Of the 29 books I read in 2016, I narrowed it down to the following 7 (kind of 9 since one is a trilogy) novels:
·
Station
Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
o
Category: Science Fiction, Post Apocalypse
Fiction
o
Synopsis: The spread of a deadly virus wipes out
99% of the human race. The novel tells
the story of a few different characters flipping between the time leading up to
the outbreak and then flash forwarding to Year 20 (the chronology of time
restarts after the pandemic).
o
Recommendation: Read! I liked the lack of zombies in this book, and
that it presented a very probable way of how easily and quickly a virus could
spread, infect and wipe out a population.
What I liked even more was seeing how various characters react to the
scenario, and if they survive, how they manage to do it. Many of you may remember me talking about
this book. I actually started it in 2015,
and it briefly inspired my goals for 2016 when I thought I should learn some
apocalypse survival skills. I found it
an interesting conversation piece and that it provoked some personal
reflection.
·
Everything
I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.
o
Category: Fictional Drama, borderline Young
Adult (YA)
o
Synopsis: Story of a teenage girl who disappears
and is found dead. Tells her story and
that of her family and their quest to find out what happened to her.
o
Recommendation: Read! The complexity of the family dynamic and
angst-y teenager feelings is very poignant and begs you to consider how we
reflect our own dreams, regrets, and emotions onto those around us.
·
·
Leviation,
Beheamoth, and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (book triology)
o
Category: YA Science Fiction
o
Synopsis: Alternate telling of WWI with science
fiction twist. The story is told through
the eyes of two teenagers, an English girl and Austrian boy, on different sides
of the war, their involvement in the war, and how their stories intersect. I love a plucky heroine and increasingly like
stories of women pushing societal limits and striving for equality with
men. The way the author weaves science
fiction into and also retells actual historical events adds a very fascinating
element to a historical fiction.
o
Recommendation: Read! I adored this series, and it’s a quick YA
read. The narrator in the audiobooks is
also fantastic.
·
· Ready
Player One by Ernest Cline.
o
Category: Science Fiction (I read, and enjoyed,
a lot of sci-fe this year).
o
Synopsis: Story of technology evolving to the
point where we operate in virtual reality more than real life. The description of the world seems almost
apocalyptic, with the escape and majority of time spent plugged into a virtual
world where you could date, play, work, go to school, etc. That’s really just the setting. This story is about the eccentric genius who
created this virtual world, and a quest he sends people on following his
death. My description hardly does this
book justice, but I also don’t want to give anything fun away.
o
Recommendation: Read! This was a fun story and the references to
and reverence for the 80s were delightful for someone who grew up in the era.
·
A
Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown.
o
Category: Memoir
o
Synopsis: Story of a woman who was orphaned as a
child, her experience in foster care (absolutely heart breaking), becoming an
alcoholic, drug addict, joining a gang, and ultimately cleaning up her life.
o
Recommendation: Read. I rushed to the computer and signed up to
learn more about being a foster parent while reading this book. Every horrendous thing you can imagine
happening to a child and consistently reinforced by our child protection
services happened to this poor girl. If
this doesn’t make you want to save every kid in the system, I don’t know what
will.
·
·
The
Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.
o
Category: Historical fiction
o
Synopsis: Story line follows two girls into
adulthood growing up in Charleston beginning in the early 1800s. One is a wealthy white girl, daughter of a
plantation owner. The other is a slave
girl working on the plantation. Both
have dreams and aspirations beyond their social standing.
o
Recommendation: Read. A beautiful story. You know I love historical fiction and the
tale of women doing great things.
·
·
Alice
by Christina Henry.
o
Category: Fiction
o
Synopsis: Much darker re-telling of Alice in
Wonderland. Starts with a girl in a
mental facility who claims she was raped by a rabbit. The story unfolds from there with all the usual
characters making appearances.
o
Recommendation: Read. I thought this book was fascinating! It is pretty dark, but it was very
interesting to see how the author changed the story line. There is actually a sequel to this book that
I downloaded right after finishing this book.
·
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah.
o
Category: Fiction/historical
o
Synopsis: The story follows the lives of two
French sisters during the occupation by the Nazis until the end of the
war. Family squabbling, the nasty
Germans, friendship, love, war, bravery and cowardice. This book has it all. I don’t want to give anything away.
o
Recommendation: Read. I loved this book! Again, you know I love a historical fiction
about kick ass women!
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