Best Books I Read in 2015*

*note: not all were published in 2015!

Great contemporary reads --

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed, Dumplin' by Julie Murphy, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn, and Black Iris by Leah Raeder

Written in the Stars is a heartfelt exploration of an arranged marriage in Pakistan, written simply to maximize its impact and our identification with the main character on her horrific journey. Dumplin' is a romantic coming-of-age about a fat girl who competes in a beauty pageant to regain her confidence and self-love. About a girl trying to break into a men-only secret society, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is another great read from E. Lockhart. And what happens when you take three self-destructive, morally grey people and force them to interact with each other? A high stakes psychological thriller from Stephanie Kuehn, potentially her best work yet in Delicate Monsters. Black Iris is Leah Raeder's heart book, sexy, romantic suspense layered with questions about gender identity and sexuality. All are wonderful explorations of growing up in a patriarchal world.

You can read my reviews of: Black Iris, Delicate Monsters, and Dumplin'. I nominated Dumplin' and Delicate Monsters in theEpic Reads Book Shimmy Awards, and encouraged others to be excited for the release of Dumplin'.

Magical realism that takes risks in its narrative --

Chime by Franny Billingsley, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, and The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

YA magical realism is a wonderful expanding genre that's pushing the boundaries of the typical YA narrative. All three of these stories are told in their own cyclical, winding ways, and all three have absolutely gorgeous writing. Chime tells the story of a girl regaining her confidence as she discovers the truth; Bone Gap tells a story about perception and beauty; and The Accident Season tells the story of a family broken by a tragic past. Highly recommended, and can't wait for more magical realism to crop up.

I discussed Bone Gap and The Accident Season here. I nominated Bone Gap in the Epic Reads Book Shimmy Awards.

Female-led historical journeys --

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, and Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Elizabeth Wein is a reigning queen of YA historical fiction, and Rose Under Fire was a gorgeous tale of female friendship tested under terrible circumstances. Walk on Earth a Stranger is about a girl with a fantastical ability to discover gold on an Oregon Trail-like, self-discovery journey to California, and it's as fantastic as that sounds.Daughter of the Forest is loosely based on the legend of the Children of Lir and "The Six Swans," a fairy tale told by the Grimms and many more. It's gorgeous and I absolutely adore the commingling of tender romance, Celtic atmosphere, and fantastical curses.

You can read my review of Walk on Earth a Stranger. Because of my love for Daughter of the Forest, I wrote a recommendation list of adult fiction for YA readers. I nominated Walk on Earth a Stranger in theEpic Reads Book Shimmy Awards, and encouraged others to be excited for its release.

Er, the only Urban Fantasy recommendation I have is Burned by Karen Marie Moning. A few years ago, I got caught up in adult urban fantasy, which is often sexy and led by kickass heroines. At this point, I'm not reading much adult UF (though feel free to recommend me some books!); only the Fever series remains on my tbr list.

Fantasy! Fantasy! Fantasy!

The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove, Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge, Serpentine by Cindy Pon, Eon by Alison Goodman, Poison Study by Maria Snyder, and A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Goodness, where to start? The Golden Specific is a part of the MG trilogy I said was most inventive MG fantasy I've read since Harry Potter. Shadow Scale is the much anticipated sequel to Seraphina, and is, like its predecessor, a wonderfully written masterpiece. Crown Duel is the most fun I've had with fantasy in a while. As Small Review said: "It's like a fantasy Pride and Prejudice with an imperfect main character who grows throughout the book, a swoony slow burn hate-turned-love romance, and lots and lots of political intrigue." Uprooted has a side plot of slow burning hate-to-love romance, a determined, spirited heroine who learns to wield magic with skill, plenty of plot twists and an absolutely wonderful main female friendship. Plus, of course, a creative fairy tale world, with a cinematically creepy evil Wood. Crimson Bound is very much of the same ilk as Uprooted; enjoyed one, and well, you should read the other. At its core, Serpentine features a wonderful main female friendship which runs well alongside a sweet romance, lush setting inspired by Chinese folklore, and an innately discussable premise about a girl with a power that makes her feel Other. Eon is an epic fantasy inspired by Japanese and Chinese mythology, full of daring adventure and heartbreaking action and romance, and layered with questions on gender identity. I'd definitely recommend Poison Study to fans of Throne of Glass; Poison Study is about the food taster to the Commander of a military regime, and the political intrigue, magic, and romance she unexpectedly finds. A Thousand Nights is a loose epic fantasy retelling of 1001 Nights, and features a heroine who defies the odds in not only surviving the threat of murder from her husband but also in becoming a stronger leader and a goddess in her own right. ALL FANTASTIC FANTASY READS!

You can read my reviews of: A Thousand Nights, Eon, Serpentine, Crimson Bound, Uprooted, Shadow Scale, and the Mapmakers trilogy. I discussed Crown Duel and Poison Study here. I nominated Serpentine and A Thousand Nights in theEpic Reads Book Shimmy Awards.

Science Fiction for your Star Wars craving --

Stone in the Sky by Cecil Castellucci

I'm thinking that the success of Star Wars is going to led to an upswing in YA science fiction. In the meantime, however, perhaps you'd like to satiate a craving for YA sci fi with Cecil Castellucci's space epic. In the Tin Star duology, our scavenger-esque, survivor oriented heroine must fend for herself while navigating intergalatic politics and a sweet, cross-species romance, and answer for crimes she did not commit.

You can read my review of Stone in the Sky here.

Nonfiction for the rainy days --

Six Myths of Our Time by Marina Warner, The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction by James A. Millward, and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming is an absolutely amazing memoir. I usually say that I don't read things written in verse, but man am I glad that I broke that "rule" for BGD! HIGHLY recommended for everyone. Jacqueline Woodson can evoke beautiful imagery in such few words. I related to her experiences despite having a very different identity. Can't wait to read more from her. As for the other two books, if you're interested in cultural myths or the Silk Road, you'll be as pleased as I was in reading them.

Writing out this list made me realize what sort of books I'm looking to read for 2016 and beyond, and the kind of books that I specifically enjoy. Almost all my favorite contemporaries are diverse books; I no longer am interested in reading books from the perspective of a white, cisgendered, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, rich teenager unless, like Frankie Landau-Banks, they have something very different to offer. I also don't read a lot of science fiction or historical fiction, it seems, but I'm looking to change that, particularly since historical fiction seems really focused on its leading ladies and the friendships that change their lives. YA Magical realism is my go-to for stories that break the mold, and I'd love to see more books published in that genre. Fantasy? Man, there's a reason fantasy is my favorite genre. Fantasy books that give me romance ship feelings (Crown Duel, Poison Study), or are fairy tale retellings with atmosphere (Uprooted, Crimson Bound), or are layered, literary stories I can slowly unpeel (A Thousand Nights, The Golden Specific, Shadow Scale), or are coming-of-age stories with complex and diverse world-building (Eon, Serpentine) -- yes. These are my kind of books. If any of that fits your reading tastes, you may be interested in reading some of the recommendations above.

What were the favorite books that you read in 2015? Do we share any? Have you read any of the books I listed? Let's discuss!

 

 

This month I reviewed on the blog:

• My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

• Stone in the Sky by Cecil Castellucci, as a part of the blog tour.

• The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

• And, whoops!, not mentioned in the video: I talked about my 15 TBR Books That I'm Going to Read this year and the YA Debuts that I'm Anticipating Reading.

 

This month I also posted about...

• The process of making thumbnails for my booktube videos. A post full of self-deprecation and silliness per my usual PoV when looking at pictures of myself and trying to edit things in Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0.

• How to Respond When Someone Disdains YA Literature. I made a half serious, half silly (aka me!) infographic for how to respond to all the YA haters out there.

• There are also a few giveaways, which you see in the sidebar to your right.

 

I kept up with my feature, Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds, which, on Wednesdays, goes over the latest young adult, middle grade, and new adult book related news:

• Bookish Rounds 71 & its accompanying book byte video 7

• Bookish Rounds 72 & its accompanying book byte video 8

• Bookish Rounds 73 & its accompanying book byte video 9

• Bookish Rounds 74 & its accompanying book byte video 10

• How in God's green earth am I in the 70s for bookish rounds videos? If I'd posted them EVERY Wednesday, that makes for about 17 months, but I've also skipped a few, so what, am I on more than that? Have I been doing this feature for 1.5 years? WHUT WHUT WHUT.

• Time management. HOW do you manage your time? When I did my January recap (video), I had so many more links. A discussion post every week and on my blog I was posting booktube videos and I was getting ready to comment on every single booktube channel and blog. WOAH, slow down there. About halfway through February, I went to this sort of career development advising session and they were talking about how you should know at least one programming language before moving onto your post-doc or applying to grad school and read 2 articles a week outside of those you read for class and save all your time when you're at work or school for research because time at home is meant for doing homework from your classes. Science is a lifestyle. And I started freaking out because all I could think was: HOW AM I EVER GOING TO DO EVERYTHING I WANT TO IN MY LIFE? Let's face it: blogging/reading is a hobby. It is the first thing that should go when I start to narrow down on my time. But I don't want to narrow down on it; I want to find better time management skills. Do you have any advice?

 

Things that I read this month:

• The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, which was on my 15 TBR Books to Read this year list. This was a read-along with Joséphine of Word Revel and I'm still undecided as to how I feel about the series and this book in particular. I am interested in reading Lockhart's other book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

• Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. Here is the review I typed on Goodreads:
  
  
  
  I've had a book hangover for the past couple of days because of Crown Duel.
  
  Once upon a time, I had a feature on my blog called "Christina Reads Your Recommendations." Small recommended this book and said: "It's like a fantasy Pride and Prejudice with an imperfect main character who grows throughout the book, a swoony slow burn hate-turned-love romance, and lots and lots of political intrigue. Since you liked Grave Mercy, Graceling, and P&P, I think you'll like this. It's one of my Special Shelf books."
  
  Small, I want to read all your Special Shelf books now. You recommended Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series to me, which I LOVED LOVED LOVED, and you recommended this to me and yaaaaaasssssss. Meliara/Vidranic forever! What little shipper heart I have is happy.

• The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson. You'll hear more about this title from me come April, when I review it. For now, here is my Goodreads stand-in review:
  
  This one is definitely more epic than the Kiss of Deception. Epic in the stakes, since I guess Kiss of Deception covered more ground between the countries. If you liked the deception, intrigue, and political games of The Kiss of Deception - and the implications of the second half of that book - then you'll definitely like The Heart of Betrayal. Would recommend this to fans of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, the Grisha trilogy (the Komizar reminds me a little of the Darkling and how he and Alina interacted), The Winner's Crime, and Finnikin of the Rock (Finnikin + Girl because of the quest-like elements, the religious backgrounds and stories influencing the world, and political intrigue). I'd say Megan Whalen Turner fans too, but I think MWT focused more on the individual characters (Gen, Attolia, Eddis, Sophos) than their countries whereas The Heart of Betrayal goes really in depth for the Vendan culture and general dynamics between Venda, Morrighan, and Dalbreck. That's what makes me think (about this book): good epic high fantasy. Also, if you were worried about the love triangle-ish elements of the first book, I'd say don't worry. Also, Lia is badass. Love her as a heroine and getting to see her adapt to her circumstances.

 

I am currently reading:

• Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, which was on my 2015 Books that I'm Anticipating list. I am hoping to finish before next week so that y'all will have my review by the release date, March 10th... but I am super intimidated by this 600+ page book. I'm only about 16% into the Kindle version and it feels like I'm not moving in the Kindle version (the percentage that is). Blah! But the writing and world and characters are lovely.

• Girl at Midnight - Melissa Grey, which was on my 2015 YA Debuts that I'm Anticipating list. I'm only about 5% into the book, but I like it. It's got a distinct third person voice that reminds me of a mix between The Mortal Instruments and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Don't take my word on that yet though - 5% is nothing; I think that's just the prologue and first chapter...

Things I bought this month:

• Stories and Scenes from Mount Lebanon by Mahmoud Khalil Saab. I emailed my old Lebanese college professor and asked him if he knew more about Lebanese/Middle Eastern mythology than what you'd get in, say, 1001 Nights and the Qu'ran / Bible. One of the things he mentioned was a character who I'd never heard of before, so I googled. And found that character in this book, and this book looked to be right up my alley since I love reading about folklore. Add it to the pile of books I have on Lebanon!

• The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh. NOTE: I MISTAKENLY SAID "CROWNED" CURSE IN MY VIDEO.

• The Returning by Christine Hinwood

• Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox &

• Mermaids in Chelsea Creek by Michelle Tea

 

Whenever I'm in the Strand, I pick up ~5-10+ books that I've heard good things about or wanted to read in the past. I put them all in my basket and sit on their benches and read the first few chapters. If I mesh with the writing style and like the synopsis and what it promises well enough, I'll get the book. Sometimes I have debate between books because maybe like seven books have interested me - well, what is a "later" book? What am I more in the mood for right now? etc. All of the above books have a fantastical or magical realism element to them, which is my style.

Things I received this month:

The February YA Buzz Books from HarperCollins:

• All That Burns by Ryan Graudin

• Unleashed by Sophie Jordan

• No Parking at End Times by Bryan Bliss

• Better than Perfect by Melissa Kantor