2011 has been a busy year for Uni, the United States, and the world. The Gargoyle Staff has collected the most memorable moments, events, and cultural artifacts of the year. Print our list and put it in your time capsule or just read for enjoyment. Happy 2012!

Top Ten Books of 2011

10. Revolution
By Jennifer Donnelly
This novel focuses on Andi Alpers, a teenage girl dealing with the death of her younger brother. With her family falling apart, Andi takes refuge in her music and the diary of a young French girl from the 18th century, Alexandrine Paradis. As Andi becomes closer to Alexandrine, the two worlds come to merge to help heal both characters. According to Kirkus Review, "Donnelly combines compelling historical fiction with a frank, contemporary story. Andi is brilliantly realized, complete and complex. The novel is rich with detail, and both the Brooklyn and Paris settings provide important grounding for the haunting and beautifully told story." The novel was listed as one of Amazon's top ten books of 2011.

9. Ship Breaker
By Paolo Bacigalupi
This novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future that is ruled by those who have control of water, and the rest of the population is left to fight over what is there to scavenge. Among those living on the edge is Nailer, and when he and his friends find an opportunity to possibly raise his social status, they take it. "Ship Breaker" has been nominated for multiple awards for young adult fiction throughout the year and received Michael L. Printz Award.

8. The Things A Brother Knows
By Dana Reinhardt
When Levi's older brother Boaz returns from Afghanistan, Levi expects everything to be like it was before Boaz left. However, he is mistaken. This novel introduces the the fact that war never completely leaves a solider and that it affects entire families. As Levi attempts to understand and befriend Boaz, he learns what it means to be a solider and how sometimes just being there for him can be the best that one can offer.

7. You Killed Wesley Payne
By Sean Beaudoin
Dalton Rev is a hard-boiled private investigator who always gets the job done. When a student named Wesley Payne is murdered, Rev takes up the case, and attending the high school is the best way in. There is no question that Dalton will solve the case of The Body, but will he be able to survive the corrupt school, the killer cliques, and the police? "You Killed Wesley Payne" is written in stark prose that gives a film-esque feel to the novel. I recommend reading this book over a long period of time, as it is most enjoyable when read in small doses.

6. Last Night I Sang to the Monster
By Benjamin Sáenz
The novel begins with eighteen-year-old Zach waking up in a mental facility and not remembering where he is. As Zach becomes more aware of his surroundings, it becomes clear that he has struggled with addiction and his own mental health, and that he truly does not remember his life before arriving at the center. Zach is a charismatic and truthful narrator whom readers become attached to as he attempts to find the monster that lives within himself. Says the School Library Journal: "Sáenz weaves together Zach's past, present, and changing disposition toward his future with stylistic grace and emotional insight. This is a powerful and edifying look into both a tortured psyche and the methods by which it can be healed."

5. The Death Cure
By James Dashner
The novel is the finale to the trilogy of "The Maze Runner." In the first two novels, we follow Thomas and Teresa as they arrive in the Glade, a complicated maze-like structure that seems impossible to escape. Jessica Harrison cited "The Maze Runner" trilogy as "a thrilling, adventurous book for kids [...] that will get readers' hearts pumping and leave them asking for more." While this may not be a novel full of deep thoughts, it is a guilty pleasure that is reasonably popular.

4. Neverwinter
By R.A. Salvatore
This novel comes highly recommended by Rif-Raf, especially by senior Charlie Bullock "Neverwinter" is the second novel in the "Neverwinter" saga featuring Drizzt Do'Urden. Now that Drizzt is the last remaining companion after the falls of his compatriots, he is free to do as he pleases for the first time in hundreds of years. Yet, he soon has a new companion, an elf named Dahlia, and together they attempt to seek revenge against those who destroyed the land of Neverwinter. "Neverwinter" debuted as the fourth bestselling book on both the New York Times bestsellers list and Publishers Weekly.

3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By Stephen Chbosky
Although this book was published in 1999 I put it on this list so that everyone can read it before the film adaptation comes out next year. The story is told in the form of letters, a high school freshman writing to girl that he has never met before, telling her all about his high school experience. The letters begin when Charlie begins high school soon after the suicide of his best friend. Lonely Charlie befriends the unpopular Patrick and his beautiful sister Sam, who help usher him into the adult world. This is a very touching novel that follows Charlie as he tries to discover who he is and who his friends are. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the ten most frequently challenged books for its portrayal of sex, drugs, homosexuality, and suicide. Next year a film is due out under the same title as the novel and directed and scripted by the novel's author, Stephen Chbosky.

2. The Wise Man's Fear
By Patrick Rothfuss
"The Wise Man's Fear" is the second book in the trilogy of the "Kingkiller Chronicles" where we listen as Kvothe recounts his life story. After tracking down the legendary Kvothe, now living under a false name, the Chronicler wants to hear Kvothe's side of the story in order to separate the man from the myths. Over three days, Kvothe recounts the story of his life, which is alternately harrowing, hilarious, and thoughtful. "The Wise Man's Fear" does not disappoint, but I would recommend reading the first book in the trilogy beforehand: "The Name of the Wind." This is definitely not the easiest book to get through (it's just short of 1000 pages), but it is worth many hours not put toward any type of school work.

1. A Dance with Dragons
By George R.R. Martin
The long anticipated fifth novel in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" saga was the highlight of the 2011 publishing year. With six years between publications, fans needed to know what was happening to the Starks, the Lanisters, the betrayed House of Targaryen, Jon Snow and so many others. The fact that "A Dance with Dragons" picks up with each narrating character exactly where we left them all those years ago is extraordinarily satisfying. I think I can safely say that all fans hope we do not have to wait another six years for the next installment: "The Winds of Winter."