My 2016 favorites, in order, were:
Standalones/first in a series:
1. A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley (historical fiction, women’s fiction)
2. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (young adult)
3. An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #1 and #2) by
Sabaa Tahir (young adult, fantasy, action/suspense)
4. One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (women’s fiction)
5. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (historical fiction)
6. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction)
7. Riders (Riders #1) by Veronica Rossi (young adult, fantasy, action/suspense)
8. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction)
Sequels:
1.
Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer (young adult, sci-fi, fantasy, action/suspense, romance)
2.
Their Fractured Light (Starbound #3) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (young adult, sci-fi, action/suspense)
A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley (historical fiction,
women’s fiction) - Another Susanna Kearsley success. (This is the seventh novel I’ve read by this
author.) Loved it! In
typical Kearsley fashion, A Desperate Fortune tells two stories (where each featured young woman goes
on an adventure)—one set in present day and one set in history. The device of
deciphering a personal diary from the 1730s worked very well as a means of
going back and forth. Both stories were fun and grabbed my attention equally.
The modern-day story is about Sara Thomas, a woman with Asperger
Syndrome, who has been hired to decipher an old
diary. The historical story is about Jacobite exile Mary Dundas and her adventures during the time in which her diary was
written. Other Kearsley novels
have made my “Best of” lists in the past – The Firebird and Mariana.
An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #1 and #2) by Sabaa Tahir (young adult,
fantasy, action/suspense) – Yes, I’m sneaking in two books here but I read them
both this year and loved them equally. In An Ember in the Ashes,
Laia's brother is taken into custody by the Empire and she decides to find him
and save him. She is ill-prepared for the ensuing adventure yet she uses
her wits and bravery to make significant progress during the novel. Elias
is a trained soldier who does not wish to be forced to kill so many
people. Events bring Laia and Elias together and they must work together
in order to survive. In A Torch Against the Night, the story continues where the first novel left off. Of course,
dark forces are working against them and dangerous adventures ensue. I loved these novels! Sabaa Tahir is a wonderful storyteller. They are true adventure
stories, packed with action, forward motion, and suspense, about underdogs
fighting to make their lives better. The cruelty and violence shown was
sometimes difficult to bear but it all felt right for the story. The characters
and the settings were extremely well-drawn and, mostly, believable. There are
heroics and love and loyalty and hope. I couldn’t help but get caught up in
Laia’s and Elias’ world and cheer for them from the stands.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (historical fiction) - The Nightingale was a great story that illustrated the lives of
those living in France during WWII—those who were not soldiers but were left to
face life during wartime in a land being occupied by German soldiers. It
centered around two sisters with very different personalities. I enjoyed both
viewpoints and the time period bouncing between past and present. All the
characters were very well-developed. The story was sad, inspiring, shocking,
educational, heartwarming, infuriating, and complete. It covered the entire
lives of the main characters, although the meat of the story took place during
the war years.
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (women’s fiction) - One Plus One tells the stories of Jess Thomas and Ed Nicholls who both find themselves in dire straits. Their desperate stories intersect and the readers get to go along for the ride. There are several ups and downs. There are emotional roller coasters. It's an adventure, a love story, and a tribute to choices. And it’s funny! I couldn’t help but fall in love with all the characters. And the situations, while a bit extreme, seemed feasible. Moyes also made my “Best of 2014” list with Me Before You.
Riders (Riders
#1) by Veronica Rossi (young adult, fantasy, action/suspense) – In Riders, four young men have woken up from serious
accidents to realize they have special powers and are now the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse--War, Famine, Death, and Conquest. The story
is told by War (Gideon Blake) as he is strapped in an interrogation
chair. His story begins with his accident and covers his period of
discovery about his new situation and his journey to locate the other three
horsemen so that they can save the world from the evil Kindred. It was a
compelling story full of engaging characters and action. This is one of those
storylines you cannot describe to friends without sounding ridiculous. It
sounds silly or unrealistic or ambitious. However, the way Rossi weaves the
tale, it is entirely believable. The main character, Gideon, sucked me in from
the first page and kept me wanting to turn each page. The story is creative and
engrossing. I can’t wait to read what comes next for Gideon and the gang! All
three books in her first trilogy, the Under the Never Sky series, made my “Best
of” lists and the first novel in that series was my favorite book of 2012.
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction) - The Secret Chord tells the story of the life of David, conqueror
of Goliath. I found the story and the characters so engaging. It
kept me interested to find out what happened next. I thought it was very
effective to have the narrator be Natan, David’s prophet and counselor.
He was in a position to know everything that was divulged in the
story. I’ve never given much thought to David. I knew he was little
and Goliath was big when he became famous for defeating the “giant”. And
that’s about all I knew of David other than he was the subject of the famous
statue by Michelangelo. But, what an interesting life he had! From
very discouraging beginnings, to a youth of brilliance and success, to leading
a triumphant kingdom, to his slow demise, David is a flawed hero who is
difficult to reconcile at times. Brooks definitely made him seem
human—wise yet imperfect. I thought it was a great novel.
Their Fractured Light (Starbound #3) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (young adult,
sci-fi, action/suspense) – The first novel in this series made my “Best of
2015” list. When
a LaRoux Industries (LRI) security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s
separate attempts to infiltrate the LRI headquarters, they’re forced to
work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take
down LRI, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best
chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide. What an
awesome finale to the series! In fact, this was my favorite book in
the series. The best thing about it was the pacing and momentum and suspense. I
never wanted to stop reading! The new characters were even better than all the
previous characters we’d met in earlier novels. And their interactions with the
old characters were perfect. The setting changes were well drawn. And even the
difficult science behind the fiction was mostly understandable and well-explained.
It was a fantastic novel.
Winter (The
Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer (young adult, sci-fi, fantasy,
action/suspense, romance) – Books #2 and #3 in this series made my “Best of
2015” list. This was a fabulous ending to a
wonderful series. Every book was better than the one before! I don't believe
I've ever experienced such a thing. Winter is the retelling of Snow White. This
novel wove her storyline further into those already in progress of Cinder
(Cinderella), Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood), and Cress (Rapunzel). Winter
had a little bit of everything--adventure, suspense, action, romance, loveable
(and hateable) characters, and lots of author creativity and future lunar
world-building. I do love a happy ending and this one was extremely satisfying. (I have not yet blogged about this one because Lynnie plans to read it too and I'm waiting so we can do a joint posting.)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio - I loved this book! It’s
really geared for middle-schoolers, I think, but it’s worth the read for all
ages. This is the story of August, a boy
born with facial deformities, who is attending school in a classroom for the
first time in 5th grade. It
is told from the viewpoint of several characters who, together, paint the
complete picture for the reader.
Chapters are broken up into small chunks (for the benefit of the young
reader, I presume) which worked perfectly for pacing. The characters are so understandable and
loveable (or not) and I appreciate the way the book deals with the issues of
equality, adversity, and humanity. It’s
a quick read and has a lot of heart.
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction) – This is the second
Brooks novel making my list this year! (See The Secret Chord above.) This story
was amazingly beautiful despite the terrible topic
of living through the plague. For me to
highly rate a book about such a doomed topic is high praise! Year of Wonders
tells the story of a small plague-inflicted village in England that made the
tough decision to cut themselves off from the rest of the world so as not to
spread infection. It is a fictional
story based on a real town, Eyam, in which this truly occurred. It is told from one young woman’s point of
view—a woman who grows so much during the course of the story and is quite a
heroic figure in several ways. The
townspeople are described so vividly and the picture is painted so well by
Brooks’ words.
If you're hungry for more, here are my Favorites from 2015 and 2014. Also, don't miss Lynnie's favorites of 2016!
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction) – This is the second
Brooks novel making my list this year! (See The Secret Chord above.) This story
was amazingly beautiful despite the terrible topic
of living through the plague. For me to
highly rate a book about such a doomed topic is high praise! Year of Wonders
tells the story of a small plague-inflicted village in England that made the
tough decision to cut themselves off from the rest of the world so as not to
spread infection. It is a fictional
story based on a real town, Eyam, in which this truly occurred. It is told from one young woman’s point of
view—a woman who grows so much during the course of the story and is quite a
heroic figure in several ways. The
townspeople are described so vividly and the picture is painted so well by
Brooks’ words.
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