According to Goodreads, I’ve read 61 books since the first of the year. And since we’re at the midway point of 2018, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite reads (so far).
These are in no particular order:
1.The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
This book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2013. Now, I’ll tell you that’s not normally something that makes me run right out and read a book. So, I went into this story cautiously and then I fell in love with it. Set in the 1920’s in the harsh, achingly beautiful Alaskan frontier, we meet Jack and Mabel, a couple in their late 40’s who’ve been unable to have children and are seeking . . . something. I know, I know, it sounds like it might be a bit of a slow read but, you guys, this is a page-turner.
Enter Faina, a young girl who appears out of nowhere and thrives in the snow–a literal snow child. A touch of magic twines its way through this story, based partly on the fairytale, The Snow Child. Read it, you won’t regret it.
Number of Ugly Cries: 3
2. The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Naomi is a child finder, the child finder. She’s spent her life finding the children no one can. As once a lost child herself, she feels a connection to these children that others can’t. We meet Naomi when she’s hired to find Madison, a young girl who went missing in the Oregon wilderness three years ago. Everyone believes she dead, but maybe she’s not.
The story is told in several different points-of-view, including Naomi–both past and present, and a few others you’ll have to read the book to find out about. The writing in this book is gorgeous and the story is riveting. It, again, is a page-turner. I’ve heard rumors the author is considering a sequel to this and I will be first in line to get it.
Number of Ugly Cries: 2
3. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
There was a lot of hype about this book before I read it. I was a fan of Backman after reading A Man Called Ove but Beartown is an entirely different beast of a book and, if I’m being honest, I loved it more than Ove. Set in a small, failing town in Sweden obsessed with their junior hockey team. It’s a book about hockey and it’s a book that’s definitely not about hockey.
When a sexual assault happens, the town is rocked to its core and it’s in this event that the truth of who each character is, the core of them, becomes evident. It’s just really, really good. This story is a standalone but it is also the first in a trilogy. The second book was just released earlier this summer. Yes, I will be reading it when I get my greedy hands on it.
This story is told in multiple points-of-view, in an omniscient voice–all the things we’re told not to do as writers. But Backman does it beautifully and in a way that’s addictive for readers. These are characters who will stick with you for a long, long time after.
Number of Ugly Cries: A lot
4. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
This story was a beautiful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful one to watch unfold. Told in two points-of-view, the present day story follows Avery, the beloved daughter of a senator, who’s come home to help her father through health issues.
The second point-of-view is that of twelve-year-old Rill Foss, a river gypsy living with her mother, father, and four younger brothers and sisters on a boat in the Mississippi River in the 1930’s.
How their two stories ultimately intertwine is a sad, terrible story based on the real-life accounts of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Yet, the story does come full circle to end on a note of hope and, yes, laughter.
The writing is lovely and lyrical and pays such homage to the setting. The river itself becomes another character until itself, one full of beauty and music. The first few chapters are a tiny bit slow (not a complaint. I still loved every word.) so give it until at least page 50 and then it’s impossible to put down.
Number of Ugly Cries: 1 (But it lasted, like, the last 40 pages.)
5. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
| I’m not sure where The Blue Castle has been all my life but I’ve found it and someone will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands now.
When Valency (seriously, new favorite heroine name. I’m naming my next cat this. I swear it) receives some life-altering news, she begins making drastic changes. Her family thinks she’s nuts but she’s finally decided she doesn’t give a d—m (as Roaring Abel might say). Speaking of Roaring Abel, this book is chalked full of fun characters that will make you smile—mostly from their absurdity. Finally, The Blue Castle is a love story, and a great one at that. Valency wants one last thing and, instead, she’s given so much more. Sigh. Heart flutters. More sighing. Plus, how can I NOT like a book where cats factor so heavily into the happily-ever-after? Go read this, ye romantic-hearted people. You shall enjoy it greatly. |
L. M. Montgomery, best known for Anne of Green Gables, only wrote a few books for adults and this is one of them. Charming, funny, and fairytale-like in its premise, it ticks so many of my boxes. Valency is twenty-nine, unmarried, rather plain, and living a proper (utterly mundane) life in small-town Canada in the 1920’s. Her family controls her every waking hourHonorable Mentions:
Girl Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
A Note: Some of these books deal with subject matter that may be difficult to read for some. If you have any questions about any of them, please feel free to ask.
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2 responses to “My Favorite Reads of 2018 (So Far)”
I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about BEFORE WE WERE YOURS, so I’ve bumped it on my TBR list.
This year’s books that have stuck with me so far this year:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon – Kelly Barnhill (MG)
The Someday Birds – Sally J. Pla (MG)
The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo (YA)
An American Marriage – Tayari Jones (A)
Runner up: Half of a Yellow Sun – Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie
I’ve heard amazing things about An American Marriage. Can’t wait to read it. And I’ll definitely check out the other books on your list. I don’t read enough MG and YA and I need to.