Half-Year-ish Favorites of 2012: The Scenes

Way back in July I started doing my best of 2012 (so far), using this post from inkcrush as a template. Part one (the books) and part two (the characters) have been up for so long that I almost feel like I should redo them in light of reading so many more books since then. But I'll wait until the end of the year, probably.

ANYWAY.

Here's the long-awaited (nobody was waiting. me, probably.) part three -- the scenes!

1. best first chapter: Bittersweet, by Sarah Ockler. Technically, this is a prologue, and it's one of those rare times where the prologue not only works but is also really, really necessary to the story. This "first chapter" sets up Hudson's past and its influence on her present so well.

2. best climax: Life is but a Dream, by Brian James. The ocean scene near the end of this one was so gripping, so eerie, and so fitting for the story that it was.

3. best ending: Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson. And by "ending" I really, really mean ending. Like, the last two pages. They were just... well, I feel like I'm already overusing the word "perfect" in this post, but they really were perfect. Anderson managed to change some HUGE things about the classic Peter Pan tale and make it work in a really fitting, wonderful way.

4. best plot twist/revelation: The List, by Siobhan Vivian. I know the point of this book wasn't to figure out who's behind the list, but the scene where we find out is just perfect. To me it turned the whole book on its head in a way. It made all the pieces click together, even the pieces I hadn't realized I had questions about. 

5. scariest/most disturbing scene: Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. The toddler scene. I don't remember much about it except that it was way, way disturbing and really one of the points in the novel where I felt like, okay, this is going too far. Honestly, for how much I love that book, there really are moments that I found pretty horrific.

6. sweetest kiss: Bittersweet, by Sarah Ockler. Again, I have to go with this one. The couple in this book is just so, so sweet. Hudson/Josh forevah.

7. best swoon-worthy moment: Skipping this one as I don't know. I am not a swoony person, to be honest. The word makes me think of old-timey ladies fainting dead away and needing to be revived with smelling salts. I don't even understand any of what I just said.

8. biggest nail-biting moment: Unwind, by Neal Shusterman. It has  to be a scene from this book, but there are quite a few to choose from. Chapter 61 (at least, I think it was 61) for one option, of course. But also the pre-Clappers moment, and the moments in the airplane graveyard.

9. most hilarious scene: She's So Money, by Cherry Cheva. I don't think I can choose just one scene, but this book is so funny that it just has to be from here, honestly.

10. most heartbreaking, tear-jerker moment: Sisterhood Everlasting, by Ann Brashares. In the interest of not totally spoiling the book for those who haven't read it, I won't say the actual scene or what actually happens. But if you've read it, YOU KNOW. "Sad" doesn't quite do it justice. At all.

bonus #11. favorite meet cute: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith. This one, between Hadley and Oliver, is pretty dang classic. It involves an airport, baggage, etc. etc. Basically the traditional "meet cute."

Ta-dah! I would say that day 4 of this is coming up, but hahahahaaa the best I can do is say I'm going to TRY, okay? Anyway, what are some scenes that would be on your list for these things?