One of the best parts of being a writer is getting to read constantly and when someone raises an eyebrow at the four new novels that appeared in your joint Kindle library on the heels of three novels from the previous week getting to say “It’s for professional development.”
I’ve never done an annual review of favorite books, but while flipping through my Kindle library, I was struck by how many I want to reread (but will probably never find the time because there’s always a new book to read and I feel I should read every book at least once before I go back and start rereading).
I read some fantastic books last year. Some were beautiful. Some were powerful. Some were laugh out loud funny. And some were just lots of fun. Really the only thing all these books have in common is that they kept me up past my and everyone else’s bedtime, and left me alone in the silent living room with raw eyes at 2 in the morning.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Badass friends, pilots, and spies during WWII. This is one of the best historical fiction books I’ve ever read. It’s impossible to explain all the ways this book is so amazing without spoiling the whole thing, but a few are the friendship between Queenie and Maddie, the storytelling device (from the first page you know you’re reading a hand written confession to Nazi captors), and the fascinating and (based on the author’s notes about her research) accurate details about WWII. Actually, this book gets points for teaching me something entirely new about WWII, the women pilots of the RAF.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Equal parts brutal and gorgeous, this book tells the story of a fifteen year old Lithuanian girl ripped from her home by Stalin’s Soviet Union. It’s a harsh read. The scenes of desperation, torture, and brutality whether from the Soviet soldiers or the Siberian winter are heart stopping. The gorgeous prose in which Lina’s story is told only highlights the inhuman cruelty around her. I knew almost nothing about Stalin’s atrocities in Eastern Europe, which made this book so much more powerful. Lina’s story is based on the true stories of millions who’s lives were destroyed and then forgotten. It’s a necessary and powerful book.
And I Darken by Kiersten White
Vlad the Impaler reimagined as a vengeful, bloodthirsty princess. Do I need to say more? I can. The book reimagines the history of the Ottoman Empire not long before it takes Constantinople. I loved the original setting. I don’t think I’ve ever read an Ottoman Empire story and definitely not from the Ottoman side, which is where most of the story takes place as Lada is taken hostage the Ottoman court in exchange for her father’s support of the empire. The best historical fiction makes you want to learn more about the time and place of the story, and this book did exactly that. Vlad the Impaler’s name is both literal and extremely accurate.
Simon v. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
I didn’t only read historical fiction last year. Simon is contemporary YA, and it is AMAZING! I’m not just saying this because it’s set in my and Albertalli’s hometown of Atlanta, and I totally understand Simon’s enthusiasm for the Varsity. Simon is one of the most authentic teen characters I’ve read. The blend of humor, anxiety, anger, and joy perfectly reflects the trials of high school. Simon’s life is thrown into turmoil when one of his emails is seen by another student who threatens to force Simon out of the closet if he doesn’t help the blackmailer hook up with one of Simon’s friends. If that wasn’t enough, there’s best friend jealousy and rehearsals for Oliver to worry about. (There’s no way Albertalli wasn’t in high school theater herself. It’s too true.)
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
I do not recommend this book for anyone currently writing their own novel because you’ll finish this book and think “Why the hell even bother? There’s no way I can do this.” The prose is lyrical. The characters are beautifully drawn. It’s a simple and sweet retelling of a very old tale, the star-crossed lovers, Miah is black and Ellie is Jewish. I think high school is the only period in life where love, or better connection, at first sight is possible, and Woodson elegantly brings Miah and Ellie’s spark to life.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
Laugh out loud historical fiction, reimagining, fantasy…don’t get too caught in the defining the genre. Apparently Lady Jane Grey was queen of England for nine days between Henry VIII’s son Edward and daughter Mary. Historians estimate she was between 16 and 17 when executed on Mary’s orders technically for high treason but really for having the awful luck of being young, female, and related to royalty during a power vacuum. The real story of Lady Jane was just too tragic for the authors who decided she needed to escape, save the throne of English, and have the ability to turn into an animal. It’s also hilarious.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
This breathtaking YA fantasy plunges readers into Indian mythology, as Mayavati attempts to forge her own destiny. Born a princess but shunned for a pretty terrible horoscope promising death and destruction, Maya battles prejudice, demons, and even the stars themselves to thwart her fate. For me, the story was a fascinating introduction to apsaras, pishachas, yakshinis, and so many other beings from Indian mythology. It’s pretty obvious at this point that I particularly love fiction which entertains and teaches me something new about the real world.
Ms. Marvel Vol. 5 by G. Willow Wilson
Ms. Marvel is the super hero the United States needs right now. American, Muslim, female, fangirl, with boundless youthful optimism to boot, Kamala Khan is one of the greatest teen characters in fiction right now. Wilson’s characters are the best representation of American Millenials that I have read. Period. Ms. Marvel is a giant punch in the face to all the Millenial haters. Even if you’re not a reader of comics, if you enjoy great characters and fun, you will love Ms. Marvel.
March Vol. I-III by John Lewis
Speaking of comics, you’d think by now everyone would know that comics and graphic novel formats aren’t just for stories about super powers, but amazingly there are still those left in the dark. March is a memoir about Congressman John Lewis’ time as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement during the 60s. Lewis was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which led the sit-in protests across the South. Lewis helped organize the March on Washington, but it was his stories from the front lines that took my breath. Lewis and his fellow SNCC volunteers were beaten at sit-ins only to return another only to be arrested just to go back out again. Lewis was locked inside a restaurant by an owner who left a fumigator running. He was one of the freedom riders and only missed being on a burned bus because he was beaten an arrested at an earlier stop. And to tell about the Birmingham Church bombing that left four girls dead and 21 children injured or Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of peaceful marchers were beaten by police while kneeling to pray, a picture is worth much more than 1,000 words.
1808: Flight of the Emperor by Laurentino Gomes
This book is the foundation of my current work in progress. I was imagining a pirate story in colonial Brazil and then I read about Dom João, the Prince Regent of Portugal who fled from Napoleon to Brazil and took a 10,000 member court with him. This is non-fiction, but all the major players are characters. The Court’s evacuation was so frantic, they left the entire royal library in crates on the docks in Lisbon. The Prince Regent is straight up comic relief from his cowering in the bedchambers during thunderstorms to his fear of crustaceans. And Rio de Janeiro is rampant with corruption, murder, and diamond smuggling. If you’re like me and never studied anything about Portugal in school other than Magellan was born there, I highly recommend this book and unbelievable story.
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It happened. I finally got the brutal agent response I will talk about twenty years from now at book signings. I’m a real writer now. Yay!
My first thought was “Portugal, a Christian country in Europe full of white people, may feel too foreign for Americans?” I’m still trying to figure out what about US demographics gives the agent this impression. If Portugal is too foreign what countries will Americans read about? Great Britain, obviously. France, yes. Germany? What about Russia? They’re white, but their culture is pretty dissimilar to the US.
The Census Bureas predicts that by 2020, the majority of kids in the United States will be members of a minority race or ethnic group.
