Saturday, January 12, 2019

My 15 Favorite Reads of 2018

This was a year of great novels! Here were my favorites!

1. The Problim Children by Natalie Lloyd
         A charming middle grade novel with magic; unique, distinctive characters; and a terribly exciting story! This is just the start of the adventures with Problim Children, so get ready for a wild ride! 

2. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
        Here's a chance to expand your reading with a collection of wildly different short stories exploring women's issues as well as same sex relationships. The writing is beautiful and wildly thought provoking with stories playing off of old wives tales and fairy tales. 

3. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
       Oh, so lovely! I haven't delved into a fully fledged fantasy novel in quite some time, and this one was just wonderful! The world was rich and historical. The characters were memorable and three dimensional. And the plot was unlike anything I've read before. A must read. 

4. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
      I'd been wanting to read Ahdieh's series for quite awhile and finally got around to it this summer. The first installment in the series completely lived up to expectations and blew my mind. Fast paced, exhilarating, and brilliant. Plus, I loved all the Egyptian mythology! 

5. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
      This was the book I needed when I was a teenager, about seeing yourself for who you are, about feeling self conscious, about being conscious of the space your body takes up in a room, but learning that you are worthy of love for who you are. I cried so many times, underlined so many passages that my teenage self needed to hear. So really, just read the book. 

6. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
      As many of you know, I am a die hard Stiefvater fan. Even though this is one of her first novels, it was my last one to read. Which was worth it because it was beautiful and I loved every minute of it and it made me want a horse again (I never don't want a horse). I really don't think there's anything else like it, and she includes a recipe in the back of the book so you can fully delve into the story! 

7. The Seas by Samantha Hunt
       This was my plane read to London, and I honestly don't know how I got through four years of a creative writing degree without being asked to read this. The lyrical writing is absolutely stunning, and the prose makes you double think what you just read. I can't recommend it enough. 

8. Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone
      A beautiful, high fantasy middle grade novel. I absolutely loved the nature aspect as well as the playing with songs and voice! It's a good challenge for young readers and old alike. 

9. Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon
      Finally another book with a main character with a disability. I've only read one other novel with a main character who had down syndrome, which was beautifully done. But this one was even more intriguing. The main character Rosie had absolute agency. This novel was beautiful and heartbreaking and heartening all at the same time. Just heck yes! 

10. The Bear and The Nightengale by Katherine Arden
      Russian lore is becoming more present in literature these days, and I think this novel is one of the best. It's magical, mystical, foreign, and atmospheric. There's a lot to follow so you better give this book your full attention. But I promise, it is absolutely worth it. Especially cause there's two more books. And they're brilliant. And she's coming to Bath in March so I'm going to tell her how brilliant she is :D 

11. Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak
       "I did my waiting! Thirteen years of it!" That's right, it's been 13 years since The Book Thief released. But the wait was completely worth it. Bridge of Clay is heartbreaking, challenging, amazingly written, captivating prose, completely original characters, and the most lovely way of telling a story that I've never read before. So basically Marcus Zusak is a genius. 

12. Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
       Charming, playful, musical, and all around wonderful. I've written about this book before, so I won't sum it up again. But it's a definite must read adventure story! Who wouldn't want to run across the rooftops of Paris? 

13. Private Peaceful by Michal Morpurgo
       Michael Morpurgo is a huge author over here, but I'd never read any of his work before. Which is just ridiculous because it's wonderful. He utilizes time lock in an effective manner and tells a story in a way that we think we know what's happening, but we actually don't. It's one of the most lovely World War 1 books ever! 

14. Skellig by David Almond
       The best middle grade magical realism novel I've read! Again, shocked that I'd never read anything from David Almond before. It's very reminiscent of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and is a beautiful way of teaching kids how to deal with mourning as well as thinking for themselves. 

15. Gods of Howl Mountain by Taylor Brown
       A debut novel set in North Carolina during the prohibition. These were honestly the most unique characters with distinctive voices. I loved the plot and the setting, but I really just loved the characters...I can't talk enough about the characters! 

I read 61 books in 2018, which rounds on to 19,383 pages! I've set my Goodreads Reading Challenge to 50 books for 2019. Have you all set your reading goal for 2019?

Happy Reading,
     HER 

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