Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Okay, so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to, but I've defined this as authors who had at least one book out before 2012, who I only just discovered this year. Thus no debuts, even though I did find them last year.

1. Anna Jarzab - Unlike most of the other authors on this list, I hadn't even heard of Anna Jarzab until over half way into this year. Katie of Blook Girl wrote a rave review, and I added it to my list, since she and I tend to agree. Then I had the chance for a review copy of it, so I jumped at the chance. I loved The Opposite of Hallelujah. Her forthcoming book sounds amazing, and I've for her debut on my list too.

2. N. K. Jemisin - Oh look! I put one author on my list that's not YA. Represent! Thanks to the wonderful people at Orbit, I've been expanding my knowledge of epic fantasy, and Jemisin is a freaking queen. She has crazy world building, beautiful writing and can write one hell of a swoony scene to top it all off. The Killing Moon and The Shadowed Sun have totally stuck with me, and I'm glad I have another series to keep me busy until she publishes something else.

3. Miranda Kenneally - Her book Catching Jordan came out at the very tail end of 2011, but I'm counting it, because I read both Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker, as well as Dear Teen Me which she edited, in the last couple of months. She writes male/female friendships better than any author I can think of. Some of them become love, but some remain utterly platonic, which I really love. So excited for Things I Can't Forget!

4. Jessi Kirby - Last week, I read my first Jessi Kirby novel, her debut Moonglass. I loved her writing and the uniqueness of the story. She also manages to bridge the gap between light and dark contemporary the way Sarah Dessen (who blurbed her book) does. Now to get my hands on Golden.

5. E. Lockhart - I actually just finished my first E. Lockhart book this very evening. She's funny, she's open about teen sexuality, and she's definitely a little bit crazy. What's not to like? The Boyfriend List was highly entertaining and I'm working on The Boy Book right now.

6. Jackson Pearce - Actually, Pearce has been on my radar freaking forever, because she has two of my favorite covers ever (Sisters Red and Sweetly, which have since been cover raped into mediocrity by a redesign). When I realized she lived in Atlanta, I went to the release party for Purity, and got serious about reading one of her books, because I didn't want to buy a copy if I was going to hate her writing. Well, I really liked Sisters Red, so no worries there. Scarlett is the biggest badass.

7. Courtney Summers - Were it not for Courtney Summers' foray into the zombie novel, I don't know whether I would have gotten quite so interested in contemporary young adult fiction. Her books had no appeal for me whatsoever until my mind was blown to pieces by This Is Not a Test, so much so in fact that my review is utter crap, because it's hard to write with your mind splashed all over. Thank you, Courtney, for being a talented writer and teaching me how much I delight in dark tales.

8. Robin Wasserman - Before I read The Book of Blood and Shadow, I didn't really take Wasserman seriously. Her covers were ridiculous, and I assumed that Skinned would be one of those lame dystopias. Now, I'm so eager to read it, because TBOBAS was creepy as all hell, must have taken tons of research, and was beautifully written. Yet another author trying to teach me not to judge books off covers, but I can tell you right now that it's not going to work.

9. Laura Wiess - Another author for contemporaries. Basically, I mostly found contemporary authors this year, because this is where I really branched out. Ordinary Beauty was dark, creepy, and not something I would have picked on my own. We read this for book club, and I was impressed. I hear her other books are even better, so I'm going to need to read those ASAP.

10. Moira Young - Any author that can get me to read dialect and like it is a genius. That is really all I have to say about Moira Young's Blood Red Road.