These are my picks for the top five fiction books I read this year:
5- Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kristen Miller
This is a newer book about the power of books. This book touches on all sorts of dangerous subjects: racism, rape, suicide, homosexuality, and several others. What I like most about this book is that it is intended to teach us how to read books and live life with our brains on and our hearts open. You can’t believe everything you read. Not every book is for every reader. But, as one character says, the books are never the problem. The humans are. This is a story about a small town in Georgia, where Lula Dean begins a book-banning crusade. She demands that “dangerous” books be pulled off the shelves of the schools and public library. She sets up her own little purple library and fills it with “wholesome” books. A young lady, the daughter of Lula Dean’s enemy, pulls a wonderful prank. She takes a load of the banned books that were being stored in her mother’s basement and hides them in the dust jackets of the books in Lula Dean’s library. She swaps the covers, hiding the dangerous books in plain sight. The people in the town pull the dangerous books out of the little library, and each book has a powerful effect. The books force racism out into the open, uncover bigotry, give shy people courage, and help the town’s people empathize with each other. There is big tension, as the town learns about the ghosts of its past. It was interesting to read through those hard moments. This book could have quite easily been a horror book if the author had taken the plot to darker places. Instead, she wrote mostly about restoration, healing, sense, and redemption. This is a tough book. I’m not sure if I agree with all the conclusions it draws, but I love that it forces hard looks at beliefs, biases, and ideas. Thank you, Julie, for this recommendation.
This is for readers needing a challenge.
(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by January LaVoy, 10:13)
4 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
There are limited bands of light in the visible spectrum, but there are many more we cannot see. Technology is both wonderful and terrible. Humans have the capacity for immense perseverance and brutal cruelty. War brings out the best and the worst of us. This story is set before and during World War II. One story arc follows a young German boy out of the slums and into the German war machine. The other ark is the story of a cursed diamond, big enough to have an ancient history of death and betrayal. A young blind French girl protects the diamond in the center of the story as the war begins. She must keep the diamond safe from the Germans who hunt for Europe's biggest treasures. The author uses the war to show that there were good and bad people on both sides. Many of the heroes have gone unrecognized. They provided peace, food, and courage in the little moments. They held the world together while evil was tearing it apart. One aspect of the war that I learned from this book was how brutal the Germans were to everyone, including their own people. Another aspect was how brave some people had to be to stand up to the Germans throughout Europe in a time of fear and oppression. The author’s writing style in this book was interesting to me because he used a lot of very short sentences or phrases or single words, and lets the reader fill in some of the rest with their imagination. This is a heavy book because of its setting, but it is filled with grit, perseverance, and hope.
This is for WWII buffs, young engineers, and historical fiction readers.
(Rated PG-13, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Zach Appelman, 16:02)
3- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Anne Shirley is a hilarious little orphan girl. She has bright red hair and too many freckles. Matthew and his sister Marilla Cuthbert accidentally adopt her. They were hoping to adopt a young orphan boy to help Matthew on the farm, but there was a mix-up, and Anne won Matthew’s heart before he could send her back to the orphanage. Anne has so many crazy ideas and so many words. For example, on her first trip to Green Gables, she renames Barry’s Pond as The Lake of Shining Waters. Trouble finds her several times. But she also has a quick wit, a fiercely loyal heart, and holds a grudge like an elephant. Gilbert Blythe is a young boy who calls Anne “carrots” in school. It takes him many years and the rest of the book to convince Anne to forgive him and become friends instead of rivals. Anne slowly wins the hearts of her neighbors in Avonlea. She saves a baby who nearly dies of croup, she calls it like she sees it, and she uses her big imagination to tell funny stories. Millie and I laughed our way through this heartwarming story. There is a sad part toward the end when Matthew suffers a sudden heart attack. We didn’t like that as much. Millie’s favorite part is when Anne meets her bosom friend Diana. The two little girls become fast friends with secret codes and adventures. We could all use more light and life, and imagination in our lives like Anne.
This is for anyone who needs a fun, positive story.
(Rated G, Score 10/10, audiobook read by Susan O’Malley, 10:39)
2- Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Tress is a practical but poor young lady who lives on a rock island in a world totally different than ours. Her world, Lumar, has twelve moons. The moons are so close that they drop magic spores onto the planet. The spoors are similar to our oceans. Tress falls in love with Charlie, the Duke’s son, but as soon as she figures this out, the Duke hauls Charlie off on a trip. The Duke intends to force Charlie to marry a princess for political gain. Charlie pledges his love to Tress and writes her several letters on his tour of princesses, but eventually he is captured by the evil sorceress. This is where Tress starts to grow as a character. She begins a quest to rescue Charlie. First, she must escape from the island. Then she has to solve quite a few technical issues dealing with magical spores. She’s faced with many dangers, including the spoors, pirates, a dragon, an undead doctor, and an assistant cannon master with terrible eye problems. The tone of the story is quite fun. The narrator is Hoid, the cabin boy on one of the ships Tress sails. Hoid is the character Wit from the Stormlight Archives, but in this story, he is the victim of one of the sorceress’s curses. The sorceress took his five senses. His sense of taste, sense of humor, sense of decorum, sense of purpose, and sense of self. I love the whimsy and clever plot evolution in this story. I love the creativity of the world-building. The characters are memorable, and the dialogue is catchy. Here’s one of my favorite quotes: “If bravery is the wind that makes us soar like kites, then fear is the string that keeps us from going too far. When we abandon some types of fear, entire worlds open up.” What worlds is fear keeping you from opening?
This is for dreamers, adventurers, and assistant cannon masters.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Michael Kramer, 12:27)
1 - The Will of the Many by James Islington
If you took Maze Runner and mashed it up with Red Rising, you would get something like this book. Vis Telemus is the main character. He is an orphaned prince living in The Hierarchy. The Hierarchy is the government as well as the magic system in the book. There are eight layers in the pyramid structure, with each lower tier ceding will to those above them. Will is power or energy, or magic. There is heavy Roman influence in the book, from the language to the Senatorial arrangements. The Octavi cede their will to those above them in the pyramid without receiving anything in return. They are the slaves. They are the many. Vis is violently opposed to The Hierarchy. He is surviving apart from it for as long as he is allowed, but at some point, he will be forced to cede. Vis is discovered and adopted by Ulciscor Telemus, who trains him for the Academy. Vis is sent to the academy to spy on the head of the school and to investigate the death of his adopted father’s brother, who died at the school. Vis has to work his way up through the ranks at the school, balance weird relationships, and learn how to run the labyrinth. Vis is used to violence and danger, but it feels like the whole world is out to get him, except for a few key friends. The end of the school year brings the ludicium, which is the challenge designed to select the Domitor (top student). The challenge is designed to be brutal, cut-throat, and dangerous. It is the climax of the book. Book 2 just came out, so I’ll have to track it down and find out what happens next. I enjoyed the complexity and unique magic system woven through this book. There is a good blend of action, learning, and character development to complement the author’s world-building. This is the type of book that will keep you hooked, reading past your bedtime. Thank you, Connor, for the recommendation.
This is for street rats, howlers, and maze runners.
(Rated PG-13, Score 10/10, audiobook read by Euan Morton, 28:14)
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