Armchair BEA: Best of 2012 and Giveaways!

Day two of Armchair BEA: an event for those of us sitting at home/work/beach (ah, beach!) rather than making our way through the bustling crowds at NYC's Book Expo America. Starting today, BEA is Live Streamed on the host blog.

GIVEAWAY!

I'll choose one random commenter (U.S. only this time) with your choice of these 2 books:

YA: I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert

Urban Fantasy: The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Just let me know which book is your preference along with a way to contact you. Don't forget to stop by the participating blogs for more giveaways!

My Favorite Books Read in 2012:

1. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green. Published in early 2012, this one is worth reading even if you've never touched a Young Adult book in your life (or if you're new to the genre and riding the Hunger Games wave). It's a story about real teens, no magic here, dealing with cancer. And it's funny. It's also heartbreaking, but I promise you'll laugh.
2. Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys. This actually came out last year but it's the paperback edition came out recently. With the buzz surrounding that other "grey" book, sales of Between Shades of Gray have picked up. Some clueless folks, or possibly dyslexic who knows, actually showed up to Ruta Sepetys' blog tour, surprised to hear about the surviving refugees of World War II occupation of the Baltic nations rather than a personality-free girl wanting naughty sex. Let's just hope they bought the book and learned a bit of history in the process.  
3. Black Heart - Curseworkers #3 - Holly Black. The author creates a truly original YA series about a contemporary world with a twist; people's unique magic-like abilities are exploited by the mob. Cassel is character who is tough and an underdog to root for. Listen to audiobook to hear Academy Award nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg narrate. 
4. Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally. How YA contemporary fiction should be done. This is a story about a female quarterback on the high school football team; they totally accept her, which is part of the issue. Is she just one of the guys, or can she manage a romantic relationship? What happens when she's recruited by her top college, will they take her seriously, or think she just wants to play cute girl and not play ball? This book is not cliche, and it's a fun journey.

What are your favorite reads from 2012? Are there books you're excited to see debut this year? Please share! Don't forget to check out the giveaway link, you might find some books from your wish list there!