kristin Cashore. Semicolon review here.

The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien. My birthday post for Tolkien includes thoughts about The Children of Hurin.

After the Moment by Garrett Freyman-Weyr. Semicolon mini-review here.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Semicolon mini-review here.

Comfort by Joyce Hostetter. Semicolon mini-review here.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Semicolon mini-review here.

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness. Sequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go. However, we’re not finished yet. Resolution is yet to come. The story is not over. If you’re going to write a three-part novel, like Lord of the RIngs, then wait until you’ve finished all three parts to publish it. Do you hear me, Mr. Ness? Ms. Collins?

Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Semicolon review here.

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell. Semicolon review here.

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. Semicolon review here.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. The huge cover controversy has made it almost impossible to talk about the book in terms of its own merits or demerits. I”ll try to do so in a future review.

Hidden Voices by Pat Lowery Collins. The premise was promising: Antonio Vivaldi “wrote countless concertos to showcase the talents of orphan girls at a Catholic school in Venice.” Hidden Voices tells the intertwined fictional stories of three of those orphan girls. Unfortunately, the book starts out very slowly, and when about halfway through it finally starts to get interesting, the reader is suddenly confronted with a scene of graphic sexual violence (rape). The story goes downhill from there. And you don’t really learn much about Vivaldi either.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen.

Forest Born by Shannon Hale.

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. Semicolon review here.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon.

Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles R. Swindoll. Thoughts on this book and on the book of Esther in the Bible here.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass.

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff. I’ll write about these last two children’s fiction books soon. However, If I’d read them sooner they would both have been on my list of best middle grade fiction of 2009.