Top 7 Books Read This Year (Mid-Year update)
Since I did a post about my top 8 new releases, I want to share the other books not on that list that I still really, really enjoyed. They just weren’t published this year! Onward!!
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I really, really enjoyed this book. The writing and story helped me through a really tough time. I cried so hard for the Little Price. I cried so, so much for the lonely flower. I see why this is such a treasured children’s book.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
My first experience with verse story telling and it was so much fun. I love the story, the descriptions of the characters, and overall the vibe of the writing. Jacqueline Woodson writes such gripping contemporary tales. I hope this ends up as a classic years later.
The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Libraries! Museums! History! Urban-Fantasy! YES! I love this book for all those things! And the mystery aspects, everything! I need to hop onto the next volume, stat!
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
I went into this book not expecting much, but I was so wrong. The fandom aspect, the blogging and the anxiety. All wonderfully woven in this story. I loved Aled and Frances. They are such parallels and contrasts, and honestly, it’s nice to read a book where Romance isn’t the epicenter. I want to re-read this one soon.
Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LaFleur
War, separation, and a secret mission. This book’s main theme is children that are sent off to do who-knows-what for the war-effort. Mathilde doesn’t want to leave her friend behind after she passes the test and that’s honestly how I feel a lot of times. I love the compound with all the children and really can’t wait for the sequel. Kid war novels are the best.
Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee
PLEASANT SURPRISE IS PLEASANT. The bisexual representation! The diverse cultures! THE WORLD BUILDING. Surprises me with a dystopian atmosphere and everyone get’s some kind of power! And the challenge authority, in a whole new way. I really flew through this book.
Fish in a Treeby Lynda Mullaly Hunt
The only exposure to dyslexia in MG/YA books has been Percy Jackson. This, this was so good and felt real. People don’’t understand that if a child causes enough of a problem, most adults are not going to think there’s a learning disability going on. Especially if the only problem is reading. This book shows what special education really means. Not that a child isn’t smart enough, but that a child is smart in a different way. Oh, and that ending was too cute.
Again, there are a ton of books I read this mid-year that I want to include. However, these are the ones that truly impacted me and still make me think about them.
