TOP 5 WEDNESDAY

Group for the top five wednesday-ers! As of February 21, 2014, any booktuber can participate in T5W. You’ll find the topics for that month listed in the Topics section. Be sure to post you channel/blog site to the Complete List post so we know who is participating. Follow along on Twitter: #T5WFamily View complete list of Wednesday-ers

Welcome back to another Top 5 Wednesday The topic for this week is Top Authors You Discovered This Year

Sarah’s Picks

I want to give a big shout out to all the authors I have worked with this year! Without you Girl Plus Book wouldn’t be possible. I have had an amazing opportunity to work with some pretty amazing authors this year. I feel so blessed to meet so many of you. It was so hard to pick only five. I cannot wait to see what 2016 brings.

1) J.K. Ullrich

J.K. Ullrich likes to joke that she began writing environmental fiction at age six, when she won the local library’s “Captain Planet” essay contest with her story about a “rude dude” who learns not to litter. When she’s not writing, she’s running on her favorite trail, reading a good book, singing with a local cover band, yelling at her baseball team, or planning her next travel adventure. Catch up with her at jkullrich.com. View our review of Blue Karma

View Books by J.K. Ullrich

2) Brenda Vicars

Brenda Vicars has worked in Texas public education for many years. Her jobs have included teaching, serving as a principal, and directing student support programs. For three years, she also taught college English to prison inmates. She entered education because she felt called to teach, but her students taught her the biggest lesson: the playing field is not even for all kids. Through her work, she became increasingly compelled to bring their unheard voices to the page. The heartbeat of her fiction emanates from the courage and resiliency of her students. View our review of Polarity In Motion

View Books by Brenda Vicars

3) Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld’s teen novels include the Uglies series, the Leviathan and Midnighters trilogies, and the so-called “NYC Trilogy”: So Yesterday, Peeps, and The Last Days. Scott was born in Texas, and alternates summers between Sydney, Australia, and New York City. His next book, Afterworlds, comes out September 23, 2014. See our review of his newest book Zeroes.

View Books by Scott Westerfeld

4) Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer is a fangirl at heart, with a closet full of costumes, a Harry Potter wand on her desk, and a Tuxedo Mask doll hanging from her rear view mirror. Han and Leia are still her OTP. She may or may not be a cyborg. Marissa writes books for teens, including the NYT bestselling series: The Lunar Chronicles.

View Books by Marissa Meyer

5) Jennifer L. Armentrout

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in West Virginia. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write. She shares her home with her husband, his K-9 partner named Diesel and her hyper Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent her time writing short stories. Therefore explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes Young Adult Contemporary, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal and Romance. She writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J.Lynn. View our review of Lux Series

View Books by Jennifer Armentrout

Gab’s Picks

This is the part that we all get to yell at Gab for never reading To Kill A Mockingbird until now…..

Also, Gab had the pleasure of discovering Neal Shusterman this year (Thanks to the worlds best Christmas present from Sarah – #YouAreWelcome)

1) Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella is the author of the bestselling Shopaholic series as well as the novels Can You Keep a Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I’ve Got Your Number, and Wedding Night. She lives in England.

View Books by Sophie Kinsella

2) John Scalzi

John Scalzi writes books, which, considering where you’re reading this, makes perfect sense. He’s best known for writing science fiction, including the New York Times bestseller “Redshirts,” which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. He also writes non-fiction, on subjects ranging from personal finance to astronomy to film, was the Creative Consultant for the Stargate: Universe television series. He enjoys pie, as should all right thinking people. You can get to his blog by typing the word “Whatever” into Google. No, seriously, try it.

View Books by John Scalzi

3) Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers, Everlost, and Downsiders, which was nominated for twelve state reading awards. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows such as Animorphs and Goosebumps. The father of four children, Neal lives in southern California.

View Books by Neal Shusterman

4) Harper Lee

Nelle Harper Lee is known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, her only major work. In 1999, it was voted “Best Novel of the Century” in a poll by Library Journal. Ms. Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature in 2007. Her father was a lawyer who served in the Alabama state legislature from 1926 to 1938. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate, Truman Capote. After completing To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee accompanied Capote to Holcomb, Kansas, to assist him in researching his bestselling book, In Cold Blood. Since publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee has granted very few requests for interviews or public appearances. Her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, is scheduled to be released in July, 2015.

View Books by Harper Lee

5) David Sedaris

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America ‘s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.David Sedaris is the author of the bestsellers Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, each of which became immediate bestsellers.

View Books by David Sedaris