Books of 2020

Books read in 2020: 32
Children's: 15
Teen: 12
Adult: 5 

Well, I'm about to post my picture book list from 2020, so might as well post this one, too. I didn't read for large chunks last year, and sometimes struggled to enjoy reading, but there are a few that stick out as top 10 material. 

Favorite books read in 2020 

1. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The perfect thing for a difficult year. Magical. I relished going back to it and hearing about the young girl trapped (and freed, really) in the body of an old lady, dealing with a wicked wizard and his fire demon. The kind of book I wanted to last and last. (Children's)

2. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Another story that does the soul good. A story of powerful friendship, kindness and bravery. (Children's)

3. Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
Not only was this very well done, it gave me even more appreciation for our men and women in uniform and what they do for us as Americans and for each other. To quote the author, “Black Hawk Down is a reminder that the seemingly inhuman machine of the American military is made up of individual men and women, often serving at great personal sacrifice even when not thrust into war. The men of Task Force Ranger gave more than will ever be asked of most of us. They deserve to be honored and remembered.” (Adult)

4. It Ain’t So Awful Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
I read this pre-covid which seems like a lifetime ago, and yet it sticks out not only because I enjoyed reading it so much but because it feels so relevant now despite being set in the 70s. Zomorod, who calls herself Cindy for simplicity's sake, has just moved to Newport Beach, after moving back and forth between her home country, Iran, and the US for her dad's job as an engineer. It isn't easy being different, but life gets even more difficult when Iran has a coup, and Americans are taken hostage, creating a lot of anti-Iran statement in the place Zomorod thinks of as home. And did I mention that it is genuinely funny and entertaining? (Middle Grade)

5. A is for Elizabeth by Rachel Vail
Elizabeth has to make a poster of her name, but because Elizabeth is such a long name with so many different letters, it’s a much harder assignment for her than for Anna, who is not her best friend. Spoiler alert, she makes a poster out of sticks and stones where her name is spelled: AAbmmm!moxooo!Eoo’oAth You’ll have to read it to find out how she got there. I love a good funny and silly early chapter book. A delight! (Children's) 

6. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Mattie Gokey promises a guest at the hotel where she works in upstate New York that she will burn a stack of letters. When that guest is found drowned in the lake the next day, Mattie opens the letters to discover a tragic story that may mean the death was no accident. This premise, which is based on something that really happened, immediately captured me. But this book also deals with Mattie and her own life—the decisions she must make, and how to address her own aspirations and dreams in a world where not all paths seem open. It had a nice feel to it, and I really enjoyed it. (Teen)

Honorable mention:

• Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
• Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
• Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim

All books read in 2020:

A is for Elizabeth by Rachel Vail • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens • I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day • Frankly in Love by David Yoon • The Poison Eaters: Fighting Danger and Fraud in our Food and Drugs by Gail Jarrow • Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez • The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown* • Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha* • It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas • Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy • An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson • Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang* • The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming* • The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks* • Bloom by Kenneth Oppel* • A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly • My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner* • The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass • The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf* • Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham • Louisa May Alcott by Susan Cheever • Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park* • Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones • The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry • Thorn by Intisar Khanani • So This is Love: A Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Lim • A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson • Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley* • Stand Up Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim* • Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden

*Published in 2020

I don't include content warnings in my reviews, but feel free to ask.