"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them," - Ray Bradbury
Alright. This isn't going to be your average "Top Ten" list. Heck, there are more than ten books on this list anyway.
Upon looking over the books I had read this year, I had a lot of difficulty in finding a set order to my favorite books. I read so many books I loved for varying reasons, and it felt unfair to put numerical quantities on these works of art. Sure, I like some of these books better than others, but my love for them is too complex and nuanced to be limited to a numbered list. It didn't feel fair to pit these books against each other, because I love them all for different reasons.
So, we're going to break them up into thematic categories! These categories are in no particular order, but the books listed in them are. I have also omitted the "Enjoyment Level" and "Objective Rating" section from these reviews since I'm not measuring them against each other anyways.
Casually Homicidal Inspiration
2nd Place: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
I saw the movie adaptation of this book with my friend, since I had been wanting to read the book and see the movie since it came out. However, this book erased all critiques I had with the movie. I ADORE the prose and the writing style. It was visceral and beautiful, with a perfect dose of existential angst, just how I like it. An improvement from the movie was that Julie was much more developed, and I connected with her a lot more. The themes and development were stellar, and I loved R, as always.
Like any good science fiction, it examines the state of humanity and explores the relevant 'what-ifs'. Strangely enough, I liked the ending of the movie better. While the book ending wasn't bad, I thought the movie ending had more of an emotional impact and made more sense with the arc of the story and characters in some respects.
Thankfully, the romance in this book was perfectly balanced. It was one of my favorite romances of the year. And y'all know how much I love stories about character growth. While the movie was funnier, the book had much more heart and depth. Despite a few small nitpicks concerning Perry's role in the story, Warm Bodies had so many things going for it that I am happy to overlook some small critiques.
1st Place: The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody
I can't exactly articulate why I love this book so much. I originally picked it up because I wanted to read it for Casually Homicidal research, but I was absolutely blown away by this awesome book.
This was one of those books that hit me at the perfect moment in my life. It's a bit personal as to why, but regardless, the themes, the writing, the pain - it all impacted me on such a deep and intimate level. I cried and laughed and screamed. This book is my hopes and fears wrapped up in paper and cardboard. I devoured this book in less than three days. Equal parts light-hearted and angsty, I loved every second.
I can't say enough good things about this book. Just, go read it.
Science Fiction Faves
2nd Place: Fifty Days by Brittney Kristina
Even though Brittney Kristina is one of my best internet friends, this review is completely unbiased. To prove so, I gave her debut novel, Forsaken 2.5/5 stars. You can read my strongly-worded review here.
However, I loved Fifty Days. The description if elegant and atmospheric. The tone is stunning and builds the suspense of the novel. There's a good, old-fashioned trashy romance, but it's not instalove, and it makes sense within the context of the novel. It's such a prose- and character-driven novel, which you guys know I'm all about.
As the story progresses, the details build into a complex and creative mystery filled with subtle but powerful tension. The beauty of it is, when the reveal finally hits you, it made sense all along. My only complaint is that the use of italics for emphasis was overdone at times. However, Fifty Days is incredibly unique, enthralling and mysterious, with a healthy dose of angsty romance.
1st Place: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Mental Illness Books
5th Place: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
I had heard nothing but good things about this book, even though I'm a bit late on the hype train. The cover is gorgeous though.
Truthfully, I don't have too much to say about this book. It was great, but not the greatest. I think my only real critique was that it didn't feel long enough. It could have used much more development, and this would have made the book even more impactful if these story elements were more developed.
Overall, the atmosphere and writing style was gorgeous. The emotional journey spoke to me, and the slice of life feeling was perfect.
4th Place: The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody
Albeit not as objectively good in terms of technicality compared to the other books on this list, I still just felt a sheer enjoyment for this book. Just, wow, I loved it. The atmosphere, the laugh-out-loud absurdity, the moving character arcs. Classic Jessica Brody, and I am 100% on the hype train for her. I ADORED Xander. I think I might draw some fan art of him.
I also related to Ryn's struggle with PTSD/survivor's guilt/anxiety. It hit so close to home honestly, just like with Every Last Word.
My only critiques were that I thought it was a bit long-winded, with some sections of dialogue and narration that could have been condensed. Also, sometimes Ryn's internal monologue ventured into cringey, but other times, it was spot on.
Overall, I will probably stan everything that Jessica Brody writes.
3rd Place: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
This is a clutch-book-to-chest-and-sigh kind of book.
I loved this book. I almost don't know how to put it into words. The character arc was executed beautifully, and the incorporation of swimming only elevated it to the next level. I related so hard to Sam, her anxiety struggles, and the way swimming and writing were interconnected.
My only complaint is that I wished there was more time spent with the other members of Poet's Corner. Sam spends to more time spent talking about them and telling the reader about them, instead of showing more of their personalities and their social dynamics and struggles. If this element was fleshed out, then this book would have been perfect.
Every Last Word was a fantastic portrayal of mental illness and the power of words. It resonated with me on a transcendent level, and it may very well find a place on my all-time favorites shelf.
2nd Place: Wings by Olivia Faye Scott
Read my full review here.
1st Place: Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
Read my Turtles discussion article here, about plots (or, lack thereof).
I genuinely don't understand how people didn't love Turtles. I loved basically EVERYTHING about this book. The writing was stylistic and fit the narrative perfectly - but it was also poetic and deep, just how I love it. Turtles gave me an existential crisis in the best way. I felt so terribly understood, and that's really all I can ask for from a book. The whole thing was so startlingly real. It as truly a 'slice-of-life' book, and I'm 100% here for it.
My only real critique was that I wasn't a massive fan of Aza's relationship with Davis. I felt it happened too fast, but by the end, I was down for it, and it didn't distract from anything that was going on.
Overall, I ADORE Turtles, and it has found a home on my favorites shelf.
Miscellaneous Reads
4th Place: The Pigman by Paul Zindel
This is one of those books that just fits right in with my genre - slice of life, character driven, etc. I loved the prose style - very 'Catcher In the Rye' if you ask me, and both John and Lorraine felt real, but also startlingly ordinary. This book almost felt like a movie, which I feel is what it should have been, but it really works either way.
My only critique was that I wanted to know more about Mr. Pignati, but maybe that's the point - both John and Lorraine were so wrapped up in themselves that they missed it, that they missed him.
Overall, the narration sucked me in, the characters and themes were amazing. A solid book really. 10/10 would read this to my kids.
3rd Place: Franny & Zoey by J. D. Salinger
I didn't quite like this one as much as I liked The Catcher In the Rye - let's be real, nothing can top that - but, as always, I love J. D. Salinger's voice as an author. He has such a remarkable way of writing human interactions with subtlety and complexity, where the conflict lies just beneath the surface, often how it does in real life. Just, ah, my life goals is to be able to write people the way J. D. Salinger did.
2nd Place: The Body by Stephen King
Stand By Me is one of my favorite movies, and so when I heard that it was based on the Stephen King book, I knew I had to read it. And, of course, I was so bloody impressed.
Since it was a novella, it was so close to the movie, which I appreciated. Reading the book gave me the same experience that I had while watching the movie, which I guess means it's a damn good adaptation.
The dialogue between the boys was hilarious, heartfelt, and unflinchingly accurate. I adored the themes and the characters and the meaning behind the whole piece. Not only was it so well executed, it also resonated with me deeply. I love King's shorter works. He's truly The King.
1st Place: Beartown by Fredrik Backman
I LOVE BEARTOWN. You know Olivia really loves a book when she types in all capital letters.
I had always wanted to read some Fredrik Backman, but never got around to it until the lovely@biblio.virgo on Instagram personally recommended Beartown to me.
I fell in love from page 2. This story - and more importantly, it's characters - are so profoundly human. I adored basically every single character. And even the characters I didn't love were still developed and understandable. I could see snippets of my own life and my own experiences in Beartown. The culture of Beartown, the themes, and the story absolutely ripped my heart out from my chest.
Beartown is profoundly emotional, and you all know how much I love emotional reads. But the emotion came from the subtlety and the impact of the ordinary moments, in that the quietest moments and the smallest things had the most power, which is how I feel that it works in real life.
Backman is a phenomenal writer. The character development was lightning fast, and the writing was clean, yet creative and profound throughout the book. Beartown is cinematic, thought-provoking, and deeply, profoundly human. The prose just pulls you in, until you're right there with the characters, but also detached. Backman keeps enough distance for the reader to insert their own feelings and interpretations into the text. Beartown is a work of art, and it's so raw. Anyone can find themselves in this book.
Now lets get into my critiques, which are few and far between. With a book this amazing, the critiques are just nitpicks. There were points where things delved into telling and not showing, but I think it was appropriate for the scale of the story. I would have liked to know more about Kevin and David - I feel like they got the short end of the stick most of the time. Exploring Kevin's mental state, and how that contrasted with Maya's and the rest of the town could have been very interesting, but it wasn't that much of a glaring problem.
Now to my more larger critique. I praise Beartown and Backman for showing all angles of the traumatic situation, and how hard of an issue rape can be on so many levels. However, there was a certain small theme that I wasn't such a fan of: toxic masculinity. Granted, that was appropriate for the story context, and while the phrase 'toxic masculinity' wasn't outright stated, the idea that most of the masculinity in Beartown was toxic. There were a few instances where I just would have liked to see more overt instances of masculinity being portrayed positively - because there were several instances of it (namely: Benji, Bobo and his dad, Peter, Amat). The average reader might not have picked up on that and be left with a message that large amounts of masculinity is toxic and femininity is always good, and that's not true. Someone can be extraordinarily masculine and not be toxic - it depends on whether the intent and whether they're a good person or not. Femininity can be toxic as well, but that's a whole different discussion. I just would have liked there to have been a more clear contrast between toxic masculinity and actual, true masculinity, because that topic is so incredibly relevant, just like the rest of Beartown.
I LOVE BEARTOWN. There were moments of intensity and terror, and moments of tenderness and heart-wrenching blows. It emotionally destroyed me in all of the right ways. I can't speak highly enough of Beartown. It is such an important book, and it resonated with me on so many levels. Stunning.
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Thank you for sticking with this strangely unique way of structuring a Top Ten list. Here's to another year of awesome reads!
~The WordShaker
