Emma's nerves are running rampant on the night before she's to start public school after years of being taught at home.  Needing a distraction, she goes with her game warden father on a call about a wild rabbit.  Surprised to find a pet bunny, not a feral animal, Emma begs her dad to let her bring it home.  Reluctantly, he agrees.  But only until the shelter opens the next morning.

Delighted by her foster pet, Emma nonetheless longs to find a real best friend.  She's never had one before and she desperately wants to know what it's like.  When her efforts yield only a strange boy with special needs, she doesn't know what to do.  Her bunny, Lapi, provides emotional support, but when his presence at her home is threatened, Emma fears she'll lose the only friend she has.  Can she figure out how to keep Lapi and find a human BFF?  Or is she stuck with no pet and only the weird kid for company at school?

I've enjoyed all of Cynthia Lord's middle-grade novels.  Her newest, Because of the Rabbit, is no exception.  It's not my favorite of the author's books, but it's still a sweet, upbeat story about being yourself (even if you're a little different from other people), telling the truth, and being a good friend.  Because of the Rabbit is an easy, entertaining read that will appeal to animal lovers as well as kids who might be having trouble with their own friendships.  I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  A little like Rules by Cynthia Lord)

Grade:

This week's TTT topic is a fun one: Favorite Books Released in the Last Ten Years (one book per year).  Since I keep lists of all the books I read each year, with asterisks denoting my favorites, I'm going to use those lists to put my own spin on the topic.  Instead of chatting about my favorite books released in a certain year, I'm going to talk about the best ones I read each year, regardless of when they were published.  That should be a little easier than Googling "Best Novels of 20--"! 

Before I do that, I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun.  It's a good time and a great way to spread some love across the book blogosphere, find new blogs to love, and add intriguing-looking titles to your TBR pile.  What's not to love?  All you have to do is click over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few instructions, make your own list, and share it with the world.  Easy cheesy.

Okay, here we go with my Top Ten Favorite Books Read Over the Last Ten Years:

2009:


The Help (2009) by Kathryn Stockett—Like scores of other readers, I loved this revealing novel about a Southern socialite who decides to write a tell-all book about what it's like for the black women working for white society women in the 1960s South.  It's a warm, funny, poignant novel that makes for a wonderful read.  I adored the movie as well, which is odd since I don't usually like book-to-film adaptations.

2010:


This is the year I discovered Kimberley Griffiths Little, a talented writer who has since become a personal friend.  Back in 2010, she was writing MG novels only.  These days, she pens books for children, young adults, and adults. 

I read and loved two of her books in 2010—The Healing Spell, which came out that year, and an ARC of Circle of Secrets, which was published in 2011.  Both are atmospheric stories set in the Louisiana bayou that concern family, friendship, and finding one's place in the world.

2011:


I found another talented MG author in 2011:  Cynthia Lord.  I read both Rules (2006) and Touch Blue (2010) this year.  Rules is a sweet novel about a 12-year-old girl who's frustrated with her autistic brother and the way his condition seems to overwhelm her life and that of her family.  Touch Blue concerns an island in Maine where the state is planning to shut down the local school, forcing the island children to go to the mainland to get an education.  In an effort to save the school by increasing enrollment, island families take in foster kids.  Tess's family takes on a 13-year-old boy whose presence in their lives could be either a blessing or a curse.  I enjoyed both books and have continued to read every book Lord writes. 

2012:


Cinder (2012) by Marissa Meyer—Sci-fi isn't really my jam, so it took me a while to actually pick up my ARC of Cinder.  When I did, I was surprised to find myself totally drawn into this YA story about a cyborg Cinderella.  It's a fun, inventive novel, which I enjoyed very much.  I've since read—and loved—the whole series, which is exciting, engrossing, clean, and entertaining.

2013:


How the Light Gets In (2013) by Louise Penny—Apparently, I didn't post my "Books Read" list for this year, so I had to Google books that came out in 2013.  I've enjoyed every book in Penny's Inspector Gamache series and How the Light Gets In, which I read in 2017, is still my favorite.  It's tense and exciting, but also tender and funny.

2014:


Apparently, this was the year I discovered Kate Morton, who quickly became one of my favorite authors.  I read four of her books, all the ones she had published to that point, in 2014:  The House at Riverton (2008), The Forgotten Garden (2009), The Distant Hours (2010), and The Secret Keeper (2012).  Although I enjoyed them all, The Secret Keeper was my favorite.  All of them are atmospheric, engrossing tales about families and secrets.

2015:


Salt to the Sea (2016) by Ruta Sepetys—I didn't love Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray (2011), but I really enjoyed Out of the Easy (2013).  Apparently, I received an ARC of Salt to the Sea because I read the book in 2015, before it came out.  This WWII novel is vivid, heartbreaking, and moving.  I loved it.

2016: 


Little Black Lies (2015) by Sharon Bolton—This mystery/thriller about a string of children who go missing from a small, safe community on the Falkland Islands and the people desperate to find them, is my favorite of Bolton's books.  It kept me guessing until the very last sentence.  Literally.

2017:


The Disappearances (2017) by Emily Bain Murphy—It's hard to explain the plot of this unique novel.  The cover makes it look like a horror novel, but it's not.  Suffice it to say, I adored the story.  I've heard rumors that the author FINALLY has a new book coming out in 2020 and I cannot wait.  After The Disappearances, I want to read everything Murphy writes!

2018:


The Solace of Water (2018) by Elizabeth Byler Younts—Younts was raised Amish and while she has since left the religion, she remains close to the Amish community and her family members who still reside there.  This familiarity with their religion/culture gives Younts an insider's view that informs her fiction.  I've read a couple of Younts' books and The Solace of Water, a novel about two very different women (one is a black preacher's wife, the other a white Amish woman) who form an unlikely friendship in the 1950s South, is my favorite.  It's a powerful, touching novel which I loved.

2019:


I've read a couple books so far this year that I've marked as favorites, but the one that stands out most is The Island of Sea Women (2019) by Lisa See.  I've read and enjoyed several books by See, but this one gleams even among them.  It tells the story of a real group of women in South Korea who have been going into the sea for generations to harvest seafood that they sell to support their families.  The women are the breadwinners, leaving their husbands behind to rear the children.  It's a sweeping, epic novel that stretches across several decades, focusing especially on the WWII years.  Warm, intriguing, and memorable, it's a fantastic read that I highly recommend.

So, there you go, some favorites that I've read over the past decade.  Which titles did you choose for each year?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!

Welcome to another edition of my favorite bookish meme!  I love Top Ten Tuesday, even if today's topic—Books That I Refuse to Let Anyone Touch (too special/valuable/fragile/etc.)—doesn't really apply to me.  I'm not interested enough to collect rare books, not sentimental enough to keep nostalgic reads (at least not old, fragile copies), and not cautious enough not to let family and friends borrow my books.  So, yeah, for this topic?  I got nothing.  Instead, I'm going to spin it a little and list the Top Ten Books I'm Hoping to Touch This Summer (or, My Summer TBR List).  This will actually be the subject of the TTT list on June 25, but since I'm constantly biting off more than I can chew (er, read), I will no doubt be able to come up with another, entirely different list in a month.  No problem.

Before we get to that, though, I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun.  It's a simple way to spread the love around the book blogosphere while adding to both your blogroll and your TBR pile mountain mountain chain at the same time.  Just click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a couple instructions, make your own list, and voilá!  You're in.

So far, 2015 has been an excellent reading year.  Sure, I've endured some stinkers, but I've enjoyed some great books as well.  Of the 72 (soon to be 73) books I've read this year, I can honestly say I liked the majority of them.  That's not true every year.  Since the Top Ten Tuesday question du jour is about our favorites of the year, I thought this would be a good time to highlight some of them.

My hands-down favorite part of Top Ten Tuesday is getting suggestions from the lists of other book bloggers.  So, join in, will you?  It's super easy.  All you have to do is head on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read the participation instructions and follow them.  Voilà, you're part of the cool crowd!  Simple.

Top Ten Books I've Read So Far in 2015:


1.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion—I loved this book about a man with autism/Asperger's who's out to find the perfect wife ... and ends up with the most unsuitable woman in Australia.  It's hilarious.  Literally had me laughing out loud.  In public!


2.  At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen—This novel about a spoiled socialite who follows her thrill-seeking husband and his equally adventurous BFF to Scotland during WWII to look for the Loch Ness monster is a nuanced, atmospheric novel of surprising depth.  Although it's a sad story in many ways, it's a joy to watch how the heroine transforms from the beginning of the novel to the end.


3.  The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths—Kay, a blogger I've followed for a long time, always recommends great new mystery series that I've never encountered before.  So far, I've really liked this series about a quirky British archaeologist who gets pulled in to help the local Detective Chief Inspector solve cases.  I've read the first three installments, but The Crossing Places (which comes first) is still my favorite.


4.  The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz—Screwball comedies aren't usually my thing, but I happen to adore this series.  It concerns a family of private eyes who refuse to trust anyone ... especially each other.  I've had fun reading the first two books, which are equally zany and laugh out loud funny.


5.  What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty—It's no secret that I love this Australian author.  I've read about half of her novels and enjoyed them all.  This one is about a 39-year-old mother who, because of a head injury, wakes up thinking it's 10 years earlier than it really is.  As she becomes reacquainted with her real life, she's astounded to realize how much has changed with her family, her friends, and her marriage.  It's a compelling story that's both funny and poignant.


6.  Pines by Blake Crouch—This series (which is now a miniseries on Fox) concerns a Secret Service agent who comes to a small Idaho town in search of two missing agents.  Not surprisingly, things are not at all that they appear to be in quaint, picturesque Wayward Pines.  From the first page of Pines, I was totally sucked into this story.  I ended up downing the whole trilogy almost in one setting.  It's quick, edge-of-your-seat reading that will keep you guessing.


7.  Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs—Again, it's no surprise that the newest Tempe Brennan mystery is on this list.  I've loved the smart, dedicated forensic anthropologist ever since she was introduced in Deja Dead (1997).  Since the last book had a bit of a cliffhanger ending, I was especially excited to see what happened in Speaking in Bones.  Tempe works with a crackpot amateur detective to find a missing girl while also dealing with her very complicated personal life (re: Andrew Ryan).


8.  A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord—Lord writes heart-felt books about kids dealing with real-life problems.  Her newest concerns a lonely girl in Maine who unintentionally befriends a Hispanic migrant worker.  As their friendship grows, they face surprising (or not so much?) opposition from the small community where they live.  It's a thought-provoking story that reinforces the importance of tolerance and accepting people for who they are, not where they come from or how they look.


9.  Death Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe—This book-in-verse about an Arizona teenager's reactions to the Vietnam War is both inventive and moving.  It's a fast read, but a profound one.


10.  A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller—I don't do a lot of browsing at the library these days, but as I was looking for a book by another "K" author, I came across Keller's series about a West Virginian lawyer who returns to the town of her birth in an effort to make a difference in impoverished, violence-riddled Raythune County.  While the books (I've read the first two so far) are exciting mystery/thrillers, they also provide an intimate, unflinching examination of Appalachia and her people.

There you go.  Have you read any of these?  What did you think?  Which titles are on your list?  If you leave me a link to your TTT, I'll be sure and visit.

Happy reading!