Books completed in 2018: 52
Children’s: 19 (37%)
Teen: 23 (44%)
Adult: 10 (19%)
One of the most inspiring and faith-promoting books I’ve ever read. But also a captivating story I often had a hard time putting down.
I don’t think I could a pick a book more different from The Hiding Place, but what can I say? Not inspiring from a spiritual standpoint, but definitely genius.
This book captured my attention with things like its first line: “You’ll never believe who I shot out of a crossbow today.” It impressed me with its interesting format, unreliable narrators, and the way it subtly addresses themes like perspective/viewpoint/bias. It got my heart with the story of friendship. (Does anything say friendship like two scholars competing to see who can name the most obscure manuscript?)
Just thinking about the little green creature who waited patiently in a closet for his human friend Livy to return to him warms my heart. How could you not love someone who, instead of getting angry or impatient during that time, thought, maybe “she discovered an ancient mummy in Egypt and got busy doing interviews.” Bob (both the creature and the book) is so sweet, funny and odd it demands the use of heart emojis. ♥ ♥ ♥
I started this one skeptically because of all that synesthetic language, but soon I was entranced by the complex, poignant story and its elegant presentation.
“There was a time when I loved Vincent very much, and he was my best friend, but that's over now.” I had to read the story that began like that. It's told in an affected, personal and emotional way, but it's the powerful story that really resonates.
This is the kind of book you read in under a week. A story that successfully incorporates the social, cultural, personal and romantic into one seamless, satisfying story of human connection, identity and personal growth. And did I mention that it’s romantic? Tahereh Mafi has come a long way from Shatter Me.
Pure fun and enjoyment.
Delicious gothic horror, but the most chilling part of all may be the vulnerability of women in a pre-suffrage era.
Gordon Korman always delivers, and Restart just might be my favorite. Well written, engaging, funny, and relevant. A great choice for reluctant and avid readers alike.
Honorable mention:
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
Nine-year-old Vera navigates both social and literal wildernesses, and finds a bit of herself in the process. Add this to the canon of graphic middle grade memoirs. It’s of the same quality as Smile and Real Friends.
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
A dramatic, gossip- and secret- filled murder mystery that’s totally juicy but not pure sleaze. It’s not profound or literary, but it delivers what it promises, and it does it well. Perfect for reluctant readers.
Dear Sister by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Joe Bluhm
Dear Sister is just the sweetest. And it’s funny. You’ll finish it in one sitting.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
It really is Hunger Games for grown ups. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson
An exploding sun, aliens, sabotage, time travel, space ships, and murder plots are all part of this exciting sci fi adventure.
The full list of books read in 2018:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline • Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson • Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David • The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli • Spinning by Tillie Walden • Tell Us Something True by Dana Reinhardt • See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng • The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found by Martin W. Sandler • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl • How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana • Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman • Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg • The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom • The Yark by Bertrand Santini • Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli • The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert* • Red Rising by Pierce Brown • The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta* • Restart by Gordon Korman • The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang* • Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi* • Bob by Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead* • The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw* • Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi* • Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol* • The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock* • The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan* • Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone* • The Dime by Kathleen Kent • Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson • One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus • Peter and Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths by Graham Annable* • Murder in Saint-Germain by Cara Black • Nightbooks by J. A. White* • The Paris Architect by Charles Belfour • The Cruel Prince by Holly Black* • Dear Sister by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Joe Bluhm* • Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz • More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz • Scary Stories 3 by Alvin Schwartz • Scary Story Reader by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young • A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin • Beastkeeper by Cat Hellison • Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka* • Small Spaces by Katharine Arden* • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo* • Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed* • A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi* • The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M. T. Anderson & Eugene Yelchin* • The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White* • The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand • Sadie by Courtney Summers*
* indicates published in 2018
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